Araki Masako saw straight through Seirin's scheme.
This move from Seirin wasn't complicated at all. At its core, it was simply having Kiyoshi Teppei provoke Murasakibara. There might have been a few extra tricks mixed in along the way, but fundamentally, the essence of the plan wouldn't change.
The provocation was childish, yet undeniably effective.
If this were the Murasakibara from before, he likely would have taken the bait, shifting his focus entirely toward dealing with Kiyoshi Teppei.
But now…
"Forget it. We haven't used our first-half timeout yet anyway. We'll just treat it as giving the players a breather."
After being defeated by Akashi Asuka in the summer, Murasakibara Atsushi's mentality had undergone a drastic change. His daily training volume alone was at least twice that of last semester.
Because of this, Araki Masako had full confidence in the current Murasakibara. Still, for the sake of caution, she decided to use a timeout.
"Beep~~"
After receiving instructions, the players on the court decisively forced a foul, abruptly cutting off Seirin's passing breakthrough.
The game immediately entered a timeout.
...
"Tch~~ How decisive. That old woman."
Seeing the opposing side use a timeout without hesitation, Aida Riko's heart sank.
After the timeout ended,
Seirin quickly noticed a change in Yosen's formation. The 3–2 zone defense remained the same, but the defensive positions of Liu Wei, Himuro Tatsuya, and Fukui Kensuke had been slightly adjusted.
Originally, Yosen stationed three players over two meters tall, Liu Wei, Murasakibara Atsushi, and Okamura Kenichi, along the baseline, sealing off the paint completely.
Himuro Tatsuya and Fukui Kensuke were responsible for the perimeter defense.
Now, however, seemingly to get revenge, Yosen moved Liu Wei out to the perimeter to continue matching up against Kiyoshi Teppei. His original spot was filled by Himuro Tatsuya.
The moment Seirin saw this redistribution, they immediately realized something was wrong.
"They really aren't leaving us even the slightest opening."
Seirin's original plan had been to lure Murasakibara Atsushi out to the perimeter by using Kiyoshi Teppei as bait. To increase the chances of success, Kiyoshi had deliberately taken, and made, a three-pointer.
This was a gamble. Kiyoshi Teppei wasn't a strong three-point shooter, and if that first shot hadn't gone in, the plan would have failed before it even began.
Fortunately, Seirin won that gamble.
That sudden three-pointer truly caused a momentary wavering in Murasakibara's heart.
On top of that, during earlier possessions, Kiyoshi Teppei had subtly thrown out a few remarks that bordered on provocation toward Murasakibara.
Anger plus inner hesitation.
When these two emotions combined, even if Murasakibara saw through Seirin's trick, there was still a chance he would fall for it.
Because this tactic was designed precisely to exploit Murasakibara's psychological state. Once emotions boil over, rational judgment is easily swallowed up.
But Araki Masako used a decisive timeout, directly cutting off all of Seirin's follow-up plans.
"If you can't control your emotions, then the next time you face that person, all you'll taste is a second defeat."
Those were the words Araki Masako spoke to Murasakibara during the timeout, pointing toward the section of the stands where Akashi Asuka was seated.
Without a doubt,
Compared to Seirin's mild provocation, Akashi Asuka, the one who had once defeated Murasakibara, was far more capable of igniting Murasakibara's fighting spirit… or his rage.
After that, Araki Masako adjusted the defensive assignments. In truth, she was already confident that Kiyoshi Teppei didn't possess consistent three-point shooting ability.
But partly for safety, and partly to stabilize Murasakibara's emotions,
She didn't mind this seemingly redundant adjustment at all.
The facts proved her decision completely correct.
For Yosen, stopping Kiyoshi Teppei from attacking on the perimeter didn't require Murasakibara Atsushi at all, Liu Wei alone was more than enough to shut him down completely.
As for the interior spot left vacant by Liu Wei,
On the surface, this did appear to weaken Yosen's inside defense. But one thing must not be forgotten, the player replacing Liu Wei in the paint was Himuro Tatsuya.
While there might be a height difference, their defensive capabilities were nowhere near as far apart.
Moreover,
On Seirin's side, the only player taller than Himuro Tatsuya to begin with was Kagami Taiga.
...
"Beeeeep~~~"
Before long, the second quarter came to an end.
Both teams officially entered halftime.
And before halftime began, the score between Yosen and Seirin stood at 39:20.
"Seirin is getting completely suppressed!"
"Wait, didn't Seirin tie with Shutoku and Tōō during the preliminaries? Is the gap between those teams and Yosen really that big?"
"Idiot, that's not how you calculate it!"
"Seirin tied with Shutoku because Kagami and Midorima just happened to counter each other."
"As for Tōō, part of it was because Kuroko used a desperate trump card, sacrificing some of his future potential to create an advantage. The other part was because everyone on Seirin was performing at 120% of their ability."
"But that kind of overperformance can't happen every game. To be precise, Seirin's raw strength still has a noticeable gap compared to teams like Tōō and Yosen."
As the saying goes, those involved are confused, while observers see clearly.
Although being in the stands meant missing many fine details on the court, viewing the match from the outside actually made the overall situation clearer.
...
After halftime ended,
Both teams returned to the court once more.
As the third quarter began, Yosen's defense remained as unbreakable as ever, while Seirin themselves began to grow impatient.
"They're losing their composure… Seirin."
Akashi Asuka watched the game with a detached expression. Seirin was a newly formed team, established only two years ago. Even the oldest players in the club were merely second-years.
This was a good thing, young players were always full of passion and fighting spirit.
But it was also a bad thing. Without upperclassmen anchoring the team, there was an inevitable lack of steadiness.
Among the second-years, Kiyoshi Teppei, Hyuga Junpei, and Shun Izuki were relatively calm by nature. But they could only manage themselves; they lacked the ability to truly stabilize the team's morale.
Among the first-years, Kuroko Tetsuya was fairly rational.
However, Kagami Taiga's personality was the textbook definition of a "Mountain Cannon", a hot-blooded type who charged headfirst without restraint.
Only after joining Seirin and suffering repeated setbacks had he gradually learned to calm down.
But the moment the score or situation turned even slightly unfavorable, that old temperament would easily flare up again, just like now…
"That idiot…"
At the very back of the stands, Aomine Daiki had noticed Kagami's state as well and couldn't help but comment.
"That's not how you enter the Zone."