164 Ryuo vs. Tokiwadai, Part-Four

The fourth quarter of the game went by quickly.

The already devastated Ryuo team, were was tired, had pilled up fouls and were blocked time and time again, then they had to face the combined onslaught of Shun and Sora's chaos strategy.

Ryuo Middle School would've given up if they didn't have Hayama Kotaro in their team.

Hayama Kotaro had the dignity of an Uncrowned King, and he was sure hell not giving up.

Hayama gave it his all to defend, and the rest of his team followed their ace to focus on defense.

But, alas Shun and Sora combined play made it difficult for the Ryuo to move in defense.

Excluding for Ryuo's power forward and center, who moved on the inside, the rest of Ryuo's team moved on the court like they were walking on eggshells.

They never knew when they would walk into a screen or move into the path of their own teammates.

Ryuo's shooting guard looked around in confusion and hesitation.

Ryuo's SG: "What the hell is happening!"

His body hurt from running into screens.

Hayama looked around, he understood that Tokiwadai was doing something, but he didn't know how they were doing it.

He gazed at Shun, standing beside him and questioned in an even tone.

Hayama: "This is your doing, right?"

Shun glanced at the blonde and replied.

Shun: "Hmm, yeah."

Hayama asked a question that plagued his mind.

Hayama: "We never had a chance in the first place, did we?"

Shun shrugged his shoulders and answered.

Shun: "Well, I didn't go into the game, thinking that my team would lose.

Anyone who does that has already lost.

But, yeah. I didn't think of going easy on you guys, making it fun, stuff like that."

Hayam sighed as he looked down at the floor.

Hayama: "Teiko is going to be tough, isn't it?"

Shun turned to Hayama and responded.

Shun: "If you play against Teiko, the game won't be like this."

Hayama was surprised and asked.

Hayama: "What do you mean?"

Shun sighed and spoke.

Shun: "Your teammates were able to move against my teammates.

Your center was able to block our center because of his lack of skill, even though he lost in rebounds and defense.

Even though our power forward has an excellent defense, his offense is lacking. So once in a while, he misses shots.

Our small forward's offense is reliable, but his defense is lacking.

Our two first-years are also lacking in skill."

Shun looked at Hayama with a stoic face and continued.

Shun: "Teiko's players don't have weaknesses that you guys can exploit.

Murasakibara Atsushi would crush you with pure power on both sides of the court.

Aomine Daiki would destroy your defense every time he gets the ball.

Midorima Shintaro is going to rain threes. He doesn't miss, so just think about the damage that would do.

Kise Ryota is an all-rounder, and he would break your spirits with his ability.

Lastly, Akashi Seijuro. You don't have to worry about him. He won't move if it isn't needed.

Which, I can't see happening.

I am quite tame compared to those guys."

Shun didn't tell him about Kuroko because telling him wasn't going to do any good, with Akashi using Kuroko, he would make plays that would prolong Kuroko's time on the court.

Shun put his hands behind his back and said.

Shun: "The result of the game would be much worse.

Plus, with you on the team, they will be active in the game."

Teiko members craved competition, and Hayama was a good enough opponent who wouldn't give up until the end. So, it wouldn't be surprising for the five to take the game a little seriously.

Shun: "Let's hope you guys can take it."

The first game ended with Tokiwadai's overwhelming victory. In the fourth quarter, Ryuo was only able to score four points.

The final score of the first game was 75 - 32 in Tokiwadai's favor.

With Shun stopping Hayama Kotaro, Tokiwadai Middle School beat Ryuo Middle School with a double score.

-*-*-*-*-*-*-

The second game of the day was uneventful.

Everyone on Ryuo, other than Hayama, wasn't into the game.

The game basically turned into Hayama trying to get past Shun, and Shun trying new things against Ryuo.

New pass routines, new skills that Shun wanted to try, new things others wanted to try.

Shun played full defense so that even when the rest of Tokiwadai was trying new things, Ryou still wasn't able to score or get their rhythm back.

Hayama was heavily breathing, and he had his hands on his knees. He looked up at Shun and asked between deep breaths.

Hayama: "Are you even playing seriously?"

Shun, unlike Hayama, wasn't showing any signs of fatigue.

Shun crossed his arms and answered.

Shun: "Of course, this is a good opportunity to try many different things.

Plus, you are fast and nimble, so defending against you is a great practice.

Just because I am not putting numbers on the board doesn't mean I am not serious. It just means I am concentrating on another part of the game.

Look at the current game.

My teammates are trying things that they aren't good at, but still, you guys aren't able to score, it is because I am focusing on the defense.

In this game, you haven't scored a single point, and your team is still under twenty points, and the game is about to end.

Not just that, I made sure that you and your power forward, weren't able to near the basket.

I forced your shooting guard to play on the inside.

Your point guard hasn't even tried to go on offense.

I even jumped for rebounds in which my team's center was losing to your team's center, just so that he won't have the satisfaction of getting a good rebound.

The only thing I didn't do was to attack the basket aggressively. I kind of become a ball-hog when I get into that aggressive mindset."

Shun looked down at Hayama and continued.

Shun: "You guys just came at the wrong time.

If you had come any other time, then I wouldn't have targetted your offense and would've turned the game to a score out.

Our center and small forward like to be on the offense, but on my instructions, they played defense today, just so that we could cripple your team's offense.

I wouldn't have stick to you for the whole game and let my teammate experience another player of Mibuchi-san's level for a new kind of experience.

I might have even stepped out of the game a while. Or, would've played as a pure shooting guard or switched to an inside playstyle.

The result would've not changed, but you guys would've more freedom to move.

But, because you guys came to use us as a stalking horse for Teiko, I turned this game into a contest which restricted everything guys are known for and made sure that you felt the pressure throughout the game."

Hayama thought about the points that Shun mentioned and found that Shun had indeed taken away every strong point of his teammates, and forced them to play outside of their comfort zone.

He chuckled in resignation, stood up straight, and looked up at the ceiling.

Hayama: "We got completely destroyed."

Tokiwadai and Teiko's reputation in Japan was of strong schools.

Teiko still only had one National champion under their belt, and Tokiwadai lead by Shun had only gone to Nationals once.

So, when Ryuo Middle School scheduled the practice game, they just wanted to see what the hype was all about and find out the correct level of the Teiko Middle School, who were predicted to win this year's National.

The result?

Hayama: "They are on a completely different level."

Tokiwadai Middle School wiped the floor with Ryuo Middle School and swept both games with huge point gaps.