Once they entered the court and completed the customary greetings, they were instructed to warm up for a few minutes on the court.
During their warm-up, Ryouta carefully observed their opponents, focusing on the Genius Twins, who were undoubtedly the opposing team's star players. Ryouta couldn't deny their exceptional skills, but he also noted that the rest of their opponents were quite solid.
It made sense, really. After all, their opponents were strong contenders for the championship, so having a team with solid players was only natural.
When the game finally began, Meikō's plan swung into action.
They swiftly gained control of the game's momentum and took an early lead on the scoreboard. While their offense and defense weren't flawless, the Genius Twins lived up to their reputation.
Howver, thanks to the effective combo of Masahiko and Watanabe, they managed to handle their opponents' attacks with relative ease.
As Ryouta watched the Genius Twins in action, the dynamic duo of Watanabe and Momoharu immediately came to mind from his team, Mibuchi shared this thought. However there were notable differences.
The contrast lay in the roles of support and main attacker. In the case of Watanabe and Momoharu, their roles were clearly defined, with Watanabe as the support and Momoharu as the primary scorer.
However the Genius Twins displayed remarkable flexibility in their roles, seamlessly switching between supporting and leading the attack.
If he had to name a duo that resembled the Genius Twins, then he'd probably compare himself and Momoharu to the Genius Twins, with himself and Momoharu being a much better duo than the two.
While their game plan was unfolding rather smoothly, a minor hiccup emerged in the middle of the second quarter. Watanabe appeared to be visibly fatigued , struggling to catch his breath as they reached this point of the game.
Seeing this, Assistant Coach Makiyama asked for a timeout to check on Watanabe's condition. And it turns out the game's intensity was a bit too much for him to handle.
Makiyama then told the team to change up their strategy by putting Ogiwara in earlier than anticipated to replace Watanabe.
Ryouta also agreed with this, as over exerting Watanabe would make him prone to injury.
The unexpected alteration to their game plan caught Kamata West off guard. They had begun to adapt Meikō's style of play with Watanabe and had been building momentum in an attempt to turn the game in their favour.
However, their efforts were disrupted by this sudden shift, forcing them to adapt on the fly to Meikō's new gameplay with Ogiwara on the court.
After the first half concluded, Meikō had a commanding lead.
Following a brief respite, both teams returned to the court, ready to resume the game and determine who would advance to the final.
In the third quarter, Kamata West displayed a shift in their strategy. They tasked the Genius Twins with a defensive focus, posing a formidable challenge to Meikō's offense. Scoring became more challenging, prompting Makiyama to call for another timeout.
Makiyama, observing the situation from the bench, addressed the team.
"Their plan is pretty effective as it's making it tough for us to rack up more points," he remarked.
Casting a glance towards Kamata West's bench, particularly at the Genius Twins, Makiyama added, "They certainly live up to their reputation of the 'Genius Twins', don't they?"
