That Manager - Kuroko no Basuke (Book 2)

第46Q

Himuro dribbled the ball towards the other side of the court, and passed it to Fukui, who shot the ball but missed. Kiyoshi and Kagami went for the rebound, but Liu and Okamura followed, and Liu got the ball into the hoop. "Damn it." cussed Hyuga. 'I can't believe Kagami and Kiyoshi lost an offensive rebound.' he thought. 'They're not just tall for show.'

Kiyoshi passed the ball to Kuroko, who starting spinning around a few times at the end of the court. 'This is...' thought Okamura, recognising the move. Kuroko did a Cyclone Pass, and the ball went straight to Izuki, who began dribbling it towards the hoop.

'If we can't score by passing, we'll strike after they score.' he thought. 'With this strategy...' Before he could go further, Murasakibara was already blocking him, making him take a step back. 'Damn it, Murasakibara!'

"What, you're not coming?" asked the said boy lazily.

'Is he going to stay under the net instead of participating on offence?' questioned Kagami with shock. 'If that's the case, there's no opportunity for a counterattack.'

"That's how it is." said Okamura, who had joined Murasakibara with Liu following him. "Counterattack don't work against us."

"He's just lazy." said the latter.

'I don't like players that won't run, but I make an exception for him and his absolute defense.' thought Araki.

"Izuki!" called Hyuga as he ran towards the side. The said boy passed the ball to him, and he jumped to make a shot. 'If we can't score from the inside, we'll score from the outside.' he thought. When he launched the ball, Okamura jumped and interrupted the shot. 'So tall!' The ball bounced on the rim, and Murasakibara caught the rebound.

'Damn it!' cussed Kagami, who failed to get the rebound. 'It's too hard to score from under the basket!'

'This isn't good.' thought the worried Yasu. 'Even though their defence is strong, it's not as though we can't shoot at all, but we can't get any rebounds.'

'Most players have a shooting percentage around fifty or sixty percent.' thought Alex. 'In other words, almost half the shots are missed. That's why getting rebounds determines possession of the ball, and is an important factor that influences the game. At this rate, Seirin might really be shut out.'

"This isn't good." muttered Yasu when she saw the scoreboard.

"We haven't scored a single point yet." said Kawahara.

"There are only fifteen seconds left." added Furihata.

'Their defense is no joke.' thought Hyuga while wiping the sweat on his chin. 'It's unbelievably strong. They're not giving an inch.'

'The level of mental fatigue from a twenty-point difference versus an eighteen-point difference at the end of the first quarter is completely different.' thought Riko. 'If we can stop this basket, we can keep fighting. If we can't, though, it'll be fatal.'

Fukui passed the ball to Liu, who passed it back to him to make a shot. "No, you don't!" yelled Kagami, who managed to interrupt the shot by touching the ball with his fingertip. The ball bounced on the rim.

'But because Kagami jumped for the block, Kiyoshi and I have to handle these two.' thought Hyuga as he struggled to catch the rebound before Liu and Okamura did.

Yasu stared at Kiyoshi with furrowed brows. 'What will you do, Tep-nii?' she asked.

Kiyoshi recalled his training on his grip, and Kagetora suggested he learned to catch a rock with only one hand. When he said it would be difficult, the man said he had to learn to grab that rock if he wanted to hold a promise to Seirin. 'I won't lose!' he swore as he jumped with his hand held up high. 'I will defend Seirin's basket!' Before either Liu or Okamura could touch the ball, Kiyoshi caught it with his hand. 'Vice Claw!' Yasu smiled at him.