38 Chapter 38 : VS Seiho IV - Seirin's New Deadly Duo?
"Do you see that?! The dunk is amazing!"
'Yeah! I cannot believe he would do that from the free-throw line! I only saw something like that on Youtube!"
"I know! I also feel the same! It was the same dunk as what Michael Jordan did in the slam dunk contest!"
"And this Seirin #10 did that to Seiho #4! Don't you remember how Seiho #4 frustrated him to hell in the first quarter? This was his revenge!"
The spectators whispered to each other excitedly, talking about the last two plays. They were thrilled by the game, and glad that it is still the second quarter. They all are in for special treatment.
Back on the court, Seirin players are still celebrating the last play.
"Nice touchdown, Red!" Furihata praised Kagami, giving him a high-five. The red hair snorted a little at the praise.
"Yeah, nice pass, Brady."
"I know, right? Nice receive, Edelman! hahaha!"
The people they are talking about are Tom Brady and Julian Edelman, the New England Patriots duo that lead the team to win the super bowls in 2015. However, they are in Japan right now, and American Football is not popular here. Their teammates just look at them with strange gazes.
"Who are those people they are talking about?" Koganei whispered to Hyuga curiously. However, it is Tsuchida who gives an answer.
"I think Brady that Kagami-kun meant is Tom Brady, the superstar quarter-back in American football. But I don't know who is this Edelman that Furihata refers to. But I think he is another American football player. I don't know, this sport is not that popular in Japan, after all."
Koganei nodded for a while before saying,
"You know, growing up in America, Kagami-kun of course knows about American Football. The question is, how did Furihata know about it too?"
They pondered for a moment before Hyuga shrugged,
"I don't know. He is just like a walking Wikipedia right now. Always know about anything. Let's just forget about it right now and focus on the game."
A minute later, the game restarted again with a free throw for Kagami. He did it easily, resulting in another point for Seirin.
16 – 16
"It is a tie! Come on!"
And now, Kasuga is holding the ball once again, facing Furihata as his guard.
"You caught us off guard last play." He suddenly spoke while dribbling the ball. "Especially your number #10. He just vents out all of his frustration from the last quarter."
Furihata snorted a little.
"I know. He didn't appreciate the trash talk. He did the same to me back then."
"You trash-talked to your teammates?" Seeing the nod from Furihata, Kasuga is bewildered for a second before letting out a small laugh.
"You are more interesting than I thought. Unfortunately for you, we still need to win the game."
Right after saying that, he passed the ball to the left wing where their small forward suddenly appeared there. And right after receiving the ball, he did the same, passing it to the paint area without taking even a single dribble. Iwamura who received the ball kicked it out to Tsugawa who managed to escape from Kagami's guard.
And right after receiving the ball, he released it quickly with a nice floater.
16 - 18
"Ha! I know the last play is just a fluke! He is still weak!"
Kagami gritted his teeth in anger. However, the last play is not his fault, but rather a well-executed play by Seiho.
They began the play with their power forward who set up a screen for the small forward. Their small forward get away from Koganei and run from one to another wing, attracting Seirin's defense to the other side. And right after he received the ball, he sends it to Iwamura who kicked it out to Tsugawa who was helped to escape from Kagami by their power forward.
The main key of that strategy is their power forward who did a screen twice in one play, giving his teammates enough space to explore the court. And they all did that without anyone taking even a single dribble!
That was a terrifying play by Seiho.
"Don't worry, Red." Furihata patted Kagami's back. "We will return the favor later. Let's prepare for the next play."
Kagami nodded, taking a deep breath to calm his nerves before asking,
"What's the plan?"
Seeing Furihata's grin, Kagami knows that the point guard planned to do something big again, and he couldn't help but feel excited at this.
"So, for the next play, let's do it like this.."
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Now, the ball is in Furihata's hand. But just like when he faced Tsugawa, he received intense pressure right from when he got the ball.
"We will not let you shoot another three," Kasuga spoke to him. However, there is no hint of nervousness in Furihata's eyes. He gives a signal to Hyuga to come over to him.
'A screen play again? Don't underestimate us, bastard!' Kasuga cursed inwardly while preparing to escape from the screen.
However, to his surprise, it is not a screen. Furihata handed the ball to his captain and then started running to the left side.
"Shit!"
Kasuga is trying to follow him. But Furihata's speed is one of his best weapons besides his three and defense. It could be compared to Kasamatsu's speed, and Kaijo's point guard is considered an elite at the national level. So, Furihata managed to leave his guard without any problem.
But Furihata didn't show any hint of slowing down. Instead, he keeps increasing his pace, passing Koganei who did a screen for him and went straight to the paint area.
"Captain! Stop him!" Kasuga shouted, trying to warn Iwamura.
However, before the captain could even move, Tsuchida did the same as Koganei, setting a screen to let Furihata passes the paint area.
"Damn! Anyone, guard him!"
Furihata finally slowed down, but he did it after running from the left to the right side, creating a lot of chaos in Seiho's defense. Overall, he runs all over the entire Seiho's side just for this play.
This was Klay Thompson's off-the-ball movements that he saw on Youtube a few days ago.
"Here!" He shouted to his captain right after he stopped at the right wing. Seeing Furihata standing without anyone guarding him for a three, Hyuga sends the ball back to the point guard.
Right after he received the ball, Furihata didn't wait for too long and took a stance for a three. But right after he jumped, a hand suddenly appeared in front of his face. Not to block the shoot, but to block his eyesight.
"Not that easy, bastard!"
It was Kasuga who managed to chase him even though he was three steps behind. However, Furihata didn't panic at all. Instead, he grinned before letting the ball off his hand. The ball went too low and its route is a bit too far from the basket that Kasuga believes it was a miss shoot.
But that was when Kagami, the only Seirin player who hasn't been involved in this play came in. Right when Furihata took the shoot and everyone was too focused on the ball, he managed to sneak into their defense and jumped for the ball. The red hair still remembers what Furihata said before this play.
------- little flashback -------
"Just stay on the left wing. Don't do anything, just stay there. Ignore all the trash talk number #4 said. Don't attract any unwanted attention. Instead, I will do it for you. And when you see me taking a shoot from the right corner, try to sneak into their paint area. I will disguise a lob as my three."
Kagami nodded for a moment before he furrowed his brows.
"That's a solid plan. But how would you escape from your guard?" He voiced his concern. However, Furihata just waved his hand nonchalantly, dismissing his concern.
"Let me worry about that. Just be ready whenever I look like I will take the shoot."
------- flashback end -------
"Bastard really did it, huh?" He murmured inwardly; a wide grin plastered on his face.
The first one who noticed that it was not a shoot is Tsugawa. When he wanted to taunt Kagami for Furihata's miss, he found no one in front of him. That was when he realized what just happened.
"CAPTAIN, IT'S A LOB!" He shouted, trying to warn Iwamura.
However, he was way too late as Kagami is already hanging in the air, catching the ball and slamming it down to the basket.
*BAAAM!!*
Another powerful alley-oop dunk by Kagami!
"LET'S GOOO!!"
Right after the dunk, Kagami roared and lowered his hand to the ground while staring at Tsugawa.
Too small!
It was stupid for Kagami to do that, considering he didn't face Tsugawa head-on in the last play. However, only Seiho players cared about that. Seirin players are way too happy with the last play to care about their opponents' opinion, and as for the spectators?
They want drama and entertainment, and Kagami delivered exactly like what they wanted.
"Nice dunk, Red."
"Yeah. Good pass too."
Furihata and Kagami fist-bumped into each other. It is strange to see the two players who never get along in the training suddenly act like they are Lebron James and Dwayne Wade. However, both Furihata and Kagami know the importance of chemistry on the court. They may not get along off the court. But the moment they step up on the court wearing the same jersey, they came for the same purpose, for the win!
That's the reason Kagami and Furihata could become the best comrades when they are in the game.
Back to the court, the game is started again with the ball in Kasuga's hand. Seiho's point guard could only smile wryly when he is not even winded after the last play.
"You are a monster."
"Thanks!" Furihata beamed a little as if he was getting complimented. He knows why Kasuga said that though. After running all over Seiho's side, there is no sign of exhaustion that he showed. And he couldn't say the same to Kasuga, as Seiho's point guard is breathing heavily after trying to chase him in the last play.
'All the endurance and physical training we have to suffer finally paid off.' Furihata murmured inwardly.
Yes, after a month full of excessive physical training from Riko, he finally has the confidence to play in a full game, let alone just run all over the half-court like his last play. Not that he would say it out loud though, as, unlike Tsugawa, Kasuga treated him with respect.
However, that doesn't mean he would go easy for Seiho's point guard.
Kasuga who still holds the ball suddenly makes a sign for Iwamura to set up a screen for him. Iwamura complied, and within a second, he managed to get away from Furihata's guard with the same trick he did earlier.
But Seirin is also prepared for this play. The moment Kasuga gets away from Furihata, Kagami suddenly comes from the wing, switching guard with Furihata. Now, Tsuchida is guarding Kasuga, Kagami facing Iwamura, and Furihata with Tsugawa.
"Eh, you again? Okay, let's do this."
Tsugawa suddenly asked for the ball, and right after he gets it, he drives forward, to the paint area. But after seeing Furihata manage to follow him, he didn't take the shoot. Instead, he passes it to Iwamura who is in the free-throw area.
Seiho's captain tried to do the same as they did in their last play, moving the ball fast so they could create confusion in Seirin's defense. However, Tsuchida showed his capability as Seirin's best defender by reading his intention and blocking the pass route to Kasuga immediately.
'Tch!'
Iwamura gritted his teeth, trying to think fast about what to do. They really need to score now, or the flow of the game would be on Seirin's hands. However, he is not confident with his mid-range shoot, and with Kagami's strength, the red-hair could push him back if he tries to get near the paint area.
However, all his thought snapped when he suddenly feels someone slap the ball from his hand.
"DAMN!"
He couldn't help but curse himself at how careless he is. Fortunately, the ball still falls into Kasuga's hand. However, the shot clock is showing its time at 00:03, so Kasuga needs to take the shoot quickly, hoping for an offensive rebound. But a second later,
*Slap!*
His desperate attempt is blocked easily by Tsuchida.
"Nice defense, Senpai!"
"Rebound!"
The ball looks like it would go out of bounds, so no one really attempted to save the ball.
No one, except the wildest player on the court, Koganei.
Seiho's small forward is not participating in their offense actively compared to the others. That is why right when Iwamura gets the ball, Koganei took a gamble by leaving Seiho's small forward alone and double-teaming their captain. And it paid off as he snapped Iwamura from his daydreaming and at the same time stopped their offense almost completely.
However, he didn't intend to stop just like that.
After he slapped the ball from Iwamura, he is still tracking the ball's movement. And when Tsuchida blocked Kasuga's shoot, he runs immediately, dived forward to save the ball, and right before it touched the ground, he managed to slap it back into the court.
"Koganei!"
"Nice hustle!"
"Damn! Go back! Defense!"
Seiho players are trying to go back for the defense. However, they are too late, as Furihata picked the ball from Koganei and run quickly to Seiho's basket.
'Damn! That was a good hustle, Senpai! I am in a wide-open position now. Wait! Red is following me, and he didn't have any guard too! Let's make a show!'
Furihata grinned after he saw Kagami behind him. Right when he entered the free-throw area, he jumped, putting the ball through his leg in mid-air, and tosses it high enough for Kagami to catch it.
And Kagami didn't disappoint him. The moment he saw Furihata goes through his legs in mid-air, he knows what Furihata intends to do, and he is all for it. When the toss arrived, he grinned, jumped and catch the ball in the air, before delivering it straight to the basket with a powerful windmill dunk.
*BAAAM!!*
That was the iconic Jamal Crawford alley-oop to Blake Griffin in 2013! Furihata and Kagami recreated this legendary play against the best defensive team in Tokyo!
Right after Kagami landed on the floor, he looked at Furihata who is doing the same. They grinned at each other for a second, shock and disbelief could be seen in their eyes. But in the next second,
"YOSSHAAA!!!"
They both roared, high-fived each other enthusiastically. They overtook the score and have the lead for the first time in this game.
20 - 18
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Author note :
Next Chapter : VS Seiho V - Senpai's Revenge!
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You can also read this fanfiction up to chapter 58 on that page. Thank you! :)
