When everyone saw that Aomine and Midorima had been benched, they were beyond shocked although the smarter ones in the audience knew that this is actually a good set-up for three reasons: preserving Aomine's stamina for the final stretch, to rotate their players and to help clog the shaded area. For those who saw the semi-final, they knew that the Kiyoshi is the best Japanese big man outside of Murasakibara and his versatility has been a key factor in their win versus South Korea. Mibuchi, meanwhile, is a dreaded shooter who can surprise the Russians with his three types of shot.
Misaka raised an eyebrow at this and looked across to Japan's bench. The supposed starting guard in Akashi was sitting beside their coach and he seemed to be explaining something, as the look on his face was serious. She also took a look at Kuroko, who is sitting besides Kagami, and she was somehow proud of herself as she finally managed to see him flesh and blood right away after those days of getting a mini-heart attack due to him surprising her all of the sudden with his lack of presence. And seriously, will they even use him at this match? He looks so useless at this point.
"I was just wondering…" Suddenly, a blonde which Misaka recognized as one of the 'idiot's' friends, suddenly expressed a question that is buzzing him. "Will they even use Kuro-yan on this match? He wasn't even used in that match against South Korea. He's one of Kami-yan's teammates, right?"
"You know one of Kamijou-chan's teammates, Tsuchimikado-chan?" Komoe asked curiously.
"Those two idiots teamed up with that idiot Touma and his two teammates one time." Fukiyose felt her head suddenly ache as she was reminded of that certain incident. "Honestly, I didn't think you two would run off, only to find both of you already playing with them."
They did what? Misaka was curious as well to know what the two idiot pair just did to incur an irritated reaction from their acting class representative.
"Kuroko-kun would be most likely used in this match, then." Kumokawa touched her chin. "He's practically invisible, right? If they didn't use him at the last game, then that means he'll be used much more effectively in this game."
"Considering that he's misdirection works with stronger offensive players, he'll be going inside when the game is close in crunch time…"
Fukiyose was surprised to hear a voice different from their class and when she turned, she found out that it was none other than Seirin's clutch captain, Hyuga.
"Uhm…Hyuga-san, right?" Fukiyose recognized the face of Seirin's captain and shooting guard come with another familiar face in Izuki, Koganei, Tsuchida, and Mitobe. "And Izuki-san…Mitobe-san…I forgot the two of you."
Koganei felt an imaginary arrow pierced his knee while Tsuchida was like 'Why am I always forgotten more than Mitobe?'
"Glad you remember us even if you're not a student of Seirin." Izuki made a smile as they sat in the chairs that were beside Class 2 – 7. But as Hyuga was already sitting down in his chair, Komoe walked hear his location .
"You're Hyuga-san, right? I remembered you're my former student's captain right now."
"Uh…yeah. That's me." Hyuga also remembered the pinkette from their past game although he didn't know her name. "Uhm…sorry for the rudeness but who are you exactly?"
"I'm Kamijou-chan's former teacher, Komoe Tsukuyomi." The minute pinkette introduced herself cheerfully.
"Hyuga Junpei. Captain of Kamijou." Hyuga then motioned at Izuki. "In terms of position, he supplanted Izuki Shun who is our vice-captain."
"In fact, thanks for giving Kamijou—" Izuki didn't finish his words as he was smacked in the chest by Tsuchida, who was being too worried of what he might say.
"Thanks for taking care of Kamijou-chan." Komoe said with gratitude in her voice. "As much as it hurts me that he left our school, I'm still glad that you were all good seniors to him."
"Uh…okay…" To hear this from a person he didn't even know personally was weird for Hyuga although he didn't show it.
"Look!" Koganei shouted as he points towards the court. "The game is now restarting!"
Everyone focused their eyes on the game as Russia had only retained Stakhanov and Shpagin while subbing in two newer faces for the game. Number 23 the shooting guard then inbounds the ball as number 25 the small forward receives it before passing it to Stakhanov. He then made his way down court where Kamijou came to block him. The aura that oozed out of Stakhanov made the spiky haired boy wonder if the first quarter as well as the whole game in the semi-finals was only a prelude to what he can do. He seemed to be on a different level. But nevertheless, he was determined not to let Stakhanov pass him.
Or steal the ball.
Stakhanov then did a right to left to right crossover which Kamijou followed. However, the moment he'd done so, Stakhanov passed the ball left into Number 23's waiting arms but Kamijou has sensed he this from what the set-up he saw in his falcon Eyes and he was quick to pick up on this action so his fingers managed to graze it. It bounced off the floor, but the shooting guard managed to catch it before passing it back to Stakhanov the moment he saw Mibuchi tightening up his defense. Seeing this, Kamijou went back to stop him in his tracks.
"Hmm, you think you can stop me, kid?" The Russian smirked as he bounced the ball.
"I won't know until I try." Kamijou replied rather blandly.
"I guess I will show you something nice then." Stakhanov then started dribbling hard as Kamijou was struggling to keep his eyes close. Is this a dribble like Nash Gold Jr. or a quick drive and score? After four dribbles, Stakhanov broke past Kamijou. However, Kamijou was able to catch him back. But then Stakhanov did a left to right crossover to pass Kamijou on his right.
Instead of looking dazed off, Kamijou looked relieved. The moment the Russian passed him, he used his right hand to knock the ball from the brunette's hand. Seeing this, Kiyoshi was quick enough to snatch it and they dashed towards Russia's net.
The Japanese crowd erupted with cheers, seeing someone steal the ball from Nikolai Stakhanov, who's famous for his dribbling techniques and his Vulture Eye, although this time, it looks like he wasn't able to anticipate what happened.
"Wow! He stopped it!" Koganei shouted. "I didn't expect him to completely shut down that dribble."
"Yep. Well, actually, Kamijou asked me to teach him one of my specialty moves." Izuki answered. He looked a bit proud. Mitobe didn't miss this and he wondered what the hell did he and their spiky haired player just did.
"Huh?" Hyuga asked.
"Kamijou might have already foreseen this type of game so he asked me one day to teach him how to do the Eagle Spear." Izuki answered "It's ridiculous, in fact. He's already strong enough but he was willing learn more, much less from me."
"But how did he manage to get the ball from Stakhanov-san?" Himegami found himself joining in the conversation.
"Because he's dominantly right-handed." Izuki replied. "He forced Stakhanov to pass him on his right so he could use his dominant hand to its full and it's a good spot since it looks like Stakhanov's left hand handling isn't as good even though he had his own Vulture Eyes."
On Japan's bench, Shirogane was quite pleased with how things are going. At first, he was still having second thoughts about subbing in Mibuchi and Kiyoshi inside but hearing Akashi's suggestion that they should reinforce the defense in the shaded lane as well as give two of the Generation of Miracles a breather as to not waste their stamina early on, he gave in and was glad he listened to his former Teiko player for once. He then looked back to the match in time to see Kamijou with Stakhanov at the top of the circle, their shooting guards at the left wing, the small forwards in the paint, the centers in the shaded area under the net and Kiyoshi was somehow free as his counterpart was busy helping Shpagin in fending off Murasakibara.
Kamijou had the ball bouncing and looked at his possible options. Shit, no opening at all. Just some bad luck. He could try to drive past the taller Stakhanov but he knew that the brunette veteran is better than that and had some trick up his sleeve. He then looked to the wing, and saw that number 23's defense was giving Mibuchi a hard time. He looked at the paint and saw a cold stare coming from Shpagin, who was determined to defend the basket at all cost. Passing to Murasakibara with that beast pushing him around wouldn't be such a good idea. He thought as the safest choice he had right now was Kiyoshi.
Kamijou then looked to the right but then he moved to the left instead. But Stakhanov was not to be taken lightly as he saw through it. He blocked the spiky haired boy on his left and with swift movements and he stole the ball from Kamijou and blitzed his way towards Japan's net. Kamijou chased him down and had caught him up in time. Stakhanov then drew back a step, and then dribbled around the teen. But the latter was persistent. He still managed to block his vision but then Stakhanov made an aerial pass to Shpagin.
Catching the ball in the air, the giant Russian jumped but was surprised to see Murakibara jump as well. What height! But he didn't care as he quickly slammed the ball even before Murasakibara can even touch the leather. The dunk was so strong that it shook the Yosen ace.
"Shit..." Kiyoshi can only mutter as he watched the ball land into the hardwood floor. Kise walked up and held him on his shoulder.
"Don't mind, Murasakibaracchi." He tried to cheer him up. "Let's get back our points. There's still time."
"Ugh…I'll make sure to get back to him…" Murasakibara drawled but his eyes glint with blood thirst as he stands up.
Kiyoshi retrieved the ball and passed it to Kamijou. He then made his way down court while the others got into position. When Kamijou made it to Stakhanov, he bounced the ball in front of him and then quickly dashed in his right before freezing, making Stakhanov unable to react in due time. He then passed it to Kiyoshi who had run pass and the center-turned-power forward then passed it to Mibuchi was open.
Number 23 quickly came to block him, but Mibuchi picked up his dribbling speed. When he reached his preferred speed, he then seemed as though he was about to make a crossover. Number anticipated this, so he moved slightly to the left to block Mibuchi. But, he was shocked when the Night Demon pushed the ball back out with the same hand.
A fake?
Mibuchi then dashed past number 23 with nimbleness, but the former had caught him back. In the instant he'd done so, Mibuchi then switched the hand the ball was in and then spun on his left leg to face into Kise's direction. He then bounced it to the small forward who then chest passed it to Shinohara who had run to them. With a tap, the point guard then sent into Murasakibara's direction and quickly, he faked Shpagin before he made a layup. Nice layup. You're more skillful than Silver. The Russian center can't help but feel impressed with the purple head's ball fake as the latter high-fived with the blonde from Kaijo High School.
"Mibuchi Reo..." Hyuga muttered as he narrows his sight. "I didn't expect that he had a polished dribbling as well."
"He's an Uncrowned King. What do you expect?" Izuki said. "Plus, Kiyoshi is now injury-free with the stem cell treatment that he got from the United States. Because of that, his healing timeline is much faster than traditional surgery."
"They already had stem cell treatment?" Fukiyose asked in curiosity. "From what I know, only Academy City had that kind of treatment."
"Only in Academy City if you're pertaining to Japan alone." Hyuga clarified. "They already have it in America and even in UK and Germany. In fact, they say that the stem cell treatment abroad is much better because their medical research is well-funded although the treatment itself it was expensive as hell."
"Eh? Who paid for Kiyoshi's treatment, then?" Koganei asked.
"Although I hate to admit it, it was Akashi through his father's corporation." Hyuga admitted. "Some three days after the finals game against Rakuzan, Akashi came forward to me and said that he'll pay for Kiyoshi's treatment of his knee since he said he wanted to play him in his best."
"So it's for Akashi's own enjoyment, eh?" Izuki mused. "But I guess I can't complain if it helps our ace and founder come back faster that we initially expected."
On the Kaijou bench, Shirogane noticed that the players' mood had changed so he stood up and shouted.
"Murasakibara, Kiyoshi! Shpagin's coming!"
When they heard this, the two started running after Shpagin, who had the ball. Even though all of Russia's players were not to be taken lightly, they fretted the most about Shpagin and Stakhanov. Both Kiyoshi and Murakibara had to deal with Shpagin whose combination of grace and strength has been a bane for them and well, Kamijou has to mark Nikolai Stakhanov, probable even the whole game.
There's no way I'll survive this one with my sanity intact. The spiky haired boy inwardly cried. But then, he felt a hand on his shoulder. Looking at the person, he saw that it was his senpai, Kiyoshi Teppei.
"What's with the face you're showing? Just play like you." Kiyoshi assured him. "Don't worry too much about Akashi. We all know you can keep up so let's just all have fun."
"Don't drag us down, Kami-chin." Murasakibara said while he was yawning.
"Ah yeah. Thanks Murasakibara even though I don't know if you're being encouraging or not."
"Now, let's do this!" Kise shouted in glee.
Russia was on offense this time, and once more, it was Kamijou facing off against Stakhanov while Shpagin was slowed down by the double defense of Murasakibara and Kiyoshi. So they're really aiming to stop our center while sacrificing the outside, huh? Kamijou tried to block Stakhanov but the brunette passed the ball seemingly into empty space without even looking and within a blink, the ball had made its way into number 23's hands and he made a clean bank shot.
What a smooth shot. Kagami, who is watching from the bench with some nervousness, mentally cringed at seeing one of the most basic yet most annoying shots in basketball to see especially in a middle of a heated game.
It was now Japan's possession and Kamijou Touma had the ball. As much as he hated to admit it, he was now getting pissed off and pressured from Stakhanov's point guard capabilities. But he knew he couldn't stay like that or else, it would affect not only him but also his four other teammates. Dribbling against Stakhanov, Kamijou then went to the left but as soon as he stepped his other foot, Stakhanov was able to block his left path.
Not that he cared anyway.
It's all the space that I need. Kamijou mentally said as he crossed between his legs to the right and didn't hesitate to dash. Crap! Stakhanov can only curse as the spiky haired boy spotted Kise free from the perimeter. But seeing number 25 looking back-and-forth at him and the copycat, he decided to go into his shooting form. Stakhanov tried to recover but by the time he tried to block him from behind, Kamijou had already faded away as the ball was sent flying to the hoop in an arch form.
When the two Japanese centers saw Kamijou shoot the ball, they knew that they should get ready for the rebound anytime. The two then boxed out the muscular Shpagin, who was pushing them to their limit. Crap! This guy's heavier than we thought. Kiyoshi was using his whole strength to just help Murasakibara deny Shpagin the rebound.
To their relief, the ball simply bounced off the glass as it ends up swishing through the net.
"That boy wasn't even afraid to take that shot." Yomikawa commented as he watched her former student ran back to defense. "Was he that confident before?"
"I think it's not only that." Kumokawa replied. "It was because he knew that passing to the blonde would be much riskier and that he saw that the shaded area was secured enough that when he misses, it would be guaranteed that they would be able to get the ball back for another chance to score."
"That's right." Hyuga confirmed her answer. "As long as Kiyoshi and that Murasakibara puts pressure under the net, Kamijou would be free to shoot the ball since he believed that they'll get a rebound should he miss."
They refocused on the match to see Stakhanov with the ball facing off with Kamijouo. Once more, the brunette was dribbling the ball away as the younger players was pressuring him. Damn, this kid's annoying. Stakhanov gritted his teeth as he made a bullet pass to number 23 although the ball didn't reach to the latter.
Shit! I carelessly made a pass! Stakhanov raged as he saw Kise suddenly cut in-between him and number 23 as he intercepted the orange leather and went for a fast break.
The blonde then went for a layup but when he felt a shadow (which was Shpagin) looming over him, he was able to pass it back towards Mibuchi who then swiftly passed to Kamijou. The latter then slowed down the pace as he waited for everyone to recover to their positions. "Thank goodness Ki-chan decided to pass it back than to force the layup." Momoi muttered as all of them in the bench are glued in the match.
"I'm actually surprised he didn't force the shot." Midorima replied. "Normally, he wouldn't mind making the shot himself."
Kamijou then passed it back quickly to Mibuchi, who made his three-point shot.
Their bench erupted in glee as their Japanese supporters were screaming. Komoe rose to her feet and cheered as well and Fukiyose and the others had to force her to sit down even if she's not blocking anyone's view due to her height. But either way, Japan was now in the lead at 36 and Russia was on 35.
Surprisingly, Stakhanov, who is now upset that they lost their lead, was still calm as he brings down the ball. As Kamijou comes up to defend him, Stakhanov acted as if he got possessed by a great demon as he suddenly passed the ball overhead. Kamijou was confused until he watched the ball caught by Shpagin's hands. An alley-oop? He gasped as Murasakibara sensed it and tried to block it but Shpagin didn't care anyway as he smashes the ball over the purple-head and Kiyoshi, who came a step too late.
"He—He dunked that ball over Murasakibaracchi and Kiyoshi-san…" Kise can't believe at what he saw as the Russian giant scored at will like he didn't see the defense as an obstacle.
"What are you standing there, Kamijou?! Restart it!" Shirogane shouted from the sidelines. "Get back the points!"
Quickly, he got the ball as he began to run. When the game restarted, the spiky haired boy was more determined right now. If we wanted to stop them, I'll have to stop this guy first. He thought as he found himself facing off against Stakhanov again. He tried to match the brunette's speed when he kept doing his drives or crossovers but he just couldn't break free of the triple threat and his fakes. The moment Stakhanov found out that he manage to read his moves, he'll simply pass it to number 23 or to Shpagin for the score.
But that didn't mean that he didn't any few tricks up his sleeves. As a point guard, Kamijou made few mistakes, if any, and he was able to size up the situation and choose the wisest option. For someone who only started to play basketball in the last weeks of April, he had grown to become a mature playmaker and he had become an important cog in Seirin's successful run-and-gun system. On the other hand, his teammates proved to be helpful to him despite being down with only two of the Generation of Miracles at their current five. Kise, so far, was able to copy any movement he saw them being executed in front of him. Murasakibara, despite being shaken up by the posterization by Shpagin, is still holding his own against the taller Russian center as they compete for position under the net.
But it seemed that it was the spiky haired boy who stole the show from the other Japanese players, as the crowd keeps cheering them on. He was somehow able to keep the team stable and calm in face of the odds against them and from the audience, Kamijou Touya and Shiina smiled at that. Their son has been setting up plays like a pick-and-roll, forming a one-two punch with Mibuchi at the two-guard position.
At one instance, Kamijou had the ball and made his way to the top of the circle where Stakhanov was but the moment he'd come to the brunette, he then chest-passed the ball to Mibuchi who was nearby and then moved off. The Rakuzan shooting guard then freeze-faked his mark before he passed the ball back to the younger boy who goes to the right direction as Mibuchi comes up and screens for him. The spiky haired boy then got into a free spot before throwing up a three-point shot which was too strong.
To his relief, Murasakibara was able to get the rebound and passed it back to Kamijou, who shot it the second time and this time, it hit its intended target.
Another time, the two did a pick and roll. While Kamijou made his way with the ball, Mibuchi had set up a screen against Stakhanov to let the raven pass freely. But as soon as the point guard came close, Mibuchi slipped behind the brunette and received the ball from him and dribbled into the paint where he faced Number 23. Knowing that his dribbling skills aren't anything special like Hayama or Akashi, Mibuchi simply used two different dribbles to get through. The first one he used was the hesitation dribble, and when he'd done so, he looked to the left at his fellow Uncrowned General in Kiyoshi and to the right at Kise.
Seeing this action, it made Number 23 think that he's thinking about passing to either of the two boys. However, Mibuchi then went into a crossover while keeping the ball away from their hands before shooting a leaner shot.
In short, Kamijou and Mibuchi pulled the guys along, getting them pumped and excited. Even the crowd was amazed by the two's teamwork, and never stopped cheering for the Akatsuki Five.
But this doesn't erase Russia as a threat. Whenever they were on the offense, they stormed in Japan's half, and what was strange is that none of them had any look of worry or doubts. They all looked as though it was just a walk in the park.
Stakhanov's wide field of vision enabled him to get the ball to his subjects and it just pisses off Kamijou and the rest of the guys to no end, but whenever they stole glances at their bench and sometimes, at the crowd and heart shouts of encouragement, they pulled together and did their best. There were many times when Stakhanov or the ball or both managed to get away from Kamijou's defense and he would just look at his opponent with an air of arrogance that always makes the younger guard cringe off.
Murasakibara and Shpagin are constantly battling it out under the net, and even though he had the help of Kiyoshi who was always giving him some advices, the Yosen giant was having difficulty with the other. To be frank, his body was just as huge and thick. That meant in all that muscle that he had, there's power. It was a constant tug-of-war under the net, and even though he wouldn't admit it aloud, he was glad that Kiyoshi was always free to get the rebounds as he boxes out the taller Russian. If he wasn't, then just stopping Shpagin alone while fighting for rebounds would have been close to impossible.
All in all, the second quarter was back and forth for both teams, but Russia had the slight edge as they didn't allow Japan to fully use their shooters to their full potential due to the suffocating defense. But while the game was on-going, Akashi was already cooking up some plan on how to break away from them.
By the time Kamijou Touma had hit a deep three-pointer shot, the buzzer had sounded and the first half ended with Russia on 58 points while Japan is sitting on 56.
The locker room of the Japanese team was noisy as the boys were praising both Kamijou and Mibuchi for their partnership in the second quarter. Shirogane can only sigh as he was watching all of them still in high spirits despite the fact that they are down, although by a single basket.
"Not a bad first half." Shirogane began to talk. "Now let's get down to business. Akashi, tell us what is on your mind?"
"As I deduced when I first observed their movements, it's similar to that Seiho team that faced Seirin last year." Akashi explains. "Basically, they're old martial arts techniques."
"Eh? Martial Arts? You mean, like Jet Li or Jackie Chan?" Hayama asked, quite confused.
"Idiot. Not the martial arts that you see in commercial industry." Midorima replied. "It's more of the bodily movements that are specialized."
"Midorima-kun is right." Aida nodded as she gives a water bottle to Kiyoshi. "It's called Namba running."
"Correct. Namba running is a kind of physical movements that allows you to run without tiring yourself out." Akashi explains. "By avoiding twisting, they reduce the strain on their bodies and the energy they spend. That's why their defense lasts long than a normal player can hope for."
"So what will we do? Force them to twist their bodies?" Kamijou asked.
"Not in a literal sense but we can force them to abandon it." Akashi then took a whiteboard as he carefully sits on the bench as to not aggravate his injury. "Everyone, gather. I think we needed to iron out some problems."
Up in the audience, a certain class and company were now getting nervous as they were waiting for the third quarter to start. All throughout the second quarter, they kept gasping in shock and surprise but they really applauded a certain number 3 player for his skills and fighting spirit.
"Who would've thought that the preachy Level 0 would have done so well?" Accelerator, who just came back from buying a can of coffee, said. "Not saying he stands a chance but he plays quite well, even if I hate to admit it."
"But the savior was very amazing, says Misaka as Misaka was trying to point out a fact." Last Order said in a cheeky voice as she was already annoying the bored Level 1 Esper.
"Last Order, shut up."
On another side of an audience, Misaka was simply dumbfounded as she watches the 'idiot' take control of their team. Honestly, something was bothering her even from the start when he had left Academy City for Seirin High School. And she saw the chance to finally end that when she realized that most of his former classmates in a certain high school were present, judging by the appearance of several familiar faces her once encountered.
"Hey, you." She suddenly asked Tsuchimikado, who was busy eating some popcorns. "When did that idiot started to play basketball, much less get good with it. It's not like I saw him before playing that sport before."
"What? Oh…" Tsuchimikado then tried to search his brain for some clues. "To be honest, I don't even remember when did Kami-yan even became interested in playing basketball."
"The better question is…" Aogami butted in. "How did Kami-yan even became that good? Good in the sense that he is almost on the level of those famous Generation of Miracles. Think about it. He even managed to start for this match."
"That was because their captain who was supposed to be the starting guard was injured." Fukiyose was compelled to correct him. "Although that doesn't make him less strong than those other guys with him."
"Come to think of it…" It seemed that the blonde backstabber had finally remembered something. "Now that this ojou-chan from Tokiwadai mentioned it, I do remember him carrying a leather basketball back then and that was weeks before he disappeared."
"And?" Misaka questioned further.
"And I don't know what happened beyond that." Tsuchimikado then grinned. "Why, ojou-chan? Wanna play hoops as well, nya. Or you just needed to stalk him."
"Idiot, no!" Misaka was flustered as she denies it angrily. "Why would I even do that to the idiot? Besides, wasn't he wasting time here in a place that isn't even advanced? Even with all the bad events that happened in the past, Academy City still had the best place for learning."
Tsuchimikado can only look at her incredulously as if he was saying, 'Have you forgotten what happened to you and Shokuhou-san back in England?'
Suddenly, they all heard Fukiyose sigh.
But before anyone could say anything, it was Himegami spoke up. "Seiri, is there something wrong?"
The Forehead Deluxe looked at her with an expression that confused the Miko girl. She had on a smile but the look in her eyes been a bit melancholic. "It's just that I was thinking that him leaving for another school had turned out to be the best thing for him. Prior to this year, we never interact that much outside of classroom affairs. Back then, I believed that he'll not advance any further beyond Level 0 and that there is nothing in life other than to advance to Level 5. But recently, I just thought that after all, people had different capabilities and strengths and he's one of them. His skills might not apply in Academy City but it does have a potential here—in the rest of Japan. If he stayed in Academy City further, I even doubt he would advance to something as small as becoming a star player for a rising school like Seirin. Hell, I doubt he would even advance this far."
"Oh…" Everyone can only utter aloud as Komoe only kept quiet although she cannot deny the fact that the words of her female student was right, after all. Maybe Kamijou-chan made the best decision for himself and for his parents. At least, there is one school who is looking after him.
"But…he can play for your school as well…" Misaka muttered although she was heard since no one is talking.
"Onee-sama, I think you also forgotten how their school's wimpy team was destroyed by the ape and my cousin…as well as that red-headed jumping jack ape as well." At this point, Shirai finally began to speak.
"Besides, it's not like he can now go back to his old ways now that he had carved his own path." Yomikawa also began to talk as well. "But it doesn't mean he had forgotten those he had left in our city. You see, you can visit him in his school. Fukiyose had done that a couple of times, Kumokawa as well and if I'm not mistaken, that ace from Tokiwadai had also done it although I do hear that it wasn't always a pleasant meeting when you got there."
"And of course, we can play a pick-up game with them!" Aogami gleefully suggested.
There was silence in Aoagmi's sudden outburst as Fukiyose can only shake her head in disapproval.
"Aogami-kun, you do know that Touma-kun's teammate in Kagami-kun nearly wanted to punch you." Himegami remembered that game from the past. "I doubt he would even want you as a teammate."
"Besides, Misaka-san won't be of any help to Kamijou-san." Now, the voice of Shokuhou Misaki nearly made Misaka jump out of her seat. "I'll be gladly of service to him."
"You? You can even barely jog, let alone dribble or even shoot a ball." Misaka retorted back. "You're the one who'll drag him down with your inability to run faster."
"Misaka-san, you're so mean." Shokuhou replied in a voice asking for pity which only made the Railgun more irritated.
Just then the crowd roused up and they knew that the teams had returned. Russia was in their usual air of arrogance, while Japan seemed to be hell-bent on winning this match.
The teams then gathered on the court and this time, Shirogane decided to finally put in Kagami, Hayama, and Okamura for some added height in the shaded area under the net while Kagami's presence stabilizes their switching of defense. Hayama Kotaro was put in for the reason that he'll be able to create some mismatch. In short, only Kamijou and Murasakibara had yet to seat down since playing from the first quarter.
Even before Stakhanov can take the ball, Hayama was able to steal it from him before he scores a basket off the board. When the blonde was walking away, Stakhanov cannot believe it. Was he going reckless or what? Either way, it wasn't a good decision to be this energetic especially with the fourth quarter still undecided.
He then took the inbounds pass and as he met Kamijou again in the top of the three-point line, he was now getting pressured and this time, it seems that it wasn't any ordinary defense. When he saw that he was nearing in commiting a turnover, he was then forced to pass it to his right but to his dismay, it was stolen by Hayama again, who broke away.
Crap! Ivanov, who was inserted back into the game, was gaping in shock and suddenly, he then realized something. Could it be…
Hayama then was blocked by an equally fast Andropov but instead of immediately using his Lightning Dribble, he decided to pass it to Kagami, who then broke free of Borodin and made a one-dribble pull-up jump shot.
Stakhanov then got the ball back but as they were about to pass it to Shpagin, Kagami was the one who tapped it as he threw an outlet pass to a running Okamura, who scores an open layup.
"What is this?" Andropov asked in shock. "What's going on?!"
"Idiot. They knew our movements already!" Stakhanov answered for his teammate. "Dammit, how did they even discover it?"
In the audience, Hyuga was explaining to those people around him about Russia. "As their name suggests, old martial arts techniques are ancient. Their thought process is completely different from modern sports science. Applying those specialized movements to basketballs must be one of Russia's strengths but if you're specialized, you've got habits as a downside."
"Habits are hard to beat." Misaka shrugged as she sips her drink.
"I know, right? Onee-sama won't be fooled with such age-old tactics." Shirai wholeheartedly agreed.
For a brief moment, Japan was on a tear as they made successive baskets after the next and even defended against Russia's players as well. Kamijou was having fun on his own, directing traffic while having the ball every time he got it, leaving the Russian players in a daze.
"Captain, these teens are strong." Borodin admitted after just scoring a floater against Kagami. "No wonder they manage to reach this stage. What shall we do?"
To their utter surprise, Stakhanov only sighed as he then decided. "We can't help it, then. We had to abandon out defensive scheme. We'll switch to a more orthodox style of play."
"Are you sure about that?" Now, Shpagin thought that their captain has gone desperate.
"Idiot. Don't compare me to that prideful Nash." Stakhanov chided him. "I respect these teeanagers' skill. That is why we'll do everything to defeat them, even if it means having to throw away our pride. This is what it means to winning."
After a few words, Stakhanov the got the ball as Kamijou came up to defend him. Stakhanov only inhaled and exhaled once; leaving the spiky haired boy in an alert mode as he felt something was coming up. Stakhanov then motioned to pass the ball to Ivanov, who was coming from the left wing. Kamijou saw the shooting guard coming from his blindside so he immediately stretched his right arms, hoping to intercept another possession and add another steal to his stats.
To his shock, Stakhanov only flicked his right hand to the right side as the ball was sent flying to Andropov instead as the forward simply made a jumpshot before Okamura can block it. Kamijou can only stare as the two Russians then high-fived each other before going back to defense on Japan's court.
"Damn, his feint was especially not obvious from a plain view." Kagami muttered as he holds the ball.
"I know but we can't waste any more time just because of it." Kamijou replied. "Let's just get the points back."
Kagami and Hayama then dash towards the net, gliding past their defenders due to their speed. Kamijou then threw an outlet pass Hayakawa while Kagami had followed after the blonde. When Andropov had come up to block him, he released it behind him and since Kagami was there, he swiftly received it and made a three-pointer while no one was jumping to stop him.
Once they got the ball back, Russia has swiftly went back to Japan's net faster than what they previously showed. Shpagin got the ball and began to push Murasakibara down. The latter then dropped his center of gravity as he is now trying to hold down the heavier Russian. Okamura then was forced to help as both of them stalled the seven-foot slotman. Seeing that he had nowhere else to go as his stopped dribbling the ball, Shpagin then passed it to Ivanov, who entered his shooting motion. Kagami then switched places and tried to block the shot but he saw that his opponent's feet haven't yet as Ivanov pump-faked him. Kagami ended up crashing into the shooting guard although the latter shocking managed to make the three-point shot.
The referee blew his whistle.
"Defense! Foul! Basket counts! Three free shots!"
Japan and everyone in the audience who supports Japan can only snort.
"That Bakagami…" Hyuga can only shake his head. "Didn't he's seen those type of shots in the past?"
"And what's worse, it was a three-pointer." Kagami said. "Although you can't entirely blame Kagami. At least, he came and tried to stop it. It's not like you can read fakes everytime."
Ivanov then went to take his free shots and none of them missed their target. Japan's supporters can only go silent every time the shots went in the net. Japan had been in the lead ever since their run in the third quarter started but now, the Russians had cut it down again. When Russia made their way back to their half, Kamijou looked at Stakhanov with such desperation that it seemed as though he wanted to just take all the shots and give them the early lead.
We had to do something…
Hayama retrieved the ball and threw it to Kamijou. The others had gone on ahead, but as he looked at the spiky haired boy, he was wondering what made him think so deeply. The moment Kamijou got the ball, since he was in front of Stakhanov as the latter blocked his path with a good defense.
Kamijou then dribbled the ball so hard that it made a few think about Hayama's Lightning Dribble. As Stakhanov kept looking at it, he realized that the teen had entered his shooting motion and he gasped in shock.
Even before Stakhanov can react, Kamijou had already shot the ball. Quick release? At this point?! He then eyed the rolling ball in the air as the orange orb ended up rattling inside the net.
Shpagin then swiftly made his way up as he picks up the ball. Stakhanov didn't even look at the running raven but one thing was for sure.
He and Kamijou Touma were going to war.
And so it happened.
Russia was more malicious than before as Stakhanov storming in Japan's goal doing two things; either he shakes off his defense to create space before making the shot himself or he does a pass that the defender doesn't expect and his teammates ended up making their shots in their perfect spots.
Shpagin's defense got even stronger under the net, giving Murasakibara an even harder time than before. Because of Stakhanov's passes, Ivanov's shooting percentage was nearly perfect, although he was sometimes stopped by Kagami. Since this current team had no natural shooting guard in the playing five, Kagami volunteered to play the number 2 position since his outside shot is reliable enough that he can help sub in for Midorima or Mibuchi while they are both resting. When he misses, that's where Okamura can come in to help haul down the rebound so they can still get chances to score. Okamura's presence also helped relieve his former kouhai's burden in having to dominate the boards all alone. Kamijou also helped in lightening it up from the outside as they all knew that Hayama Kotaro's not a decent outside shooter so when everyone of them gets blocked, they'll pass the ball to the blonde, who'll swoop in to make a layup while Murasakibara screens out for him.
Kamijou worked well with the four of them as usual although sometimes, he himself went for some shots when Kagami couldn't do it himself. There were many instances where some of those who are watching the game thought that he would have passed the rock but he made the shot and vice versa. There were also many times when Stakhanov came to block him and stole the ball from his hands with such swift movements that he wondered if he can even beat the veteran. Worse, he is already attributing it to his right hand.
At the end of their heart-wrenching period, Russia was on 76 while Japan was down by a three at 73.
The teams returned to their benches and Japan was in a glim mood not only because Kamijou and company can't seem to even hold on to their own lead but also because the foul on Kagami had dampened their atmosphere at a time when they are in a middle of a run. Nonetheless, the players in the bench tried to cheer them up as the sweating five players took a seat while drinking some energy drinks.
"Well, you guys are going good." Shirogane said in an attempt to calm his players down and lighten the heavy atmosphere. "They're veterans, after all. If we keep pushing, we'll catch up on them in no time."
"Damn, I don't think I can even defeat that dude in a long run…" Kamijou started as he wiped the sweat off his face. Surprisingly, his voice was still normal. :If only I can enter this thing called Zone easily…"
"Don't say things like that." Akashi tapped his shoulder. "If you concentrated in defeating your opponents with your teammates, then I'm confident that you'll be able to bring out your 100 percent for this game. But for now, you shouldn't think about that first because to would distract you in the end. Just give everything you got."
"Oi, Akashi." Aomine called out on their captain. "Don't stand so recklessly. You'll simply ruin your foot."
"So honored to hear it from your mouth, Aomine." Akashi was sarcastic.
"For the start of the fourth quarter, this is where we finally put everything on the line." He then turned to Aomine, Kise, and Midorima. "During this time, we'll pushed them with our run-and-gun attack. Midorima, be prepared to make threes. We can't take too long to close that point gap."
"Coach, I'll make as much threes as we need." Midorima pushed his glasses up. "Fate is on my side. I won't miss.
"Everyone else, remember what to do?" Shirogane then asked.
"Of course." They chorused.
"Okay." The coach then turned to Kuroko. "Kuroko-kun, I'll sub you in the last five minutes since that's the most crucial period of the game. But depending on the situation, I can also let you go in much earlier."
"We'll be kicking Russia's butt as soon as we close the gap." Hayama said as he stands u and grips a white towel. "And then Akashi-captain can finally let us Rakuzan regulars rest for real!"
Everyone laughed at this as they are glad for that comic relief that calmed down their nerves. After they had rehydrated themselves with Gatorade drinks, they all stood up and formed a circle.
"Let's go Japan!" Akashi shouted.
"Fight!"
Then the four of the Generation of Miracles and Kamijou marched back out onto the court as the referee announcing, "Let the fourth quarter begin!"