71 Chapter 71 : VS Toō Academy IV : Down by 15!

In the audience seat,

"What the hell!" Kagami exclaimed in surprise after seeing Imayoshi's play. "Oi, Midorima, why the hell is your very long-distance three-point become more common nowadays?"

"Don't ask me that." Midorima snarked with a distasteful expression pointed at Imayoshi on the court. "It is just him being his usual bastard."

That statement gained Takao and Kagami's attention besides him.

"You know him, Shin-chan?" Midorima nodded at Takao's question.

"We played against him in my first year in middle school. He likes to use a lot of tricks to shake your mental state, including using his opponent's move like this. I swear he gave me and Akashi a big headache at that time."

Kagami snorted a little at that.

"So, he is basically like Furihata, right? Then he wouldn't be a big problem."

"Well, except he has more experience than your teammate. IF two players have similar playing styles, you know experience would be a key factor, right?"

Kagami frowned, knowing that what Midorima said is true. However, he still believes that Furihata wouldn't lose easily in his own game. So, instead of making another argument, he decided to turn back his attention to the court.

Back to the game, right after Imayoshi executed the free throw flawlessly, Toō widened the gap again with a steal and a powerful dunk from Aomine before Riko stood up from the bench and asked for a timeout. She could see her players sweating profusely due to how high the tempo of the game is.

"Okay, everyone!" She clapped her hands, gaining her players' attention. "This is still the first five minutes of the game, but the tempo is way too high for us to handle. We will try to slow the pace down for a bit. Any thought? Yes, Furihata-kun?" She pointed her fingers at her kouhai who raised his hand.

"I don't mind slowing down the game. But you also noticed that our best chance to score is right after Aomine pulled his crazy stunts, right? If we are too slow, he would be able to participate in defense, and he wouldn't stop by only guarding me. I mean, in the last play, he left me alone and charged in Phantom's direction, right? Who could say he wouldn't do that to any of us?"

Several players grimaced at the image of Aomine rushing toward their direction.

"I know." Riko nodded, her face showing a grim expression. "But I think you also notice how he could bait you to draw a foul and slow down the game at their own pace, right? Instead of forcing the game to be fast, let's slow down for a bit and save our stamina. If we can keep the game close, this would be a very long game."

Furihata nodded reluctantly.

"As for our offense," Riko continued, ignoring Furihata's expression. "Except for Aomine, they tend to have 1-2-1 zone defense with Imayoshi guarding the perimeter area, Susa and Sakurai supporting Imayoshi and covering for Aomine at the same time, and Wakamatsu on the paint. Dealing with Aomine would be tricky as he is too volatile right now. But if he is still on Furihata-kun, Kuroko-kun, I need you to create space for Junpei and Izuki on the outside. Keep luring them until they go out of position and when you all see any chance, send the ball to the paint area. Mitobe is our best bet right now."

"What if Aomine-kun is not on Furihata-kun anymore?" Kuroko asked. Riko pondered for a moment before she replied,

"If he changes his target, just attract him to go far away from Furihata-kun. If not Aomine, I think he can deal with his guard easily, right?" She turned her head to Furihata, asking for confirmation.

The one who was asked just nodded slightly without saying anything. But it was enough for Riko to trust that Furihata would be able to perform his task if Aomine is not onto him.

"Good." Riko nodded. "As for our defense, even though Aomine looks unstoppable, I don't believe he would be able to maintain this performance for all day. Kuroko-kun and Furihata-kun have already said from the beginning, that he will be bored eventually if nobody can stop him. Just let him run amok and don't let anyone help him. Also, don't give them a foul easily. Keep the score close, and the chance would come for us. Understand?"

"Yes, Coach!"

And right after that, the buzzer rang loudly, indicating the end of the timeout. It is time for Seirin to go on offense, and Izuki is the one who is holding the ball. However, unlike before, now Aomine is not guarding Furihata. Instead, he played like a traditional power forward, guarding the paint area together with Wakamatsu.

'Well, it seems for once he decided to listen to Momoi-san. Now he knows Phantom likes to sneak into the paint area, he decided to keep his eyes on it. But wait! That means I am free!'

As if getting hit by lightning, right after that sudden realization, Furihata who is standing on the corner suddenly rushed toward Izuki and asks for the ball. However, he was followed by Sakurai who is the nearest Toō player to him. But Furihata ignored him and keep running without slowing down his pace.

'You want a contest, Sakurai-kun? Follow me!'

Furihata keeps running while getting followed by Sakurai. However, the moment they are getting near Izuki and Imayoshi, Sakurai stopped following him, and the reinforcement is a bit late to follow Furihata. It triggered a smirk on Furihata's face as his mind wandered,

'As expected of the zone defense system. If the players are still new to the system, it is so easy to exploit it.'

What Furihata means by that is if a team has zone defense for their defense system, all their players have a small zone for each other to defend. If the opponent crossed from one to another zone, the players need to communicate to each other whether they would keep following the opponent or switch the defense to the player who is guarding the other zone. But if they are still new to it, communicating that would take time, which can be exploited pretty easily by a fast player like Furihata.

And it shows right now by how late it is for the other Toō players to switch the defense and guard him. Furihata who is running alone has enough time to think about what to do. And when he is getting near enough to Izuki, he yelled,

"SENPAI!"

Izuki turned his head at him and is ready to hand the ball. However, when he saw Furihata didn't slow down for a bit and pointed his fingers forward, Izuki knows his kouhai's intention. So, instead of handing the ball, he bounced it to the opposite side and set a screen immediately to let Furihata get the ball without Imayoshi stopping him.

"Nice one, Senpai!"

Furihata grinned as he is about to get the ball. However, right before his hand could grab the ball, Aomine suddenly flashes in front of him and get the ball first.

"WHAT?!"

Aomine's movement is so sudden that it caught Furihata off guard. And in a second, Aomine is already in Seirin's area alone without anyone to stop him. The power forward put the ball easily to the basket, resulting in another two points for Toō Academy.

7 – 17

And when his eyes meet Aomine's, Furihata could see a smug smirk on Aomine's face as the power forward mouthed at him,

"Got you, bastard."

Furihata is too stunned to react, and it took Hyuga smacking his head to snap him from his thought.

"Wake up, Furihata!" The captain scolded him. "If we don't change the flow of the game, the score would get worse for us. Come on! It is still too early to give up!"

Once he regains his composure again, Furihata nodded at his senpai.

"Thank you, Captain." He said. "But for now, we need to stick in you and Mitobe-senpai. With Aomine keeping his eyes on me and Phantom, we wouldn't be able to do a lot here."

Hyuga nodded in understanding.

"Okay, we can discuss it later. But for now, we need to restart the game."

A second later, the game restarted with the ball in Furihata's hand. Even though it is risky, he reassured himself with one thought in mind.

'If Aomine is still going to keep his eyes on me, better make him get closer so I can use Phantom instead of letting him wander around and catch us off guard again.'

And right to his thought, unlike the last play, Aomine is back again to guard him.

"So, you finally going to do it, huh?" The power forward showed his feral grin. "Let's see if you can pass me again."

Furihata takes a deep breath before he charged forward. As expected, Aomine is able to follow his movement easily. When they are about to enter the free throw area, Furihata tried to do the same trick as Aomine, raising his head slightly to bait Aomine to block the shoot. However, Aomine didn't bulge for a second and kept following him.

Furihata know that it would happen. So, he didn't just raise his head to drive forward. No, he bounced the ball toward the low post area before he runs again. And this time, he runs in the opposite direction, knowing that the ball would go back to his hand again.

"PHANTOM!"

And right after he yelled, Kuroko suddenly appeared, sneaking into the paint area where Mitobe and Wakamatsu is standing and sending the ball back to Furihata. Yet it is not enough for Furihata to escape from Aomine's guard. So, he did the best thing he could do right now, kicking the ball out where Hyuga is standing on the wing side.

"Captain!"

"Nice pass, Furihata!"

Hyuga took a stance to shoot a three-point shoot immediately. However, he was closed down by Susa immediately, not allowing him to take a shoot easily.

"Tch!" Hyuga scowled for a moment at his guard before he lowered his stance and took a step to the left side, ready to dribble. And when his guard reacted to his movement, he smirked as he retreated his foot back immediately and drive to the opposite side.

A fake jab step!

And now, without anyone close enough to stop him, Hyuga is ready to pull up a shoot.

Or so he thought.

However, Susa showed his capability as Toō's defensive anchor by reacting pretty quickly after getting fooled. And when Hyuga is already in the air, he snatched the ball with a nasty block from behind before it could leave Hyuga's hand.

*Slap!*

"What?!" Hyuga widened his eyes in surprise. Before he could react, all Toō players shouted in enthusiasm.

"Nice block, Susa-Senpai!"

And before the ball went out of the court, Imayoshi picked it up and initiate a fast break immediately.

"FAST BREAK!"

"GO BACK! DEFENSE!"

All Seirin players are running back to their side in panic, trying to organize their defense as quickly as possible and stop the fast break from Toō. However, before they have the chance to stop them, Imayoshi bounced the ball quickly to the paint area where Aomine suddenly appeared and jumped.

Mitobe is also doing the same, trying to stop Aomine. However, the power forward is far stronger in a physical confrontation. And a second later,

*BAAM!*

A posterized dunk on Mitobe!

And as if it is not enough, when Izuki is trying to start the game again quickly, all Seirin players are getting pressured right at their own side.

"Damn!"

Izuki gritted his teeth in frustration as he saw Furihata being guarded by Sakurai pretty tightly, and with Aomine keeping his eyes on Kuroko, Izuki didn't dare to pass the ball to the small forward.

His eyes lightened for a moment when he saw Hyuga recover from the last play already and ask for the ball in the middle court.

"JUNPEI!"

Izuki threw the ball far into the middle court where Hyuga is waiting for it. However, once again, Susa appeared and snatched the ball from him, resulting in another turnover for Seirin.

"DAMN!"

Hyuga gritted his teeth in frustration as he tried to steal back the ball. However, Susa is faster as the third-year small forward passed the ball immediately to the corner area. And a second later,

"I am sorry!"

Sakurai launched the ball pretty quickly before Furihata could close him down. And looking at the trajectory of the ball, Furihata knows what would happen next.

*Splash!*

Another three!

7 – 22

The gap between them is 15 points now! This is the biggest gap Seirin has suffered since the tournament began, and if they couldn't find any solution for Toō's offense quickly, they would be in deep trouble this game.

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Author note :

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-Zeta Faes-