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Shot-Maker

Hiro was the type of person who placed a high value on routine. He preferred to get up at the same hour every day, whether it was a business day or the weekend. He preferred to devote the same amount of time to a task on a daily basis. Today was no exception, but Hiro's parents noticed something strange about their son today.

Hiro's mother approached him and inquired, "Hiro, you seem to be in a good mood today. You were even smiling a little bit during our morning exercise today." with a hearty laugh

Hiro raised his head from his food and smiled at her.

"Today is my first game as a regular prospect on the first-string team, Mom, of course I'm happy! Hah!" he said with a smile.

His father stepped downstairs and exclaimed, exactly as he had stated "Oh, my! Good luck, Hiro. Play hard, but don't get hurt in the excitement of the game. I believe in you!" with a smile as he adjust his glasses.

"Hmm! Thank you, Dad. I'll be cautious!" Hiro nodded as he quickly gobbled the food.

Hiro ate his breakfast, rinsed his utensils, and checked the time. When he saw that it was time to go for school, he grabbed his school and club bags and headed for the door.

He was walking quickly when he turned around and said, "Goodbye, Mom. Goodbye, Dad. I'm going; have a great day at work." with a hurried tone of voice

"Bye, have a safe trip, Hiro!" they both said, as they, too, began to ready for their work.

...

Hiro always left his house on time for school, so he didn't have to hustle, and he commuted calmly, taking in the morning rush on Tokyo's streets.

He arrived at school fifteen minutes before the first bell and spent his time conversing with his classmates and pals about everything and everything, while the Hiro girls Cheer squad protected Hiro from the other girls in the school. Of course, Hiro was irritated to see this, but it couldn't be prevented because they never ceased being weird.

"Drinng!"

Hiro proceeded through his school day as usual, paying close attention and taking notes on the topics covered in class.

Finally, the day came to a close, and he went to the Club-Room to change from his uniforms to his Sports-jersey, and then to the gym, where he began his stretch routine.

Stretching and warming up are highly important and crucial for an athlete because they prepare the body for the tough activity that the body will go through, and stretching at the end of the workout is the ideal strategy to give the body time to gradually cool down and relax.

Hiro took stretching and warming up extremely seriously because his father had thoroughly described the benefits of both exercises and what may happen if they were ignored, and who better to listen to concerning injuries than a physiotherapist.

Today's practice game was against Zakaza Academy, and since they were coming to his school, as they had the home-court advantages.

Hiro also received his jersey, which was numbered 13, with the powerful characters "Kamiya", the Middle School's basketball jersey was black and grey.

Hiro truly loved the jersey because black was his personal favorite, and the grey was akin to the dress's counterpart.

His basketball sneakers were similarly black, so the complete ensemble seemed to fit Hiro quite well.

Not to mention that the cheer squad was already waving his name and chanting his name with a large group of girls today.

Hiro, on the other hand, couldn't help but sigh.

...

As the team formed a line, the coach blew a whistle.

"All right, everyone gather up."

Coach summoned all of the first-string players and went over the lineup and post-match strategy session.

"Today, Yagami-kun will start as the small forward, with the rest of the roster remaining same. As a first-year, assist him on the court, but don't be too easy on him." the coach inquired, as turned his head and looked at Hiro.

Coach is nice and isn't making fun of Hiro. Hiro was talented but according to him, Hiro is still an inexperienced first-year, He was only concerned in Hiro's growth, along with the game.

"I'm prepared to give it my all." Hiro responded assuredly.

As Coach nodded and walked away, the starting lineup huddled.

Chiba Yoshinaka patted Hiro's shoulders as the Coach went away, saying, "Yagami-Kun, I'm not sure if you're nervous or not, but don't worry. We've got your back and will get the rebounds, so don't worry and play freely. Okay!" with a smile

When Utada Yuki heard Chiba, he stepped forward and said, "Well, Well, I will make sure to give you some excellent passes, so play to your heart's pleasure, Hiro!"

Sano Kojiro, a senior, was feeling left out. "Don't worry, Hiro-chan; we seniors have your back, so enjoy yourself. After all, it's just a game! Haha!"

When they were finished, Arai Goro smiled and said, "Hey there! Hiro! I know you went to the camp! I've seen you play! I think you will do well!" as he stood with a smile, after tying his sneakers

"haha! Thank you very much, senpai; I will do my best!" Hiro was pleased with his seniors' demeanour; he could see that each of them was a dependable player on the court.

They took their places on the court and waited for the game to begin.

"Woooo!"

The referee opened the game with a tip-off that Chiba grabbed and delivered to Sano.

Sano drove to the basket and scored with a simple layup.

Hiro received his first possession of the ball when the score was 10-7 in Kamiya's favour, thanks to a pass from Utada.

As his cheer squad was yelling out loud, Hiro used simple speed to get by his defender and score a layup.

Hiro continued to show off his dribbling and ball-handling skills, as well as a few good two-point shots, as the game progressed.

Zakaza Academy was a formidable team, but not strong enough to challenge the incumbent champs. During halftime, the coach decided to replace Chiba with another bench player based on the team's score and momentum, as well as to check their new Shot-Maker Hiro.

From the sidelines, the coach, "Yagami-kun, you'll be the point guard in the second half because of your excellent scoring skills. I'd like to see what you're capable of as a Shot-maker!"

Hiro smiled as he saw his Chiba-thumbs Senpai's up and said, "Yes, sir!" to his coach.

Hiro simply smiled and nodded to Chiba before returning inside.

Hiro had analyzed every player on the floor in order to be the team's Shot-Maker.

Utada hadn't yet perfected his two'special' shots, but he was good at creating space between himself and his mark at the correct time, and Arai was good at screens, so passing to Utada was simple, and Hiro passed it to him at the movement when the gap between the mark and him was the greatest.

Arai had rapid drives and preferred to score straight down the middle, so he handed the ball to him when there was the least increase in traffic in the middle.

Sano prefers to use his muscle to force his way in from the sides.

Hiro's passing strategy for Sano was to pass the ball when he was not being pursued by the opposing centre, and Sano would score as a result.

Hiro was confident that even if the mark had been in the centre, Sano would have been able to score, but why take the chance?

Hiro made a point of sticking to the fundamentals and avoiding anything showy. It was his first game, and it was not the time to show off.

Yet, Hiro exhibited his ability to flee from his mark and to fool his opponent.

....

At last,

The game ended in Kamiya's favor, and the score was 76-57.. Kamiya Middle, won by a nineteen point difference.

"So, this is the Kamiya's Elite Regulars, huh?" Zakaza's coach said to himself, as he saw his team, became worn out.

"Coach! They are really awesome! That number-13 is something else! Woah!" Zakaza's team captain said, as he panted heavily.

"Remember this match! You have yet to train more to catch up with this Legends! Today was really a good match! I'm really proud of you guys!" Zakaza's coach said to the Zakaza's team captain, as he couldn't take his eyes from Hiro and his impressive play.