NOVEL WEB Chapter 26: Chapter 026: Don't Move! Guard the Drive! He Can't Shoot Threes!
A few moments later…
"These two are insane! It's only been a few minutes, and they've nearly closed the gap!"
"We've scored… what, 13 straight points now?"
"Yeah."
"Nijimura's defense is incredible, it's like he's some kind of glue. No matter where the gap opens, he's always there in time to fill it. Then you've got Shigure's passing lane coverage, and that ridiculous vertical of his…"
"The opponents haven't scored a single point during all this!"
"And, Nijimura and Shigure seem to have really good chemistry, don't they? Whether it's that opening alley-oop, their defensive coordination, or Nijimura's assist just now…"
"I honestly thought that, as two monstrous rookies, they'd be butting heads from the get-go, like rivals constantly trying to outshine each other…"
On the court.
Chogaku Middle was still trying to break through from the inside. Their strategy remained the same, attack from the paint. Their power forward drew Nijimura out of the paint after a switch with Fukaya Reiji.
Then, relying on his height advantage, he pulled up for a jump shot.
The execution was decent… but unfortunately, his skill wasn't. Even with a 10-centimeter height advantage, his shot was still blocked by Nijimura Shuzo.
Teiko transitioned instantly into offense.
The point guard quickly advanced the ball into Chogaku's half.
Fukaya handed it off to Nijimura and moved to the opposite side of the paint to clear space.
This time,
Chogaku made a defensive adjustment. They switched the matchup on Nijimura to their power forward, a strong, 185 cm-tall interior player with a muscular frame.
Just like that,
On both ends of the court, Nijimura had shifted roles from small forward to, essentially, a power forward.
Yeah…
A 175 cm power forward.
Boom!
Nijimura backed down his defender without hesitation. Chogaku's big man visibly flinched!
Then, just as everyone thought #13 was going to muscle his way into a shot,
He suddenly whipped a pass to the corner!
It was fast.
And over there,
No one knew when it happened, but Shigure Akihito had arrived at that exact spot!
A result of his Tomokazu Godai: Full-Throttle Sprint!
Smack!
Shigure caught the ball cleanly, and in that very instant, the defender hadn't even closed the gap yet.
"Don't move! Guard the drive!"
"He can't shoot threes!"
From inside the paint, the defenders hesitated, ready to close out, but suddenly, both the point guard captain and the coach barked out at once.
Upon hearing that, Shigure's lips curled into a strange little grin.
Then, in textbook shooting form, he rose with lightning speed and released the shot!
Tomokazu Godai: Soft Set Three!
His release was fast,
But the softness of his form sent the ball sailing in a perfect arc toward the hoop.
Swish!
The net fluttered like a fish leaping from water, stirring up a splash of brilliance.
Three-pointer, nothing but net!
"Ha~!"
"Back during entrance trials, Shigure scored 21 straight points off threes!"
"Can't shoot threes?"
"What kind of joke is that, haha!"
From Teiko's bench, the substitutes were fired up. Especially after hearing the opposition's earlier shout, it just made the whole thing even funnier.
On the court.
Chogaku's players stood frozen in place.
"…Wasn't he not supposed to have a three-point shot?"
"..."
The point guard and coach both scowled when they saw Shigure raise an eyebrow at them in playful challenge.
The coach couldn't take it anymore.
He sprang up from the bench,
And called a timeout!
At this point, the second quarter of the first half was well underway.
The scoreboard read 43–42, with Teiko taking the lead.
After Shigure and Nijimura checked in, Teiko had stormed back, turning a 15-point deficit into a 1-point advantage in the blink of an eye!
Back on the bench.
Coach Ino from the second-string squad gave both Nijimura and Shigure a pat on the shoulder.
"Well done!"
Beyond that, he really had nothing else to tell them.
Whether it was Shigure Akihito, who had become their offensive spearhead, or Nijimura Shuzo, who had quietly positioned himself as the bow launching that spear, both had exceeded his expectations by a long shot.
On the other side.
Kurokame Shinji sat on the bench with a gloomy expression.
He wasn't the type to sulk, but ever since Shigure and Nijimura had checked in, his only recorded stat was… one rebound.
Oh, and one turnover.
His best friend,
Had unknowingly left him far behind.
And for the first time, Kurokame felt a genuine, bone-deep sense of pressure.
Timeout over.
The game resumed.
Teiko kept their lineup unchanged.
As for Chogaku, they swapped out their starting small forward, presumably to bolster their defense, replacing him with a taller substitute.
Clap! Clap!
"Focus! Don't overthink it!"
"No matter how good those two rookies are, they're still just two players!"
"They'll run out of gas eventually…"
"As long as we stick to our rhythm, we will win this game!"
The Chogaku captain returned to the court with unwavering composure, clapping his hands and trying to boost morale, not just for the players on the floor, but for the whole bench as well.
"Yes, sir!"
"Let's go! We'll crush them!"
"That's right!"
"This year, we're aiming for Nationals! There's no way we're losing here!"
The newly subbed-in small forward echoed the enthusiasm with fire in his eyes, and the whole team fed off the energy, their morale starting to rise…
However,
Moments later,
Thud!
A heavy thump rang out on the court.
The substitute small forward, specifically instructed to stick to #12 like glue,
Was now sitting on the floor, dazed.
Right in front of him,
A blur of white had just flashed past.
And now…
He sat there dumbfounded, legs spread out on the floor, as if waiting for someone to explain,
What the hell just happened?!