章節 22: Practice game: Part 1

Boom!*

The sound reverberated through the gym. Both my teammates and opponents were shocked to see this move except me. He had never done this move in practice before, I assume he was practicing this secretly on his own. It was pretty impressive to be able to do this when he was only a second year but well, his 5 now is like a 3 for his high school self.

Kotaro then did a quick crossover and layed the ball into the basket. The score was now 7- 0 and the opposing team called a timeout.

"Damn Kotaro where you learn that move!" Kiyoshi thumped Kotaro on the back.

"Yeah, that was crazy. How strong must you be to pound it so hard." I chipped in.

"Nah there's actually a technique behind it, it's kinda complicated but I'll try to explain to you guys after the match." Kotaro replied.

We then sat on the bench and started to rest.

"We are doing well so far. I want to continue seeing effort during the full court press and good ball movement. If you hold the ball for more than 10 seconds, just pass it. I don't want any disruption in the flow of the game. Is that clear." The coach said.

"YES SIRE!"

The buzzer then sounded, indicating the end of the timeout. We then proceeded onto the court and the game continued.

A player from the opposing team inbounded the ball to the point guard. I then started pressing him up, trying my best to swipe at the ball. After failing to get pass me, one of his teammates started running up the court and the guard passed to him.

They then attempted to run a basic pick and roll. This strategy might work with a normal team but that was not us. We had been drilled by the coach countless times and details to watch out for was ingrained into our minds by now.

"Switch!" Kotaro yelled to Haru. Kotaro then switched onto the opposing teams big who was receiving the ball. The player then took a tough mid range shot which when through the basket.

Well, it was good defense by Kotaro but you can't prevent every shot.

I then got the ball and started dribbling. Once I crossed half court, my defender started to pressure me. I did a quick cross over and managed to get a decent amount of space to operate. Seeing that I got pass my defender, I drove towards the basket. Once I got into the paint, the opponents center once again stepped forward to contest my shot. But this time I did not back down.

Gripping the ball tightly to my side, I jumped into my defender, getting right up into his chest. Once there was a significant amount of contact, I stretched out my hand and tossed the ball into the basket from the other side. I then fell to the floor and looked up to see the ball fall through the net.

YEAH! Looks like investing all those points into layups was worth it!

We continued pressing them for the entire game, constantly switching out players when they got tired. Luckily the training from hell the coach had given us had greatly improved our stamina, allowing the starters to play for most of the game.

I attempted shots when I was open and passed the ball to the open man when not. I had been trying to learn off ball movement, it is a great skill to have and can create many opportunities for both me and my teammates. I constantly cut to the rim, set screens and ran to the open area to find an open shot.

I had been watching the warriors and their off ball movement. It was amazing to see Steph or Klay manage to get open after a series of well planned screens. It just looked so smooth and mesmerizing, as if the whole team functioned as one.

Most of the offensive load went though Kiyoshi and Kotaro though. Kiyoshi was Mr. fundamental I have a feeling he modelled his game after Tim Duncan. He scored skillfully in the paint with a combination of footwork and trickery. He usually hit opponents with a series of pump fakes, getting them up into the air before scoring the easy basket. He had even added the bank shot into his game, making him a highly efficient scorer.

Kotaro was busy testing his new move during the game. Crossing over players and stunning them with his dribbling. The ball moved too fast for most to react, they would try to reach in and find nothing but air. By the time they turned around, Kotaro was already driving towards the basket and they had no chance of catching up. Should another defender try to help, Kotaro would simply kick the ball to the open man for the open look.

"Damn. The full court press really puts a load on you. I think I've run like 3 kilometres in this game already." Kotaro groaned as he sat down on the bench. It was not the break between the third and fourth quarters and the score was 78 - 36

"During the fourth I want the bench players to be playing. The starters can take a break, you have done more than enough. Kaen, you will continue playing in the fourth. This round I want you to carry the offensive load. I want to see what you can do."

Oh. Is this a challenge? Well, bring it on.

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power stones pls

actually I don't really know what they do but who doesn't want free stuff