The second years came at them with more resilience. Having the last few minutes did not make them pant at all. Meanwhile, the first years were having problem coping up. The rapid pace made them lose stamina drastically and in turn, they were panting.
Shin was putting his hands on his side. While being slowed down by his terrible physique and stamina. Kishi was still holding on from the erratic pace. Jin was also having problems coping up. Aizawa too was panting as well as Renji. Renji was the worst as his fatigue crept within. The thing was that his 30 percent was barely enough for their current struggles. Meanwhile, his opponents were in tip-toe shape, some even exceeding 100 percent of themselves.
As for Xin, he was in the bench and was recuperating, he still felt the fatigue from the eyes of his teammates. He could not help it as he was also having stamina problems. Their problem was now surfacing, and May was noticing it. She listed some on her notes and then was already making future plans.
"Man, the seniors got us!" Shin complained, his hands on his waist. "So, their strength was in their resilience."
"Yeah, they totally got us," Kishi clenched his fist and gritted his teeth. "They must be seniors for a reason."
"Still, we can't give up just yet. There's still time." Jin said with resolute eyes. "Let's play till the end."
Aizawa nodded, "Yeah!"
"Hey, can we swap?" Renji asked Xin. Then he whispered, "Make use of your passes. I will return in the last moments. I will rest for now and save my energy."
Renji was on his limits and so he swapped with Xin. Xin nodded and agreed. With that, Renji rested and then Xin went on the court. He fixated his hair and then loosen up his shoulders. With that, they resumed their game.
They immediately attacked and this time, more relaxed. In what their bodies could handle. The physical strain their muscles could exert and endure. Also, for Xin to cope up so that he could make his passes to execute. As the run and gun tactics would greatly drain his stamina. Also, he has to be in position for the tactics to work.
They relaxed their pacing, their point guard passing to the shooting guard then shoot a three.
Whoosh! 3 Points!
Still, Kevin retaliated, "First years! Is that all you got? You need to train more to reach our stamina. Seniors! Let's crush them!"
"Aye!!!" They all shouted. "Let's show them why we were called their seniors!"
They attacked and then with more energy. Their point guard passed to Kevin and immediately made a crossover on Aizawa. Leaping on the free throw line and dunked.
Bam!!!
"Whohoo! That"s our Team Captain Kevin!" May shouted. The bench warmers then cheered.
"Yoshaa!!!" he yelled.
"Damn it, he still has the energy to dunk huh." Renji was astonished. "With that dunk, the morale will be in their favour." He muttered.
They retaliated this time and then Xin made his move, he was passed by Kishi, sending the ball to the board. Making Jin to leap and grab the ball midair and then dunked full force!
"Whoa! An Alley Oop!" Renji was perplexed.
They made a little comeback, but it was not enough. The enemies scored again as their defense was weakening, making them to click their tongues. The enemies still have spare stamina left for them to use. Even with Xin's passes, they all have weaker offense. Xin was playmaking for them and was their critical offense. But suddenly, he felt that his vision was blurry and darkening.
Xin was in his limits too and so they were in bind. He crashed in the floor and they were alarmed. "Xin!" they yelled in their surprise.
it was then; they subbed him for Renji. They don't even have a choice, do they? It was a gamble but Renji was just a spare tire for the team. As his stamina was just 30 percent and barely recovered.
They resumed their battle and they all were an arrow on its last flight. They were barely there yet in May's observation.
They will counterattack with them, and Renji was already panting. They can't even use Xin as he was also exhausted, so their passes were shut down. Renji was not reliable in this state as he was severely exhausted. He will use his all just to be in the court. It was embarrassing on his part as a member of the prodigies for his part as May was watching him run on the court like a wimp and limp player.
May could only cover her head in sheer embarrassment. "Is he really from Kaito? Man, my head hurts just to imagine this."
As they battled, they learned that seniors have better stamina compared to them. They were like an arrow in their last flight. Then the scores were widening.... the fact was evident that they lacked stamina.
The game immediately finished and the score was...
Score!
98 - 56!
In favor to the Second years!
They all applauded the first years for their resilience and hanged in there even with just their raw strengths. "That's their performance even without proper training. How much more if they were trained!?" May commented. "They could obliterate the second years maybe."
They will lose after the said battle as a fact that they were still untrained. In the first-year side, they were all saddened. "Shit, I need to train more!" Renji punched the floor.
"Shin, Kenji, Kishi, Jin, Aizawa, Xin, Renji, you all played well. Don't be sad, it is just the beginning of our journey." Kevin made a handshake with them, and they all wiped their tears.
They were exhausted and Renji wanted to just lie on the floor and sleep. It was an arduous battle for him with his exhausted form. With that, they will be given stamina training in the future as May planned.
"No matter how good your performance is .... without stamina, you won't last in the game! Especially Renji. I will have to train you with a specialized training."
"Thank you, coach!" he replied and was happy to be at least recognized.
Still... the juniors earned some favor, and they were recognized by their coach May.
"Now the tryout game is finally over and concluded. Everyone, bow to each other!"
They lined up and bowed with respect to each other. "Thank you for the good game!" They all shouted as they bowed.
Now, May have a good idea with their team composition as she listed their skills and took notes. She written down some of their strengths and weaknesses and plans to improve them, they have better chances this time around than last year.