Chapter Thirty-Nine: Teaching a Lesson
"Wh-what?!"
Even more shocked than Murasakibara himself were Yosen's players.
Yagami posterizing Murasakibara earlier had been absurd enough, but no one could have imagined anyone could block his dunk head-on!
Even with two defenders!
After all, on Murasakibara's first day joining Yosen's basketball team, he'd been a "bulldozer"-like existence that three starting players couldn't stop!
A trace of unease arose in Araki Masako's heart.
From the fourth quarter's start, Ryonan's strategy had obviously changed—they wanted to seize interior dominance from Murasakibara's hands?!
"Yagami..."
"Ahh, so annoying."
"Why are you all so fired up? It makes me tired and irritated."
"Damn it, seriously," Murasakibara muttered darkly, head down. "But compared to these feelings, losing the game is way more annoying!"
"I'm going all out to crush you!"
Inbound play. Yosen's ball.
Fukui Kensuke inbounded to Himuro who caught it while Murasakibara called for the ball in the paint.
"Should I give Atsushi the ball in this state?" Himuro fell into thought. Though Murasakibara usually played purely on physical gifts, his stamina was clearly at its limit now, and Ryonan's defense on him had intensified severely.
Himuro had a feeling that if Murasakibara's offense got stopped again, something extremely bad might happen.
"You actually have time to lose focus?"
Sendoh's laughing voice had just fallen when his form suddenly pressed forward, his right hand precisely flicking upward from below.
"Smack!"
The basketball immediately escaped control!
"Damn!" Himuro's heart tightened. His reaction was extremely fast, both hands agilely recapturing the ball while his feet rapidly retreated, trying to create space.
But Sendoh's pressure followed like a shadow, pressing and swiping again.
In his panic, Himuro's vision caught Liu Wei coming from the left to receive. Without thinking further, he immediately passed—
However, another figure was faster!
"Smack!"
Yagami Sorato arrived half a step earlier, his fingertips precisely tipping the flying basketball. Without stopping, he chased down the loose ball, snatched it up, and accelerated at full speed straight to the frontcourt!
"Sorato!"
Amid his teammates' alarmed shouts, a purple figure swept in from behind. The first to sprint back at full speed, already closing on Yagami from behind, was actually Murasakibara Atsushi!
"So—so scary..." Aida Hikoichi felt chills down his spine. Yagami on court seemed to become prey hunted by a giant beast, the shadow behind him drawing closer and closer.
"This is why Murasakibara can be called 'Generation of Miracles'!" Coach Araki's eyes blazed from the sideline. "Beyond his first-step explosiveness, his long-distance sprinting won't lose to anyone on the court!"
She clenched her fist. This possession, Yosen must stop it, must strangle Ryonan's increasingly surging momentum!
"Don't need to shout so loud for me to know..." Yagami muttered quietly. That oppressive presence behind was growing ever closer—impossible not to notice.
"Bang!"
Just stepping inside the three-point line, Yagami suddenly executed a sharp hesitation pullback!
Murasakibara's massive frame stuttered violently at this abrupt rhythm change, forcibly screeching to a halt.
"Bang!"
Before he could adjust, Yagami instantly dropped his center of gravity, bending forward to accelerate straight to the basket, jumping powerfully!
"I'm sick of seeing this pattern of play!"
Murasakibara roared, spinning resolutely. Taking just one step he'd already soared into the air, his massive palm sweeping toward the ball in Yagami's hands like descending clouds!
"Whoa! Sorato needed two steps to cover that distance, but he only needs one?!" Aida nervously squeezed his eyes shut.
"You're the one with monotonous moves."
Just as the massive palm was about to touch the ball, Yagami switched it to his left hand in mid-air, turning his body sideways and forcefully dunking the ball through the rim!
"Bang!"
Ryonan 76 - Yosen 74
"Yagami!" Aida shouted excitedly.
Offensive transition. Yosen pushed quickly.
"Give me the ball!"
This time, Himuro didn't hesitate, lobbing the ball to Murasakibara from high.
Triple team!
Ryonan's choice was even more thorough. Yagami Sorato, Uozumi Jun, Fukuda Kicchou—three players triple-teamed Murasakibara!
Time rewound to before the fourth quarter began. Yagami had called his teammates together.
"From now on, when Murasakibara gets the ball in the paint, we collapse into a triple team."
"Hmm? Will that work?" Koshino asked. "What about Yosen's other players?"
"Murasakibara won't pass. His brain isn't that good." Yagami said confidently. "And even if somehow he does, we only need to guard Liu Wei and Himuro."
"So the triple team will be me, Uozumi-senpai, and Fukuda-senpai. Koshino-senpai and Sendoh-senpai stay on the perimeter ready to intercept passing lanes."
"Will the three of us be enough?" Fukuda asked. He'd experienced Murasakibara's strength firsthand and still remembered it vividly.
"If it were the first half, maybe not enough." Yagami said. "But now, he can't."
"Good!" Uozumi was the first to respond. He'd long been sick of Murasakibara dominating the paint.
"Fundamentally, Murasakibara lacks consistent mid-to-long range shooting and has no high-post facilitating awareness. He's always played purely relying on physical gifts." Yagami analyzed calmly. "So I don't mind giving him a free lesson."
Sendoh glanced at Uozumi, somehow feeling Yagami's words carried implications.
However, Uozumi himself was completely oblivious, his eyes burning only with fighting spirit: "Absolutely won't let that guy score easily again!"
"Atsushi, pass it out!" Himuro shouted.
Murasakibara held the basketball high, preventing steals, but trapped in the center by three players, he found even turning extremely difficult—like a giant beast caged.
"Atsushi!" Himuro shouted again, his voice somewhat urgent.
"I... won't lose!" Murasakibara growled through gritted teeth, relying on brute force to forcibly create a sliver of space and floated up a shot.
"Clang!"
The basketball hit the rim and bounced out. Uozumi steadily secured the rebound.
"Not good!"
Yosen's perimeter defenders recovered quickly, not giving Ryonan a direct fast break opportunity.
After receiving Uozumi's pass, Sendoh didn't rush, composedly dribbling across halfcourt, controlling the tempo.
"I'll go first!" Yagami called for the ball.
Liu Wei's expression darkened. This guy seemed to treat him like a soft target. He'd teach him how...
Only reality was often cruel. After catching the ball, Yagami executed a swift crossover acceleration, blowing past Liu Wei completely in just one step!
"They're attacking the paint?!"
Yosen's defensive formation immediately collapsed inward. Murasakibara rotated to Yagami.
Yagami slowed his rhythm, pulling the basketball back through his legs.
Liu Wei chased from outside, trying to steal from behind.
However, Yagami seemed able to see behind himself. A smooth behind-the-back dribble steadily brought the ball to his left side.
In that tiny gap between old and new movements, Murasakibara had already pressed forward. He'd aimed for precisely this fleeting opening, immediately reaching to pressure, forming a trap with Liu Wei from the side!
"He's trapped!" someone shouted from the sideline.
"Sorato!" Teammates' warnings followed.
At the critical moment—
Yagami's rhythm suddenly accelerated. His body's center of gravity deceptively sank left. The instant Murasakibara's weight shifted, Yagami's right hand pulled the ball back to the right side with lightning speed while his left foot explosively pushed off the ground. His entire body accelerated like an arrow released from a bow, blowing past Murasakibara's right side!
"Damn!"
Murasakibara could see Yagami's movements but his body couldn't quite keep up. He forced his upper body to lean back, trying to use his wingspan advantage to swipe the ball.
"Murasakibara!" Himuro's warning came too late.
"Thud!"
With a heavy sound, his balance completely destroyed, Murasakibara fell solidly onto the floor, sitting down hard.
"Oh?"
Yagami, who'd been about to charge into the paint, suddenly stopped, looking down at Murasakibara at his feet, the corner of his mouth slightly rising.
"Ahh!!"
Yagami hit the mid-range jumper for 2 points!
Ryonan 78 - Yosen 74
Offensive transition. Yosen's offense.
Murasakibara called for the ball in the low post again. Ryonan still employed the triple team.
Murasakibara forced up a shot attacking the rim.
"Smack!"
Having held back the entire game, Uozumi swatted Murasakibara's shot away cleanly!
"AHHHH!"
The screaming Uozumi received a verbal warning from the referee.
"Tweet!"
"Yosen requests timeout."
"Yosen substitution, number 7 Furuyama Kou in, number 9 Murasakibara Atsushi out."
"Huh? They're subbing Murasakibara out?" Aida said with surprise.
"His stamina's probably at its limit," Coach Taoka glanced toward Yosen's rest area where Murasakibara sat alone in the corner with a towel over his head, somewhat similar to Uozumi earlier.
"Probably mentally too. This kind of proud player needs proper guidance when frustrated."
"Don't let your guard down these final minutes. Play steady, controlled offense!" Coach Taoka pulled his gaze back, addressing his players.
"Yes!"
After Murasakibara was subbed out, the backup center who entered was second-year Furuyama Kou, standing six-foot-four.
With Uozumi's stamina nearly depleted, the two traded blows in the paint fairly evenly.
However, without Murasakibara's interior dominance, Ryonan's offense became completely unstoppable. Yagami's drives, Fukuda's cuts, Uozumi's finishes under the basket—all scored repeatedly.
Sendoh easily racked up several assists, finishing with 39 points, 10 assists, 1 rebound, and 1 block.
Yagami also pushed his scoring into the twenties, ending with 24 points, 16 assists, 2 rebounds, and 2 blocks.
"Tweet!"
The game-ending buzzer sounded.
Ryonan 94 - Yosen 86
Though the process felt arduous, Ryonan still secured this practice game victory.
"Thank you for the game!"
"Today you truly showed us the power of a national-caliber center. Quite eye-opening." Taoka Moichi said emotionally while shaking hands.
"You're too kind, Coach Taoka." Araki Masako replied politely. "We should thank Ryonan for the instruction. We learned a great deal from this game."
Taoka paused briefly, his tone sincere: "Perhaps this is unnecessary, but as a coach, I still want to say something."
"Player mental health is an equally important element of growth. They're still young, their mentality still forming. As coaches, we can't focus only on technique while neglecting this aspect of their care."
Taoka could see Murasakibara's outstanding talent—an excellent prospect. But his playing style revealed this raw gem's temperament still needed polishing.
Out of care for talent, Taoka ultimately spoke these words.
"Thank you, Coach Taoka." Araki nodded solemnly, bowing deeply again. "Your reminder is extremely valuable. I'll keep it close to heart."
On the other side.
Yagami Sorato had somehow slipped over to Yosen's rest area...
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