Chapter VII
The game had begun, and I assumed my position as the point guard where I pushed the tempo for the team.
I passed the ball over to a teammate in the corner, where a green player proceeded to push my teammate out of bounds.
-Turnover-
After swinging the ball around each other from the perimeter, someone took a step in to shoot a three-pointer.
The shot went in, but they were actually stepping into the line which resulted in a 2.
2-0
I got the ball back in my hands and then, drove immediately towards the basket.
I’m going to treat this match like it was a match back at the gym earlier today, by making it my goal to score at least half.
As I drove in, a defender stepped up, so I did a fake and was able to slow him down, allowing me to slip in an easy 2-pointer.
2-2
The Green Team hit a 3-pointer, giving them a lead of 3 points.
Not to be outdone, I took matters into my own hands again, driving to the basket and scoring another 2-pointer, narrowing the gap.
5-4
As the game progressed, both teams traded baskets.
The Green Team continued to shoot well, making another 3-pointer and then a 2-pointer, taking a 6-point lead.
However, unphased as I was too focused in the moment, I went ahead and scored another 2-pointer layup, and in another possession, I was able to assist a teammate in shooting a 3 pointer, to bring the score to 10-9 in favor of the Green Team still.
The Green Team's offense was relentless, making another 3-pointer and a 2-pointer to extend their lead to 6 points once again.
I was able to drive to the rim again, but this time one of my teammates cut through and I was able to hand off a smooth bounce pass over to him, prompting another layup to go in. 15-11.
As the game neared its end, my team was able to hit a 3-pointer, putting the green team only ahead by 1 singular point
With the game being so close knew I had to step it up.
In our next possession, I scored a quick 2-pointer through a midrange jump shot and finally got us the lead, after we had been trailing this whole time.
16-15, in our favor.
In the last few possessions of the game, Team Green was able to score twice inside the paint.
In a similar fashion, we were also able to respond back with two layups as well.
It was now 20-19 and it was game point.
Me and the red team were defending this last possession from the green team with our lives, losing would mean that I would have lost my chance to join the team.
I couldn’t lose now, I had to make sure they would miss.
The ball found itself in the hands of the green team's sharpshooter who easily broke through the red team's perimeter defense.
He shot his shot and all I could do was pray that he missed.
As luck would have it, the ball went in and out, one of the worst ways to miss a shot.
A teammate rebounded the ball and threw it to me and I ran full speed across the court.
Someone tried to steal it from me, but I slowed down my rhythm and then speeded into a spin move that left my defender stunned.
I jumped up towards the basket to lay the final basket, but a very tall defender was in my way.
I initiated contact with the defender with my left shoulder against his chest.
With my right hand, I attempted to lay the shot up through contact.
His arm had swatted my right hand but missed the ball.
The ball went up and hit the glass, then satisfyingly fell through the hoop.
“AND ONE!!!” I heard others in the gym shout, specifically up on the high rise where I saw Sugahara cheering and celebrating.
We were able to beat the Green Team through a well-fought battle.
✾❀✾
Coach Miyamura walked towards us and stood in the middle of the court.
“I must say, this was a pretty exciting match. Both teams fought hard and some talent was definitely on display today.
As I explained previously, this tryout's purpose was to pick out the last two roster spots, so if you all won’t mind, I would like to announce my picks.
I’ve decided on a player on the Green Team and the Red Team.
First is Ryu Arisu from the Green Team.”
Ryu was the sharpshooter on the green team who single-handedly made this game super competitive.
“The next and last player that will be joining us is…
Kojima Kouki, from the Red Team.”
I had a strong sigh of relief.
Since yesterday I have been super stressed out about the team.
I really didn’t think I would be able to join after not getting picked yesterday.
“I owe it all to him,” I thought, as I looked up towards Sugahara.
Coach Miyamura spoke one last time before leaving for his office.
“Practice officially begins tomorrow around this time, so don’t be late,” he said directing towards Ryu and I.
“Man that was intense!” Ryu said, speaking to me for the first time.
“Yeah, sure was. You were quite dangerous on the court,” I replied.
“Thanks, you too Kojima. Well anyways I’ll see you at official practice tomorrow,” Ryu stated before leaving to go change.
✾❀✾
After changing, I left the gym to find Sugahara, along with Haruno and Kinoshita waiting for me.
Sugahara had a big smile on his face and he gave me a big slap on the hand.
“Nice going!” Kinoshita chimed in.
“Yeah, good job,” Haruno added.
We left the school premise and started walking home together, while I guided my bike without riding it.
“Man, that last shot was great Kojima! That guy fouled you super hard and yet you were able to lay it in for the win.
That was probably the best basket made during the whole tryouts!” Sugahara said hyping me up.
The four of us continued to have talks about the tryouts and how the day was with me and Sugahara skipping.
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“Hey, do you guys want to try that new dessert shop!” Kinoshita pointed across the street.
“I saw they had a grand opening yesterday on the first day of school, but a lot of students were there yesterday so I wasn’t able to try it out,” Kinoshita added.
“Sure, why not,” Sugahara said.
I agreed as well and we all looked at Haruno for the final decision.
Haruno pouted for a bit then sighed
“I could go for some ice cream,” she said.
“Perfect, let's go!” Kinoshita announced.
We all went to the new shop which was not as busy as it was yesterday.
Kinoshita and Haurno both got a strawberry vanilla flavored ice cream, while Sugahara and I got some milkshakes.
We sat down at booth and talked more.
Haruno tried to pull out her homework to work on, but Kinoshita forced her into our conversations.
After enjoying our desserts, we all went home on our separate ways.
image [https://i.imgur.com/BHvPcP0.jpg]
✾❀✾
The following day after classes, Sugahara and I met in the halls.
It was easy to find each other, not only are our home rooms next to each other’s but we now have each other's contacts as well.
“You ready?” he asked me.
“Yeah, let's head down,” I replied.
We headed down towards the gym for our first official practice.
We went ahead and changed and sat at the bleachers waiting for practice to start.
More teammates would head in and change, sitting on the bleachers next to us as well.
I recognized some people from the tryouts such as Nakamura and Arisu.
A teammate sat next to me.
At first, I didn’t recognize him, but I quickly realized who he was.
He was the player who sat out for Sugahara during the first day of tryouts.
He was tall, and well-built, with brown hair and blue eyes.
“Glad to see both of you guys here,” he mentioned to Sugahara and I.
“Yeah, thanks again for letting me take your place the other day,” Sugahara thanked him.
“No sweat, I was just doing what I was told,” he replied.
“You're a second year right? How come I don’t see any other upper-classmen besides you, if you do not mind me asking,” I asked him.
“Our team was previously comprised of mainly 3rd years who all graduated.
There were no 2nd years on the team last year, and there were only two 1st years, which included me and Kategawa Kesei.
Keisei won't be playing this year unfortunately due to a shoulder injury, so I’ll be the only upperclassman on the team this year.” he informed me.
“I see,” I replied.
“By the way, the names Yamato, Yamato Reo, nice to me you guys,” he introduced himself as he shook both me and Sugahara’s hands.
“I’m Kojima Kouki, looking forward to being your teammate,” I replied.
“Sugahara Oda, nice to meet ya,” Sugahara said greetingly.
The whole team eventually showed up, and when counting both me and Sugahara, there were 8 of us, which isn’t a bad amount of players by any means, but there could be more.
Coach Miyamura showed up and stood in front of us.
“Well now looks like we have ourselves a roster.
Last year Sakura High had a pretty good run, we were able to make it to the second round of the inter-high tournament.
Due to the loss of all our third years, I do not know how well we will play this year, however, I expect great things.
If you guys have any questions about the team, please go ahead and ask Yamato over there on the third bleacher row, he’s a 2nd year who will be very involved in this team.
In fact, his starting role is already cemented, so the 7 of you 1st years will be competing against each other for the remaining 4 starting roles.
I’ll be experimenting with the lineups for the first practice games, after that I believe I’ll have it down.
Before we start practice, I will need you guys to pull out your phones and download this app.
It’s called the Profile and Performance App (PPA), and I’ll need you all to create your profile and sign into our school.”
The coach wrote a code on a whiteboard to register for Sakura’s team.
Everyone pulled out their phones to download and sign up for the app.
It was a new implementation across the board for all sports this year.
It's being used all over the country to track performances and stats of young athletes.
Even Yamato was confused since this was new to him as well.
To sign up, we had to type in the code and fill out player information, along with a picture.
After signing up, me and Sugahara compared our screens to make sure we were both on the same page.
We also compared it with Yamato as well.
Profile
----------------------------------------
* Name: Kojima Kouki
* Grade: First-Year
* POSITION: PG
* Height: 170cm/5’7
* Weight: 59kg/130lb
Performance
----------------------------------------
* Points Per Game: n/a
* Assists Per Game: n/a
* Rebounds Per Game: n/a
* Steals Per Game: n/a
* Blocks Per Game: n/a
* FG%: n/a
Profile
----------------------------------------
* Name: Sugahara Oda
* Grade: First-Year
* POSITION: PG/SG
* Height: 177cm/5’10
* Weight: 72kg/160lb
Performance
----------------------------------------
* Points Per Game: n/a
* Assists Per Game: n/a
* Rebounds Per Game: n/a
* Steals Per Game: n/a
* Blocks Per Game: n/a
* FG%: n/a
Profile
----------------------------------------
* Name: Yamato Reo
* Grade: Second-Year
* POSITION: SG/SF
* Height: 185cm/6’1
* Weight: 82kg/180lb
Performance
----------------------------------------
* Points Per Game: n/a
* Assists Per Game: n/a
* Rebounds Per Game: n/a
* Steals Per Game: n/a
* Blocks Per Game: n/a
* FG%: n/a
It looked as though every stat in the performance section was non-applicable.
Probably because the season hasn’t actually started yet.
Coach Miyamura came back after we registered for PPA.
“I’m guessing you all finished? Well, then we should get ready for practice.
Everyone line up for stretches!
Also, I wanted to let you all know that I am looking for a manager position and an assistant manager position for the team.
Let me know if you guys can find someone that would be willing to fill in those positions,” Coach Miyamura explained.
“Two positions huh?” I thought to myself.
We as a team did our stretches and started doing drills.
The drills were similar to what we did yesterday on the second day of tryouts.
We ended practice with a 3 on 3 scrimmage.
The winners stayed on, while the player with the most points on the losing team stayed on with two other players rotating in.
I played with Asari and Suzuki, while we went up against Nakamura, Ryu, and Okamoto.
Sugahara and Yamato waited for their rotation.
My team ultimately lost, where me and Suzuki stepped off and Sugahara and Yamato stepped in.
It was now Asari, Sugahara, and Yamato against Nakamura.
Size wise it was pretty equal.
Though Asari was our tallest player on the team and Yamato provided versatile length as well.
They definitely are going to put up a better fight against Nakamura than my team did.
Nakamura drove to the rim with power, knocking Sugahara out of the way.
Right before putting the ball into the basket however, Yamato slid into the picture.
In a very discrete manner, Yamato jumped and blocked Nakamura from the side.
Nakamura looked visibly angry to get blocked.
Yamato secured the ball and passed it on out to Sugahara who was already on the three-point line ready to shoot.
Sugahara shot it immediately after catching it and drained it in smoothly.
Besides Nakamura, Okamoto and Ryu chimed in some points as well.
They tried their best to contain Asari out of the paint, but Asari would fade away and hit a bank shot from a post-up position against Okamoto.
Eventually, Sugahara’s team pulled through and won.
Coach Miyamura stood beside me during that moment.
“That Sugahara, he sure is a piece of crap isn’t he?” Coach asked me.
“Sugahara is one of our best players if you ask me,” I replied
“If he tries, sure, but I question his passion,” Coach Miyamura stated as he walked away from me.
His Passion huh?
Our first practice ended pretty smoothly.
Coach Miyamura said he’ll have a schedule printed by Friday, which was two days from now.
✾❀✾
POV: Haruno
It was Friday now, during lunch, signaling that the weekend was right around the corner.
I sat at my desk, eating a rice ball and teriyaki chicken with my best friend Aiya.
Next to us was Kojima, a good friend from middle school, whose class is next door, but eats lunch in our room to hang out.
And beside him was a total numbskull named Sugahara.
Usually, just looking at him put me in a bad mood, but nowadays I don’t really feel that way anymore.
Other than the bad first impression he gave at the convenience store, he’s been okay to hang around with as of late.
The four of us would each lunch often now.
Just the four-
Slamm!
A lunch tray slammed against a desk next to me.
“Hey guys! Can I eat lunch with y'all!” said a stranger.
Well, technically he was no stranger, rather a classmate of ours.
Asari Sae, who is now a buddy of Sugahara and Kojima.
“Sure man! Of Course!” Sugahara enthusiastically replied.
They started talking about basketball or whatever.
They talked so loudly that it was difficult to focus on my meal.
Like seriously, how am I supposed to taste the delicate flavors of this teriyaki sauce with these baboons yapping away?
I’m sure I looked visibly annoyed, while Aiya, sat there with her precious smile, enjoying the chaotic yet wholesome atmosphere.
Suddenly I heard my name mentioned in the boy's talks.
“Oh yeah, that’s a good idea,” Asari said.
“Do you think they would agree?” Kojima added.
“Maybe Kinoshita, but I don't see Haruno joining,” Sugahara said.
Join? What could they possibly be talking about?
“Hey Haruno, would you wanna be a manager for our basketball team?” Asari asked.
“Why would I,” I replied bluntly.
“Okay sorry, it was just an idea. It’s because our team needs a manager and an assistant manager,” Asari explained.
“We were thinking you and Kinoshita could do it,” he continued.
“Ouu lets do it Kaori!” Kinoshita chimed in, putting her arm across my shoulder.
“Doesn’t that sound like fun? Managing a whole sports team, wow! And we can go to the games, sit courtside,-” Kinoshita was explaining but I interrupted.
“Well if I did join, I would need some merit, besides attending the games,” I explained.
“Those are things we could do without joining anyways Aiya,” I continued.
“Yeah, I guess you're right,” Aiya said softly.
I looked over at the boys as they pondered.
“Hey Haruno, you study a lot right?” Sugahara asked.
“Hmph, I guess,” I said.
“Well, if you become a manager or even assistant manager, you’ll get a lot of time to study! Plus it counts as an extracurricular, so it will free up some time for you,” Sugahara explained to me.
This school does require at least one extracurricular, if I can just study during that time, I technically would be freeing up some of my time.
I thought about it for a bit, thinking if this is something that will truly benefit me.
“Fine, I guess that makes sense, I’ll do it, if Aiya does,” I explained.
“I’m totally in!” Aiya stated.
✾❀✾
When classes ended, Aiya and I went over to Coach Miyamura’s office to inquire about the manager positions.
We both got accepted, with Aiya as the team manager and me as the assistant manager.
I choose to be the assistant because it means less time managing and more time studying.
Today was a practice day for the boys, so we went ahead and introduced ourselves to all of Sugahara and Kojima’s teammates.
Afterward, we headed into the office, where we would have our own seats and computers.
“Honestly this is pretty sweet,” I told Aiya.
“Yeah, it’s super chill, we can just study, do homework, and be on our phones the whole time!” Aiya replied.
We studied for a good hour, until Miyamura came in and gave us some instructions.
He told us to print out the schedule for the boy’s practice games.
The file was on his computer, so we started printing it out.