As the second quarter stretched on, it was becoming increasingly difficult to score from the perimeter. The only player who wasn't locked down by the freshmen, was Hyūga.
Though another problem was becoming apparent; the pace of the game.
Watching on from the bench, he could see Izuki, his starting point guard, was breathing heavily and sweating profusely.
'It seems they need a rest,' while thinking this, Coach Tokugawa immediately called a timeout.
As the referee's whistle sounded, signalling a timeout, the players went to sit down back on their benches.
"Okay guys. We're doing well for now, Hyūga's on a hot streak right now, and I don't want that to end. Izuki, I can see that the fast pace isn't good for you, which is why I'll be subbing you out for Harutora. Harutora, all I need you to do for the remainder of the quarter is to Control The Pace. We don't need a fast paced game. Like before, pass the ball to Hyūga and let him shoot. If we continue like we are now, we'll have more difficulty closing the gap, understood?" Coach Tokugawa ordered as his players complied with no hesitance.
Meanwhile on Meikō's bench...
"Alright. Freshmen. You've done a great job up until now and I have no doubt that we can maintain this gap. Which is why I'm taking you guys out of the game for the time being and subbing your senpai back in the game. Let them take the reigns while you rest for a bit." Coach Hiroshi stated.
"Hai Sensei!" Came the chorus from the freshman as the seniors got ready.
"Leave it to us, freshmen!" Kazama reassured as he cast a sidelong glance to the opposing team's bench.
"They have quite the fighting spirit, it's commendable if nothing else." Fukumoto stated with a smirk.
"Fukumoto-kun! Please show that Hyūga-san that you are a superior shooter!" Exclaimed Fujiwara as Fukumoto smirked.
"With pleasure." Spoke the black haired boy as Kazama let a smirk grace his features.
"We'll rely on the senpai. They're more than enough to maintain this lead." Hikki stated as his friends nodded.
It wasn't long until the timeout ended as the teams took the court again.
As Kazami had called the timeout, they had possession of the ball. Rinnosuke inbounded the ball to Harutora as he slowly dribbled the ball past the half court line.
True to Tokugawa's expectations, Harutora had instantly lowered the pace of the game to a subdued pace, allowing the players to expend less energy with each play.
As Takaheshi pressured Harutora, the boy swiftly passed to Hyūga, who then passed to Hasaki.
As Hasaki caught the ball, he felt the immediate pressure from Kazama Shin, who had poked the ball from his hands.
The ball, now left up for grabs, was swiftly secured by Noboru Ken, who passed the ball to Takaheshi.
Takaheshi seized the opportunity and ran to the open basket, easily scoring a layup opportunity.
The next play saw Hyūga suffering a turnover to Takaheshi, who had poked the ball from the captain of Kazami's blind spot. Takaheshi caught the ball before passing it to Fukumoto, who shot a three pointer, easily sinking the shot and increasing the score.
As the turnovers increased, the score increased time and time again, the senior players scored a total of 23 combined points throughout the five minutes they were on the court as Kazami could only realise the difference in skill between the two teams.
'This is why they were runners up last year.' Hyūga thought as the whistle rang for a timeout.
Coach Hiroshi, calling the timeout, could only smile in satisfaction.
"Alright Freshmen. It's your time to do your part for the remaining two minutes. Hikigaya, I leave the reigns to you." Spoke Coach Hiroshi as he gave Hikigaya the chance to give orders to his team, recognising his natural ability to lead his team.
"Okay guys. Let's ease back and give them a chance to make them think that they are regaining control. Leave them to score 48 points, after that point, don't look back, deny them any chance of getting any other points." Spoke Hikigaya as his team nodded.
"Momoharu. You're the final piece of the puzzle. In the third and fourth quarters, we'll be focusing on your two way plays, your defense and your offense. I have an ability where I can lift my teammate's body's restrictions, you will use that to keep on going." Spoke Hikigaya as Momoharu widened his eyes before nodding, excited for the third and fourth quarters.
"Isame. Sorry, you didn't play a significant role other than defense today." Hikki spoke while looking at the giant, who seemed to be fine.
"It's fine. Working both on defense and offense is such a drag. Besides. What's the point in wasting my energy when I have teammates such as this?" He stated while seemingly pulling out a snack from nowhere.
"Nice to know you don't take it to heart." Hikki stated as he smiled at the boy.
"Remember the plan. Get them to 48 points by the end of the quarter, and keep them at 48 points after this quarter." Spoke Hikki as his team nodded.
Meanwhile on Kazami's bench.
"Harutora, good work up to now, Izuki, you're back in," Tokugawa stated while looking at his team. "Hyūga, Jin, you're both out. Akizuki, Guren, go warm up, you're in." Spoke Tokugawa as Hyūga widened his eyes.
"Coach? Why! I can inprove! Just keep me in!" Hyūga pleaded, however Tokugawa's decision was firm.
"No. This is for you Hyūga, you need to rest and calm down. You're missing every one of your shots a you're getting too heated." Spoke Tokugawa as Hyūga sat back down, not denying the truth in his coach's words.
He may not like it but he had to comply.
As the players got back on the court, Izuki couldn't help but look towards Meikō High's freshman point guard, who seemed to be the puppeteer of this team, often giving out strategies for them.
'I don't know what his plan is, but even though they are talented, they're inexperienced first years.' The black haired boy thought as he got into position.
The ball was in Meikō Junior High's possession as Masahiko inbounded the ball to Hikigaya. The white haired boy then crossed half court as he once again met Izuki's defense.
"Your persistance is admirable. Do you not give up even after being passed by so many times?" Hikki asked the boy, who hadn't responded, intent on stopping Hikki.
'So he won't talk. Fascinating mental strength. Though it's all for naught.' Hikki thought as once again in this match, he got past the boy with ease.
He then swiftly passed the ball to Ogiwara who shot a mid range jumper, easily sinking the bucket as the freshmen got back on defense.
As Rinnosuke inbounded the ball to Izuki, the point guard immediately passed the ball to the unguarded Guren, who sinked a two point shot.
This back and forth between the two teams continued on for two minutes.
Looking at the score, Hikki smirked. The opponents had 39 points. He glanced towards Kazami's bench before smirking as he closed his eyes. With this, it should be enough of a trigger for Hyūga to snap and demand to be put back in.
Izuki, his check, looked confused as he looked at Hikigaya, who had randomly closed his eyes,
Hikigaya, upon opening them, felt everything in his vision become much clearer to his and everything around him had moved at a much slower pace...
Izuki widened his eyes as he gazed into the unique pattern of the red eyes Hikki had seemingly activated out of nowhere.
'What the hell?!' Izuki thought as he looked at the eye pattern.
———
TBC
