This Easy?
18: Chapter 18: What?
This Easy?
Out-of-bounds ball.
Possession still belonged to Yokohama International.
As usual, they ran another pick-and-roll, mainly to draw Eikichi Nebuya out of the restricted area and create an opportunity.
It was still an accelerated drive after the pick-and-roll.
Hibari repeated the same method, rushing over at the key moment to attempt a block.
This time, the opponent had learned.
He didn’t force the shot and instead chose to pass the ball to a teammate.
Yokohama International’s power forward caught the ball and easily made the layup.
2-2!
“Excellent physical tools, but poor defensive awareness.
He relies heavily on his body to play.” Momoi silently added another note about Hibari.
Hibari’s block had certainly been beautiful, but the problem of his poor fundamentals was still very obvious.
This wasn’t entirely a bad thing.
At the very least, it proved Hibari had even more room to be shaped.
To have this kind of performance after only one month of playing basketball, his talent was quite good.
Back on offense, Hibari still had no opportunity to touch the ball.
Chiba Middle School let Eikichi Nebuya lead the attack.
The latter sealed position inside, caught the ball, turned, and roared, “Muscle dunk!” “Boom!” The rim seemed as if it were about to explode.
Yokohama International appeared to have no good way to deal with this beast.
“Beautiful dunk.
As expected of Herculean Strength.
His physicality in contact really is powerful.” Momoi continued taking notes.
Chiba Middle School’s first two offensive possessions had both focused on the interior.
They played simply, but also very efficiently.
Eikichi Nebuya’s destructive power in the low post was outstanding, and it was very difficult to guard him one-on-one.
The following stretch of the game was completely Eikichi Nebuya’s stage.
Under his leadership, Chiba Middle School turned the tables as the visiting team and built a seven-point lead in just a few minutes.
14-7!
“Why does that guy look so strong?” Yokohama International’s students clearly hadn’t expected a team from the countryside to be this powerful.
Over the past few minutes, Eikichi Nebuya had completely dominated the paint, scoring whenever he wanted.
Yokohama International called the first timeout of the game.
Getting pinned to the floor and rubbed into it right from the start left their coach extremely dissatisfied with the team’s performance.
“Nice work, Eikichi.” Hayato Takahashi was the first to praise his team’s center.
Scoring through such high-intensity contact suited his tastes perfectly.
In addition to scoring, Nebuya could also use physical contact to wear down the opponent’s stamina.
It accomplished multiple goals at once.
“Keep it up.
Their interior won’t be able to withstand you for much longer.” “But be careful.
They will very likely double-team you next.
Pay attention to your teammates’ positions.
Pass when you need to.” Sure enough.
After the timeout, Yokohama International double-teamed Eikichi Nebuya.
And this was only the second step.
For the first step, they used fronting defense and increased pressure on the perimeter, making it difficult for Chiba Middle School’s players to pass the ball into the restricted area.
This defensive strategy produced quite good results.
Chiba Middle School’s scoring efficiency began to fall.
Although Hayato Takahashi had reminded Eikichi Nebuya to pass the ball out when he encountered a double-team, this muscular brute clearly had no intention of giving up so easily.
Only two people?
What the hell did he have to be afraid of?
Relying on his outstanding individual ability, Eikichi Nebuya could still score.
However, his efficiency was far lower than it had been during the opening stretch.
His field-goal percentage dropped from 79% to 53%.
Under a double-team, that shooting rate was still high, but the lead had been pulled back to only two points.
Hayato Takahashi had expected this.
How could he not understand his own disciple?
It was like his damn pass button had been pried off.
If Eikichi Nebuya couldn’t break through a one-on-two defense, he would only think his muscles weren’t trained enough and turn around to train them more.
The reason Hayato Takahashi didn’t call a timeout to adjust was that he wanted to see whether Hibari could carry the team’s banner under these circumstances.
History had proven that if a team could rely on only one person, it was impossible to win a championship.
Soon, the first quarter ended.
The score was 23-21, with Chiba Middle School temporarily leading by two points.
“Our performance in the second half of the first quarter wasn’t good enough.
Eikichi, rest for a while next.” “Ito, pass more to Hibari.
Let him attack the opponent’s defense.
Everyone else runs according to the tactics and be ready to receive the ball at any time.” Hayato Takahashi had Eikichi Nebuya sit down and rest.
When Nebuya was on the court, the rest of the team would pass him the ball, and Hibari barely touched it.
Of course Hayato Takahashi could tell the players to give Hibari the ball, but that might make Eikichi Nebuya dissatisfied.
He needed to let this muscular brute see what Hibari could do so he would willingly give up some ball control.
“Any problems, Hibari?
Or do you also want to come off and rest for a bit?” “No problem, Coach.
I haven’t even started sweating yet.” Seeing Hibari shake his head, Hayato Takahashi nodded in satisfaction.
“Then get on the court.
The second quarter depends on your performance.” The game began again.
Yokohama International had possession.
The moment they saw Eikichi Nebuya sit down to rest, they immediately fed the ball into the paint.
Their sudden activity was also within Chiba Middle School’s expectations.
In this era, interior players still held a very high status, because under the basket was the place closest to the rim.
“Bang!” Right from the start, the opponent fought actively for position, using his body to squeeze Hibari.
The battlefield of interior players often began before they even touched the ball.
Boxing out, collisions, rough physical battles, and more.
These most primitive fights might not appear on camera, but they could decide victory or defeat.
Hibari’s Strength attribute was already not low, and he often went to the gym, so he did not suffer at all through contact.
He even held a slight advantage.
At this moment, the opponent’s number one lobbed the ball into the restricted area.
Because they knew very little about Hibari, the opponent played cautiously.
However, after one round of physical battling, he also discovered that Hibari’s fundamentals were rather poor.
Coincidentally, he himself was a technical interior player, making him a perfect counter.
One step, two steps, three steps…
Hibari continuously followed the opponent’s footwork and was shaken left and right.
A smug expression appeared on his opponent’s face.
In Kanagawa, soft targets like this weren’t common.
Those teams wouldn’t easily allow inexperienced players to take the court.
Today, he could finally enjoy himself.
Seeing that Hibari had been shaken until he couldn’t tell north from south, the opponent no longer hesitated.
He spun around Hibari’s front and faced the basket.
“What?
This easy?
Aside from being handsome, this kid is completely useless.” He no longer bothered hiding his disdain for Hibari and confidently tossed the ball up.
As a result.
The moment the ball left his hand, a large hand suddenly appeared in his field of vision, stretching between the basketball and the rim.
“Hm?!” He froze.
Wasn’t Eikichi Nebuya already resting on the bench?
Bang!
A muffled sound reached his ears.
The nameless background-character center landed on both feet.
The smug expression from moments ago was gone, and now he was covered in cold sweat.
He looked at Hibari in confusion, very much wanting to know what had just happened.
In the stands, Momoi had seen the whole process.
She personally witnessed Hibari, who should have been shaken away, move at the same instant the opponent released the ball, as though he had crossed through time.
That eerie sensation, that disharmony beyond her understanding, made her eyes widen.
Momoi didn’t know how to describe the feeling.
Hibari, who should have been on the ground, completed his takeoff in the next instant, as if he had skipped over a segment of time.
That’s right.
It was like he had jumped through time.
It wasn’t the same as the simple speed of her childhood friend.
“What?
This easy?” Hibari shook out his arm and complained.
He seemed to have overestimated these people a little.
The opponent’s offensive rhythm was far too slow.
Even without using King Crimson’s ability, he would have had a chance to interfere with the layup.
“What a whole lot of nothing.
Wasted my damn stamina.” Hibari felt like his battery was down to only 90%.
…
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