Chapter XV
* POV: Kojima -
It was our first regular season game, and the air in the gym was quite different.
“WHOOOO! Kick their butts!”
It was also a home game, and the amount of students attending the game was far greater than our practice match with Shinjo Tech.
Our opponent was Harukaze High, whose team wasn’t particularly bad, but really good either.
They shouldn’t be too hard to beat, though they have a pretty big and athletic forward on their team.
Me and the rest of the starters headed to the court for tip-off.
We were all determined and focused on winning our first match.
The gym slowly quieted down, as the referee threw the ball into the air.
Unlike our match against Shinjo, we were able to win the tip this time.
Their center was roughly the same height as Asari, so they don’t really have much of a size advantage.
Asari passed the ball over to me.
I analyzed the court for any openings, but none so far.
Asari came to set me a pick and roll.
With Asari’s help, I swiftly ran through and approached the free-throw line.
Some help defense came to stop my run, so I bounced the ball over to Nakamura.
Nakamura pump faked at first, but then spun past his defender, prompting Nakamura to rise up for an athletic layup over two defenders.
Harukaze was a team built off of teamwork, passing, and a strong zone defense.
Their defensive scheme off the bat was a 2 - 3 zone, which means that there will be two defenders in front, and three defenders in the back.
It seemed like their game plan was to contain our bigger players, however that was a big mistake.
On their possession, we were able to get a stop, after an outside shooter missed the shot.
Next, Sugahara ran by me at the top of the three-point line, where I delivered him the ball.
Right after the handoff, Sugahara immediately squared his feet and shoulders to the rim and let a three-point shot rip.
Swishhh
Sugahara was already breaking down their 2 - 3 zone.
We went on an 8 - 0 run at the beginning of the game.
Harukaze’s offense was lackluster, and their defense was not helping at all.
We scored again and again, extending the score to 15 - 0.
The crowd was going nuts.
“Let’s go Sakura, let’s go!”
“Let’s go Sakura, let’s go!”
On Harukaze’s next possession however, their forward, who was supposed to be pretty decent, scored a layup and a foul, resulting in him shooting a free throw.
Needless to say, he made it, but still, that wasn’t enough to really get the engine going for the team.
The first quarter ended 17 - 5.
Sugahara and Nakamura were both pretty ruthless.
They were our main offense that quarter, where they each scored 7 points.
The remaining 3 points were foul shots from Yamato, who was able to masterfully draw fouls when he drove to the basket.
Our bench players came in to get some minutes.
Suzuki came in for me, while Arisu came in for Sugahara, and Okamoto came in for Asari.
We played that lineup all the way until halftime.
Though this wasn’t our best lineup, Harukaze still wasn’t playing well enough to catch up, and Arisu had a hot hand, scoring 3 consecutive three-pointers.
Arisu was our three-point marksman off the bench, and he provides us with valuable bench time, where he’s pretty productive.
The score at halftime was 32 - 18.
The students in the crowd were pretty electrifying.
I wonder what the atmosphere at the inner high would be like.
Anyway, the rest of the game played out pretty much the same.
This whole game was all the same story.
Sakura’s offense was very consistent the whole game, while Harukaze’s wasn’t up to par.
Victory graced us, with a final score of 71 - 43.
Even though it was our first official game, it didn’t really feel like it.
I mean all of our practice matches were more hard-fought.
Our battle with Shinjo felt more official than what this game felt like.
After thanking our opponents we headed back into the locker room.
“Man, that was a regular game? We just gotta win 15 more of those to get to Inner High?” Asari stated.
Everyone was surprised by the ease of that game.
“It was an easy match, that’s correct, but don’t take everything lightly from now on,” Yamato spoke up.
Yamato was a second year so he knows what it’s like to play a full regular season.
“In basketball, talent is spread across many teams, and in many cases, the spread is uneven,” Yamato stated.
“In these 20 regular season games, the skill level of our opponents will vastly vary.
Our next opponent could be 3 times better than Harukaze, or maybe even better than Shinjo, so we have to be prepared for whatever is thrown at us,” Yamato explained.
Everyone stayed quiet for a little, trying to understand the bigger picture.
“That’s right, every game will have a different kind of battle,” Miyamura said, walking into the locker room.
“It’s up to us whether we win each and every battle, but for now, I want to say something.
That was some great basketball everyone!” Miyamura announced.
Everyone in the locker room celebrated with joy over our first official game and our first official win.
Coach Miyamura, who is usually kinda strict, and grouchy, had a big smile on his face.
He was proud of our results.
* Flashback - POV: Coach Miyamura -
There I stood, courtside in our first official basketball game.
It was the fourth quarter with only 2 minutes remaining.
We had built quite a hefty lead, so I went ahead and subbed out our cornerstone players.
The clock eventually hit zero, and we ended the game victorious.
All of the boys went to the locker room afterward to change.
“That was such a good game, but I kinda feel bad for the other team,” Kinoshita
said.
“This is merely the fruits of our labor is all,” I replied.
“Yeah, that’s true, all the boys really work hard in practice huh,” she replied.
“Well, that will be all for basketball activities today, both of you girls can head on home now,” I told Kinoshita and Haruno.
“Gotcha, see ya tomorrow Mr. Miyamura!” Kinoshita said as she left with Haruno.
I walked over towards the locker room to hold a little celebration for our first win.
As I approached the lockers, I noticed two gentlemen lounging around, waiting for me.
It was none other than the coach for Harukaze, the team we just beat, along with another basketball coach.
The other coach wasn’t a part of the staff for Harukaze, but rather a head coach for another school.
“That was a great display of talent your players showed,” said the coach of Harukaze, whose name was Yabe Toson.
“Thanks, I appreciate it. You have a pretty talented player on your team as well,” I replied.
I was referring to their forward who despite the losing effort, was able to score 24 points, which was more than half of Harukaze’s points.
“Yeah, I guess you’re right, but our future certainly isn’t as bright as Sakura’s correct?” he replied with a smile.
I smiled back, with no real way to respond to that.
“So, how far do you think your team can go this year?” he inquired.
Right now I have full confidence that we can reach inner high, and be a tough opponent for anyone.
“All the way,” I replied.
That’s right, that’s my goal, to win inner high.
After all winning is everything in the world of sports.
“My, that’s quite the goal,” Toson replied.
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“Well then, do you intend on beating us?” the other coach chimed in.
That other coach was none other than Kamiya Dai, the head coach for Kikoru High.
Kamiya was a notorious head coach for basketball in Japan.
Though he never played professionally, he excelled at tactics and defensive schemes.
They say defense wins championships, and that's the kind of philosophy Kikoru had adopted.
That’s why Kikoru has won the Inner High tournament for the past 3 years.
Even beating Shinjo Tech in the finals last year, when Cain Yamato was a first year.
Kamiya was an older fellow with a cane, he had nerve damage in his leg that had been there since his last collegiate game of basketball.
Though basketball has brought him a lot of physical pain, his love for the game is unrivaled, and he is a certified winner.
“Of course, we’ll crush any opponent in our way,” I replied to Kamiya.
“Hehehe,” he laughed.
“That’s what I love to hear,” he replied.
“You guys have a lot of talent, particularly that Sugahara fellow,” he stated.
“However, If he’s your star player, well, good luck,” he added.
“We’ll see,” I replied.
The two coaches left after that, and I went to the locker room.
* POV: Sugahara -
It’s now the day after our first official game.
School ended a few hours ago.
I was at home laying on the couch with nothing to do.
I took my basketball and flicked it around in the air while I laid down.
“Man, I’m so bored,” I thought to myself.
Suddenly my phone received a notification.
I jumped at it, hoping to find something to ease my boredom.
However, it was a notification for some random app.
After closer inspection however, the app was actually the PPA.
I never gotten a notification from it before.
“Let’s see,” I thought to myself as I opened the app.
The profiles of many people had changed.
The once-before-empty stat lines were now updated for the regular season.
I read my profile, and it says I average 29 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists.
That was my stat line against Harukaze.
Because the season just started, I’m sure most people’s stats didn’t reflect their real averages.
I looked over at some other people's stat lines from other schools.
Most school’s stat lines were pretty average though, so I filtered some of the results to show some of the extremes.
Profile and Performance App
----------------------------------------
Results: Highest to Lowest PPG
Name
Points Per Game
Rebounds Per Game
Assists Per Game
Yamato Cain
PG
Shinjo Tech
44
7
7
Name
Points Per Game
Rebounds Per Game
Assists Per Game
Isshiki Minoru
PG
Midori Academy
41
6
3
Name
Points Per Game
Rebounds Per Game
Assists Per Game
Kuroda Kiyotaka
SF
Aozora High
36
8
3
Name
Points Per Game
Rebounds Per Game
Assists Per Game
Raiden Rin
PF
Aozora High
36
6
1
Man to think I wasn’t in the top 5.
Well like I said before, the first handful of games will produce outliers.
Yamato’s brother scored the most points in his game.
He really is something else.
Though it was fun to look at all the individual player profiles in PPA, my boredom would not go away.
I shot a text over to Kojima, asking if he could help me with my cooking skills before the contest.
I later got a response, and Kojima said I was welcome to come over.
I left the house and headed over.
Before I got there, Kojima informed me that we needed some more cooking supplies, so I let him know that I could grab them on the way.
I went and located a local market and headed inside.
Bing Bong
The sliding door opened and made a sound.
I headed over to the produce aisle.
“Let’s see, I need some lettuce, tomato, and eggs,” I thought to myself.
I was able to get some lettuce and tomatoes, but I peered over at the egg section.
There was trouble, there was only one carton left.
I was a good distance away, but I didn’t want to run over there and look stupid.
I briskly walked over there with my eyes fixed on the eggs.
I scanned the area, and no one seemed like they were eyeing it.
It was pretty busy to say the least, I mean it’s about that time when a lot of people get home from work.
I arrived at the eggs and went to grab them to put into my shopping basket.
Just as my hand grasped the carton, another hand grabbed it as well.
“Dammit! She came out of nowhere!” I thought so myself.
A young girl was trying to buy the eggs as well.
She had brown curly hair and round-framed glasses.
“O—oh I’m sorry,” she said.
“Here you can have them,” she added.
“No, it’s okay, you were a little quicker than me,” I replied.
Of course I want those eggs, but it would be selfish to take them without offering them back first.
If she says no again, I’d happily take them for myself.
“Okay, well, thank you so much!” she said.
No! You were supposed to deny my offer!
“Well, there goes the eggs,” I thought to myself.
Just then, I realized who I was actually talking to.
It was Asawa Mei of the sewing club.
“Hey, you’re part of the sewing club right?” I asked.
“Oh yeah, wait I recognize you, are you on the basketball team?” she inquired.
“Yeah, my name is Sugahara Oda, I introduced myself,”
“Oh yeah, that’s right, Sugahara, our best player!” Aisawa stated.
“All of my friends talk about you,” she stated.
“Seriously, really?” I asked.
“Yeah! I mean you’re quite popular with the girls right now,” she said.
“Especially after your great performance in our first home game!” she added.
That’s right, it’s no surprise my name had spread around the school so much after the match yesterday.
“Thanks for stitching our jersey numbers in, we really appreciate that,” I said.
“Oh yeah, it was no problem really, I mean the club does stuff like that all the time, even for other clubs,” she explained.
We conversed for a bit while we were at the market.
Aiwawa was a really nice person to talk to, she had a pretty bubbly personality.
She was a third-year at our school who was pretty popular with all girls from every grade level.
“So by the way, are you close with Kojima by any chance?” she asked me.
I wondered why she would ask about Kojima.
“Yeah, actually he’s my best friend, why?” I asked.
“Well you see, I have this one friend, who… let's say…has a crush on him,” Aisawa explained.
“Woah, someone’s crushing on Kojima?” I said.
“Who is it?” I followed up.
“She’s this very sweet first-year girl, also a part of the sewing club,” she added.
“She’s really nice and friendly, so maybe we can introduce them to each other?” she said.
“Yeah of course!” I said.
“Great, can I have you’re Instagram so we can make a plan?” Aisawa said.
“Sure thing,” I replied.
I gave her my Instagram and soon after that, we parted ways.
Aiwasa wants to introduce her friend to Kojima, and hopefully, it can start a nice relationship between the two.
Man, this sorta thing is right up my alley.
I’m gunna be the best wingman ever for Kojima!
However, there was something bothering me.
It was the fact that I didn’t get the eggs!
Damn!
I arrived at Kojima’s house, and we started preparing right away.
I ended up stopping at another market to buy eggs since the first market ran out.
“Okay, the first lesson is making a great omelet,” Kojima stated.
“Okay! Let’s get started!” I exclaimed.
Moments later, however…
Coughhh… coughhh….
The smell of burned eggs filled the room.
“I think I burnt it,” I said to Kojima.
“You think?” he replied back.
My eggs were pretty much charcoal at that point.
“Try again,” he stated.
My second attempt was a lot better and was actually edible.
The problem with the first one was I didnt use enough fat to cook the eggs, and the temperature was way too high.
Kojima and I had a taste.
“It’s pretty good!” I replied.
“No, too rubbery, try again,” Kojima harshed judged.
It was pretty frustrating, but my third attempt was my best one yet.
“Congrats, it’s edible,” Kojima said nonchalantly.
We sat down to enjoy what I ate.
Still, doing this exercise wasn’t enough to prepare for the cooking contest.
“Didn’t you say you were average?” Kojima asked me.
“Yeah, kinda lied about that one,” I replied.
“But I need to get better so I don’t drag Kinoshita down!” I added.
“Kinoshita? I remember she made cookies in junior high and they tasted like radioactive —”
“By the way Kojima,” I said interrupting him.
“What’s up?” he asked.
“Do you got any girls you like?” I asked him.
I wanted to see if he was interested in anyone before telling her about Aisawa’s friend.
“Hmm, I’d say no, I haven't talked to any girls since school started,” he replied.
I expected that answer, I don’t really see Kojima talk to anyone except our main group and our basketball teammates.
I looked over at him through his class one time, and he really just talks to Arisu who was in Kojima’s class.
“I see,” I said.
“Well, a girl actually told me earlier that someone likes you,” I stated.
“Oh really?” he replied.
“Yeah, it’s a girl from the sewing club, Aisawa Mei said one of the first years in the club is totally crushing on you,” I explained.
“I see,” he replied.
Kojima was sort of an oddball.
Typically when a guy finds out a girl likes him, they would jump for joy.
Kojima on the other hand was just kinda… unphased?
“So, what do ya think?” I asked.
“Well, I don’t really know what to think, how should I feel about it?” he asked.
“You should be jumping for joy!” I stated.
“Should I?” he asked.
“Yeah, I mean, if you hit it off with this chick, then you could start dating and have all sorts of fun,” I explained.
“All sorts of fun?” he said.
“Yup! But anyway, do you have any ideas who it could be? I don’t remember meeting any other sewing club members except for Aisawa,” I asked Kojima.
Kojima thought briefly in his head.
“Now that you mention it…” Kojima said.
* Flashback - POV: Kojima -
I was picking up my Jersey from the sewing club, right before our first practice match against Shinjo.
Everyone else received their uniform, except for Asari and me.
We were told that they were short on pink threading, so we went to pick them up a little later.
“Man, I hope our jerseys turn out as good as everyone else's!” Asari said to me.
“I’m sure they will,” I replied.
“By the way, what number did you pick Koji?” Asari asked me.
“I picked one, what about you?” I asked back.
“Number one eh? That’s a nice number. I picked three,” Asari replied.
“Have you always been three,” I asked.
“Yeah, I used to wear 5 in elementary, but I switched to 3 in junior high,” Asari told me.
We approached the doorway to the sewing club, where our jerseys were waiting for us.
When we approached the door, someone was just about to exit.
“See you later Mei!” the person said as she walked through the door.
She was turned towards Aisawa, waving goodbye as she stepped through the doorway.
She ended up bumping into Asari who stood right next to me.
She fell towards the floor, but before she hit the ground, I ended up catching her.
“Are you okay?” I asked her after I caught her.
“Y—yeah,” she replied as he stood back up.
“Sorry about that!” Asari told her.
“No, no, I just wasn’t watching where I was going, I’m so sorry about that,” she explained and left.
Me and Asari ended up picking up our jerseys after that incident.
* Flashback Over - POV: Sugahara -
“Well that was quite the story,” I thought to myself.
“Was she an attractive girl?” I asked him.
“Hmm,” Kojima pondered.
“I don’t really remember,” he replied.
Well anyway, I was prepared to become Kojima’s wingman!
After my cooking session, I headed home and accepted Aisawa’s Instagram request.
Over the next few days, we would converse about how we were going to get those two together.
We ended up with a pretty good plan.