Up in the bleachers, all the people coming from Sobu High School was patiently waiting for the third quarter to start. Hiratsuka Shizuka was sitting comfortably on the bleacher as they were waiting for the two teams to restart playing and for their Service Club president to return to their group. Soon enough, the pale beauty Yukino reappeared and sat down besides Yuigahama as eventually, the whole gym began to be filled with familiar faces, though they are people who are actually familiar about the Generation of Miracles rather than the Sobu people.
In other words, the whole bleachers were filled with basketball idiots.
"Eh? Atsugi-sensei?" Hayama's eyes blinked as he saw their Physical Education teacher suddenly appear out of nowhere and before all of them actually noticed him, he took a seat besides Hiratsuka.
"It's my free time and honestly, I wanted to see this game with my own eyes," Atsugi shrugged, "I heard that Hikigaya and company are having a scrimmage match against an Asian powerhouse. Was it the Philippines?"
"Spot on, Atsugi-sensei," Hiratsuka replied.
"How did the first half went? Was there any highlights coming from Hikigaya?"
"Plentiful. In fact, there is this no. five guy in the Philippine team who is a perfect match-up for Hikigaya," Hiratsuka opens the basketball magazine that she had with her and shows a particular page to the physical education teacher, "Villacorta Calixto-san. A member of the nationa team even when he was high school. Have played against Hikigaya and Teiko in the past. Hikigaya, though, gave that number five guy a run for his money. Our student out there was exceptional with his passing ability and decision making. The only bad thing happened is that his signature double-clutch layup was stopped by that guy alone. Other than that, Hikigaya played well."
Atsugi nodded as he thought. If only he joined in the basketball club of Sobu earlier…
On the other spots on the gym, current and former players alike from the schools of Seirin, Touou, Rakuzan, Yosen, and Shutoku are already gathered in one group. Heck, even Mochi from Ogiwara's school was also attending the games.
"The Philippines is leading? Oh well, they're pretty much good shooters anyway," Hyuuga Junpei fixed his glasses as Izuki Shun's eyes are fixated on the scoreboard, "Besides, they have players with higher ceilings than the ordinary Japanese cager."
"More than that, I'm surprised that number 5 guy was giving Akashi and the Hikigaya guy a hard time," the eagle-eyed former point guard of Seirin whistled, "But I'm more surprised that Kiyoshi was somehow able to hold down those taller guys. I bet his butt was already landing on the floor by the time he was defending the post."
"You know very well about Kiyoshi's idiotic tendency to do the physically impossible," the former Seirin captain sighed, "But at the same time, that's the reason why he had earned the title of the Uncrowned King."
"But so far, their Filipino center could give Yosen's Murasakibara-kun a headache…"
"Ajdsdbf…." Hyuuga nearly spitted his drink when he heard Imayoshi Shoichi suddenly speak behind him, "Dammit, Imayoshi! At least, announce your presence first before surprising us!" And for some reason, your honorifics doesn't sound right coming out of your mouth!
"So be it, Hyuuga but…" The former megane captain from Touou sighed as he takes note of the scoreboard, "Hmmm…I'm not surprised, considering that they are facing a national team, not a random Japanese high school team."
Meanwhile, Jinsei Auxiliary's captain and shooting guard Mochida Reiji, Ogiwara Shigehiro's teammate back at Meiko Middle School, sighed as he and his two teammates in Chiba Shinichi, their center, and Tokiwa Seiya, their point guard. Standing at 200 cm and 185 cm respectively, they make up of Jinsei's core with Ogiwara as their small forward and sometimes, their shooting guard if Mochida is on the bench. "So Ogiwara's lucky to be in the national team…" Chiba scratched his head once they for to their seats, "By the way, is it true that Hikigaya Hachiman from the former Teiko Middle School's Generation of Miracles had decided to come back?"
Since the teams are gathered far too close within Sobu's hearing range, the students and teachers of Sobu High School, especially Yukino, can't help but listen to the conversation around them.
"It's true according to Ogiwara," Mochida nodded, confirming the rumor, "In fact, he is also in the national team, along with Ogiwara and Kuroko-san."
"Sentimental fools," Chiba grunted, "They probably selected him because of his familiarity and association with the Generation of Miracles. Though talent-wise, I had to give it to him. That runt was the reason me and Fukui Kensuke weren't able to crack a spot in the semi-finals of the National Championships."
"Ara…Chiba from the same team of Ogiwara?" The voice of Kasamatsu Yukio was heard as the spiky-haired point guard and his former high school teammates from Kaijo High School walked towards where Chiba and company was staying, "It's a surprise to see you here."
"You too, Kasamatsu from Kaijo's Blue Elites and now a starting point guard at Tokyo University," Chiba replied deeply, "So I'm surprise that almost every team that has every player in the Akatsuki Five is in attendance for today."
"Well, it's not every day that they can get to play against a top-ranked Asian team like the Filipinos," Kasamatsu shrugged as he, Moriyama, Kobori, and Hayakawa all took their seats. "If I remember, the Filipinos have that Villacorta guy, whose speed far outclasses mine. Did he play and if he did, how was the game?"
"I just got to see the second quarter but he managed to stop Hikigaya Hachiman's signature double clutch," Mochida repled, "But other than that, Hikigaya-san surprisingly managed to contain his speed at times, if not definitely."
"Hikigaya, huh?" Kasamatsu whistled, "Well, it's not like he's a one-dimensional player who only knows double-clutch shots. His passing ability is on par with Akashi and his shooting ability is only bested by Shutoku's Midorima and Touou's Aomine. Although I would be lying if I say that I wasn't surprise that he managed to slow down Villacorta."
"Oh yeah. He's the reason why you didn't win a title, right Kasamatsu?" Moriyama patted his best friend's shoulders, "But hey, at least, you will win a title this college?"
"You're making it worse, Moriyama," Kasamatsu grumbled against the flirtatious underhanded shooting guard.
"Oh look…" Moriyama motioned to the court to divert Kasamatsu's attention, "It seemed that the two teams are already coming out of the dugout."
True to his words, the two teams had already assembled to the court and while the buzzer wasn't sounded yet, the Japan and the Philippines held a small warm-up. Yukino can see Hikigaya talking in hushed tones with Himuro as they both practiced what looked like a pick-and-roll scenario. I have a feeling that this quarter's going to be interesting. Hyuuga thought to himself as eventually, the buzzer was sounded and the third quarter is officially starting.
As the buzzer sounded, starting the third quarter of the game, Torres passed the ball to Villacorta but the moment he got the ball, Hikigaya was up on him. There's even more pressure now than in the first half. The intensity's amazing! Villacorta thought in Filipino. In the midst of his thought, he hadn't noticed Kuroko coming in for a steal. The ball was knocked from his hands, the shooting guard then passing it to Hikigaya, who had dashed away from Villacorta.
Villacorta was momentarily frozen in the spot but recovered quickly and came to block him. "No you don't!" he shouted.
Unfortunately for the Filipino guard, Hikigaya was in his street ball stance as mumbled to himself, "Right to left crossover…" He bounced the ball to his left while turning in the opposite direction. Seeing this, Villacorta was left frozen so Hikigaya was able to grab the ball and pass him.
Street basketball… Imayoshi thought. Meanwhile, Atsugi sat in absolute shock at what was going on. That dribbling motion…is something only seen frequently in US streets! Without thinking, Villacorta ended up fouling Hikigaya.
"Foul! Holding! Blue No. 5!"
"Puta. (Fuck…)," Villacorta silently cursed as he raised his right hand to signify that he was the one who got whistled for the foul. Suddenly, he felt a light hand tapping his shoulder. Turning around, he saw their center, Pangalangan, comforting him.
"Okay lang (That's fine.)," The lanky center reminded him.
The game then continued as Hikigaya run with the ball, Pangalangan trailing him. Seeing Himuro, Hikigaya tapped his thigh leg. Noticing the signal being transmitted to him, Himuro nodded quietly and as Hikigaya was going to the left, Himuro went to the right and before Pangalangan knew it, he found himself abruptly getting stalled by the smaller shooting guard. This allowed Hikigaya to get free but as soon as Villacorta and Pangalangan decided to switch, Hikigaya then spotted Himuro quickly free and before the Filipino point guard can swipe the ball, Hikigaya passes it without any motion to Himuro, who then dashes to the right.
The Filipino slotman tried to follow Himuro but soon realized that it won't be useful as he found himself bumping against the screen of Hikigaya Hachiman, who thought. I hate this job.
Nonetheless, Himuro decided to go for a jump shot and managed to score an easy basket.
"That was pretty sharp," Atsugi commented, "So the first screen was merely a diversion tactic…"
"So what's the point of that, Atsugi-sensei?" Isshiki asked.
"It's more like being two steps ahead rather than a desperation pass," the PE teacher replied, "Actually, Hikigaya could have scored there from the first screen but he must have sensed that the defense of no. 5 and the center isn't worth gambling to attack so he used the first screen as a diversionary tactic to free up the other guy and Hikigaya also set up a screen of his own to completely stall the defense."
"Well…that was completely…complicated to think about…" Yuigahama sulked on her seat.
On the other side of the court, Torres shot the ball from the three-point line far too quickly and the shot hit the board instead, leading straight into Himuro's hands and the latter was already on a fast break. As he then waited for everyone to settle down as he couldn't score an easy layup as the Philippines also caught up quite fast, he saw Hikigaya waiting for the leather in the three-point line. Quickly chest-passing the ball towards the Sobu student, the latter then bent his knees as he went for his shot. "Not really the best pass but this will have to suffice…" he said as he made his shot. It went in perfectly. Kuroko high-fived them and then went back to defend.
"A shooter and a slasher…" Yukinoshita Haruno heard Kasamatsu comment, "Hikigaya's a far-better slasher but his three-pointers are underrated."
The Philippine team was not amused. Neither was Villacorta. The moment Capinpin passed the ball to him, he blew pass Hikigaya with such speed that it left the boy's pride stung.
"So fast…" Hayato commented.
It was then that Kuroko realized they can't wait until the middle of the third quarter to adjust quickly.
He regrouped with the others and then told them of his plan. "Hikigaya-san, we'll have to change plans a little bit. I'll start marking Villacorta-san sometimes so keep an eye out so you can get into position."
"Yeah, sure. Do what you need to do," Hikigaya merely nodded as deep inside him, he already believes at what Kuroko is supposed to do.
When the game restarted, the Philippines had the ball. Villacorta calmly had the leather as he was dribbling it until he is within the free throw circle. He then passed it to their big man but to his surprise, Kuroko suddenly appeared like a wind breezing pass a grass and before he knew it, the Phantom Sixth Man had already swiped the ball and thus, Hikigaya had it and sped down the court.
I hate moments like this. The loner out of Sobu rolled his eyes as he saw everyone from his own school talk in hushed tones about him. I had this lingering feeling that they're talking as if they know the game more than me. Not my problem if I was that good. With Pangalangan hot in the chase, they reached the corner and the Filipino center tried to block him but Hikigaya dribbled the ball so fast that Pangalangan was unable to keep his center of gravity. The former then jumped for a one-handed formless shot of his style.
The same as Aomine-san? From the bleachers, Sakurai Ryo can't help but be shocked as he remembered how the Touou ace had done it a lot of times against Kagami, Kise, Midorima, and at times, Akashi. To date, only Murasakibara was able to block that type of shot.
Not wanting him to get the points, Pangalangan jumped to block the shot, but ended up crashing into Hikigaya. The referee blew the whistle.
"Pushing! Blue No. 15! Free throw, two shots!"
The bench erupted as Akashi smiled in approval of the event.
"Damn, Hikigaya's pretty amazing." Former Seirin player Koganei Shinji from said as he then added. "He's almost like a quasi-combination of Aomine and Akashi! Neh, neh, Hyuuga, why don't you tell Kuroko and Kagami to recruit him from whatever school he came from? I'm pretty sure his talents won't be—"
Koganei wasn't able to finish his sentence as he suddenly felt the temperature around him suddenly felt cold. All of the sudden, he made a single glance at the Sobu students in front of him and the moment his sight landed on a certain raven-haired beauty, he nearly choked in his popcorns as the girl's sharp blue eyes made his back bone shiver like crazy. Scary! I thought I was going to die on this spot!
Suddenly, Mitobe Rinnosuke glanced at him while making hand signs, as if asking is he was okay. "Yes Mitobe. I'm fine," Koganei understood the former silent hook shooter of Seirin, "Its just that…there are some unknown variables out there…"
Hikigaya stood in the free throw circle, getting ready to make his first shot. There's no way I will miss this. The boy with the fish eyes thought as he dribbles the ball three times. He made the first shot and it went in perfectly, hitting nothing but the net. He then made the next and it gave their team another point.
"Nice shot, Hikigayacchi!" Kise shouted from the bench.
"Good job Hikigaya!" Ogiwara cheered. Coach Shirogane nodded with his facial expression neutral.
Villacorta looked at Hikigaya. Nice one. He complimented his Japanese counterpart in his mind although his facial expression says that he wasn't amused that their lead disappeared. When they were heading back, Hikigaya was prepared to guard the Filipino while the others got into their position. Then suddenly, they heard what sounded like a swift breeze of the wind and the sound of the ball bouncing off the backboard and the swish of the net.
Everyone paused as they tried to process what happened.
The entire gymnasium was in silence for a couple seconds.
And then after the buzzer sounded which signaled a basket was made, the Filipino bench erupted in cheers. Hikigaya can only stand in his spot like he was hit by a bomb before he glanced backwards to see Villacorta standing under the net with his arms outstretched, indicating that he just shot a reverse layup.
"Wh-What was that?" Tobe asked to no one in particular.
"Beats me…but he passes Hikki like it was nothing…" Yuigahama didn't know what to feel about what just happened.
That was a type of drive being used by Aomine during regular InterHigh Games but… Kasamatsu tensed as he looked at the number five Filipino. He actually did it with more finesse and speed that even my eyes couldn't follow. To an ordinary audience like these Sobu students, it's like a wind blurring past a stationary object.
Yukinoshita Yukino didn't want to admit it loudly but she wanted to come down on the court and comfort her club mate.
Down the court, Kuroko came running to Hikigaya and said solemnly, "Hikigaya-kun, I'm terribly sorry if I wasn't able to stop Villacorta-san. He's too fast for my sight to track down and as a result, I didn't have the chance to strip the ball away from him…"
"Look Kuroko, that's just fine since we all know that you don't have the capacity to fully stop him," Hikigaya bluntly told his tealnette teammate, "But even I had to admit that mere effort won't be enough to stall him right now. What is needed it to bait him into his fifth foul," he said as he glared at Villacorta, who just shrugged as he walked away.
"Prrrt, white, member change!"
The two, hearing the whistle by the referee, turned to their bench and, unsurprisingly for Hikigaya, Akashi seemed to be signaling for Kuroko to come out of the court as they saw Mibuchi Reo already tucking his jersey in the scorer's table. Well…even I would have done the same thing if I were in Akashi's place. Hikigaya thought as Kuroko merely nodded at Akashi and the former high-fived with the Night Demon, who looked a bit too pleased to enter the game for Hikigaya's comfort.
"Woah, Yukinon, that guy has feminine features but at the same time, he is intimidating," Yuigahama felt the need to open her mouth.
"Hikigaya-kun said that guy is an Uncrowned King…" Yukino said with a look of uncertainty, "…I think…"
"Well yeah. He's one of the Five Uncrowned Kings…" Hyuuga confirmed it, catching the attention of others, "The other two who is in the lineup down there is Kiyoshi and Hayama Kotaro who came from the same high school as Mibuchi."
Down the court, the game restarted as Hikigaya got the ball.
"Mibuchi-senpai, you're playing small forward, right? Himuro's already at the number 2 position so that normally means you are at the three spot." Hikigaya asked for clarification.
"Certainly, Hachi-chan…" The sweet affectionate name-calling of Mibuchi nearly caused Hikigaya to lose the ball as he felt a chill ran into his spine.
Suddenly, Yukino suddenly felt the urge to castrate that one person who is creeping to close to her 'Hachi-kun' for her own comfort.
Hikigaya had the ball but Villacorta skillfully blocked his every opening. The Sobu player found it hard to pass someone who is as good in dancing around defenses as him so he decided to make a gamble and shot the ball instead. I know this won't go in since I forced this one but… Hikigaya made a brief glance at Murasakubara and Okamura, who are under the shaded lane of the basket. There is the reason why Akashi put those two clumsy oafs under the ring. One of them should at least get the ball back.
Under the net, the two of them were battling Pangalangan for the position in the lane. Once the ball bounced off the ring of the net, Murasakibara jumped and caught it, beating both the Filipino big man and his own teammate.
"Damn it…" The Filipino said, upset. Murasakibara then passed the ball to Himuro, who ran closer to the purple head. He then made the shot.
The Philippines restarted with Pangalangan passed the ball to Villacorta. He then passed the ball behind him to Torres who looked determined to add to their scoring tally as he jumps to make his shot. When he released the ball, Mibuchi had run up just in time to block the shot. Okamura grabbed it in time, and then passed it to Hikigaya who then passed it to Himuro.
The pretty one-eyed former Yosen shooting guard made his shot.
Japan then returned to defend their half, but in doing so, Mibuchi said something.
"Thanks Hachi-chan...you're as dangerous as Junpei-chan…" He said. They all stopped and looked at him, who looked ready to hug the rotten-eyen boy.
"Get off me!" Hikigaya wanted no part in any of Mibuchi's romantic advances.
"Mou, you're no fun, Hachi-chan…" Mibuchi cried crocodile tears.
"What are they talking about, Muro-chin?" Murasakibara asked.
"Beats me." Himuro shook his head and sighed. "But they look cute, right Atsushi?"
"Hmph…you're right, Muro-chin…"
"Thank you so much!/You're agreeing?!" Both Mibuchi and Hikigaya screeched for different reasons.
After a shot by Capinpin, the Japanese Five then hurriedly got back into offense, everyone going off to their markers, Villacorta coming to mark Hikigaya. Getting the ball from Mibuchi, the raven with the ahoge slumped his shoulders a little bit, and held the ball between his opened legs. He then bounced the ball slowly, and upon the third bounce, he stepped off as the ball went to the left, crossing over Villacorta, who didn't expect one thing from the player he is defending.
Hikigaya had just taken up his speed notches up.
When he broke pass, everyone can't help but be absorbed by the simple but effective crossover by the Sobu student as the two floor generals thundered towards the Philippine's net. Seeing that Murasakibara and Okamura had secured the shaded area for him, he then jumped to make a simply layup but then, Villacorta was right behind him and in no time, he jumped just in time to prevent another perfect position for a double clutch layup from Hikigaya.
"Don't get ahead of yourself, Hikigaya!" he said. He jumped to block the boy from behind and in the process of trying to reach for the ball, he ended up pushing him instead. In that moment, Hikigaya had a wild idea and prayed that it would work once under these circumstances. He tried in only a few times and as far as he knew, it only worked against Kagami but…
He threw the ball behind him, allowing it to perfectly curve over their heads and came crashing down to the net.
Swish.
It went in perfectly.
"Defense! Blue No. 5! Basket counts, one free throw!"
Hikigaya stayed there, staring at the hoop. He couldn't believe that the shot luckily went in and with the kind of esteem he had, he thought he was going to get an earful from Coach Shirogane if he failed to get the And1 call. He sighed as he looks at the bench. It seemed that their coach and Akashi had no problems with it as Kuroko and Aomine both flashed thumbs-up on him.
In the crowd, Yukino felt relieve as he wore a small and cute smile, something that didn't go unnoticed by her clubmate, her two teachers, and the rest of the people.
"Look like someone is so proud of Hikigaya-kun…" Haruno said in a sing-song voice as she just had to go and tease her younger sister about it. Yukino vehemently denied it but the older Yukinoshita can see the tinge of red creeping into the cheeks of her younger sister.
Meanwhile, the rest of the crowd had varied reactions as to what happened.
"Wait, isn't that number five's fourth foul?" Izuki asked. "That means he can't make any more bold plays!"
"Yeah, the Philippines is in a pinch right now." Hyuuga replied, "Up to now, they had relied to him for setting plays and a quick counter to the scoring."
On the court, the Filipino players began to feel uncertain about their situation in the half-and-final quarter of the whole game. It's bad that their star point guard has four fouls but it's even worse that Japan can still play at full power without any restrictions.
"Malas ko naman. (I'm so unlucky)." Villacorta sighed as he puts his hands behind his head after raising one of them up to acknowledge that he committed the foul. He then saw Hikigaya walk pass him. "Nice lucky trick shot." He genuinely complimented the fish-eyed boy, who simply nodded while saying, "I made it so it wasn't actually lucky…technically…"
"Nice, Hikigaya," Himuro tapped Hikigaya's shoulder as soon as the latter was standing behind the free throw line.
He got into position and made the shot effortlessly.
Torres bounced the ball as he made his way to Japan's net. This isn't good. The entire fourth quarter is left and we're in this situation. Japan had finally taken the lead!
Himuro came up to block Torres so quickly he passed the ball to their point guard.
"Captain!" he cried out when he noticed that their floor general seemed to be in a daze. Not letting opportunity this pass, Hikigaya quickly snatched the ball and headed down the court. When he was close to the three-point line, Pangalangan came to stop him, so he quickly took a step back. The moment he did so, Ogiwara came up behind him and he saw Himuro and Mibuchi ready to take shots.
He passed the ball to his close friend and shouted, "We need a three, Ogiwara!"
Understanding what he meant, the Jinsei player redirected the ball to the feministic player who received with ease. He then made a three. The Japanese bench cheered as the swish of the net was heart. The boys made their way back to their net quickly.
Suddenly, Villacorta in deep thought.
Those four fouls was my stupid mistake. But if they think baiting me to foul is what it takes to stop me…
He received the ball from Torres and without a hitch, he dashed towards Japan's net. Seeing the incoming threat, Mibuchi tried to stall him as he extends his arms but to his shock, Villacorta only swerved too fast to the Night Demon's left side as he quickly dribbled the ball behind his back while maneuvering to his right side. Himuro was far too late as he was on the corner. Okamura and Murasakibara was being pinned down under the net. That left…
It may sound preposterous and too youthful for my tastes but at the very least, I should try to stall him to spare my ass from coach's scolding. Hikigaya quickly came forward and jumped when he was Villacorta jump one second earlier.
However, Villacorta didn't care about Hikigaya's defense and within the next second, he did something no one expected to happen.
He slammed the ball right in front of Hikigaya Hachiman, who can only stretch his arms helplessly.
"Is this guy for real?!" Aomine was stunned to see a point guard nearly having the same height as Akashi smashing the ball like the height of the hoop didn't bother him, "I mean, I know Akashi can also dunk but so far, I have only seen it in his Zone state."
"Villacorta had a high leaping ability, nanodayo," Midorima concluded as he pushes up his glasses.
"Say what you want but I don't think this will take down Hikigaya's spirit," Akashi replied to his fellow Miracles, "You all know what kind of person he is so I don't even think this would be enough to damper his innate fighting spirit despite how he never tells it outwardly."
Up in the benches, Atsugi suddenly posed a question to Hiratsuka, "Hiratsuka-sensei, prior to this game, has anyone of you ever seen someone push Hikigaya to his limits?"
No one answered him except for Isshiki, who mumbled, "Eh…isn't it those two guys from the school called Seirin High School?"
"I've been thinking…this might be a glimpse of what we're supposed to witness come the Olympics Basketball…" the PE teacher stroked his goatee, "This is just a hunch but what we witnessed before is only a fraction of what he can actually do."
Everyone didn't reply as they let those words sink in to their brains.
Meanwhile, Hikigaya was dribbling the ball as everyone from his team is going down toward the goal of their opponents. I didn't realize he could dunk that easily. I don't remember him being able to jump that high. Hikigaya thought as he didn't give too much fuss about him getting posterization. He then throws it overhead to Himuro, who was already positioned on the upper left of the three point line. But seeing Torres come to try and stop him, he decided to lob the ball towards Ogiwara, who managed to score off a bank shot.
It was then that the buzzer sounded, which meant that the third quarter was now over.
The teams returned to their benches. The moment Ogiwara sat down, he began breathing heavily as he greedily gulps down the Gatorade drink that was given to him by Riko. Hikigaya was faring better as he was given a Powerade drink by Kuroko, who taps his shoulders and said
"Are you okay, Ogiwara-kun?" Kuroko turned to his best friend, "It looks like you are dehydrated."
"Yeah, I'm all right, Kuroko." Ogiwara cheerily smiled as he flashed a smile, "This isn't enough to bring me down…"
"Moron…you're already sweating a lot…." Hikigaya muttered as he looks at his own Pawerade bottle.
Coach Shirogane and the other assistant coaches then gathered around the players as the former then began to speak, "Right now, the lead is in our team but knowing Coach Luisito-san, we can't just remain complacent as the Philippines is an unpredictable team. Any given time and they can just explode when we least expected it."
"By the way, coach," Akashi has spoken up, "Even if on the off-chance does Villacorta-san gets kicked off the court, the other four are still a handful. In fact, we have no idea at all about how strong their bench is as they didn't even sub in some of their bench players. I originally planned to sit out the rest of the game so that others can have a longer playing time and that I can read the possible patterns of our opponents but at this point, I think I have to go in myself."
"So much about your bravado before the start of the game, nanodayo," Midorima sighed, "But if you think that's the right approach, then we'll just support."
"So for now, Hikigaya, you'll slide to the shooting guard position since we'll be complementing each other like I'm the radar to your missile truck. Besides we need you to get accustomed quickly for international games like these since you haven't played competitive games in almost three years," Akashi becomes serious, "Nijimura-senpai, I'll insert you there as well as I want to know if you're really training seriously in America. Okamura-san, I will move you to the center position so Kiyoshi-san would be playing power forward. I'm experimenting this line so that some areas where you are not particularly strong like rebounding can be improved. Hikigaya, do you believe that Villacorta-san would be fouling our immediately this coming fourth quarter?"
Everyone looked at Hikigaya, who scowled at seeing everyone's attention suddenly diverted to him in just one glance. What the hell, Akashi?! Shouldn't you at least know since you're the captain here?! On the other hand, I don't want to drag this further so…
"He can't get kicked off." He replied bluntly. "And he's just bound to get more dangerous since he has for fouls already."
"Hah?"
He received startled stares from the rest of the team. "Look, let's be real here. The fact that we had Villacorta cornered with four fouls means that he doesn't have anything to fear anymore. Knowing that he's on edge like a cornered animal meant that what he's about to do could be the deciding moment between a win and loss. Besides, even if on the off-chance that he does get kicked off, someone else can take his place. A powerhouse team like the Philippines doesn't become strong overnight by relying on one player."
Everyone digested in their minds what Hikigaya said.
"Well said, Hikigaya." Akashi nodded as he approved the wise words of their teammate, "To be honest, I find this game very challenging, at the very least. But at the same time, I'm trying to decrease the chances of us being scouted by only playing all the former members of the GoM limited minutes."
Akashi then crossed his arms while he made a gesture with his two hands—as if he was trying to meditate. The rest of the team can only watch him as he sat there on the bench motionlessly for ten seconds. After that…
"Aomine, Midorima, I will sub you two in when things are dire but don't give away Zone just yet," Akashi looked at their power forward and shooting guard, "Although I do believe I'm enough to contain their number five guy and with it, their offense…"
There goes his superiority complex again… Every player sweatdropped at the bold declaration of their captain.
"Fine then. I'll leave it up to the two of you, Akashi and Hikigaya…" Shirogane said. "Both of you try to do something to contain their scoring outburst. Until the buzzer is sounded, no one knows what can happen." Akashi and Hikigaya then got up quietly and headed onto the court, along with the rest of the team.
As the two teams returned to the playing court, the spectators noticed a change in the lineups of the Filipino team.
"The Philippines hasn't changed their lineup." Hyuuga said, not being able to comprehend what the. "Although the number five guy is still on the court. Something tell's me he's the main ace of the team of professionals."
"Anyone would lose their edge with four fouls." Izuki said, stretching his arms. "Are they going to be okay?"
"They're more than okay," Imayoshi said. "Just watch. They aren't Asia's top dog for nothing."
They changed their starters except for Villacorta-san. Shirogane was honestly surprised by the move of the bench tactician of the Filipinos. Right now, they have three players who are obviously towering more than 210 meters. It's not like it's different from their starting lineup but why do I feel something very bad about this? He can't help but look at the Filipinos with the numbers 20, 11, 3, 17.
The game started and the Philippines has the ball as Akashi immediately had scored a three-pointer just after the fourth quarter had barely started. It was then passed overhead to Villacorta. Once more, he and Akashi went head to head but to everyone's surprise, the Filipino guard was giving the redhead one hell of a time. After many twists and turns, Villacorta managed to score a shot.
By doing a fadeaway.
It went in smoothly.
The Philippines then went back to defend as Nijimura went to retrieve the ball, and then passed it to Hikigaya. He then passed it behind to Akashi who then redirected it Kiyoshi, who is at the post. When Hikigaya ran on ahead, the point center passed the ball back to him, and once more, Villacorta broke away from Akashi to try and to stop him. However, Hikigaya was able to avoid Villacorta and went into a fadeaway shot.
The ball went into the net perfectly.
"Tsk…" The Philippines' number 3, who is their two-spot player, can only groan as the ball landed on the hardwood floor.
"Navarro…" Suddenly, Villacorta looked at their number three and made a hand signal that only the guy named Navarro understood and the latter nodded.
In the audience, Orimoto Kaori, who was quiet for most of the game, couldn't believe her eyes. He couldn't believe that it was her former classmate that was playing one-on-one with a foreign player. Something that she was sure that the members of their school's basketball club couldn't do. I never knew you're this talented, Hikigaya. I know I didn't know because you don't really talk that much but… Orimoto can't help but feel like she wasted her chances with the boy during their middle school days. But I'm pretty sure it's not too late…
"That was the exact same shot that damned number five guy made." Hiratsuka snapped out the Kaihin Sougou student out of her monologue as she and Yukinoshita Haruno were busy scanning the basketball magazine for more information about the four new players that were inserted in this fourth quarter, making it the first substitution of the Philippines. "And apparently, the number three guy was Rookie of the Year in their local Philippine Basketball Association league and a three-point specialist."
"But Hikki could do that as well, right?" Yuigahama defended her clubmate while she was uncertain of herself.
"Well, this Navarro-san is a professional player while Hiki-ball-kun is a player of high school age like us," Yukino explained.
"But is doesn't make onii-chan less skilled, Yukino-san…" It was only this time that Komachi decided to talk.
"Of course, Komachi-san. As much as Hikigaya-kun's the epitome of creepiness, his knowledge in basketball is second to none in our school." Yukino said with a reddening look on her face.
Someone's getting protective here. Was the thought running in the mind of Hiratsuka.
"I ―" Komachi broke off as the Philippine bench erupted with cheers. Looking back at the match, they saw Villacorta casually throw the ball to the hoop which bounced off the backboard and into the net after going 360 degrees against Akashi's defense.
"Hmmh…I don't think senpai is going to be able to do that one! It looks hard!" Isshiki then said with brimming confidence.
"I wouldn't say that. Hikigaya is a surprising student and who knows, he might have more tricks left in his bag." Hiratsuka muttered. The moment she said so, Akashi had gotten the ball while the Philippines went to defend. Taking a few more dribbles, he then passed the ball to his former senpai Nijimura, who tried to penetrate but as soon as he was near the free throw key lane, he got stopped by the lanky Navarro, who had a surprisingly tight defense. The former Teiko captain then made an aerial pass to Hikigaya, who got it cleanly and put the ball on the floor before waltzing his way towards the basket. Hikigaya then jumped above Villacorta, who jumped at the same time but instead of going for a quick floater, Hikigaya ducked while being airborne and twisted around Villacorta 360 degrees before making a reverse layup shot.
"Another fancy acrobatic shot?!" Tobe shouted, "Hikitani-kun's killing it!"
"I swear I won't get used to watch him doing all of these," Miura Yumiko muttered.
"Of course, I won't expect any less from a member of the Generation of Miracles—and one of my students nonetheless," Hiratsuka sounded proud.
Hikigaya's amazing. Orimoto's eyes began to be filled with hearts. For some reasons, Yukino suddenly felt her killer senses tingling her and had the sudden urge to skin someone alive.
With the game proceeding, Villacorta passed the ball to the newcomer Navarro, whom Akashi was closely guarding. Holding the ball up in his head, the former can feel the pressure defense being put up by the shorter player, who had only one thing on his mind. We have a ten-point lead right now. We can't let them erase that. We can't…
Due to his surprising loss of concentration, Navarro took notice of this by jumping while shooting a quick-release three pointer. The hell, Akashi?! Everyone from the bench can only groan at their captain's failure to stop the shot even with his Emperor Eyes fully functioning as the shot successfully found it's bull's eye.
"Akashi, what the hell was that?" Hikigaya asked as Villacorta and Navarro walked pass them while exchanging high-fives, "It's not like you to leave out something like that."
"Apologies, Hikigaya. My dropped concentration aside, he had put up the ball way too high even for my Emperor Eye to stop it quickly," Akashi apologized sincerely as he gets the ball from the inbounds of Kiyoshi, "Besides, guarding Villacorta-san is harder than I thought it was supposed to be so you and I can switch when he gets by either one of us or when a screen is enforced."
The redhead then dribbled the ball towards the Philippine's court as all of his teammates ran pass him. When he was five feet from the rainbow territory, passed the ball to Hikigaya, who then broke pass Navarro and slashed towards the basket but Villacorta was quick in his feet and was able to stop the Japanese from making an easier shot. Undaunted, Hikigaya still jumped and when Villacorta leaped as well, the former decided to make a clutch pass overhead instead of completing a floater and in a blink of an eye, the ball was viciously slammed by Okamura, earning himself a basket.
"Thanks for the assist!" The former Yosen center and captain slapped the back of Hikigaya, who nearly stumbled to the floor as the sudden whipping of the huge hands of Okamura had brought stinging pain in his back. Yatta! That hurts, you gorilla!
Watching the match, Orimoto can't help but compliment her former middle school student as she started to run her mouth rather carelessly, "He might not be the coolest guy put there but her certainly knows his way towards the basket. He—he might the type of my man, after all..."
Suddenly, everyone's attention was drawn upon her as Komachi and Nakamachi Chika can only open their mouths in shock at her bold statement while Yukino was repressing the urge to stand up sharply and to have a 'talk' with the brunette girl.
"Orimoto-san, what did you say again?" Yuigahama asked in disbelief at what she just said.
"Ah…" Orimoto had the decency to look embarrassed as she avoided the gazes of Yukino, who was glaring at her, "I mean that he isn't boring as before."
Is that what you really meant? I think I must take some precautionary measures before she does something she regrets. Yukino thought.
Suddenly, the present and alumni players from all of the GoM's schools have erupted in cheers as Akashi drove to the basket while molesting the Philippine defense with brutality as he brought down two players in an ankle-breaking position. As someone else tried to block his way, the redhead passes it outside to Hikigaya, who shot a wide-open three, earning themselves another three points. Villacorta responded by throwing an outlet pass from the inbounds once he saw Navarro already at the three point line and before any of the Japanese five can react, the ball came rocketing past them, ending up in the hands of the shooting guard while shooting a three of his own.
The Philippines had just taken back the three points loss.
"Neither one's backing down…" Mochida can't help but blurt out.
"This isn't just a fist-fight of some sorts," Kasamatsu narrowed his eyes down the court, "It's an all-out brawl between two Asian teams."
Back on the court, the Philippines were heading to defend. As they walked back to their net, Akasho addressed them.
"Hikigaya, you and I will be passing." The redhead captain of Rakuzan gave his orders, "You and Nijimura-senpai should always be ready to sink threes any time. And Kiyoshi-san and Okamura-san, we'll leave the net to the two of you."
"Yeah!" The other three replied while Hikigaya merely grunted to him.
Villacorta had the ball at the center circle with Hikigaya blocking him, while at the free-throw circle was Nijimura and number 20 from the Philippines. On either side of the three point line were Akashi and Navarro with Kiyoshi and number 11. Under the net, there was Okamura with number 17.
Even though Villacorta had the ball, his eyes were focused on Kuroko. Japanese players are underrated. I can't downplay all of them, especially the guy in front of me. He thought as he then attempted to pass Hikigaya but he didn't make it easy for him.
"You got it, Hikigaya! You got it, Hikigaya! You got it, Hikigaya!" The Japanese bench were beginning to cheer out cries of encouragement as they were all stomping their feet.
"Quite the cheerleaders you have there, Hikigaya."
"I don't think I mind though but if you want, you can ignore them." Hikigaya replied.
Villacorta then bounced the ball after which he went into a crossover. Instead of looking at his face, Hikigaya looked at his feet, to see what he'd be doing next. The moment the latter swathe former's knees shift slightly to the left, he knew that he was going right.
When Villacorta moved right, Hikigaya slid to the right as well, trying not to lose his center of gravity in case the Filipino point guard decided to double cross instead. When floor general saw the defense following him, he quickly shifted to the left but Hikigaya only moved his upper body to the left as well.
Matalino. Villacorta thought. Then, he smirked. Faster, then is. With a step, Villacorta then broke pass Hikigaya but while the Philippines were rejoicing, they didn't realize that there was a looming danger coming ahead.
The moment he got pass, Hikigaya back-tipped the ball out of Villacorta's hands and it bounced into Akashi's direction.
"Similar to Eagle Spear." Izuki nodded in approval.
The red head quickly received it but Navarro was quick to block. Nijimura then dashed towards Hikigaya and when he was close enough, he went in front of Villacorta while Hikigaya ran pass Akashi.
He then chest-passed the ball to Hikigaya who tapped it to Kiyoshi, and putting the beach training to good use, within a heartbeat, the Iron Heart shot the ball, with his mark unable to stop him.
Bilis! He thought.
The ball went in perfectly and Japan was now at 90 while the Philippines was at 84. Without hesitation, the Akatsuki Five dashed back to their half with the Filipinos coming to earn another basket and cut down the lead.
Navarro passed the ball to their point guard and he thundered down to the net and once he saw Hikigaya stopping him, he stopped and past behind Navarro, who dribbled towards the free throw line before spotting number 17 posting up against the shorter but bulkier Okamura. Since he stopped dribbling, he decided to pass the ball to their center, who passes it back as he cannot make a shot of his own since he had difficulty in pushing back Okamura down.
But as Navarro was about to make a simple jump shot, he realized that his lighting seemed to have been blocked and realized that the shadow looming over him would attempt to swat away the orange orb in his hands. Barely avoiding the fast hands of Akashi Seijuro, he decided to pass to the outside where Villacorta is. With number 11 screening out Hikigaya, the Filipino point guard made an easy trey from downtown as they cut down again the Japanese lead.
In that moment, he saw a flash of red and the Japanese cagers running off. It was then that he realized that the boys in white were already storming towards their net. "Shit! Fast break!" He then ran off with Navarro as three of their teammates were already there.
Akashi had the ball and number 17 tried to stop him. Unperturbed, the redhead simply dribbled hard as he dribbled to the left and quickly crosses to the right, making the center fall to his knees as the Rakuzan captain scores an easy jump shot.
Grunting, number 20 snorted as he inbounded the ball. But before the ball makes it into the hands of Villacorta, a hand appeared seemingly out of nowhere and before every one can react, Hikigaya power dribbled the ball before laying it off the glass.
"That was a fast anticipation!" Haruno said. Even Komachi was shocked as she didn't anticipate her older brother's quick steal.
Right now, Villacorta was livid at what happened.
Without a word to anyone, he then grabbed the ball and then dashed towards Japan's net. He blew past every one of them as even Hikigaya and Nijimura had no chance of stopping him in his quick feet. When he was ten feet away from the three-point line and 15 feet away from Akashi, he shot a long-distance three pointer and to the Japanese bench's dismay, the ball found its target with precision as nothing was heard but the swish through the net. Villacorta walked pass them, Akashi sighed and said, "It's time we crank this up a notch. Their threes are a bit of a headache."
The others nodded their agreement. The moment Kiyoshi dribbled the ball, Hikigaya, Akashi and Nijimura went on ahead, with Nakamura behind. The center-turned-power forward then passed the ball to Nijimura who then passed it to Hikigaya. The guard out from Sobu then dribbled some more but stopped when he was five feet from three point line on the outside. Akashi was further inside and Kiyoshi on the outside in the position as Nijimura.
Hikigaya then ran pass Kiyoshi and the instant he did so, the Iron Heart passed the ball to Akashi who tapped it to Nijimura, who tried to penetrate while attracting the inside presence of the Filipinos. Within a second, the former Teiko captain flung it towards Hikigaya who sank a perimeter shock.
The Philippines can only grunt at what just transpired. The last place they saw the ball was in Kiyoshi's hands. He had passed it to Nijimura and after that, only an orange blur could be seen and then Hikigaya had already scored a basket for himself.
What the hell is that? Atsugi thought. It's like watching a laser beam appear.
Meanwhile, Navarro retrieved the ball and passed the ball to their point guard—well, it was more of an attempt because the moment that he releases the ball, Akashi suddenly came up and stole it away. He sent it flying towards Okamura, who managed to score basket via alley-oop.
"Yosh!" The former Yosen center and captain raised up his right hand in a small celebration.
Seeing that this time is the 'perfect time', Coach Luisito from the Philippines stood up from the bench and he sent a signal to his point guard by swaying his arms. Villacorta took the moment to watch his coach and as soon as the signal was sent to him, he immediately made the same gesture to his teammates, only this time, it was only his left hand as he was using his right hand to dribble the ball.
His four teammates saw it and quickly nodded as they all ran towards the goal of Japan. When they got there, instead of clogging the passing lanes and the shaded area, three of them waited outside of the three point line while only the center was holding down his position under the net. One in, four out? Akashi didn't know what to expect out of this as he himself didn't know yet if this was simply a diversion or a bluff. The moment Villacorta was within striking distance, he passed the ball to their power forward.
Without even blinking, number 11 didn't waste any movements and shot a three point shot as Kiyoshi got distracted for the moment to even properly contest the shot. He can shoot from the outside as well? The agile center can only watch as they watch the ball roll up and down in a beautiful arc. Within split seconds, the ball crashed down the metal hoop as the grazing of the iron was heard.
"Nice one!" Villacorta patted the shoulder of the forward as a sign of approval to what happened.
Not to be outdone, Akashi had the ball and once he was at the free throw line, he passes it side ways to Kiyoshi, who managed to sink in a perimeter shot. However, the moment the Philippines is on offense, Villacorta passes it to their center, who leaves behind the shaded area and instead, he receives the ball the moment he steps outside of the three point line and he promptly shot the ball.
The ball sank in, earning the team another three points.
"Well, did you like our hail of three pointers?" Villacorta smirked as he turned to Hikigaya.
"I see. Every one of you can shoot a three pointer without any difficulty…" Hikigaya replied, "Much like how the South Koreans do it…"
"That's right." He then pointed towards his counterpart and said in a gruff voice, "That's why we're storming in and take the lead even before the game ends."
Hikigaya can only cringe at that as he watches Villacorta and his team go back for defense.
"Prrrt!" The referee suddenly crosses his arms, "Substitution, white number no. 6, in!"
Suddenly, Nijimura sheepishly waved to Akashi as the former went outside of the court and high-fived Midorima Shintaroum, who replaces him on the line-up. Once the megane greenhead had already entered the court, Akashi began to speak, "We need more threes Midorima so we had you substitute for Nijimura-senpai."
"Same thoughts as yours, Akashi," Midorima pushed up his glasses as Hikigaya was busy retying his shoe laces, "That number five really knows how to pick apart our defense. By putting in a two forwards and a strong center who could actually hit threes with ease, they are trying to stretch out our thin defense and it doesn't help that not a lot of our teammates are well-versed with the three ball, especially with what we have as bigmen."
"That's why Coach Shirogane must have inserted you," Akashi coughed, "Aomine would have been helpful too but your threes are what we needed right now instead of his flashy scoring skill."
The shooting guard of Shutoku, now playing as a small forward, picked the ball up and passes it to Hikigaya, who brings down the ball. As soon as Villacorta was in front of his, he makes a pass to Midorima, who was prepared to shoot. Suddenly, he was met with the long arms of number 20, who was determined not to let him shoot. The greenhead then jumped high but when he saw that number 20 was equally fast in challenging his shot, he can only grumble as he makes an aerial pass to Hikigaya, who was in no position to accept the ball as he was a step too late to reverse back to be able to grab the ball. Quickly, he saw Akashi being free at the corner and that gave him an idea. Quickly swinging his right arms as though he was nudging someone, he ended up elbowing the ball instead towards the readhead, who was surprised by the elbow pass but nevertheless, he got it and shot a long two.
"Oh my God! What was that?!" Tobe shouted.
"An elbow pass, it seems." Hayato said. "That's the only way to describe it."
"He passed the ball to the open man even if the timing was a bit rushed." Komachi said in awe. "Onii-chan sure had a quick Plan B option."
Yukino nodded. It was not the intention but it was something much better than a turnover.
The match continued but it only got more intense. With Hikigaya and Villacorta going head to head, their speed increased, and since the game had evolved into a run-and-gun play, the rest of players were upping their speed as each cannot afford to lose in a shooting match. The Philippines felt as though they were doing sprints although they didn't mind though.
The audience was kept in an uproar, as they noticed that Hikigaya and Midorima went on a scoring spree. The moment the Philippines had a scored a basket, after couple dribbles by Akashi, the two would always take it back. However, this doesn't mean that the lead had increased. In fact, this was the moment that the Philippines had finally made their run.
While Villacorta made directed traffic in their offense and sometimes, Navarro sank what seemed to be endless threes as slowly, they began to whittle down the nine–point deficit in to a lead change that went back and fourt. Akashi and Hikigaya worked together to keep the team afloat since only three of them can hit threes from a far distance in a consistent rate.
As the clock continues to count down, everyone noticed something with the two teams. They were all getting worn out although thanks to their beach exercise yesterday, Japan seemed to be able to stand on their legs as they were breathing heavily.
My head is starting to go blank. Kiyoshi thought. We're lucky that we already started with beach exercises yesterday. Just a few more minutes and I think I'm ready to collapse on the bench. It doesn't help that I missed my last four attempts on the three point line…
Navarro stood staring and catching his breath, however, he seemed lost to the world. Villacorta called out to him as the ball was passed.
"Huh?" The ball bounced off his hand and he just realized what happened. Without hitch, Hikigaya snatched the ball and stormed down court, with Villacorta following. By the time the latter came up in front of him, Hikigaya stopped. Akashi passed the former and in that moment, Hikigaya released the ball behind him and the captain caught it. He then throws it to Okamura, who spots Midorima and gives up the ball. Once more, the Shutoku ace shot his usual high-release shot as everyone watched the ball go up in an absurd height before it came down crashing straight into the basket.
Riled up, Villacorta took the ball, and made his way to Japan's net. Suddenly, after dribbling the ball towards the three-point line, Villacorta didn't even take the time to compose himself as he stops and pops a three pointer.
To the annoyance of Akashi, the ball smoothly went inside the iron hoop.
Looking at the score, the redhead saw that the Philippines were only one point behind at 105. When they headed back, the game once more returned to a three-point battle. Back and forth both teams went, scoring points after points.
The audience went crazy at seeing such intensity; Ogiwara was constantly at the edge of his seat, enjoying the thrill it gave him as he and his other benched teammates watch from the sidelines. This is really pumping up my adrenaline. I want more!
"At this rate, no one knows who is going to win," Atsugi himself felt like he was on edge as the two teams traded shots after shots.
At twenty seconds remaining, the two teams were tied but it didn't last long. Midorima had made a whole-court three, raising them to 115.
Hikigaya prevented Villacorta from penetrating but the former knew that he was capable of making shots under pressure as well. When Akashi came up behind Hikigaya, the latter then shifted, allowing the captain to mark the Filipino ace. Villacorta was confused by this so he decided to break pass from a crossover. However, Akashi was able to keep up with his nimble feet and in this moment of distraction, Hikigaya snatched the ball and sent it flying to Kiyoshi who was already sprinting away.
Everyone then followed suit, the Filipinos trying their best to catch the greenhead. Navarro managed to but the brunette shot the ball, although he knew that it wouldn't go in.
"Okamura!" he shouted.
"Leave it to me!" The gorilla shouted. The ball bounced off the rim of the net and Okamura managed to beat down his opponent to go for the board. Passing it to Midorima, Japan once more added another three to their points.
With ten seconds left, Villacorta still had the stamina left in his body as he dashed towards Japan's net and without hesitation, he shot another three-pointer while his distance from the line was ten feet. Nevertheless, the trey went in.
Kiyoshi picked up the ball but the moment he tried to inbounds it, he realized that everyone from the Philippines was now pressing them down in full-court as he saw that he cannot pass freely.
"Kiyoshi, give it to me!" Okamura raised up his right hand to try and grab the ball airborne.
Nodding, the Iron Heart chest passes it to the center, who managed to get the ball with relative ease. However, to the horror of the Japanese (and the delight of the Filipinos), the moment Okamura got the ball, Navarro managed to sneak from behind and as Okamura was about to pass the ball to Akashi, the shooting guard knocked it out of his hands.
"No!" Ogiwara, Hayama Kotaro, and Mibuchi wailed as they saw Villacorta grabbed the ball and realizing that he is behind the three point line, he shot the ball quickly although Hikigaya managed to contest it. Because of the challenge, the ball rattled in but ended up sinking inside the net.
Shit! That was very clumsy on my part! Okamura cursed himself as once again, they were being pressed full-court. As Kiyoshi was gritting his teeth while holding the ball…
"Kiyoshi-senpai!"
The Iron Heart's ears perked when he saw Hikigaya raised his right hand as he was breaking away from his mark and ran towards the net of the Philippines. Quickly, he decided to pass the ball airborne before anyone can steal it and in a quick turn of events, the ball ended up with Hikigaya, who was already running ahead of everyone.
"Go, Hikki!" Yuigahama was elated.
"Shoot this one, onii-chan!" Komachi can't help but feel overjoyed.
"Not so fast!" Suddenly, Villacorta came like a blur as he recovered from his position to be able to run and catch up with Hikigaya and within seconds, he managed to jump as Hikigaya prepared to shoot for a layup.
You don't have that much steam anymore, Villcorta. Hikigaya gritted as he ducks in for an evasion against the block. You have blocked this before but now…
With one last push, Hikigaya threw the ball up and before the Filipino could make any attempt to swat it, the ball hit the backboard and danced around the ring for the moment before it eventually fell inside the ring and into the net.
"Yes, Hikigayacchi!" Kise cheered as Kuroko and Kagami raise their fists in celebration of the basket.
Normally, that would have put us at the possibility of winning but… Shirogane looked at the clock. There is still 5.5 second left. That's plenty of time left. They…
"It's not over!" Akashi shouted as he comes back to defense, just in time to see Villacorta having the ball. Seeing that the three-point line was now heavily guarded, the Filipino floor general then passed it to Navarro, who held the ball instead. As fast as the wind, Villacorta came across the shooting guard and grabbed the ball back. He then penetrated the shaded area but saw Okamura and Kiyoshi quickly close in the shaded area so instead of settling for a layup, he crosses to his right and tried to go for a layup.
Hikigaya and Akashi closes in on him as they tried to block him without actually fouling him.
With only 1.1 seconds left, both teams were literally standing up from their benches as one mistake alone could spell the difference between a win and a literal tie as there was no more hope for a three pointer. Villacorta knew this fully well so he decided to settle for one last push.
He released the ball with a high arc that it was impossible even for Akashi, who was in front, to swat away, and for Hikigaya, who is behind Villacorta, to slam it down on the floor.
Time seemed to have frozen as everyone watched the ball go into a semi-circle flow of travel in the air. Yuigahama was already biting her nails as everyone on the Japanese bench were all to focused on the ball to noticed Kagami's mouth hilariously open.
Then, as if time has been shattered, the ball had hit down the board and quickly rattled and danced in the ring.
This is so nerve-wracking! Orimoto was wishing that the Filipino didn't have to shoot the ball.
Then, after a low of twists and twirls, the ball gently fell inside the hoop.
The swish of the ball was loud since everyone was so entranced by the turn of events that they had even forgot to comment on what is happening.
The thud of the ball to the floor perfectly brought to the conclusion the whole game, which ended with everyone looking at the scores.
Japan 120 – 120 Philippines
Everyone from the audience began to whisper to one another as they had finally absorbed what just happened.
"Th-They're tied…" Haruno stuttered as he watched the players were literally sweating heavily while breathing rapidly, "Is the game…you know…going to overtime?"
"Normally, yes," Hyuuga answered from behind, "However, tune-up games like this one aren't really an official match and aren't officially sanctioned by a tournament organizer."
"Which means…" Yuigahama trailed off.
"Yeah. It's a tie," Izuki shrugged. "Not that it's unusual. Something similar happened back in our game when we were second years."
The buzzer then sounded, indicating a score and the match's end. "With a score of 120 to 120, it's a tie!" The referee announced.
Quickly, the two teams lined up and with a resounding bow to each other and a "Than you for the game!" to cap it off, the two teams then shook hands with each other before they all retreated to the benches.
The audience then started clapping in what is actually a very intense but enjoying match to watch as Yukino then excused herself, "Nee-san, sensei, excuse me. I needed to go to the washroom."
The Japan locker room wasn't exactly gloomy but neither does it have a happy atmosphere. No one said anything but all eyes looked at Akashi, who didn't seem embarrassed by the fact that he just chugged down a whole bottle of Gatorade. He just sat there, seemingly happy that he was just able to hydrate himself and seeing this, Momoi was both happy yet sad.
"Damn, that was an exhausting match," Kiyoshi finally said a word, trying to uplift the spirits of the team, "Hey, you all look so gloomy. At least, we enjoyed the whole match, right?"
"Exactly. Besides, it's just a practice match," Himuro followed up, "It's a learning experience."
"Yeah but we didn't win, Muro-chin," Murasakibara sulked on his seat.
"But we didn't exactly lose as well, Murasakibara-kun," Kuroko added up.
Midorima pushed up his glasses as he harrumphed, "Hmm, that's because technically, it was neither. I should have brought a larger Tanuki statue."
"Oh, so you're blaming this on your stupid horoscope luck, megane?" Aomine drawled as he scratched his back with his porn magazines. He had already removed his basketball shoes and replaced his footwear with Nike slippers.
"It wasn't just a matter of luck, Aomine," Midorima retorted, "It was a matter of our fate and the aligning of our stars."
Everyone sweatdropped at what the greenhead said. The hell?!
"Luck or not, it was still a game we have enjoyed." It was at this point that Akashi had started to speak, "Yes, we didn't exactly win but we can learn a lot from it. It was just misfortunate that Villacorta-san managed to squeeze one last play that resulted in that shot."
"By the way, that number five guy managed to shoot over your head even if your Emperor Eye is fully functioning," Nijimura wiped his face with a white towel, "I thought you and Hikigaya had it."
"His release point is too high for the two of us to catch it," Akashi replied, "He was also fast enough to evade my Emperor Eyes and relying too much on it would be too foolish."
Suddenly, Kuroko perked up, as if he remembered something, "Speaking of that part, has anyone saw Hikigaya-kun?"
"Oh…" Ogiwara had spoken up while removing his jersey, "He went to the washroom to refreshen up. He told me himself."
"Fancy seeing you here, Hikigaya-kun…"
"Yo…"
Yukinoshita Yukino had just barely got out of the women's section of the restroom when she spotted her club mate, who was wearing slippers while holding his already worn-out Fly Wades, standing in front of the vending machine while he was about to drop in a cent.
"Don't tell me that your shoes are the reason you didn't win, Hikigaya-kun," Yukino calmly noted the appearance of the Jordan shoes, which looked like it was ready to burst out anytime.
"I admit that I was a moron for not immediately buying an immediate replacement for these old shoes," Hikigaya sighed as he went for a Powerade drink instead of his usual Maxx coffee, "Guess that was how beat up these shoes are."
Yukino nodded as she watches Hikigaya silently open up the bottled sports drink and drank it. After a while, she spoke again, "Hikigaya-kun, for a sloth like you, I didn't expect you to play that hard. It was a good game, after all."
Hikigaya snorted as he grips the laces of his shoes quite tightly, "My little sister is watching. It would be embarrassing if I wouldn't at least put more effort just for her to enjoy. Besides, the opponent is too tough; I had to appease coach and Akashi somehow. It might not be a win but it was better than losing."
"I see…"
There was silence again. By this time, they unconsciously sat down on a bench sandwiched between the two entrances of the restroom. Only the slurping of the sweet liquid coming from the Powerade bottle can be heard as Hikigaya was relishing every sip he consumes. It wasn't long before he manages to finish drinking as he himself is exhausted from the competitive game and he wanted nothing more than to rest tonight.
"I take it that you would be continuing work without me for the next few weeks?" Hikigaya spoke once he threw away the bottle, "Then at least, look out for my little sister?"
"Of course, Hikigaya-kun." Yukino nodded before she added, "By the way, since your shoes is broken, would you like to—"
"There you are, onii-chan!"
The pale beauty wasn't able to complete her sentence as a third voice belonging to someone Hikigaya knew too well suddenly surface. Looking towards the direction of that voice, the pair saw Komachi, Yuigahama and the others appearing on the hallway.
"Yu-Yukinon…" Yuigahama didn't know what to say, seeing that they were together.
"Yukino-chan seemed to be learning naught moves today, heehee…" Haruno teased her.
"Nee-san, it was mere coincidence that this thing went to the restroom the same time as I did…" Yukino vehemently denied it.
Ouch. Hikigaya comically felt stabbed in the heart before he recovered, "By the way, I'm surprised you are all still here." He specifically eyed Hayama Hayato, who just eye-smiled while his clique was just busy interacting by themselves.
"We're going back to Sobu now but it would be best if we tried to see you first before we leave." Hayato spoke in a friendly way, "At the very least, that's the least we could do for you since out of the fifteen guys in your team, you're the only one who came from Sobu."
"That's non-sense and you don't need to do it though I would just take it at face value," Hikigaya grunted.
"Hikigaya, make us proud," Hiratsuka said in a rough manner, "Or else, I would have to punch it to you."
"Yes, senpai! I didn't know you could play that well." Hikigaya can only grimace as he was tempted to cover his ears to tune out any rubbish that Isshiki will say, "But that was a good game."
"Yeah, it was a good game."
"Wha—" Hikigaya heard another foreign voice that was too familiar to him and he turned to his right, only to see Villacorta, wearing a plain white t-shirt and slippers, walking right next to him. What the hell is he doing here?!
"It was nice to see play with you again, Hikigaya." The Filipino guard was direct and honest in his speech.
"Hnn. Since you said that to me, than I guess it was also fine that I was able to verse you after almost three years of my hiatus." Hikigaya replied. The others were simply watching their conversation with interest. "Though losing to you would have been bad taste on my part."
"Same here, dude. Same here." Villacorta chuckled, "Well, Hikigaya, let's play again some time after the Olympics Basketball. There's a Streetball Tournament in Tokyo that I wish I could team up with you."
"I don't—"
"There's money prize involved too."
"Hmm. I'll think about it." As much as he wouldn't want to, Hikigaya guessed that he could go and check this one out.
"That's great. It would be Asia versus Europe." The foreign player said, "You…me…Ahmad Saoud of Lebanon…Jin Min-goo of South Korea…Zhao Hufeng of China…it would be a great all-Asian team."
Hikigaya only nodded.
"By the way, one last thing before I eventually leave you in peace…" Villacorta picked up his duffel bag, "Don't you think of even losing until I get the chance to beat your ass."
Now, that somewhat made Hikigaya scowl, "If it's only basketball, I gladly accept that challenge of yours."
Villacorta responded by drawing a fist and placing it in front of the rotten-eyed boy. It was moments before Hikigaya understood what it meant and reluctantly, he raised up his hands and they made a fist-bump before the Filipino guard finally left while lazily waving while walking away.
"Man, that guy was bat-shit scary…" Tobe was shivering literally.
"Spot on." Ebina watched, "Aside from Hikitani-kun and his fellow Generation of Miracles, I don't know anyone who can play at his level."
It was really an amazing game. Atsugi, who was quiet for most of the time, thought as he watched back-and-fourth between Hikigaya and Villacorta. Hikigaya, Akashi-san from Rakuzan and that number five guy are really monsters.
He then smirked.
Looks like I have a video tape for my boys at the basketball club to watch and learn.
Sneak Peak: After the heart-wrenching tie between Japan and the Philippines, Hikigaya and the rest of the crew continued with the rest of the practice. While they were busy strengthening the national basketball team, a lot of things has been happening lately in Sobu. Tobe Kakeru wants another shot at asking out Ebina Hina, Mrs. Yukinoshita confronts her youngest daughter about associating with their family's greatest 'adversaries,' and Orimoto tries to spend quality time with her former middle school classmate. Amidst all of these, another foreign player appears at Sobu High School and was demanding a one-on-one with the school's basketball team captain. Who is these guy and why did he just do what he did? Find out!