30 #30 The Match 2/4

[A/N: I have never written a basketball match so it might not be good/exciting but please be gentle and understanding.]

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When the whistle blew and the ball thrown up reached the highest point, Sudo jumped up for the tip-off but he was still slightly short compared to a 3rd year that was against him.

The ball immediately went to opponent's PG, trying to quickly drive in and surprise Yuichi's team however Yuichi quickly stopped him in his way. He stopped and started to dribble on the spot while looking at the opportunity to pass the ball.

'Not bad, his ball-handling skills aren't bad. He is able to even dribble quite profoundly without looking at the ball.' Yuichi thought and decided to not attempt to steal the ball.

"Tch" PG in front of Yuichi clicked his tongue as he passed the ball to the SG that was guarded by Yuichi's teammate however he reacted a bit too late and the opponent's SG was able to score 3-pointer.

"Heh" The guy in front of Yuichi snickered and jogged back. Yuichi just smiled at his back before going for a ball.

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Yuichi was dribbling the ball towards the opposite team just to be stopped by the same guy who was smirking at him.

"You aren't actually bad, your ball-handling skills are good enough." He said to Yuichi.

Seeing that he wasn't taking him seriously, Yuichi attempted to pass him from the right however he reacted fast enough.

"Too slow" He said with spread arms.

Yuichi made a feint to the left before passing the ball to his own SG. Yuichi quickly passed his defender and ran towards the post. Yuichi's SG caught the ball but was guarded by another guy however he saw that Yuichi was now free so he passed the ball back.

"?!" His defender immediately left his mark, intending to stop Yuichi before reaching the post however, Yuichi once again passed the ball back to his SG who made an attempt for the 3-pointer without anyone obstructing his shot.

*whoosh*

Ball sink in nicely and the score was 3-3. Seeing their play, the core team members frowned.

Yuichi's team jogged back and Yuichi could hear a relieved sigh from his SG which made him release a faint smile.

Once again, the face-off between opponent's PG and Yuichi, it seems like they intend to also test him out this way.

The guy started to dribble the ball between his legs before he made a feint to the right while intending to pass Yuichi from left. He was able to pass the Yuichi however when he passed him, he suddenly stopped feeling the ball and instead saw it bouncing away in front of him.

"Wha-?!"

"Whoa! He speared the ball out of that guy's hand without even looking behind him!" A few students exclaimed when they saw this play however most of them didn't really understand basketball and were there just for the show.

Yuichi ran towards the post even without looking back who is going to catch the ball since he didn't just spear the ball out of that guy's hand, he also passed it towards Sudo while at it.

When Sudo caught the ball, he threw it in a high arc towards Yuichi who caught the ball and jumped for the lay-up however he noticed hands blocking his way towards the basket so he took the ball into both hands and leaned forward and once he passed the post and defender, he threw the ball behind him while still in mid-air. The ball bounced off the backboard right into the basket.

"..." Their Center that intended to block Yuichi only stared at him in surprise.

'A double clutch? This guy's decision-making is incredibly fast...what the hell?' Opponent's C thought while looking at Yuichi's back who was returning to defend.

It was 5-3 for Yuichi's team and core team.

The entire first quarter continued in a pretty calm and relaxed pace, sometimes even a slow pace. Both teams were just testing the waters, keeping close to each other's score.

During the little 2 minutes break after the 1st quarter ended even more students arrived at the Gymnasium, most likely other students texted them.

"We are doing a pretty good job, 27-24 in our favor is really good. We just need to keep it up." Sudo said with a wide smile, looking at Yuichi who drank from water from the bottle before splashing a bit of the water on the top of his head.

"They are just playing with us, they will play for real from the 2nd quarter onwards." Yuichi said with an indifferent expression while looking on the other side where their bench was stationed.

"Seriously? What are we gonna do? I was having a hard time keeping up until now..." Their SF said with a bit scared expression.

"We are gonna play the same way as the 1st quarter, maybe even slower pace. We will try to be in possession of the ball for the longest time possible." Yuichi replied without even looking at him.

"Wha-?! Why?! Can't we also try to go all out? I had absolutely no problem keeping up with them until now." Sudo protested against Yuichi's plan.

"Sudo..." Yuichi called out in low voice yet for Sudo it felt as if he was being shouted on.

"*gulp* What is it?" Sudo said, acting strong.

"Who is the captain here?" Yuichi asked calmly without even looking at Sudo.

"...You" Sudo replied with a displeased expression.

Yuichi glanced at him and saw his expression.

"If you have the problem with me being the captain, we can forfeit and I can leave immediately." Yuichi said calmly however his expression indicated that he was serious about this.

All of the other members, including Sudo, opened their eyes wide open as they stared at Yuichi with surprised expressions.

'But won't you lose all your points that way?! Why do you sound so casual about it?' All thought the same thing at the same time.

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As Yuichi expected, their opponents started to move faster and even their passes began to take regular pattern yet no one was able to steal the ball due to the speed of those passes.

Yuichi once again had the ball and once he passed hid defender, the ball suddenly disappeared from under his hand.

"You think that you are the only one who knows this trick?" PG said with a smirk before sprinting towards the post, Yuichi ran after him but he didn't catch up to him in time. Sudo came in to block the PG but the guy just passed the ball to his SG who jumped up for a 3-pointer. Yuichi's own SG jumped up to block the shot however he was too slow and only tip of his finger touched the ball, the ball hit the rim but still sink in the basket.

---Class D's group of students---

"What is Iwamura-kun doing? If he won't try his best, he will lose all his points..." Karuizawa said with a worried expression.

"I don't know what he is doing, however, I know that this isn't his full speed...maybe he is preserving the energy." Hirata said before glancing at Mei who was sitting near them.

"Don't look at me, I have no idea about his plans. I am glad to know a few rules about basketball, that's all." Mei replied hurriedly also confused by Yuichi's playstyle since he was usually much more skillful.

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The core team was destroying Yuichi's team during the 2nd quarter and a lot of students left seeing this, sure of the result except for students who knew the players in Yuichi's team, even Horikita was still watching however she was also occasionally reading from her book.

When the 2nd quarter ended with the core team's SG scoring 3-pointer, the current score was 37-51.

"Don't you want to stop this match? You have already shown that you are a capable player but with your team, you will never defeat us." Their Center came to Yuichi and asked with a bit concerned expression.

"Hah?! Like hell we will surrender!" Sudo stepped forward with his fist clenched, he was thinking that the guy was mocking them but he was most likely just pitying them.

"Sudo, let's go, we have longer break time, let's use it to the fullest." Yuichi said and turned Sudo around with his hands before pushing him towards their bench.

"By the way, the match hasn't started yet, there is no need to mention the end yet." Yuichi replied to the C while glancing behind at him.

'The match hasn't started yet...?' The C was confused by Yuichi's words but he shrugged it off and went towards his own bench.