JSWGAS Chapter 49

Chapter 49

The game only had three minutes left, but the score on the court remained unchanged.

Shiraiwa’s steady and accurate three-pointer bought them a moment of respite. Maki’s interference was effective, and after Doman changed his strategy from blocking to interfering, he was no longer as passive.

On the Hachimotoki side, although his physical strength hadn’t been depleted too much, his focus had decreased due to Doman’s long analysis. Nijimura ran the most on the court, and his clothes were already half-soaked. Although Kokonoe Taka was in good condition, he still made quite a few mistakes.

“I’ll take you to play a few more games later.”

Hachimotoki raised his hand to wipe away sweat and said to Kokonoe Taka, “Can you still jump?”

On the other side, Shiraiwa frowned as he looked at the two talking not far away. He had also lost most of his stamina. “Kokonoe still misses a lot of shots. Focus on interference, and get back on defense faster…”

Maki said, “That kid’s stamina is terrifying. If he can’t make a shot, he just jumps up and throws the ball in—doesn’t he get tired?”

“And the speed, he’s even getting faster at chasing people!”

“Hachimotoki’s passes aren’t as tricky as they were at the beginning, and Nijimura has also used up most of his stamina,” Shiraiwa said. “That new kid fouls a lot too. We can win.”

He paused. “But to be safe, Doman, don’t let him touch the ball. That’s what you’re good at. I believe you…can do it.”

–

Coach Platinum stared fixedly at the court and suddenly said, “Do you know why I didn’t choose Shiraiwa for the first team?”

The coach glanced at his expression and hesitated, “Why?”

He really should be puzzled. In the coach’s opinion, Shiraiwa’s defensive ability had increased a lot since he switched from shooting guard to center, and he also had a certain scoring ability. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call him an all-around talent. Although Hachimotoki and Nijimura were also outstanding, comprehensively speaking, they might not be better than Shiraiwa.

“Because he’s too calculating.”

Coach Platinum replied softly.

He watched as Kokonoe Taka was cornered on the court. If he forced a breakthrough, he would inevitably collide with Doman and interfere with Nijimura’s ball-handling. Not only that, but Shiraiwa also occasionally blocked Hachimotoki’s vision with his body, subtly bumping into him, making it impossible for the latter to respond for a while.

“In sports, rules are a necessary means of maintaining fairness. I can’t deny that some smart kids will use inducement to make their opponents foul in order to limit them.”

“Shiraiwa is too calculating, too calculating. He knows this very well, and he is happy to use this method to achieve his goals.” Coach Platinum sighed slightly, “And he is a very arrogant kid, his mentality is easy to get out of balance. That’s why I want him to continue to hone himself in the second team for a while.”

The coach seemed to realize something, and he asked again, “What about Maki?”

“Maki…” Coach Platinum thought for a moment, “He’s a bit single-minded, easily trusts others, and is easily provoked. I’m also hesitating whether to let him enter the first team this time.”

“There are always many excellent children.” He raised his chin, “In any case, time will always prove the answer.”

–

Hachimotoki was very uncomfortable being restricted.

In the game, Shiraiwa had pushed him in dead corners several times, preventing him from passing and shooting. Occasionally, one or two steals almost hit him in the face.

He glanced at the indifferent coach and Coach Platinum on the sidelines, knowing that Shiraiwa was doing this as beautifully as ever, using the cover of physical interlacing, so that no one except the person involved would notice.

Shiraiwa seemed to have guessed his thoughts: “Don’t look at me like that, Hachimotoki, I didn’t foul.”

“But as long as I force a breakthrough, you’ll bump into me.”

“Then just stay put? I’ve already been lenient compared to the games with other schools.” Shiraiwa wore an unchanging smile, “After all, I don’t want to ‘accidentally’ hurt my cute juniors.”

Hachimotoki scoffed inwardly, shook his body again, trying to shake him off by changing the rhythm. Shiraiwa followed him closely, and as soon as he had the idea of ​​stopping to shoot or pass, he would stick to him like a gangrene attached to the bone.

Hachimotoki once again entered a suppressed disadvantage.

But he was not in a hurry. He glanced at the court, trying to find a breakthrough point, and said: “I don’t understand why you play basketball in this way.”

He obviously has excellent abilities in all aspects and feels good about the ball, but he refuses to focus on the strength of simply playing basketball, and various small actions continue. It is even more outstanding than his ability in basketball. Hachimotoki is not so easily interfered with, but he sometimes wonders why Shiraiwa refuses to play well?

Shiraiwa grinned: “I’m not a hypocritical guy like you… What, are you going to use this to accuse me condescendingly? Hachimotoki, don’t take yourself too seriously.”

Shiraiwa’s tone suddenly sank, his eyes widened, and his light-colored pupils shrank in the huge whites of his eyes, making people feel twisted and terrifying.

“It’s not your turn to teach me how to play basketball.”

The basketball shoes rubbed against the floor with a sharp, harsh sound. He took a step, and sweat dripped down, and was cut into smaller water droplets by the rapidly broken air! Hachimotoki saw Qijian switch dribbling, coldly watching Shiraiwa’s expression. He replied with extraordinary composure: “Ah, I don’t intend to understand you either.”

Hachimotoki knows exactly what his strengths and weaknesses are. He must maintain his composure as always in order to have a panoramic view of the court and bring out all his abilities!

In just a few seconds, the two chased each other for a few more moves. Shiraiwa wasn’t in a hurry. He was waiting for Hachimotoki to use up his ball-handling time, and then he would definitely reveal his weakness!

Sure enough, Hachimotoki was forced to shoot! Shiraiwa quickly seized this moment of opportunity, his fingertips slightly brushing against the slightly higher ball—

But as soon as his fingernail brushed the surface of the ball, Shiraiwa realized something was wrong! This ball was too high! According to this trajectory, it is impossible to score! Why would Hachimotoki throw a bad ball?! Cold sweat ran down his forehead, and he suddenly turned his head to look at the other side of the court—

Maki was restricting Nijimura, waiting to grab the rebound… But what about Doman and Kokonoe?!

Shiraiwa’s gaze quickly swept around, but he only saw Doman gritting his teeth and rushing towards the basket. The latter’s expression was so unwilling and angry, and the tightly wrinkled corners of his eyes still showed a subtle venting of anger.

Doman, you trash!

He cursed inwardly, ignoring everything else, and quickly ran towards the reasonable collision zone.

Where is that rookie?!

Everyone only captured a fleeting shadow.

The heavy sound of stomping on the ground was like thunder, and a shadow projected on the ground gradually became clear.

“No way?!”

At the end of Shiraiwa’s field of vision, a black-haired teenager stayed in the air. Just like a bird flying, spreading its wings and showing its weapons threateningly. His eyes sparkled with light that could burn people. In a trance, a faint cry of a raptor clenched Shiraiwa’s heart.

Shiraiwa held his breath.

He saw him raise his arm, and a few drops of sweat meandered down his smooth and beautiful muscle curves, rolling into his cuff. That big hand easily grabbed the falling basketball. Although his fingers were pale, they were like the sharp claws of a falcon. The terrifying power brought the basketball down, down.

“Bang!”

“Bang!”

First, the basket was violently pressed down, groaning as if it could not bear the weight, and then the creaking sound was covered up by the loud noise of the basketball hitting the ground. The thunderous sound even made everyone present suspect that this was not a safe and harmless basketball that could at most knock someone out with a bloody nose, but a large bag of detonated explosives!

Everyone silently stared at the teenager still hanging on the basket. The latter lowered his head and looked at the distance, finally willing to let go of the crumbling basket and land.

“It’s an alley-oop!”

“So handsome! -”

“Wow! The power of that ball is so terrifying, it could kill someone?!”

“Too strong! Is this guy really a rookie who just joined the second team?!”

“Too outrageous! I can’t react at all!”

Even Hachimotoki, the person who threw the ball, seemed a little trembling when he came to Kokonoe Taka: “You, I…” He gasped, “Are we long-lost brothers?”

“Stop trying to get close to me!” Nijimura was also amazed by that ball. He bumped fists with Kokonoe Taka, “Too awesome! This is really a Niceball!”

“It was Hachimotoki, he told me to wait there.” That was the instruction he gave Kokonoe Taka when Hachimotoki asked him ‘Can you still jump?’ Kokonoe Taka turned his head and gave Hachimotoki a bright smile, blinking at him brightly, “The frustrated expressions of the seniors… are really good to look at, right?”

Hachimotoki stared at him silently for a long time, until Kokonoe Taka had a question mark floating on his head, and then covered his heart with a look of resentment: “Don’t smile at me so brightly!” He murmured to himself, “My heart even stopped beating for a moment because of the handsomeness…”

Kokonoe Taka: “?”

Nijimura Shuzo understood very well, patted him on the shoulder like an experienced person, with a solemn expression: “I understand, to be honest, I was also attracted by the handsomeness.”

……

…………

Coach Platinum held his breath, and almost suffocated himself before he suddenly came back to his senses.

“Hachimotoki and Kokonoe,” he turned his head and asked the coach eagerly, “Were they friends before? Or childhood friends with a good relationship?”

The coach was repeatedly questioned before he recovered, “No, this is the first time they have cooperated today…” He also looked incredulous, “Is Kokonoe really a beginner?!”

Coach Platinum exhaled deeply.

“It’s really amazing.” He said, “Kokonoe is undoubtedly a novice. Just now, his dribbling, skills, and shooting all showed traces of being immature… This time he just ‘rushed’ past. His explosiveness is too strong, and his speed is also very fast. I am afraid that he caught Doman’s momentary distraction before he got past him.”

“What amazes me even more is Hachimotoki’s shot.” He continued, “Pretending to be unable to resist, accurately grasping the timing when Shiraiwa wanted to stop him, and disguising this pass as an unsuccessful attack, deceiving Maki, who was guarding under the basket.”

“Maki is sometimes too straightforward. He didn’t see that this ball was actually a pass. If he had seen it, he would have jumped earlier, and he would have been able to block this ball.”

“And although Shiraiwa noticed something was wrong after touching the ball, because Hachimotoki had induced him to a place farther away from the reasonable collision zone at the beginning, he couldn’t rush back to defend.”

Speaking of this, Coach Platinum curled his lips and smiled: “But because of Shiraiwa’s touch, Hachimotoki’s originally planned route deviated. In this case, Kokonoe was still able to jump up and adjust the dunk’s route in the air, without reducing his strength or speed—the two of them connected in an instant.”

“Hachimotoki believed that Kokonoe could get past Doman and catch this ball. At the moment the ball was released, he entrusted his trust at the same time. Kokonoe responded to him, trust is a heavy thing, but his movements were determined—this ball will definitely go in. I saw his determination.”

“Although still immature, the cooperation is very beautiful.”

He stopped talking.

In addition to this, Coach Platinum saw more possibilities in Kokonoe Taka. He was sure that if that alley-oop was done by Hachimotoki and Nijimura. Even Hachimotoki and Maki, Shiraiwa, could barely succeed. But it would never be as amazing as this ball, and even make people feel impossible to surpass.

No one on this court saw more clearly than this old coach.

He was even just a beginner, and even spent most of the game adjusting his basic movements, and this may even be the first time he has participated in a high-level actual battle.

But his movements were filled with inexplicable self-confidence. He didn’t think he would fail, and he proved this to everyone present, himself, his teammates, and his opponents.

“It’s really troublesome.” Coach Platinum complained, but circles of smile lines appeared at the corners of his eyes, “A genius like a ‘monster’!”