Author's Note: I do want to remind my fellow readers that this is set in 2012 against the 2012 United States Men's National Team that competed in the Olympics. Not the Current team in the FIBA World Cup. I also implore y'all to look up the US roster, see how they look like matched up against your favorite players so you can put a face to the opponents. Also, I will use a lot of basketball terms so be wary of my weird vocabulary.
Game Day
Riko surveyed the game bench. Old habits never die. Kagami was visibly anxious and nervous. The shadows under his eyes was a testament to his lack of sleep and insomnia before a big game. Midorima had acquired another lucky charm for the best luck.
The Saitama Super Arena was packed with fans that were buzzing like bees in their hives. The Japanese team had performed amazingly against its previous opponents and word had spread amongst the local newspapers and news stations like wildfire.
Cameras were streaming the events throughout the television sets of Japan and the rest of the world. Journalists, reporters, and fans alike packed the basketball arena. An exponential larger turnout to the games then previous matches, Riko wondered if it was the presence of the United States team rather than the Japanese team that drew the fans to the game.
Riko also made a priority to teach her players the English language to comply with FIBA regulations of being able to understand the referees at the game, all whom spoke English to communicate fouls and violations. And it also didn't hurt for the players of the opposing team to be able to talk to each other. It was, at the end of the day, just a friendly competition to strengthen political and economic ties between the United States and Japan.
Kagami and Himuro had no problem picking it up again, since they resided in the United States a majority of their childhoods.
The rest were lectured by a professor during breaks in training and practice to strengthen their vocabulary and accents.
In spite of all this, Riko analyzed the opposing team. They were true freaks of nature. They had Shooting Guards and Point Guards whose strength could easily rival that of a Center in an average Japanese professional team. They had Power Forwards and Centers who could shoot the three ball like a Shooting Guard. They had players who were fast as gazelles racing up and down the court. They had players who could defend multiple positions of the opposing team, with extreme ease, a matchup nightmare for the Japanese team. And lastly, they were longer and bigger than the Japanese team, their lanky arms and big bodies can easily disrupt passing lanes. They were truly OP, in laymen terms.
But Riko had confidence in this team. If anybody were to be able to defeat them, it would the team she had assembled.
"Riko, excited for the game to start?" came a voice by the sidelines.
Satsuki Momoi. The Analyst. She had finally arrived.
"How was the film study?" Riko asked.
"It was intense. But I have reviewed enough statistics and film to be able to definitively concoct a strategy against the U.S.," she answered.
Riko nodded as she let out a whistle to signal her team to get into a huddle.
"Gather 'round team! It's game time! We're huddled up now because Momoi is going to give us a strategy that she devised to help win this game. In a few moments, Momoi will break down every single player of the opposing team to you, offensively and defensively, and her strategy that will best suit us to win." Riko announced.
As she finished, the lights in the arena went black, much to the amusement of the crowd. A synchronized murmur of 'ooh' helped convey the simple realization that the game was to soon begin.
"What's happening?" Mibuchi asked.
"The Announcer will now present the starting lineup of both teams, starting with the visitor, the United States. As each player of the starting lineup is introduced, Momoi will give her analysis on that player. After they finish, our starting lineup will be introduced and Momoi will give us the strategy she devised.
As the blackness of the arena ensued for a few seconds, a round circular light made its way to the United States bench. Five players sat on the white seats of the bench while the rest were standing on the court in a single file line.
"At Forward! Number 6, LeBron James!" came the announcer in Japanese, butchering the pronunciation of LeBron's name. Surely enough, one of the players from the bench stood up and walked toward the single file line of his teammates, each step traced by the round circular light. LeBron, would high five each and every one of his teammates and stand at the end of the line, furthest from the bench. He was well-built, muscular, not lean, pure, genetic, God-given muscle. He wore a dark blue headband to match the color of the uniform that had the red engravings of the letters 'U S A' on the jersey and a white outline of his number.
LeBron James
Position: Forward
Height: 6'8 (203 cm)
Weight: 250 pounds (113 kg)
"He's a human freak of nature," Momoi began to explain to the huddled team.
"He's is walking triple-double. He can defend the Point Guard and match their speed and skill; he can defend a center and match their strength. If he gets a rebound, he starts the fast break automatically because he can run as fast as anybody and pass like anybody in this arena. He may sound like the boss villain in a video game but there are ways to negate his effectiveness. Do not play tight defense on him. Be lax on that and force him to take jumpers rather than allow him to attack the basket. If he were to get the defensive rebound, immediately trap him with two defenders, just enough so that he cannot initiate a fast break opportunity on the offensive end."
The team was momentarily stunned by the explanation given by Momoi. It was elaborate, precise and easy to understand. Even Riko paused to recollect the information she had just heard.
"At the other Forward position! Number 5! Kevin Durant!"It was the second player announced for the United States team. Another player stood up and did the exact same routine as LeBron did and waited at the end of the line for the next player to be introduced.
Kevin Durant
Position: Forward
Height: 6'9 (206 cm)
Weight: 240 pounds (109 kg)
Kevin Durant looks like the polar opposite of LeBron James. LeBron, on one hand, is muscular, bulky and intimidating. Durant on the other hand, is taller, the definition of lanky and the more derogative scale of the term 'skinny'.
"Play tight defense on him. Be physical. He's a shooter and is not afraid to shoot a pull-up three pointer in isolations or in the fast break. We need to limit his ability to get hot with his jump shot. The physical play is to dissuade him from driving to the basket and not allow him to get space for a shot. He possesses a lot of lateral quickness and speed so you have to be on guard on defense all the time. His detriment while on defense will be his lack of strength and inept ability to adapt to physical play, we have to take advantage of that." Momoi explained.
"At the Center Position! Number 4! Tyson Chandler!"A towering figure stood up from the bench and sprinted towards his teammates, collecting high-fives in the process.
Tyson Chandler
Position: Center
Height: 7'1 (216 cm)
Weight: 240 pounds (109 kg)
Tyson Chandler is indeed a towering figure, like Murasakibara. He had a physical upper body frame to be able to bang with physical centers in the paint and lean legs to be able to chase fast players on the perimeter. A clean shaven head to match a meaty beard, Tyson Chandler was the focal point of the United States defense.
"Tyson Chandler is a very unique type of player. He does not command a strong offensive repertoire of moves. But it is in fact his hustle to gather rebounds on both the offensive and defensive end that allows him to be so effective. His presence alters shot attempts because his large, towering body forces players to adjust their shot mid-form to avoid being blocked. Keep note of that. Our primary goal is to keep him off the glass in the low block. Be sure to always box him out"
"At the Guard position! Number 13! Chris Paul!" If Tyson Chandler was the super tall bigger brother, Chris Paul is the short younger brother. Chris Paul had a calming demeanor, the shortest player on the team. The point guard position is the natural niche for him. He has no problem quarterbacking an offense.
Chris Paul
Position: Point Guard
Height: 6'0 (183 cm)
Weight: 175 pounds (80 kg)
"He is the ultimate point guard. He involves all his teammates. His ability to utilize the pick-and-roll allows him to penetrate deep into the defense and set up his teammates with easy shots. That is not the only attribute that he has. He is an aggravating defender; he will try to get under your skin; he's what we would call a pit bull, tough and feisty. Play ice on defense and do your best to contain him so that he does not get by you."
"At the other Guard position! Number 10! Kobe Bryant!" It was the seasoned veteran of the team. His face calm, the victim and hero of many battles. His nonchalant walk down the court while being greeted by his teammates down the line and when he reached the end, the team gathered around into a huddle and after a few words of encouragement from a few different players, the huddle broke into a few players letting out mighty yells.
Kobe Bryant
Position: Shooting Guard
Height: 6'6 (198 cm)
Weight: 205 pounds (93 kg)
"Kobe Bryant is the veteran of this team. He has played professional basketball at the highest level since he was 18 and excelled at it. Of all the players on that team, he has the most gifted offensive arsenal. He is extremely effective on the defensive end when he puts effort there. He does, most of the time, become disengaged on that side of the floor to conserve energy for offense. Play your toughest defense on him; force him to take difficult shots."
"Is that it? Are you going to give us a detailed analysis on every single player on that team?" Kagami questioned Momoi.
"I will do this for every opponent on the court. But that is not all. I have a step-by-step plan. Follow it and we will win. Listen closely…"
Jump Ball: Start of Game
"Let's go!" the exclamation of the Japanese team after Momoi told them in detail the plan she had devised.
Riko walked to the scorer's table and handed the scorekeeper a card to help identify the starting lineup and the rest of her team.
Guard – Seijuro Akashi; Number 1
Guard – Shintaro Midorima; Number 2
Forward – Kise Ryota; Number 3
Forward – Daiki Aomine; Number 4
Center – Atushi Murasakibara; Number 5
The starting five took off their warmup gear. Underneath the hot sauna was a bright white uniform, a glowing red that encrypted the kanji for the word 'Japan' on it, followed by a dark black color for the number on the jersey.
The rest of the team sat on the bench while Momoi stood and observed all the players on the court, analyzing any minute detail.
After the formal handshakes between the players of the opposing teams, the teams lined up at the center of the court. The excitement of the fans poured a roaring cheer as it rained down from the rafters.
Murasakibara and Tyson Chandler lined up at the very center of the court. These two would be facing each other for most of the game.
The rest of the players lined up at the edges of the circle. There were to be three referees for the game. The lead referee was the one that would throw the ball at the jump ball and the other two would run the sidelines for the duration of the game.
As the lead official walked into the center circle and held the ball above his head, Muraskibara and Tyson Chandler bent their knees firmly. They are prepared for the initial burst of energy to jump as high as they can to tip the ball to their teammates.
The referee threw the ball into the air in a straight line as both Muraskibara and Chandler both jumped high into the air. Murasakibara extended his right arm as far as he could to reach the ball as it was at the apex of the throw and felt the leather on the tips of his fingers. But as he was about to bat the ball to one of his teammates, the ball was emphatically swatted in the opposite direction by Chandler.
The ball flew a straight line into Team USA's backcourt and right into the hands of their point guard, Chris Paul. Akashi was to mark Chris Paul. This was a certainly a matchup worth watching. Pound for pound and inch by inch they were the same build and height. How would the floor generals fare against each other?
Akashi squatted and bent his knees to prepare his defensive stance against Chris Paul. He was going to defend his opponent full court. But to Akashi's surprise, as soon as Paul caught the ball, he threw a strong chest pass across the half-court line to his teammate, Kobe Bryant, who was lying in wait for the pass at the top right side a few steps behind the three-point arc.
Kobe caught the ball and with both hands put the ball behind his head. He was in triple threat position to start the game.
Midorima was to guard Kobe. He also bent to his defensive stance and put his left hand on Kobe's waist. This was the aspect of hand-checking. It is a defensive tactic where the defender would put a hand on their opponent's waist and apply force to counterbalance the offensive player's movement.
But that was not needed. For as soon as Kobe caught the ball and put it behind his head to prevent his defender from knocking it free, Kobe, with one motion, threw an overhead pass towards the rim.
As all this unfolded, a player was running towards the rim, Chandler, the man who participated in the jump ball, was sprinting towards the basket; He took off as soon as he won the jump ball. Murasakibara, attempted to keep pace with him but was immediately met with a hard screen by LeBron James at the top of the center three point arc. This slowed down the towering Muraskibara by a good second as he tried to fight around the screen. The player defending LeBron James, Aomine, was also caught off guard by his man going the opposite direction from the goal to screen a man and was caught flat-footed as he tried to catch up with Chandler who ran towards the rim.
As a result of the development of the play, Chandler caught Kobe's pass in the open lane, completely unguarded, and cocked his hands backwards after he caressed the ball in the air and with one mighty motion, slammed the ball down the hoop. He let out a mighty war cry as he slammed the dunk and looked at the crowd cockily as he jogged back onto defense.
2-0. USA.
It was a set play. The very first play of the game was perfectly executed by Team USA. The defense of Team Japan was completely shattered in the first few seconds. The play was met with the roaring approval of the capacity crowd. The Japanese players were shocked, not surprised, this is to be expected of the best team in the world.
Kise, away from the play while marking Kevin Durant, quickly ran to get the ball, and inbounded in to Midorima, who then began to slowly dribble the ball up the court.
This was surprising to the Japanese fans watching the game. It is very rare that a shooting guard would bring the ball up the court to initiate the offense. Midorima walked past the half court line and eyed the defense. Everyone in the USA team was slowly positioning themselves for the defensive possession. Kobe, the man that was to guard Midorima, squared up on the line of the top of the arc. Midorima, still dribbling the ball with his left hand and at center court, bent his knees and in one motion shot the ball high into the air.
The basketball traveled in the air in a parabola formation, reaching its peak before coming down on a perfect slope towards the rim and swishing through.
3-2. Japan.
The roaring Japanese crowd became more hyped with the make of that shot. It caught everybody on the United States team off guard. They were not prepared for a player to be shooting half court shots to start the game.
As Team Japan quickly hustled back onto defense, the United States player looked at each other in disbelief. A fluke, they assured themselves.
LeBron James went to inbound the ball to Chris Paul who was then immediately pressured by Akashi. Like a pesky mosquito, Akashi continuously swiped at the ball with his hands while Paul dribbled it up the court and shielded away the defense. Chris Paul immediately lobbed the pass to Durant on the left side of the court a few steps in from the three point line.
Kise recalled the advice that Momoi gave on defending Durant and began to implement a very physical presence. Durant was caught surprised by the physicality of Kise's defense and retreated backwards with a few dribbles. Kise, unrelenting, continued to hound him, attempting to force Durant to his left (forcing him to utilize his off-hand as well) and succeeded in doing so when Durant did a half spin towards the baseline under the basket.
Murasakibara immediately slid over from the paint as the defense collapsed and suffocated Durant under the basket. Unable to get a shot off through the outstretched branches that are Murasakibara's arms and unable to pass it to any nearby teammates, Durant lobbed a past back into the backcourt into the waiting hands of LeBron.
LeBron jabbed left and shot a long 20-ft jump shot that clanked off the back cylinder and into the giant hands of Murasakibara. As the Americans retreated back towards their goal, Murasakibara passed the ball to Midorima yet again.
With no one near him, Midorima caught the ball and shot from his opponent's three-point line. Nobody expected him to shoot from that far away, less his teammates and coach, much less make it.
The synchronized shock and amazement from the watching crowd filled the arena. The United States players and their bench was also stunned. They couldn't simply process the information.
6-2. Japan.
As they inbounded the ball, the entire Japanese team applied full court pressure, defending their opponent man-to-man the entire way up the court.
Chandler inbounded the ball to Paul who caught it in the corner by the outside baseline. Chandler's man, Muraskibara, who defended the inbound, immediately charged at Paul. It was a trap in the backcourt. Paul, unable to dribble past the effective and physical play of Akashi or pass the ball back to Chandler because of the towering presence of Murasakibara, blindly threw a pass up the court, which was easily stolen by Aomine. He then dribbled the ball back up the court towards the United States goal.
With the United States being in an offensive possession and suddenly being reverted back into playing defense, they were like a bunch of ants scrambling around after the anthill had been destroyed. Aomine immediately passed it back to Midorima, who was now closer to the three-point line.
Midorima caught the pass and set himself up for another shot. This time, since he was pressuring Kobe Bryant, Kobe was now able to effectively close out on him and did so by extending his hand out to contest the shot.
However, this was a fake to draw out Kobe, and as Kobe jumped into the air to defend a shot that was not there, Midorima leaned in and waited for Kobe's body and his to make contact. And as soon as that happened, the referee blew the whistle, signaling for a foul. Shooting foul. Number 10. Kobe Bryant. His first personal foul.
But because Midorima's motion had not been stopped, he continued with his shot the second time and shot the ball in spite of the contact. Swish again.
And One.
9-2. Japan.
That is one of the rules for an offensive player to take advantage of he is fouled. If he is fouled and continues to shoot the ball without dribbling and makes the basket, the basket will account for its full point and the offensive player is awarded an extra free throw.
Lining up at the free throw line, Midorima sank his free throw with ease.
10-2. Japan.
The often cocky United States team was now a bit rocked by the way the sequences unfolded in the opening 75 seconds of the game. The Japanese had scored 10 consecutive points in a short span. But this was all part of Momoi's plan. The first step was well into effect and the players on both team know it.
Step 1: The Blitzkrieg
Author's Note: Hello fellow readers. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I do understand if it's kind of hard to keep track of all the players and characters shoved into the story at once but bear with me here. I'll do my best to write it as best as I can. I'll update as soon as possible