Chapter 134: Chapter 134 : Kaijo is On the Lead! Supressing Tōō's Entire Team!
"Wow…." Koganei slumped in his seat. "What a game…." The other Seirin players in the audience seat could only nod in agreement as they didn't expect the game would go like this.
"I know Kaijo is a good team, but I don't expect they would be this good." After a while, Kiyoshi uttered his thought. "I mean, to stop Aomine, we did exactly the same, right? Surround him with three or even four players while trying to trap him in such a tight space and force him to take a bad shoot. But how could they succeed? Is the difference between us and Kaijo really that big?"
"No, I don't think so." Kagami shook his head a little. "We defeated them once, after all. Even though there is a difference, I know it wasn't that big, or we would never have a chance to win that game. And I don't believe it was just because Kise managed to copy Aomine, because we all see he only did that several times."
Several of them nodded begrudgingly, knowing that Kagami was right. They faced Kaijo before, and even though it was not a formal game, they still had a grasp of how strong their opponent is, and they were sure it was not as strong as what Kaijo showed in this game.
They pondered for a moment, recalling their game against Kaijo.
"I know it!" Kuroko suddenly widened his eyes as realization dawned through his mind. "Kise-kun is not copying Aomine-kun at all!"
Hearing that, his teammates frowned for a bit, not knowing why Kuroko said that.
"What do you mean, Kuroko?" Kagami asked. "You saw it yourself, didn't you? He did exactly the same as Aomine." The others nodded while leaning their body forward, a bit interested in what Kuroko was about to say.
"No, I mean, yes, he did copy Aomine's movement. But it was not that simple. Do you think with Kise-kun copying Aomine-kun's style, he would do such a team play like this?"
Hearing that, the others furrowed their brows a little. Indeed, even if he wasn't copying Aomine's style, Kise also has a degree of pride and selfishness that wouldn't allow him to get outdone by Aomine. So, for the blonde to not strike back after Aomine's show in the first quarter, it was indeed strange.
"No, it was not Aomine-kun's style that Kise-kun copied." Kuroko shook his head, his hand began to tremble. "This domineering style using all of his teammates as puppets? This is Akashi-kun's style." He said the last part in a whisper.
"Akashi? Your former captain Seijuro Akashi?" Riko frowned, still remembering the violent red-haired boy after the game against Senshinkan High. "I admit that out of all your former teammates, he is the one that I didn't know the most. But, is his playing style really that dominant?"
Kuroko couldn't fault Riko for doubting his former captain. If talking about the statistics, Akashi is the worst out of the Generation of Miracles after all. However, it was not due to the lack of ability, but lack of trying. After all, if no one could catch Akashi's interest, he would never show up on the court for more than a quarter.
And Kuroko knows that probably better than anyone else. He was one of Akashi's subjects of interest for a while, after all. His misdirection ability was unique enough for Akashi to play with and toy with the opponent. However, after spending one year to exploit his ability, Akashi got bored and abandoned him. It was exactly the same as Kise's perfect copy.
Half a year might have passed since the last time he played with Akashi. However, Kuroko could still remember clearly in his head how terrible his former captain's playing style is. Controlling everything and everyone on the court as his pawn to produce an absolute win even without getting any fancy, he played like a terminator, killing everyone who was on his way ruthlessly and efficiently.
"All I can say is, there is a reason why Akashi was dubbed as a 'Point God' by one of the famous basketball websites in Japan when he was in middle school. And even though I doubt Kise would be able to copy Akashi-kun's style 100%, you would see a glimpse of terror that was inflicted on his opponent."
Hearing what Kuroko said, everyone is getting more curious about what will happen next.
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'As expected of Akashicchi's style. It is so efficient I don't need to do a lot to produce a good play.'
Kise grinned madly as he saw his teammates scoring once again after receiving his pass.
Honestly, Kise has never thought he would copy Akashi's style against Aomine. The idea only flashes inside his mind when he receives the adjustment from his coach to save his energy. That was when he remembered how Akashi always controls the game from behind, so he decided to try it too.
What he didn't expect was for him to succeed on the first try.
'It shouldn't be this easy, right?' Kise muttered to himself. 'Out of all the Generation of Miracles, why is it the one who is easier to copy is the scariest one? I only needed to observe carefully and make all the players on the court move in the way I wanted to be. Is that all? Or did Akashicchi have another secret trick that he has never shown to the other?'
Yeah, even though reading the game and making a follow-up action to ensure the advantage of the team is not easy, for a talented player like Kise or the other Generation of Miracles, it wasn't that hard. That was why Kise is dumbfounded right now.
He was so used to his former captain's domineering style that he couldn't believe it was so simple.
'It doesn't matter.' Kise shook his head slightly. 'I need to focus on winning this game first and think about that later. Fortunately, my perfect copy ability reached a breakthrough, or it wouldn't be this easy to beat Aominecchi.'
The breakthrough that Kise mentioned is how his mind was able to proceed the entire play and make a decision on what is the best ability to copy in just a split second. Usually, he would make up his mind first before copying the other. But now, he was able to do that almost instinctively, which was very crucial for his battle against Aomine.
'Now, let's see how far I could copy the abilities of the Generation of Miracles…'
The game is restarted again with Imayoshi dribbles the ball. After seeing the distraught on Aomine's face, Tōō's head coach decided to put the tanned skin power forward on the bench and let him rest. It was also an advantage for Kise as he didn't have to put all of his energy on his former teammate again for the time being.
"Senpai, screen!"
"I got it!"
The good communication between Hayakawa in the paint area with Moriyama in the corner area allowed the shooting guard to avoid Wakamatsu's screen earlier and not lose his ground against Sakurai. However, what he didn't expect was for Imayoshi to still pass the ball toward the first -year shooting guard, and with his quick release, Sakurai pulled up a three even before Moriyama could jump.
"Sumimasen!"
*Splash!*
Moriyama could only twitch his eyebrows annoyedly as he saw the ball go smoothly through the net.
"OH!"
"Nice three, Sakurai!"
"Show them we are not just Aomine!"
"Give them hell!"
"Sorry, my bad." Moriyama apologized to his teammates. "I didn't expect he would be so bold to shoot under my pressure." Yeah, Moriyama underestimated Sakurai who had this meek appearance, and didn't expect him to show up in a big time.
"Don't worry about it." Kasamatsu patted his shoulder reassuringly. "Just remember that we are in the national tournament and weak players would never be able to play here."
Kise who heard that also nodded in agreement.
'As expected of the national team. Even without Aominecchi, they are still calm and composed in a disadvantage situation like this. Unfortunately, we are still a better team here.'
After exchanging a few small talks, Moriyama grabbed the ball again and sends it to Kasamatsu to restart the game. Without Aomine on the court, they all agreed to keep Kise out of the ball as much as possible to save his energy for the next time Aomine comes again. However, that doesn't mean he couldn't help his team at all.
'Senpai, do a pick and rool, but keep your eyes on Kobori-senpai.'
Kise sends a subtle signal to his captain. Kasamatsu saw that and after a quick glance at the power forward who stood silently in the corner area, he nodded before initiating a pick and role game.
"Captain, screen!"
"I got it!"
Just like what Hayakawa and Moriyama did in the latest play, the good communication between Wakamatsu and Imayoshi makes the Tōō captain prepared enough for the screen that was coming. However, what he didn't expect is for Kasamatsu to not use the screen. Instead, he suddenly stopped dribbling the ball and tossed it quickly toward the paint area.
At first, everyone thought it was a mistake, considering Hayakawa who usually went under the rim now retreated to set a screen. However, right before the ball went out of the court, a figure with blue jersey suddenly flashes, caught the ball in the air, and bounced it toward the board.
*Clank!*
*Splash!*
"OOOOOOH!!!"
"It was an alley-oop layup!"
"Nice pass, Kasamatsu!"
"That was a clever positioning by Kise." Riko suddenly sighed, gaining the attention of all the Seirin players.
"What do you mean?" Kagami frowned. "I couldn't see the difference at all."
Since they heard what Kuroko said before, they paid more attention to Kise right now. However, a lot of them, including Kagami, couldn't see how Kise contributed to Kaijo's last play that Riko insinuated.
"He dropped back a little." It was Izuki who answered the question. "It was very subtle, yet with his huge presence, he attracted the two Tōō players closest to him to move from the paint area. Coupled with how the #10 retreated to set a screen before, it leaves the paint area weak for Kaijo #8 to exploit, hence you saw him cutting from the baseline."
The other Seirin players have their jaws dropped at the detailed explanation.
"Is that a bit too easy?" Kiyoshi asked skeptically. "I mean, I have experienced battling against Tōō's big men, and they are not that stupid to be fooled with that kind of play."
"That's why I said it was very subtle. I only noticed this with my eagle eyes, so I doubt there are a lot of people who would notice that too." Izuki replied. "And just like I said, Kise used his huge presence and the fact that he beat Aomine, Tōō's best player, to make his defenders think they would always need to keep an eye on him. This psychological pressure is what makes them follow all of Kise's subtle movements unconsciously."
"So…" Kiyoshi widened his eyes in astonishment. "All of the Tōō players have been played on Kise's palm?!" His expression was mirrored by everyone, as almost all of them suddenly snapped their heads toward Kuroko. The blue-haired boy could only shrug helplessly with the 'I told you so' expression as he didn't know what to say.
Riko twitched her mouth a little before she finally said, "Well, let's just observe the rest of the game and think about it later." Everyone nodded in agreement as their attentions were back on the court.
The game is restarted again, and the ball is in Imayoshi's hand. However, unlike before, he could feel a shiver down his spine as he passed the half-court line, as he was already stared like prey by Kise. Sweats began to roll down his temple as he felt a headache rush into his head.
'What the hell is he doing here?'
Since Aomine was not on the court, Kise has never stepped up his defense actively and chose to stay low to preserve his energy. That's why Imayoshi never thought the blonde would suddenly come to him like this.
He should have expected something like this though, considering he was the captain of the team. Hitting the opponent's leader is the fastest way to win the war, after all.
As for Kise, he narrowed his eyes and observed Imayoshi's movement carefully, ready to take action whenever the Tōō captain moved. However, after taking a glance at the scoreboard, he was not in a hurry.
Kaijo High 55 – 46 Tōō Academy
07:22
00:20
They were still on the lead, and even though he didn't think Aomine would give up this game easily, Kise still had the confidence to stop his former teammate, especially after he managed to copy him.
Facing immense pressure from the blonde boy, Imayoshi makes the logical choice by giving up the possession to his small forward teammate, Susa. But Susa himself also had a hard time, as he was getting pressured by Kasamatsu on the wing side.
He passed the ball immediately to Sakurai who tried to cut back from the paint and stretch out Kaijo's defense. However, Moriyama kept following him all the time, making it harder for the shooting guard to catch his defender off guard like before. And not only that, he could also fell the pressure that came from Kise, telling him that if he shot the ball, it would be blocked easily.
The ball keeps moving several times. However, to Tōō players' frustration, it couldn't get near the paint at all, and whenever it went outside, Kise would always be there, ready to put pressure on the three-point shooter.
'T-This is crazy!' Sakurai gritted his teeth as the ball came to his hand again. He looked around in total disarray as the pressure kept intensifying. 'Damn! I couldn't do anything here!'
This is the defensive tactical masterclass at its finest. When you are on the lead, you don't need to rush in for the ball. Just be patient and let the clock run out or the opponent will make a mistake, as they are the ones who need to even the score. And Kaijo applied this strategy pretty well, keeping Tōō at bay while making them frustrated.
And in the middle of the chaos and confusion, Moriyama suddenly came in clutch, slapping the ball from Sakurai's hand before Tōō's shooting guard could do anything with it.
"Eh?!"
Sakurai didn't expect the ball would be stolen from his hand and it took him a few seconds to react. It was Imayoshi's shout from behind who snapped him from his thought.
"Fast break! Everyone, go back quickly!"
However, it was too late, as Moriyama had already passed the three-point line on the other side of the court, and when Imayoshi tried to hold him down, with a simple toss, Moriyama sent the ball into the air, and a moment later, Kise caught it with ease before he threw it down through the basket.
*BAAAAAAM!!!!*
"Ooooh!"
"Nice dunk, Kise!"
"What a play, Moriyama!"
"Kaijo's defense is so tough!"
"Tōō needs to put Aomine back in the court!"
Fortunately, Tōō's head coach agreed with the general consensus as everyone could see a movement from their bench. All of the Kaijo players tensed up when they saw the tanned skin power forward rose from the bench, while Kise grinned excitedly at what would be coming next.
'He is here again, huh? Let's kill the final boss and go to the next level.'
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Author note :
If you want to support me more, you can visit my Patreon page on patreon(.)com/ZetaFaes
You can read this fanfiction up to chapter 154 on that page. Also, you can read my other fanfiction, Diamond no Ace: The Prince of Hitter up to chapter 14 too.
Thank you! :)
-Zeta Faes-
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