The next day, Meikō returned to Yoyogi Gymnasium to face off against Kamata West. Winning this game would secure their spot in the finals, and a mix of nervousness and excitementment filled the air.
In the team's designated locker room, Kazama exchanged a subtle nod woth Assistant Coach Makiyama, who was rubbing his temples.
"...You can't be serious," Makiyama muttered under his breath, although he secretly supported Kazama's decision. The rest of the team stared at Kazama in disbelief. Such a situation had never occurred before in the history of Meikō's Basketball Club.
In fact, it was unprecedented.
Yet, Kazama faced their astonished expressions with composure and made his announcement.
"After our last game, I realised that I might not be qualified for the captain's position. My composure slipped," Kazama admitted, turning to Hikki. "If it weren't for Hikki stepping in and stopping me, we might have been disqualified from the Nationals because of my actions."
He continued, acknowledging that Hikki had prevented a potential disaster and rallied the team when frustration threatened to overwhelm them. Hikki's quick thinking and leadership had led them to victory, and Kazama felt humbled as the captain.
"That's why," Kazama declared firmly, "I believe Hikki would make a better captain."
This took the freshmen back.
After hearing the full story of the last game the previous night, they recognised Hikki's exceptional leadership. Mibuchi in particular heavily acknowledged Hikki's leadership capabilities and fully supported Kazama's decision in making Hikki the captain of the team.
He held nothing but admiration and respect for the scion of the Hikigaya family.
This sentiment was shared with the rest of the team, while they would miss having Kazama as the captain, there would be no doubt that everyone supported the decision, Hikki was the best fit for captain, there was no doubt about that.
"Holy cow, Ryou, that's incredible!" Momoharu exclaimed, his excitement evident. Watanabe nodded in agreement, equally surprised.
"Lead us to the National championship esteemed leader!" Ogiwara exclaimed as he put an arm around Hkkigaya with a big smile on his face.
"This is probably the first time something like this has happened in our school, though it was to be expected." Mibuchi remarked, not shying away from supporting his longtime friend.
The others gazed at Hikigaya in amazement, even Masahiko, who usually only cared about his food, shared the sentimentality.
Ryouta simply listened, not offering an immediate response, his attention now on Makiyama, who held the authority to make this decision.
Of course, Hikki found himself not averse to the idea of being the captain. He was accustomed to leading much larger groups, due to his family's prestige, so leading a basketball team with people around his own age felt like a breeze in comparison to leading the adults he dealt with in his family's company.
While initially hesitant, the senior players had developed complete trust in Ryouta's leadership, especially after their last game. This trust in his decision-making was evident as the support for Kazama's decision to name Ryouta the captain was unanimous.
Seeing that no-one appeared to oppose the idea, Makiyama let out a sigh and turned to Ryouta, "Hikigaya, are you comfortable with this?"
"Hai, I'll do my absolute best to fulfill the role as Meikō Junior High's captaincy, I won't betray all of your trust in me. Thank you everyone." Hikigaya replied with a proud smile as Makiyama nodded in acknowledgment.
"Very well, starting today, I officially appoint Hikigaya Ryouta as the new Captain of Meikō Junior High's Basketball Team." Makiyama declared wuth a tone of authority. He then turned to Kazama and continued, "However, I expect you, Kazama, to assist Hikigaya in familiarising himself with this role. You will be Vice-captain from now on."
Kazama nodded in agreement.
"Let's move on to discussing our strategy for today's match," Makiyama said, gesturing towards Asuka to distribute the opponent's data to the starting players.
As usual, Momoharu rejected the form, a habit everyone ese ignored.
"They have some strong players, especially those Genius Twins," Makiyama remarked while scrolling through the data on his tablet, provided by Asuka.
"We need to keep an eye on their combination plays. Given their aggressive style of play, we'll focus on a more defensive approach and counter their attacks," he explained.
After everyone nodded in agreement, Makiyama turned to Ryouta and asked for his input. Ryouta, nodding in approval, said, "That sounds like a solid strategy,"
"But," Ryouta continued, "I have an alternative approach in my mind."
Makiyama, intrigued, encouraged Ryouta to share his thoughts. "Go ahead, let's hear it."
Ryouta explained, "I suggest the opposite. We should come out aggressively right from the start and take the game to them."
Asuka looked concerned as she voiced her doubts. "But Kamata West is known for their aggressive playstyle, too. It won't matter if we keep scoring while they do the same."
Mibuchi chimed in, supporting Asuka's point. "They're also known for quickly adapting to their opponent's tactics. We shouldn't underestimate their defense."
Makiyama nodded in agreement, and Ryouta responded with a calm smile. "I've considered those points as well. We won't stick to one pattern. I will do a combo with Watanabe to initiate different attack patterns over and over again."
Ryouta described his strategy in detail, assigning specific roles to each player on the court. He also emphasised the importance of Watanabe and Masahiko working together on defense.
To make sure Watanabe's skills were at their best for the first half of the game, Ryouta decided to have Ogiwara sit on the bench temporarily. He planned to bring Ogiwara into play during the second half when they switched to a different game plan.
As the game progressed and Watanabe's misdirection tactics began to lose their effectiveness, Ryouta and Makiyama decided it would be time to bring Ogiwara onto the court.
Momoharu and Masahiko would take charge of the defense, while Mibuchi and Ogiwara, supported by Ryouta, would be their main attackers. Ryouta believed this arrangement would be the most efficient way to keep racking up points.
Of course, Momoharu and Masahiko would maintain a strategic distance just in case they were needed during an offensive scheme. The rest of the team would each mark an opposing player to apply defensive pressure.
Ryiuta didn't factor Masayuri into the equation. Masayuri had also skipped today's game, claiming he was sick, although this was a common excuse for him.
However, in Assistant Coach Makiyama's perspective, he really didn't care anymore whether the former starting small forward came to games or practice anywhere as he was no longer needed, with the six new additions to the first string, it was knly a matter of time before Masayuri was cut from the team.
Overall, Ryouta mainly focused on achieving the best possible results with the most efficient strategy, regardless of how it might change his teammates' mentality in the long run.
Once Ryouta explained his plan to the team, Makiyama agreed to try it, curious about the potential outcome. The other players didn't voice any objections.
With the strategy in place, they exited the room and went to the court to face their opponents.
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TBC
