Chapter 4
The crowd cheered as the ball went in the basket. "Alright!" Minamino said, slapping Fujima on the back. "Good work!"
"Thanks, cap." Fujima gave him a thumbs-up.
The game between Shoyo Junior High and Takeishi Junior High went off to a good start with Shoyo leading by 10 points – thanks to the team's efficiency from their captain's flawless three-point shots to Fujima's speed as a pointguard.
"Isn't he absolutely cool?" Maya sighed dreamily. "And handsome as well?"
Yuri stared at her then at the players. "Yeah, among other things." Her eyes landed on Fujima who swiftly eluded Takeishi's center and managed to make another goal, ending the first half. The score: 34-24, in Shoyo's favor.
Second half began and Shoyo was still in lead. Unfortunately when Takeishi's shooting guard began to score the first three points, there was no stopping him until it became a tie, then that tie became a three point lead for Takeishi.
"Damn, that Mitsui Hisashi's good!" Takano grumbled when he saw Mitsui being congratulated by his teammates.
"Yeah he is, but we have the captain remember?" Hanagata said. Besides being captain, Minamino is also a shooting guard and the best in their team.
"Ok, let's get focused here!" Minamino shouted. "Mark Mitsui, Hanagata, and don't let him shoot!"
"Hai!" The Shoyo center replied.
Unfortunately, the 5 feet 8½ inches, black-haired and blue-eyed Mitsui always evades anyone guarding him especially Hanagata, taking advantage of his tall but awkward movements leading him to make several three points at the same time.
"Mazui…" Fujima muttered when he saw the scoreboard. What are they going to do now?
Then as if that was not bad enough, Minamino's attempted three point shot was blocked by Takeishi's power forward. But the block looked more like an offense charging as the referee whistled a foul in Takeishi's side. The captain fell down in a dull thud and when five seconds have passed and he was not yet getting up, they feared the worst.
"Captain!" Nagano said running towards the fallen captain.
The medics told them that he had a minor back injury, but he cannot play for the entire game. Yukishiro, another shooting guard, substituted for him. But without the leadership of their captain, Shoyo was in a loss.
Takeishi took advantage of that loss and the three-point lead has become 15 by the last five minutes. Everybody by this time expected Shoyo to lose; even the players themselves felt the same way.
No, I can't give up now! Fujima thought, looking at the defeated faces of his teammates.
But as he sneaked a look at the scoreboard for the second time, he began to feel desolate. Would they be able to catch up in such a short period of time? If only I could see her right now. Yuri, where are you?
"You can do it, Shoyo!"
A surge of joy coursed through him when he heard the familiar female voice. He looked up and saw Yuri shouting among the crowd. As if sensing his gaze, she turned to him and smiled.
He gave her a small salute, smiling back at her. When he turned back to face his teammates, there was a glow in his blue eyes that were not there before.
"Oi, doushtano, minna?!" Fujima asked and there was an edge in his voice that caught their attention.
They all stared at him, shocked. "Fujima." Hanagata said.
"Don't tell me you're afraid of that stuck-up Mitsui! Come on, he's only good at three-point shots!"
The team gaped at him more, like he's some little green alien from outer space trying to make contact with earthlings. What is he saying?!
Hanagata approached him. "Fujima, Mitsui's gifted with a proficient shooting arm, and his strong suit is behind the three-point lane. He may be a sophomore like us, but he's exceptionally skilled. You may be right if that is his only asset but…" Hanagata took time in looking at each and every one of his teammates' exhausted faces. "…Mitsui is Takeishi's advantage over us now." He added rather harshly.
For a moment, Fujima stared smugly at him with a sly smile on his face. Then he turned to the others and motioned them to huddle.
The crowd was puzzled. Why is the team huddling in the middle of the game? Time is almost running out for them.
The referee approached the small cluster of players. "Oi, you're delaying the game. If you want to discuss things with your group, call a time out." He said sternly.
"No, no there's no need. We're finished." Fujima said.
The referee dismissed himself from the scene. Team Shoyo dispersed with new and more determined looks on their faces; feeling revived and energized after hearing a whisper of hope coming from a clever sophomore whom they knew someday will be the next captain of the team. This sudden change of air shocked the crowd and the opposing team as well.
"Are you sure you can handle this?" Hanagata asked, still doubtful about Fujima's plan of action.
"Watch me." Fujima said, sly smile still in place.
Team Takeshi saw the faces of the re-energized Shoyo players, surprised at the look of tenacity in their eyes. They wondered what happened to them.
"Don't mind, don't mind. I'm sure they didn't talk about anything. They're vulnerable without their captain. Kaminaga, I want you to assist Mitsui at all times, ok? Mitsui, never hesitate to attack. We'll put this game in the bag." Takeishi's coach said.
"Hai, kantokun!" Both players responded in unison.
That's your problem, Shoyo, you depend too much on Minamino. He thought.
The score is now 66-81, with Takeishi still leading and with only three minutes and 25 seconds left. Mitsui has ball possession and was running, unhurriedly dribbling his way to the other side of the court. Finding his usual position beyond the thick white lane, he clipped his feet together, bent his knees and focused directly at the basket, ready to jump and make another three-point shot.
A Shoyo player appeared in front of him out of nowhere.
Mitsui looked down at the player, distracted.
Fujima tipped the ball away from Mitsui's hands with ease.
The ball flew above the shooting guard's head and from behind him, a taller Shoyo player jumped up and scooped the ball in mid-air.
Yuri's eyes widened and her mouth was slightly open. "So fast…" She said softly.
"Ike, Hanagata!" Fujima shouted.
Hanagata was running towards the other side of the court, determined but pressured at the same time. He knows that he has to make this shot. He has to. Everything is at stake.
Suprisingly, a Takeishi player caught up with him and positioned himself to block the shot.
Tut, pest. Hanagata thought, still dribbling the ball.
"Do you think Shoyo could win this game? Your team doesn't stand a chance against us!" The Takeishi player sneered at him.
Hanagata began to get angry. Just because this guy belongs to one of the strongest teams in the region does not give him the right to underestimate a small team like Shoyo. I'll show him! He thought, his dark eyes blazing with intensity behind his glasses.
He then raised his arms to shoot, but another Takeishi player appeared in front of him. Now he had to avoid two opposing players instead of one.
"C'mon, shoot the ball already!" Fujima shouted.
How could he do that when two players tightly guarded him? To make things worse, he only had 10 seconds to shoot the ball. If he doesn't make that shot, he will be charged with thirty second violation and the ball would be in Takeishi's possession. Their chances of winning would be slimmer than before.
Hanagata can't let that happen, not when they got this far towards the championships. I have to take a chance. He thought.
He then jumped. His two guards also did the same thing, with one of them leaning forward ready to block the ball.
Hanagata's instinct told him to lean back and then he released the ball. It made an arc towards the basket and went in flawlessly.
"Haita…" He muttered softly then added in a louder voice. "Haita!" He jumped up in the air, with one arm raised.
Everyone from the spectators to the coaches of both teams was stunned, not expecting the tall and gangly Hanagata Toru to display such a beautiful and perfect shot.
Takeishi's coach was flabbergasted. "Th-That's…a…"
"…fade-away…jump shot…!" The injured Minamino finished, obviously more stunned than the older man.
The Shoyo team gathered around their center player. "Way to go!" Yukishiro slapped him on the back.
"Nice shot, Hanagata!" Fujima said as the two of them made a high-five.
The taller guy smiled. "Os."
"Saa, ikuzo!" The pointguard shouted.
"O!" The other members of Shoyo basketball team replied, all of them fired up and in high spirits.
From then on, the last few minutes of the second half was intense. Yuri had to lean forward to watch the game, amazed at the sudden change of the team's mood. But what really astonished her was the way Fujima controls the team. In just a few minutes, he was able to do what Minamino took three months to accomplish.
As she watched him give out orders and encouragement to his teammates, she felt like she was seeing a different person. Was this the same guy who kept on tugging at her braid? She wondered. Gone was the playful, charming and flirtatious co-worker at the TLC Animal Shelter. Right in front of her is the cool, imposing and compelling guy capable of leading an entire team towards the national championships.
It seemed that she was not the only one who noticed the sudden change of the Shoyo pointguard's mood. Minamino, who was resting along the bench, was surprised as well. Although he already had Fujima in mind as the next captain of this team, he was having second thoughts about his decision since he felt that he was too lackadaisical and haughty to shoulder such a heavy burden.
But that changed everything when he saw the way he was dealing with the team. He had the authority, power and strength to control such a team.
Minamino Arata made the right decision after all.
Takeishi realized what was happening in an instant and knew that they have to regain game control if they want to win. No matter how hard they tried; they always end up being way behind them, as if they had been reduced to a low-class team, not the formidable team that they had become.
Shoyo is now a tough opponent, too tough for them to handle.
The game was now almost over, with five seconds left and the score is 99-98, with Shoyo leading. By this time, the crowd is now waiting in breathless anticipation for the winner.
"Five!" The crowd shouted.
Mitsui gritted his teeth as he made another three-point shot.
"Don't be too hasty, Mitsui!" Kaminaga shouted.
The ball hit the rim. "Rebound!" Fujima shouted.
"Four!"
Hanagata and Takeishi's center both jumped at the same time for the ball.
Shoyo's center got the ball and tossed it back to Fujima. "Fast break!" Hanagata shouted.
"Three!"
Fujima caught the ball and ran towards the other side of the court.
Takeishi's return was fast, effectively forming a tight zone defense at the court preventing Fujima from moving inside.
He muttered a curse.
"Two!"
At the corner of his eye, there he came…
"Hanagata!" He shouted.
Hanagata got the ball and jumped, aiming for another shot. He leaned back gracefully and released it.
"One!"
The ball went inside the basket smoothly and the crowd went wild, drowning out the sound of the buzzer that signals the end of the game.
"We won!" Takano shouted.
Yukishiro and Nagano were jumping happily with one arm raised, shouting on how strong their team is.
"We did it!" Hanagata said as he swung an arm around Fujima's neck and rumpled his friend's hair.
Fujima grinned as he lightly punched his sides.
The rest of team Shoyo were cheering loudly or clapping each other at the back. Minamino, still sitting down, sighed in relief. They are now going to the finals.
As for the Takeishi team members, they were devastated. Their dream of reaching the number one slot was over. But as their coach told them, there will always be next year and that time, they each promised that they will work harder than ever to win.
Mitsui glanced at the brown-haired point guard being congratulated by his teammates and coach. He felt that Fujima Kenji has a bright future ahead of him. Just like him.
"C'mon, let's line up!" Nagano said.
Both teams lined up at the middle of the court. "Shoyo won the game, 101-98."
"Arigato gozaimasu!"
* * *
As the team was debating on where they should celebrate, Fujima was looking for any sign of Yuri among the slowly departing crowd.
"Looking for your girlfriend?" Minamino teased when he saw that Fujima was still scanning the throng of people along the bleachers.
Whatever he wanted to tell the captain died down in his throat when he saw Yuri and an unfamiliar girl going towards the Takeishi bench. He watched the two girls congratulating them, observing that they were pretty well known by the team especially by their shooting guard.
While her friend was talking to another Takeishi player, Yuri was in the middle of an animated chat with Mitsui who was smiling at her so intimately that he looked like it didn't matter to him that his team had just lost a game forty minutes ago. He looks happier than I am. He thought.
An unfamiliar and unpleasant feeling began to creep inside Fujima, narrowing his blue eyes at the pair in front of him.
Author's note:
Well it is several pages longer, just as I promised. Whoopee. Anyway, this took me a lot of time to complete because I'm not too good when it comes to writing out basketball games and I have to refer to my SD tapes, watch some NBA games and pester lain (muchos gracias, Amiga!) just to write a game as accurate and realistic as possible.
Slam Dunk is not mine (so that I won't be sued for the violation of IPR- Intellectual Property Rights).