A huge block. Seiho grabbed the possession and took the opportunity to counterattack.
Tomoki Tsugawa and Ryuhei Kasuga turned into two arrows piercing toward the Kuromori paint simultaneously from left and right.
Their counterattack speed was fast, but their movements were very strange.
Attentive spectators would notice that when they moved, it was same-hand same-foot, commonly known as pacing.
Ordinary players, including normal people walking, swing their right hand and right foot one after another to maintain balance.
But Seiho's Namba Run allowed this group of players to master the ability to swing same-side hand and foot simultaneously.
This movement method allowed Seiho players to move completely following their body's center of gravity, achieving the goal of low energy consumption.
A two-on-one in the front court.
After breaking into the free-throw line, Ryuhei Kasuga made a diagonal pass to Tomoki Tsugawa, who caught the ball for an easy layup.
"Yuuto!"
"First block since coming to the Tokyo area!"
"He completely saw through Laya Larmin's actions!"
"Seiho counterattack scores!"
The Tokyo commentators were relatively restrained.
They didn't use terms like "Yuuto is conquering Tokyo."
After all, this Okukozome talent had only just stopped Teiko's three-peat last year.
But professional instincts told them.
Kuromori was going to be in big trouble; the Lion of Okukozome was about to take action.
Yuuto wasn't excited after landing; he had done similar things many times.
He knew he was fully capable of doing so.
Better athletic ability and body model than the opponent, plus adaptation to European basketball after several corrections.
He could totally defend Laya Larmin until he dared not step inside the three-point line.
"Kasuga, Tsugawa, switch defenders."
"Mainly defend his three-pointers and long twos. Once he steps near the free-throw line, focus on cooperating with my help defense."
Yuuto directed his teammates to switch.
This Laya Larmin had some skills, at least able to break through Seiho's first line of defense.
Although Ryuhei Kasuga was a bit unwilling, he nodded in agreement.
"He... is actually commanding the team seniors..."
Seirin in the stands naturally wouldn't miss this game.
After all, Seiho was highly likely their opponent in the next round.
So far.
Yuuto didn't have much in terms of stats, only taking one shot for 2 points and getting that block just now.
This was completely different from the intense impact Kise brought them upon first meeting.
They even suspected: Is this person really Yuuto?
But precisely, he could command the third-year seniors with the status of a first-year.
The actions of those willing Seiho third-years undoubtedly told them this Yuuto wasn't a fake.
After all, Japan is like Korea; elders' words must be obeyed.
Even at Seirin, one could often see Junpei Hyuga shouting at Taiga Kagami, the team Ace.
That was minor.
In Japan, if an elder slapped you, you had to apologize to him first before asking why he hit you. (True story, happened in a fighting game competition a while ago).
That Yuuto could make Seiho's third-years listen obediently only proved his ability was enough to convince the whole team.
"Captain he... no, Yuuto has very high attainments in the fields of offense and defense." Kuroko shared some things about Homi Academy with them.
Including some tactics Homi Academy played last year, which were worked out by Yuuto and the head coach together.
"Eh? Really?"
"Really."
"..."
Seirin people felt it was incredible. Not that young players couldn't be coaches or anything—after all, their coach was also a second-year high schooler.
It was just that Yuuto had to play and study tactics at the same time; did he have that much energy?
Kuroko's answer to them was, "Yuuto's basketball IQ is very high. Sora-san used to say often that he added all his learning skill points to basketball."
Sounded like sarcasm, but from their perspective, it was the ultimate compliment.
However, Taiga Kagami still didn't see what he wanted to see.
He trusted his intuition very much; this intuition had accompanied him for over a decade and brought him great help.
And now he had this intuition: Yuuto was not as "ordinary" as he appeared on the surface.
The game continued.
Laya Larmin continued to hold the ball.
He wouldn't give up attacking because of one failure.
He wanted to prove to people that he was a player who could change the situation with individual power.
This was the biggest difference between basketball and other sports.
Basketball isn't like American football, where a star quarterback also needs a strong offensive line and wide receivers.
...
Nor like on the baseball field, where an ace pitcher still needs fielders as backup.
But a basketball star—if you are strong enough, one person can change the fate of a team.
He, Laya Larmin, was such a star for Kuromori.
However, this time.
Laya Larmin didn't even have the chance to break into the free-throw line.
He was completely blocked at the three-point line by Tomoki Tsugawa, finding it hard to move.
What was more infuriating was that the opponent kept a smile on his face, chattering endlessly with sarcastic words like "You're so strong," "You're so great."
Even Buddha would get angry!
Fortunately, European players had this advantage: if they couldn't force their way in, they wouldn't force it.
...
He quickly calmed himself down and called a teammate for a screen.
Kuromori's center was a fatty weighing 100 kilograms. His mobility was terrible, but his screen quality was first-class.
Tomoki Tsugawa was completely blocked by him, and Laya Larmin took the opportunity to sweep past.
But.
Snap!
A crisp sound of basketball meeting palm.
Laya Larmin had just stepped inside the three-point line when Yuuto's arm, thrusting out like a spear, came face-on.
Straight for the basketball, hit in one strike.
"Stolen again!"
"That bastard from Kuromori is no match for Yuuto at all!"
"Damn it, can you work harder? Yuuto hasn't even broken a sweat!"
"Seiho is always greater than Kuromori, and you can't refute it!"
Seiho fans in the north stands shouted across the air.
Seiho had never treated Kuromori as a competitor, only as a noisy neighbor. It was only Kuromori unilaterally regarding Seiho as a rival.
"Did he complete the correction?"
"Ah-Yu really doesn't give a single chance."
Momoi hid among the fans, secretly collecting intelligence.
From the looks of it, Seiho's offensive power had visibly improved this year.
Besides Ryuhei Kasuga, many players could score.
Including Tomoki Tsugawa, the defensive gatekeeper who lacked scoring means in her data, could now fast break to the forefront.
"The ability to see through the strengths and weaknesses of teammates and opponents..."
"So troublesome."
Momoi sped up her note-taking.
...
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