Chapter 76 : VS Toō Academy VIII : Countering Aomine Once Again
"Okay, this is starting to get out of our hands now," Riko spoke grimly during the timeout. "I don't know what happened, but why is it that Aomine looked like he suddenly got a boost of power from out of nowhere? His movement is becoming sharper and unstoppable now."
"It is because he started getting serious," Kuroko answered, gaining all his teammates' attention. "What we experienced in the first half is basically him searching for excitement. But when he turned serious like this, he put all his focus on the court, analyzing every movement there to make the best decision based on the situation that occurred in a second. That is why his movement is looking far better than before."
"Wait!" Koganei suddenly chimed in. "So, basically, you are telling us he actually powered up during the game? Is that even possible?"
Kuroko pondered for a moment before he replied,
"Well, I would say it is more like him getting back in his prime state rather than powering up, but you have the idea."
"Are you kidding me…"
Riko rubbed her temple in frustration, trying to think of a way to stop the power forward. This first five minutes of the third quarter really hit her team's morale quite hard that all of them turned dead silent during this timeout, no one is able to lift up the mood.
"Furihata-kun." She started to speak again. "You are the one who was guarding him for the entire game. Any idea to deal with this situation?"
The shake of his head is enough to worsen the mood on the bench.
"All of my idea to stop him involved Red here. Since he is not here, I don't think we can stop him at all."
Riko couldn't help but grimace a little at the mention of Kagami, because she also thinks the same. If the red-haired boy is healthy, maybe they could have a better chance right now.
"Care to elaborate? Maybe we could modify your idea with what is available for us now."
Furihata shrugged a little.
"Unless you have someone who is powerful and fast enough as Red, I don't think we can do anything. I mean, even though Red's defense technique is still amateur, he is a fast learner, and he improved rapidly with the stronger opponent he faces. And if he couldn't stop Aomine, I can help him double-teaming that bastard, and our chance wouldn't be this bad. But without him here, I don't know if we can do that. Tsuchida-senpai might come close to Red, but he is not enough. No offense, Senpai."
"None taken. I know my limit." The second-year power forward waved his hand nonchalantly.
"Yeah, I think so too. Other than that, I don't have any fucking idea about how to handle Aomine."
Riko bit her lips, trying to think about what to do. It is still early in the third quarter, yet they faced another mountain again. Inwardly, she started to calculate her team's next move if they lost the game.
In this Inter-high final league, Kanto would send the two best teams in the final league to the national stage. So, even though they lose this game, they would still have the chance to advance if they can win the other two games against Meisei High and Senshinkan High. So, losing this game wouldn't cost too much for the team.
That is if she only looks at the statistics on the paper. But if they get blown out by a huge number, Riko knows it would shake her team's mental state, and considering the experience they got last year, she knows it would be hard to recover. But even if they lose the game, if they could stop Aomine even for a while, it would raise the spirit of the players, which would be beneficial for the next round.
With that thought in her mind, she convinced herself to not throw this game now and decided to keep pushing her players to do their best.
"Okay, everyone. Listen up!" She spoke, gaining her players' attention. "I know with Aomine stepping up his game right now, it would be harder for us to shorten the gap. But it is still early to give up. So, we will do the best we can do first. Tsuchida, you are still on the court. I will put you, Kuroko-kun, and Furihata-kun will be responsible for Aomine."
Her players were taken aback by the bold strategy of their coach.
"Triple team? Isn't that risky?" Tsuchida asked dubiously.
"If you are triple-teaming another superstar, yes, it would be risky." Riko nodded her head. "But this is Aomine we are talking about. Do you think he would pass the ball even though he was surrounded by three to four players?"
Tsuchida pondered for a moment before he shook his head.
"No, I don't think so."
"That's what I thought," Riko confirmed. "As for our offense, Kuroko-kun, Junpei, I need both of you to be more active here. With Furihata-kun being locked down by Aomine, I need both of you to step up your game. Tsuchida, I want you to be more active in our offense too. Mitobe, you too. We need more spacing right now, so you better keep moving. Do you understand?"
"Hai, coach!"
"And finally…" Riko took a deep breath, closing her eyes for a moment, leaving her players in suspense. After a while, she opened her eyes, showing a solemn expression. "I know it would be hard for us to win this game. So, I will give you guys two missions. First, if you have to lose, make it at least less than ten points game. Second, I want you to freeze for at least five minutes before he comes up with another crazy ability again. Do you think you can do it?"
The rest of the players looked at each other for a moment before one by one, all of them nodded their heads.
"Yes, Coach!"
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A minute later, the game restarted again with the ball in Furihata's hand. Just like before, he was followed by Aomine quite close. He took a deep breath, ready to burst into the opponent's territory. Suddenly, a thought slipped into his mind.
'Well, maybe Kise is right. If only Aomine can stop himself, I need to start playing and thinking like him. Let's see if I can do that.'
He glanced at his teammates for a moment, scanning their positions on the court. Mitobe is in the high post, ready to slide back to the outside to create space for him to drive. Meanwhile, Tsuchida is trying to sneak from the corner, ready to box out Wakamatsu in the low-post area. Hyuga is in another corner, ready for a catch-and-shoot situation. And as for Kuroko, he is trying to blend between Mitobe and Susa in the high-post area, also ready for their usual combination attack.
With their position locked inside his mind, Furihata finally started moving. He leaned his body forward, driving toward Mitobe's direction. He didn't give his teammate any signal. But Mitobe, bless the quiet center, knows what to do. He sets a screen immediately in a way that would block not only Aomine's path, but it also would delay Susa's reaction to switching the defense.
This quick sequence surprised Toō's players for a moment because it is the first time Furihata sets the tempo quite high in front of Aomine. But the tanned power forward is unfazed even when he faced a wall in front of him. Instead of trying to follow Furihata, Aomine spun toward Mitobe, cutting through the middle to cut Furihata's route before the point guard could face the basket.
"Ha! Don't think you can fool me that easy!"
However, right after Furihata appeared in his sight again, the ball is not in his hand anymore, which surprised Aomine once again. That second of surprise is enough for Furihata to burst forward, leaving Aomine one step behind. And in the next second, the ball appeared once again in Furihata's possession, and Aomine finally figured out what just happened.
'Damn you, Tetsu. Your sneaky play is really troublesome.'
Yeah, when Furihata moves toward the screen, he dishes the ball to Kuroko to catch Aomine off guard, and the moment the power forward stops and thinks, Kuroko gives the ball back to Furihata, releasing the point guard from Aomine's guard.
'But if you think I will let you just like that, you are too naïve, bastard!'
Aomine who is one step behind charged forward with an unbelievable speed, closing the distance between him and Furihata. At the same time, Furihata did something no one could expect. He jumped high and pulled the ball back with his right hand as if he is about to throw a dunk.
"NO WAY!"
Kagami jumped from his seat; his eyes widened in shock. After all, not only it is the first time he saw Furihata attempt a dunk, but the motion is also the signature move that he learned after practicing for almost forever during his time in America by watching Lebron James's dunk. But here he is, watching Furihata does exactly like he did.
Meanwhile, a wide grin could be seen on Aomine's face as he jumped at the same time, trying to block the shoot. This is the first time someone dares to face him in a head-on contest like this, so he couldn't help but feels excited.
But right before his hand could meet the ball, he saw Furihata lowering the hand that is holding the ball, changing the dunk attempt into a jelly layup right in the most crucial moment.
*Splash!*
And the surprise didn't stop just like that. Right after the ball went in, all the players could hear the whistle blown by the referee, indicating a foul from one of them.
"Toō #5 defensive shooting foul, one free throw for Seirin #12."
Silence reigned in the gym for a moment before it was broken by a roar from Furihata.
"COME ON!!!"
And a second later, the spectators went crazy once again, ecstatic to see another crazy trick being shown in this game once again. Their excitement was simply not containable at this point.
"That's crazy.." Takao shook his head helplessly; admiration could be seen in his eyes. "I couldn't believe he is brave enough to attempt something like that in front of Aomine, especially after they were slapped hard at the beginning of this quarter."
"Yeah.." Midorima nodded his head slightly. "But it is not that shocking, you know? I mean, he challenged me in the three-point game, remember? I dare to say he would be brave enough to challenge any former teammates of mine if he had the chance. Be careful, Kagami. Your position as the ace of the team might not last long."
Kagami just snorted at the mocking tone at the last part.
"Well, if that is the case, it would really be interesting. I am always up for a challenge like this."
And that is indeed the case. Even though Kagami hates losing, after his scrimmage against Furihata, he knows he cannot be on the winning side every time. So, instead of whining like a brat, he decided to make the defeat to be his motivation to improve his game.
You can say that Kagami matured a bit after losing against Furihata, and that is something that Midorima and Takao didn't expect from the red-haired boy. They looked at each other for a moment before shrugging it off, putting their attention back on the court.
Furihata executed the free throw flawlessly, shortening the gap back to 10 points game.
37 – 47
But now, with Toō holding possession again, this is when things get harder. If Seirin wants to keep the momentum in their direction, they need to stop Aomine right now. The question is, will they be able to stop him?
"I admit, you surprised me earlier," Aomine spoke, the ball in his hand getting faster. "But it doesn't really matter now, as you cannot stop me here!"
He charged in with incredible speed, the ball moving from his left to the right to the left again rapidly. When he saw Furihata extend his hand to poke the ball from his possession, he evaded the attempt by shifting the ball with a behind-the-back crossover, also escaping from Furihata's guard at the same time.
But when he is about to drive to the basket, Tsuchida is already waiting under the basket, his eyes locking into him, ready to ambush him anytime he took action.
'Heh, a head-on again? Seirin is really an interesting opponent!'
In a situation like this, anyone would rather pass the ball outside to Sakurai who is in a very good position to make an easy bucket. But no, it is Aomine we are talking about. He is coming to destroy his opponent, and he doesn't need his teammates at all.
He took off from the ground, ready to confront Tsuchida in an aerial battle. Tsuchida also did the same; extending both his hands in the air to block the sight between Aomine and the basket. Time seems to move in slow motion. Everyone is holding their breath, all the eyes are on Aomine, ready to cheer for another crazy play from the tanned power forward.
But instead of Aomine's crazy play, it was Seirin who did that.
Right before Aomine could do anything, Kuroko took advantage of his vulnerable state in the air by stripping the ball off his possession from behind, right before Aomine could raise the hand that holds the ball. Kuroko still remembers what Furihata said to him after the timeout.
'Listen, Phantom. me and Tsuchida-senpai wouldn't be able to match Aomine at all. You know how capable he is. So, we will bait him to go to your position, and when he doesn't notice your presence, sneak from his blindspot and try to get the ball from him, okay?'
And that is exactly what Kuroko did. He took advantage of Aomine who is already hanging in the air and put all of his focus on Tsuchida-senpai and the board, not noticing him lurking from the shadow since the beginning.
And just like anytime the blue-haired boy pulled that crazy stunt, nobody noticed his movement before, as if he is an assassin trying to kill his target. And when the ball is already in his hand, all the attentions suddenly fall on him, it is too late for the opponent to recover from their shock as the ball is already moving again.
"STEAL!"
"GO BACK! DEFENSE!"
Yeah, as it said before, it was too late for any Toō players to go back, as now, Kuroko is throwing the ball forward with a strong force, only to fall into Furihata's hand.
"Nice steal, Phantom!"
Furihata who is moving to the other side of the court right after Aomine passed him in defense didn't have a hard time knocking down another three, resulting in the gap being shortened again to 7 points.
40 – 47
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Author note :
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-Zeta Faes-