Chapter 025
"Both teams, please line up."
"Team MiracleCreator: Number four, shooting guard, Shogo Haizaki; number five, power forward, Daiki Aomine; number six, center, Atsushi Murasakibara; number seven, small forward, Ranki Yun; number eight, point guard, Sho Tohō."
"Team Nocrown: Number four, point guard, Shoichi Imayoshi; number five, power forward, Kotaro Hayama; number six, small forward, Yoshinori Susa; number seven, center, Eikichi Nebuya; number eight, shooting guard, Makoto Hanamiya."
"Please bow."
"Let's have a good game!" both teams called out in unison.
Watching the referee prepare to throw the ball up, Atsushi Murasakibara and Eikichi Nebuya positioned themselves for the jump ball. Honestly, in terms of pure height, Murasakibara held a clear advantage. The tallest players on the opposing team were Nebuya and Susa, but they were only about the same height as Aomine—significantly shorter than Murasakibara.
The moment the ball was released, Murasakibara cleanly won the tip and directed the basketball into Aomine's hands. But the instant Aomine secured possession, Kotaro Hayama immediately locked onto him defensively. Aomine looked slightly startled as he glanced around—Murasakibara, Haizaki, and the others were all being tightly marked by opposing players.
The game had just begun, yet the other team's reaction speed was already impressive—faster than many teams they'd faced in the middle school league. Kotaro Hayama looked at Aomine and smiled: "I won't let you get past me."
"Oh really? How interesting! Then try to stop me and see what happens!" Knowing his opponent's strength was formidable, Aomine immediately employed street basketball techniques. He dribbled left, spun around and continued right, using crossovers, behind-the-back dribbles, and left-right combinations without any fixed pattern.
Watching this blazing speed, Kotaro Hayama stayed right with Aomine, continuously pressuring him and denying any shooting opportunities. He thought to himself: 'His movements are incredibly fast! But don't think you can get past me that easily.'
Murasakibara looked mildly surprised: "Mine-chin can't get past him. Tch." With that observation, he immediately moved toward the basket and called out: "Mine-chin, pass it over here!"
Aomine made a passing motion but immediately pulled up for an irregular jump shot instead.
"You won't score!" Speed was Kotaro Hayama's greatest asset, and the moment Aomine released his shot, he immediately recovered to contest it, his fingertips grazing the basketball.
'Tch, his reaction really is fast, but it doesn't matter.' Aomine felt slightly surprised that Hayama could recover from that position, but Murasakibara was positioned under the basket.
"Alright, let's secure this rebound..." Suddenly, Murasakibara felt the body of Eikichi Nebuya blocking in front of him become as immovable as a mountain, completely sealing off his position.
"HAH!" Nebuya shouted, jumped with tremendous force past Murasakibara, and snatched the rebound away.
"Well done, Muscle!" Kotaro Hayama immediately exclaimed with excitement.
In contrast, Aomine, Haizaki, and Ranki couldn't maintain their composure, looking shocked: "How is that possible? Murasakibara actually lost a rebound?" This was the first time since joining the basketball program that Murasakibara had lost a one-on-one rebounding battle.
"Fast break!" Nebuya immediately fired the ball out, and when Shoichi Imayoshi received it, he began his dribble drive. Both Haizaki and Tohō immediately converged to stop him, yelling: "You're not getting through!"
Imayoshi's glasses glinted with calculation as he smiled darkly: "That won't work—we're taking this first possession." He executed quick left-right dribbles before suddenly threading a pass to Hanamiya from behind the defense.
Finding himself completely unguarded after receiving the pass, Hanamiya immediately pulled up for a three-point attempt.
'Oh no!' Haizaki looked on in alarm.
SMACK!
Just as the ball left his hands, Aomine leaped from behind Hanamiya and knocked the ball out of bounds.
"MiracleCreator team out of bounds—black team possession," the referee announced.
Haizaki looked at how close they'd come to being scored on and said with genuine shock: "That was way too close just now! Atsushi, do you still think they're easy opponents to beat?"
"You're right—they're much stronger than I expected," Murasakibara replied with a grim expression. He'd underestimated his opponent on that previous rebound, which was why he'd lost the battle.
Knowing Murasakibara's true strength, Aomine warned: "Don't get careless from here on out. These guys are seriously strong."
Shoichi Imayoshi smiled slightly and said: "Hanamiya, it seems these guys really are somewhat troublesome to deal with. You're still as fond of challenging situations as ever!"
"Tch, is that so? Could you please stop with that creepy smile, you scheming four-eyes?" Hanamiya replied with obvious discomfort.
"Scheming four-eyes? That's going too far, Hanamiya!" Imayoshi responded with a wounded expression that lasted exactly half a second before he smiled again: "But whatever—let's pay them back with a score first!"
Hanamiya nodded slightly and passed to Kotaro Hayama: "Kotaro, Aomine's speed is incredible, so don't hold back from the start. Use your full power."
"Got it—that's exactly what I was planning anyway," Hayama smiled, showing his small fangs.
The moment Hayama began his attack, Aomine immediately locked onto him defensively. Hayama grinned and said: "Speaking of which, I almost got past you before. This time it's my turn—I'll definitely give you the full treatment."
"Is that so? Then I'm really looking forward to it!" Aomine sneered. When it came to speed, he'd never been afraid of anyone.
"Hehe," Hayama smiled slightly and thought to himself: 'Let me try three claws first.'
"Lightning Dribble—Level 3!" With that declaration, Hayama slammed the basketball hard, and the moment it collided with the ground, the sound reverberated like thunder.
A lightning-quick dribble to the left, moving like an actual bolt of electricity, completely blew past Aomine.
...
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