First Match (3)
Jun extended his hand toward his teammate his intentions being explicit.
The twins were still gloating about their little endeavor so they weren't thinking much of Jun standing so far.
Jun began to dribble the ball toward Kamata's side of the court.
Basketball is heavy in body movement, especially in the school scene, where people have difficulty understanding how to change their speed and how impactful it is. Change of speed is something extremely exploitable and it works up till the NBA stage, because of how efficient it is. If you want to be a solid player and stand above the others change of pace is something to master.
Jun had it down, he was a fast player and by making people used to his slower pace he would catch them off guard every time with a burst of speed and textbook skill.
It didn't mean he wasn't unpredictable although, dribbling in enclosed spaces brings about spatial awareness, understanding where is what and what you might hit is a very important thing. Or else you might just hurt your pinky and that hurts like a b.
His body control and his speed were advantages he trained over everyone else in this court. But it didn't mean they were his innate gift, he was known before for his body feints and the way he completely sold his body tricking opponents.
Jun approached the siblings who got ready to defend against him. Jun the closer he got the slower his dribbling was, when he saw one of the siblings move closer Jun acted.
His body leaned to the right and as he threatened to move to the moving twin, Jun saw how he reacted trying to rectify his body moving to the side he threatened to go through but just crossed the ball to his other and swayed his body in the direction of the other twin. Who stood his ground but with a quick spin around him, he was left behind.
Jun quickly moved to the 3rd opponent, Jun slowed down once more and looked toward the basket threatening to shoot a 3-point, the move was sold and the opponent closed in faster, Jun did a behind-the-back and burst with speed. There was no reaction from the opponent who was expecting a shoot.
Jun proceeded to approach the free throw line and jumped threatening to and motioning with the ball in one hand for the release, both the opponent center and the last player jumped in while trying to block, but Jun shifted his center of gravity and went between their arms while he brought the ball back toward him, then with a simple finger roll he released the ball as it hit the backboard with a spin and went inside the rim. (59-62)
Kamata tried to get the ball fast in the game by passing it toward Shota who quickly was closed in by Jun who began to defend more aggressively, Shota panicked since neither he nor his brother had managed to go through Jun yet in a one-on-one. So he looked for his brother and tried to release a pass to his brother. Unfortunately for him although Jun with the starter vision could roughly make out the direction where the sibling was, anticipating the pass was easy because of the mental state Shota was in.
Jun who had made another steal, turned his next shift and darted toward Kamata's rim. Only one defender was there, Jun shifted his body to the right and sped up for a second but then just brought the ball back with a simple behind the back, throwing the defender off balance and falling to the ground.
Jun was very proficient in these changes of pace and forcing his opponents into awkward positions. With no one to stop him, Jun did a simple lay-up and bagged another 2 points. (61-62)
Once Jun geared up and made sure he got the ball, he made sure he delivered. By the end of the 2-minute count. Kibito was leading by 4 points. (68-64)
And the numbers got even, Kamata who had been trying to capitalize on the fact that they did not have the physical advantage of Yukio anymore, and since things weren't going their way, Kamata West players became desperate. Their time-outs had run out too, and with Jun dismantling their roster, the gap widened.
Jun went to the bench in the last minute of the game, completely exhausted. But he wasn't worried because the lead they had was too wide for the Kamata team to close in. (82-66)
With this, the game finished with Kibito School finally winning their first official match in 4 years. (84-74)
With the end of the game sound, both Kibito Junior High and Kamata West did the usual respect for the other team, greeting and handshakes. The dejected twins were glaring at Jun who was on the bench shugging water not caring for them.
The only person as dejected as the Kamata West players was Yukio who seemed like he was thinking about something and was silent through the entire ride home.
Arriving home amidst the constant praises of his teammates Jun was met with his adorable little sister, who came to greet him at the door.
''Nii-chan did you win?'' Hina asked as she tilted her head. Jun quickly dashed and hugged her his previous nonchalance nowhere to be seen.
''Obviously, your brother won.'' Jun spoke as he carried his brother to the living room. ''What were you watching Hina-chan?''
''I was watching Agent Penguin.'' She spoke as she giggled. The best way to rest was spending time with his family.
''Then brother will watch it with you, tell what is Mister Penguin's mission this time?'' Jun asked and faced with a top she enjoyed Hina began babbling nonstop.