Chapter Eighty-Nine: Ryonan vs Masahou
Possession changed. Masahou's offense.
Kasuga Ryuhei pushed the ball forward. The instant he crossed halfcourt, Sendoh Akira defended up on him.
"Swish!"
The basketball passed to Tsugawa Tomoki's hands, then when Yagami Sorato pressed forward, it went to the far right.
Sakamoto Kenjiro got the ball and shook off Koshino Hiroaki for a mid-range attempt.
"CLANG!"
The basketball hit the rim and bounced up. Iwamura Tsutomu was pinned behind by Uozumi Jun—completely unable to break out!
"Damn! How is this happening?!"
Though Iwamura Tsutomu's height was considered short among centers, in terms of strength, he'd never lost to other teams' centers!
"PAP!"
Uozumi Jun secured the rebound steadily. Yagami Sorato received the pass. Sendoh Akira ran the fast break quickly, already past halfcourt.
Ryonan's players weren't surprised at all by Uozumi Jun grabbing the rebound. Even though his offensive technique still had room for growth, up until now, the only person who could firmly suppress Uozumi Jun in terms of strength was Murasakibara Atsushi alone!
Sendoh Akira received Yagami Sorato's long pass, used a behind-the-back dribble to shake Kasuga Ryuhei, and charged straight to the basket for a one-handed slam.
Ryonan 4 - Masahou 0
"Uozumi! Uozumi!"
"Sendoh! Sendoh!" Players on Ryonan's bench shouted loudly.
"Sorry, that guy's strength is much greater than I imagined." Iwamura Tsutomu said to his teammates. He'd almost immediately adjusted his mentality.
"The opponent is very strong. Before the game, we just strategically provoked them—don't fool yourself too." Kasuga Ryuhei said, clearly with pointed meaning.
"...Sorry, I understand, senpai!" Tsugawa Tomoki rallied his spirits.
Possession changed. Masahou's offense.
Kasuga Ryuhei stood at the top of the arc controlling the ball. Seeing Sendoh Akira had no intention of pressing, he immediately fake-passed and truly drove into the paint.
Sendoh Akira didn't lose position, staying behind him. Seeing this, Ikegami Ryoji quickly collapsed for a trap.
Kasuga Ryuhei passed toward the right baseline. Omuro Yoshikazu received and cut to the basket. Ikegami Ryoji immediately slid laterally, retreating to block his lane.
"So fast!"
Omuro Yoshikazu hadn't expected this ordinary-looking guy's defensive footwork to be so agile. He passed back to Sakamoto Kenjiro, who stepped back one pace and forced a shot over Koshino Hiroaki's defense.
"CLANG!"
The basketball hit the rim and bounced up again.
"Koshino, nice defense!" Ikegami Ryoji shouted.
Iwamura Tsutomu desperately fought for position, but Uozumi Jun consistently occupied the advantageous spot under the basket.
"PAP!"
Still Uozumi Jun securing the rebound steadily.
This time all of Masahou retreated quickly. After receiving the ball, Yagami Sorato didn't choose fast break but slowly pushed forward.
Tsugawa Tomoki defended up on him. "Can you only pass? Try driving past me!"
Hearing this, Yagami Sorato's center of gravity suddenly dropped as he accelerated left.
"PAP PAP!"
Tsugawa Tomoki excitedly pressed forward with his body position.
Then, Yagami Sorato suddenly stopped.
"???"
"Swish!"
Just as Tsugawa Tomoki felt confused, the basketball dropped through the net.
Koshino Hiroaki—two points good.
Ryonan 6 - Masahou 0
"Koshino-senpai, nice shot!"
"Hey! Why did you still pass?" Tsugawa Tomoki asked with displeasure.
"What are you talking about, little baldy?" Yagami Sorato looked at him with confusion. "Why wouldn't I pass when teammates can score?"
"You—!"
In middle school, Tsugawa Tomoki had defended against Kise Ryota. This time, he'd heard Yagami Sorato possessed scoring ability surpassing Kise Ryota's, so he'd actively requested one-on-one marking.
"What? You seem quite confident in yourself?" Yagami Sorato's interest suddenly sparked. He beckoned to Tsugawa Tomoki. "Why don't you try first?"
"Hmph, I won't fall for your trap!"
Tsugawa Tomoki said this, but after reaching the frontcourt, he still couldn't help calling for the ball from Kasuga Ryuhei.
After hesitation, Kasuga Ryuhei passed it over. With Sakamoto Kenjiro's touch off, right now Masahou truly needed a breakthrough point to solve problems.
"Oh? Actually came over?" A surprised smile appeared at the corner of Yagami Sorato's lips.
Tsugawa Tomoki lowered his stance, dropping his center of gravity. His dribbling speed grew faster and faster.
Yagami Sorato similarly dropped his center to match his opponent's height. Maintaining one step's distance, his arms spread wide.
Time passed bit by bit. Tsugawa Tomoki discovered Yagami Sorato wasn't disrupted by his fakes at all, so after a quick crossover, he tried driving right directly.
Yagami Sorato predicted the drive direction in advance, immediately sliding laterally to block the lane.
Tsugawa Tomoki was stopped back. Just as he prepared to regroup, Yagami Sorato, who'd been waiting passively, suddenly pressed forward aggressively.
"What the hell?!"
Disrupted by Yagami Sorato's rhythm change, Tsugawa Tomoki retreated repeatedly. He felt something off about the basketball's bounce-back sensation and instinctively glanced at his hands.
"Not good!"
"PAP!"
Yagami Sorato explosively accelerated, stripping the ball from his hands and quickly snatching it up before charging toward Masahou's basket.
"Damn!"
Kasuga Ryuhei completely hadn't expected Tsugawa Tomoki to get stripped directly. The two chased behind Yagami Sorato but couldn't match his speed.
"That unmotivated?"
Yagami Sorato tossed the ball toward the backboard before taking flight. After catching the basketball mid-air, he hammered it heavily through the rim!
"BANG!!"
Ryonan 8 - Masahou 0
"OHHH!"
"Yagami! Yagami!"
"Masahou's completely outmatched! Not only can't score, their defense isn't working either!" Nakamura Heisuke also watched excitedly. "I checked materials beforehand—Masahou's a defense-core team, right? Especially this Tsugawa Tomoki—first-rate man-to-man technique."
"But now he's completely suppressed by Yagami!"
"Truly frightening..." Aida Yayoi looked at Yagami Sorato's back. What amazed her wasn't that Ryonan could go on an 8-0 run, but that from the game's start, rhythm was completely controlled in Yagami Sorato's hands.
Masahou's performance was completely unlike them!
"What are you all doing?!" Masahou's coach Matsumoto Yoshinori shouted from the sideline. "Did I teach you to play like this?!"
"Don't get careless! You're still ten years too early to be arrogant, you bastard high schoolers!"
"Yes!!"
Masahou's players instinctively straightened. If they angered Coach, genuine physical punishment awaited back home...
Possession changed. Masahou's offense.
Based on "ancient martial arts" fundamentals, Masahou players' characteristic was integrating force generation techniques into basketball. This made their passing speed very fast, with smooth connections between simple movements.
Kasuga Ryuhei controlled at the top of the arc. The basketball moved quickly around the perimeter.
After passing out, Kasuga Ryuhei cut inside. Omuro Yoshikazu timed his screen on Sendoh Akira perfectly.
This was an off-ball screen.
After entering the paint, Kasuga Ryuhei received Sakamoto Kenjiro's pass. Facing Uozumi Jun's help defense, he lofted the ball high.
"Ah!!"
Floater—two points good!
Ryonan 8 - Masahou 2
With Coach Matsumoto's reminder, Masahou's offense finally secured their first basket.