The game resumed with Rakuzan on offence. Akashi had the ball, and when Kagami caught up, thinking that he was going to pass to Mayuzumi, the Rakuzan captain passed it to Nebuya instead. "Yeah!" he said when receiving the ball.
'Nebuya!' called Kiyoshi internally before going over to guard him.
"Heh, stop me if you can, Kiyoshi!" challenged the said boy. "Muscle Dribble!" While dribbling, he was able to push Kiyoshi a few steps back, which adding more pressure to the latter, who started to feel pain in his injured knee. The second he winced in pain allowed Nebuya to get around him and score a basket.
"Going one-on-one after Akashi's pass and forcing it in." commented Wakamatsu. "His offence was like a show of power."
"Dammit!" cussed Kiyoshi, who had retrieved the ball.
"Furthermore, how Akashi is using Mayuzumi..." said Kasamatsu. "Merciless, is the only way to put it. His job is to only stand in Kagami's field of vision. Being used like that must be more of a shock. The only thing keeping him from recklessness is standing on the court in that uniform. The barely remaining sense of duty as a player is robotically keeping his body moving." Yasu glanced at Akashi and frowned deeply before her gaze returned to the rest of the court.
Kuroko caught the ball, and used Ignite Pass to pass it to Koganei, who then scored a basket with a lay-up. "Alright!" cheered Furihata, followed by the other benchwarmers and the audience.
"Back to a twenty-point lead." commented Kasamatsu. "But if they can't stop Rakuzan's offence, the lead won't get any smaller."
"Dammit." cussed Fukuda.
"How can we...?" questioned Furihata.
"Defence!" shouted Tsuchida repeatedly with all his might, which caught theirs and Kawahara's attention as they looked at him with surprise. 'Their offence is one-on-one with three Uncrowned Kings.' he thought while continuing to shout. 'To cut their lead, you second-years have to stop the Kings! I'm counting on you!'
"Tsuchida-senpai..." trailed off Furihata before looking at his other two friends. Nodding at each other, they began to cheer "defence!" like the second-year.
"Man, they're getting riled up." remarked Hayama before catching the ball. "But well, it's impossible for you." His mocking smile faltered, and a pout flickered across his face. 'To be honest, I'm not feeling motivated.' he thought. 'Kagami would be more decent and that's where I can show off to Yasu-chan, but this guy?'
"Can I ask one thing?" asked Izuki. "What do you guys think of Mayuzumi?"
"Nothing really." replied Hayama casually. "That's just a good way to use him. Something wrong with that?"
"I don't have any complaints." said the point guard. "However, I don't want to lose to it either."
Hayama looked surprise when he noticed the determination and seriousness on Izuki's face, and smiled, saying, "Oh, I see." Using his left hand, he held the ball as he prepared for his power-dribble. 'I'm sure three would be enough, but that was a bit irritating, so here goes.' he thought before adding a finger on the ball. 'Four!' He used four fingers for his power-dribble, but Izuki managed to catch up, surprising him, Reo and Nebuya. 'I can't pass him even with four? He sees the overall moves with Eagle Eye, so he falters less from my speed?'
"How mental state affects performance is huge." said Imayoshi. "How one thinks drastically changes someone."
'Though not perfect, he did handle that monster all this time.' thought Kasamatsu with a smile.
YOU ARE READING
That Manager - Kuroko no Basuke (Book 3)
Fiksi Penggemar(Third Book of "That Manager") Yukimura Yasu was the manager of the Teiko Junior High basketball team, a team that consisted of six team players each with special skills and abilities. However, during her Senior year, she had to move to another coun...
