"Kota-senpai!"
Yuki shouted and at the same time fired a lightning-fast cross-court pass that cut straight through Yosen's defensive formation. With his exquisite court vision and timing, the basketball slipped through the gaps without incident and landed perfectly in Kota's hands, completing a clean assist.
Kota whistled and pointed at Yuki in celebration. Even though Kasamatsu had already graduated, Yuki was also a natural point guard, which meant Kaijo's signature dual point guard system was still alive and well in the hands of Kota and Yuki. Including that basket, Kaijo's overall offensive efficiency in the first quarter had already reached a terrifying seventy percent. And yet, even under such an elite offensive rhythm, Yosen still kept the score extremely close.
By the end of the first quarter, the score stood at 27 to 25, with Kaijo holding only a two-point lead. As for the reason...
"I-I'm so sorry, Kota-senpai! I'm really sorry!" Tanaka knelt on the floor in a seiza-like posture, bowing deeply in front of his teammates, his face filled with guilt.
Despite Kaijo's high offensive efficiency, the inability to widen the score gap came down to one crucial factor: Murasakibara. This interior monster, standing well over two meters tall and still in the middle of his physical growth, had completely turned Kaijo's paint upside down. Faced with this beast, all Tanaka could do was weakly stretch out his arms. Rather than defense, it was closer to a symbolic gesture. Even with Takumi desperately rotating to help, there was simply no way to stop Murasakibara.
Kota understood this perfectly. He didn't blame Tanaka at all. He waved for him to stand up, rolled his neck a few times, and said calmly,
"That big guy is way too hyped up today. This kind of situation can't really be helped. But in the second quarter, we can't let him keep acting so arrogant."
Kota rubbed the tip of his nose, a mischievous grin spreading across his face as he temporarily subbed Tanaka and Moriyama out. Replacing them were two players from Kaijo's so-called atmosphere squad. Don't get the wrong idea; while the primary requirement for Kaijo's atmosphere squad was indeed the ability to hype things up, anyone without real skill would never make the cut. That said, their main role wasn't to play under normal circumstances, but to be deployed for very specific situations.
At Kota's command, the two players immediately stepped forward. They cracked their knuckles, eyes gleaming as they stared at Murasakibara, clearly aware of what their mission was.
...
The sharp whistle sounded, signaling the official start of the second quarter. Murasakibara adjusted the tightness of his headband as he walked onto the court, his expression making it obvious that he still hadn't realized how serious the situation was. When the two Kaijo substitutes took positions beside him, the giant let out a soft, puzzled "Hm?"
After giving them a quick glance, Murasakibara immediately judged the gap in strength between them and the defenders he'd faced earlier. His hunter's instinct told him that, in terms of threat level, these two weren't even close to Takumi. They were probably not even as troublesome as Tanaka. With that thought, Murasakibara looked away, shifting his focus back to interior defense.
On the Yosen bench, Araki watched the two defenders constantly orbiting around Murasakibara and couldn't help falling into deep thought. Kota wouldn't do something meaningless. This substitution must have value in his eyes. But what exactly?
Since Kaijo had lost the opening tip in the first quarter, they started with the ball in the second. The same dizzying tactical movement unfolded once again. Even though Yosen's perimeter defenders worked hard, Yuki still managed to find an open look from outside, but the shot didn't fall.
Murasakibara calculated the rebound point perfectly and plucked the ball down with ease. The two Kaijo players near him, however, acted as if they hadn't seen it at all, showing no intention of contesting the rebound. At that moment, Araki's pupils shrank. A long-buried memory resurfaced in her mind. She was just about to shout a warning, but the referee's whistle had already sounded.
"Foul on Kaijo. Yosen ball."
At center court, Murasakibara stood there holding the ball with both hands, his face blank. Hanging off his body was one of Kaijo's atmosphere squad players, arms wrapped firmly around Murasakibara's neck like a koala. Yes, a blatant defensive foul. And an equally blatant intentional foul.
...
Since it was still only the second quarter and the team foul count hadn't reached the penalty yet, Murasakibara didn't immediately go to the free-throw line. However, after Yosen inbounded the ball, the other Kaijo substitute immediately repeated the same move, locking his arms around Murasakibara's neck and hanging off him again.
"Don't let it affect you, Atsushi. Stay calm!"
Araki frowned and stepped to the sideline to remind him. Just then, Kota happened to pass by her and even winked.
Araki's temper flared. "You bastard! If you dare miss your free throws, just you wait!" Although she'd just told Murasakibara to stay calm, it looked like she was the one losing her composure. Out of nowhere, she pulled out a katana and pointed it straight at him from afar.
Seeing this, the referee rushed over to stop her. After all, this match was being broadcast nationwide; forget drawing a sword, even foul language wasn't allowed. Fortunately, despite her anger, Araki understood what mattered. She somehow put the katana away, crossed her arms, and fixed her gaze on Murasakibara at the free-throw line.
At this moment, all eyes in the arena were focused on him. Kaijo's tactic was painfully obvious: the Hack-a-Murasakibara strategy. By exploiting Murasakibara's extremely low free-throw percentage, Kaijo was willing to trade fouls from fringe players to regain possession. Ever since Kaijo first used this tactic two years ago, this strategy had sparked a trend across high schools in the country.
The counter to it was simple: make your free throws. Unfortunately, this tactic was a weapon of mass destruction against muscle-bound interior players with poor shooting touch.
...
In the live broadcast, the commentator chimed in. "Murasakibara has absolutely lived up to his title as a First Team center. However, his free-throw percentage is among the lower tier in the league. Fifty-seven percent from the line is without question the biggest weakness in Murasakibara's game."
The crowd was anything but quiet. Kaijo fans booed loudly while Yosen supporters fired back with even louder cheers. Finally, the referee handed the ball to Murasakibara. He held the basketball with both hands, though compared to his massive frame, the ball looked almost tiny. Murasakibara stared at the rim, his expression heavy. He took a few deep breaths to steady himself, then slowly raised the ball into a shooting motion.
"Stay steady... stay steady... just shoot at my normal level."
Just as he found his rhythm and was about to release, a voice suddenly rang out beside him.
"Ref, isn't his free-throw routine way too long? That's definitely a time violation."
That single sentence shattered Murasakibara's rhythm. His release came out too strong, and the ball flew straight toward the back of the rim.
Duang!
The crisp sound of iron. Murasakibara stared at the hoop in disbelief. He turned toward the person who'd spoken, about to snap, when the referee's whistle cut in.
"Beep! Yosen free throw violation. Shot invalid. Play continues."
After Kota's reminder, the referees had checked with the scorer's table. Upon confirming that Murasakibara had indeed exceeded the ten-second time limit, the call was made. Kota smiled. He walked up and patted Murasakibara on the shoulder.
"Big guy, whistles are something you have to earn yourself. Oh, right, I forgot. You don't need to earn them. After all, we'll be lining up to send you to the free-throw line."
Humming cheerfully, Kota jogged back to his half of the court. Murasakibara looked like he wanted to kill him. If Himuro hadn't been holding him back, Murasakibara would've already picked up a technical foul.
"That bastard... next time I'm at the line, I'll make him pay!" Murasakibara swore.
Kaijo didn't disappoint him. The very next intentional foul was quickly committed against him. Standing at the free-throw line once more, still affected by Kota's earlier interference, Murasakibara didn't dare take too much time. He rushed the shot.
First free throw: Duang! Second free throw: Duang!
Murasakibara missed both. Yosen called a timeout.