Chapter 52 : VS Shutoku XI - TIE AGAIN!
"That's some nasty defense there," Kasamatsu muttered after the last play. Kise who heard the mutter looks at his captain with a confused face.
"What is so nasty about it?" The blonde boy asked. "I mean, I get it. Furihatacchi locked down Shutoku's point guard for the entire sequence. But it wouldn't happen if he passed the ball to Midorimacchi. This is just the point guard's mistake, I think."
Kasamatsu snorted before he replied,
"You need to be more observant, Kise." He raised his arm slightly to stop Kise from protesting. "It is not that Takao didn't want to pass the ball to Midorima. If you see the situation clearly, you will see that Seirin guarded your former teammate very tightly. And when Takao realized that and tried to find a different way to attack, Furihata's defense is suddenly not as tight as before. Don't you think it is too suspicious for him?"
Kise widened his eyes in realization.
"But that means…"
"Furihata-kun opened his guard deliberately to trap Takao on the left side." Kasamatsu finished what Kise wanted to say. "The play that you saw as Takao's mistake is a well-thought trap prepared by Furihata-kun to lure Takao to that side. Just like I said, a nasty defense right there."
Now, Kise looks at Furihata in a different light. That is understandable because as long as he could remember when he played in Teiko, all the defense strategy they did was just a man-to-man defense and overwhelming their opponent with strength. So, seeing a well-thought defense like this of course would amaze him.
"But if that was a well-thought defense.." Kise suddenly widened his eyes before he snapped his head to his captain. "Does that mean it was not a fluke when he stopped me twice?"
Kasamatsu pondered for a moment before he smiles in realization.
"Yeah, that was not a fluke." He nodded his head. "He took advantage of your ego by deliberately showing a highlightable play in front of you. Knowing you would copy the play; it was easy for him to track your movement. The play you thought was just a fluke is definitely a well-thought defense, showing his high basketball IQ."
"Wow.." Kise was speechless for a moment before he added, "That's mess up.."
Kasamatsu shrugged a little.
"It just showed he is a player with high basketball IQ."
Kise could only nod in agreement at what his senpai said and turned his attention back to the court.
The game restarted again with the ball in Izuki's possession. Furihata is standing on the right wing with Midorima in front of him as the defender. Izuki noticed that and signaled Furihata to stay away from the ball, trying to avoid Midorima's defense as far as possible.
Furihata nodded at the signal and cut inside through the paint area, setting a screen for Tsuchida to escape from Kimura's guard.
"Nice screen, Furihata-kun!"
"Don't think it would be that easy!"
Kimura gritted his teeth, trying to get away from the screen. It took him a second to do that, and the moment he got away from the screen, Tsuchida is already setting another screen for Izuki.
"Nice one, Tsuchida!"
Takao gritted his teeth as he couldn't escape from the screen. His thought ran quickly and found the only thing he could do now. He yelled at Kimura.
"Senpai! Switch!"
The pick-and-roll play by Izuki and Tsuchida successfully forced Shutoku to switch their defense. And because of the size difference between Takao and Tsuchida, Izuki didn't hesitate to pass the ball to the point forward.
"Shit!"
Takao tried to steal the ball from Tsuchida. But the power forward protected the ball tightly, making his attempt futile. Tsuchida keeps pushing forward, trying to get near the basket. But when he saw Miyaji and Otsubo is trying to trap him, he kicked the ball out to Hyuga in the corner.
"Damn!"
Miyaji who is the player who should guard him in the first place runs back as quickly as possible, trying to stop the shot attempt. But Hyuga didn't shoot the ball as he expected him to do. Instead, he slides the ball over to the high-post area where Izuki suddenly re-appeared once again after initiating the first pick-and-roll game.
"Damn! Someone, cover!"
The entire Shutoku's defense is crumbled due to the quick ball-movement play by Seirin. Being the nearest player from Izuki, Midorima is in dilemma right now. Realizing this, the shooting guard didn't hesitate for a second to approach Izuki.
He did such a good job, closing the distance between them while still cutting the pass line between Izuki and Furihata.
However, what he didn't expect is Furihata to suddenly become active again. Instead of just standing on the wing and waiting for the pass, he cut inside to the paint area, and when Izuki noticed his movement, he bounced the ball through Midorima's legs for Furihata.
"Nice pass, Senpai!"
"Damn!"
Otsubo trying to cover the defense once again. However, Furihata didn't hold the ball too long before he lobs it near the basket, where Mitobe who hasn't involved in this play suddenly appeared.
"Kimura, Miyaji, where the hell are you?!" Otsubo cursed inwardly as he could only see Mitobe grabbed the ball in the air.
Unlike Kagami, even though he had sufficient height, Mitobe has never done a dunk before, and he wouldn't take a risk to do that at this crucial moment. So, right after he grabbed the ball in the air, he just released it once again quickly.
*Clank!*
The ball bounced at the board once before it went into the basket.
An alley-oop layup!
Even though the finishing is not that impressive, the play still received a loud cheer from the audience.
"Do you see that? The ball movement is crazy!"
"Yeah! No one from Seirin dribbled the ball more than once, but it was enough to destroy Shutoku's defense!"
"What am I seeing here? The Golden State?"
The whisper of appreciation could still be heard from the audience. However, the players on the court are already putting back their focus on the next play.
The game restarted once again with the ball in Takao's hand. He still doesn't know what trick Furihata used to stop him before, so he chooses to be very careful about it. Fortunately enough, Furihata didn't open his mouth a single time during this play.
'It is weird to see him silent right now. But his focus is really incredible. If I am not careful, the earlier play would happen again. What to do?'
After thinking for a few seconds, he signaled Midorima to come and set a screen for him. Furihata could see the green-haired boy move from the corner to approach him. If this is just a normal play, Furihata would snicker at the scowl planted on Midorima's face. The green-haired boy doesn't like the play, definitely.
However, in a crucial time like this, he didn't have any time to do that. Right after he noticed Midorima's movement, his brain is running quickly to find a way to avoid the screen. And at the first attempt, he managed to get away from the screen easily. Unfortunately, Takao did a crossover move, using Midorima's screen once again to get rid of Furihata's guard.
"Damn!"
Furihata gritted his teeth as he tried to escape from the screen for the second time. However, right at the moment he gets away from the screen, the ball is already gone from Takao's hand. Shutoku's point guard dishes the ball with a behind-the-back pass to Midorima who is standing alone after everyone forgets about his screen.
"Shit!"
Being left alone like that, Midorima didn't have a hard time sending the ball directly to the basket.
*Splash!*
"Sorry for that one, Senpai. That's my fault." Furihata suddenly approached Tsuchida after the ball went in. The power forward just waved his hand, dismissing his apology.
"Don't worry about it. Just don't forget to communicate in that situation."
"I understand."
Yeah, the last play is indeed Furihata's fault. In a pick-and-roll situation like that, he should communicate quickly with the player who guards the one who set the screen whether they need to switch their defense or not.
In the last play, Furihata forgot to do so, resulting in Tsuchida having a bit of hesitation about whether he should switch the defense or keeps his guard on Midorima. That little hesitation moment is enough to create some space for Midorima to shoot.
"Don't be so gloomy." Tsuchida's voice suddenly snapped Furihata's thoughts. "There are still about nine minutes before the game ends. If you have that face, it will dampen the mood of the others too."
Furihata nodded quickly before thanking his senpai.
The game restarted again with the ball in Izuki's possession. And now, instead of staying passive in the corner area, Furihata decided to take a more active part in the offense. He stayed close to Izuki all the time, waiting for a chance to do something. When Izuki dishes the ball to Hyuga on the other corner, Furihata started running as if he wanted to cut inside.
"Don't think it would be easy!"
Midorima followed his movement quickly, closing the distance between them and not letting Furihata have enough space to get comfortable with the ball. However, Right after Furihata arrived at the free-throw area, he makes a sudden quick stop and ran back to the three-point area, following the three-point line to where Hyuga stood.
"Captain!"
Hyuga noticed his movement and handed the ball quickly to Furihata. However, Furihata didn't grab the ball in Hyuga's hand. Instead, he just ran past both Hyuga and Miyaji, creating a distraction for his captain to drive forward.
"Damn!"
Miyaji cursed out loud as he saw Hyuga manage to get away from him. He tried to follow Hyuga's movement, but Seirin's captain stopped right before he entered the paint area and releases a floater from the sideline.
"I will not let it in!"
Otsubo jumped as he tried to stop the ball. And now, for the first time in this game, he is finally able to stop the shoot, even if it is just with a tip from his fingers.
*Clank!*
"Nice defense, Otsubo!"
"Rebound!"
Kimura, who is under the rim, tried to grab the rebound in the air. However, due to Otsubo being away as he stopped the last shoot, he had a hard time in an aerial duel against Mitobe and Tsuchida, the elite rebounders from Seirin.
But Midorima suddenly appeared unexpectedly, his arms raised high to grab the ball in the air.
"WHAT?!"
The sudden appearance of the shooting guard startled Mitobe and Tsuchida for a moment. However, Tsuchida managed to tip the ball slightly, resulting in the ball bouncing back to the board.
*Clank!*
"Someone, grab the rebound!"
Mitobe and Kimura battled back quickly under the rim, trying to box out each other. Otsubo who is already back in the position after the last block managed to box out Hyuga on the low-post area before he grabbed the ball in the air.
"Nice rebound, captain!"
Seeing Otsubo manage to secure the rebound, Miyaji runs quickly toward the other side of the court before he yelled,
"Otsubo! Here!"
Hearing the shout, Otsubo without hesitation passed the ball in a quarter-back style.
"Shit!"
"Defense!"
All Seirin players are running back to their own side, trying to stop Miyaji from scoring. However, they are way too late as the small forward is in front of their basket already, putting the ball easily with a layup.
"Nice one, Miyaji!"
"Nice defense too, Otsubo!"
The game is about to restart again with Tsuchida giving the inbound pass to Izuki. However, right before Izuki could grab the ball, Takao suddenly appeared in front of him, stealing the ball from his possession.
"SHIT!"
Izuki cursed out loud as he forgot about Takao's presence. All Shutoku players who are already in their defensive position also didn't expect Takao to steal the ball right after the game restarted. However, it is different for Midorima who is suddenly appeared in a good spot, yelling at the point guard.
"Takao! Here!"
Takao grinned as he passes the ball quickly right before Izuki could stop him. Midorima grabbed the ball easily and took advantage of the scrambled defense position from Seirin to pull up another three.
*Splash!*
The ball went into the basket! And when everyone looked around at the scoreboard and saw the current score, cheers suddenly erupted from the audience as the excitement grew in the Tokyo Gymnasium.
90 – 90
This is the first tie in this game! Shutoku finally chases the score! And this is also Midorima's twelfth three points today! He tied his own record!
All Seirin players looked at each other with grim expressions, the exhaustion started to hit them hard. Fortunately, before things could go worse, they could hear the buzzer ring and the referee announced,
"Seirin High, timeout!"
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Author note :
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