Chapter 137

Of course.

The third-years are paying.

Liang Huayin came over and sat beside Yukimiya Kazuma, who casually handed him a box of takoyaki.

"Oh! Thanks, has it started?"

"Just started, both sides are still probing each other..."

Snap!

Before Yukimiya Kazuma could finish speaking, a brilliant play suddenly unfolded on the court, and the surrounding crowd instantly erupted.

"Tsuchiya! Tsuchiya! Tsuchiya!"

On the court, Tsuchiya Dahe, wearing a green jersey and standing a full 190 centimeters tall, was a rare shooting big man, the very image of what Takefune Masaki dreamed of.

Indeed.

Takefune Masaki: "What a beautiful fadeaway jumper!"

As a center of similar height and build who simply couldn't execute such a graceful finishing shot himself, just imagining himself in that situation made Takefune Masaki's teeth ache.

Beside him, first-year Hiyomoto Shinsuke pulled out a dossier; these were materials he had collected himself, though they contained only simple team introductions.

After flipping through for a while.

Hiyomoto Shinsuke's eyes lit up as he said, "Found it, let me see... Hagiya Junior High, Kyoto's number one seed, a long-standing powerhouse whose style has always centered on solid, steady defense."

"But this year's core player, Tsuchiya Dahe..."

"Is an offensive power forward with exceptional shooting ability."

"A 'six-six-three' height, and he's a power forward? Good at shooting, no wonder he has such a beautiful fadeaway."

Just then, a system prompt suddenly appeared:

【Attribute Quest: Lead Bai Shui High School to victory against Hagiya Junior High, with both Takefune Masaki and Liang Huayin scoring over 30 points】

【Completion Reward: 6 freely assignable attribute points】

Hmm?

It's actually 6 points.

This is only the second time I've been given this many attribute points; the last time was during the quarterfinal round against Higashi-Tsukudo, when the requirements were far stricter, demanding 40 points and 10 rebounds while limiting the opponent to under 10 points.

This time, it's just that both Takefune Masaki and Liang Huayin must score over 30 points; if the 'Passing and Control Master' gives his all, there should be no problem, right?

6 attribute points; they are exactly what I need. Before colliding with Teiko, I still urgently need to boost a certain attribute, making these 6 points quite critical.

Wait...

Hagiya Junior High?

Isn't that the very team currently playing the match below?

Yukimiya Kazuma: "..."

Good lord, they haven't even finished yet, and you've already revealed the result to me. Fortunately, it's a junior high match; otherwise, wouldn't I have taken the opportunity to fleece them hard?

Soon.

On the day of the second round.

With a total of 24 teams, one round down left only 12.

Starting today, there is an entrance ceremony.

After a simple procedure, the starting players from both sides remained on the court.

Beep!

The whistle sounded, and the match began.

Takefune Masaki passed the ball to Yukimiya Kazuma.

Yukimiya Kazuma caught the ball and advanced steadily forward.

The Hagiya Junior High point guard rushed over to interfere, but Yukimiya Kazuma didn't hold onto the ball; he passed it to Takefune Masaki.

Yukimiya Kazuma wanted to check Takefune Masaki's condition.

Facing the opposing center, Takefune Masaki had a physical matchup advantage based on build.

Under Yukimiya Kazuma's command, the other Bai Shui players naturally cleared one side, creating isolation space for Takefune Masaki.

Takefune Masaki executed a standard triple-threat stance, then drove, posted up, spun around, shook off the Hagiya Junior High center, and scored from close range.

This sequence was a small combo in the paint that Takefune Masaki had developed during the training camp.

It seems to work quite well.

Next possession.

Hagiya Junior High similarly passed the ball to Tsuchiya Dahe posting up in the low post.

Tsuchiya Dahe's shooting form is quite good, his fadeaway has distinct characteristics, and with his height and wingspan, blocking him is very difficult.

Provided...

He doesn't run into Yukimiya Kazuma.

If it were a set shot, it would be one thing, but for a jump shot, 'I Love Blocking Jump Shots' won't go easy!

Tsuchiya Dahe's fadeaway, while not blocked by the 20% increased block chance from 'I Love Blocking Jump Shots', was clearly still disrupted by that block height.

Clang~!

With Tsuchiya Dahe staring in stunned confusion, the basketball bounced out of the hoop.

Bai Shui's possession.

Yukimiya Kazuma was not in a hurry to exert himself; he continued to observe the situation on the court.

At the top of the key, he executed a hand-off pass with Liang Huayin, using his body to naturally screen the Hagiya small forward to one side.

Liang Huayin seized the momentum and drove into the paint; Tsuchiya Dahe, scrambling to cover, couldn't keep up with Liang Huayin's lateral movement, and Liang Huayin deftly finished with a finger roll.

After tip-off, Yukimiya Kazuma's performance was workmanlike, and Hakusui-kan played methodically, by the book.

On the positive side, Liang Huayin and Takefuji Masaki attacked with real conviction; under Yukimiya Kazuma's direction, the two of them received his passes and never had to hesitate.

At the end of the first quarter, Hakusui-kan led Hagiya 30 to 22 — only 8 points ahead. Not a small margin, certainly, but compared to before, there was clearly a slight gap.

The main reason was that Yukimiya Kazuma's focus was entirely on racking up points for Takefuji Masaki and Liang Huayin. With this kind of deliberate, fixed-target assisting, even with the "Passing Maestro" trait, the assist rate obviously couldn't be that high, and so the +20% shooting accuracy effect couldn't trigger.

But Yukimiya Kazuma wasn't worried in the slightest. He was assisting purely for the sake of assisting, and still up 8 — which proved, as expected, that defense is truly the number one productivity.

As long as his defense is locked in, apart from Teikou, most teams would find it very hard to beat Hakusui-kan.

After all, 92.4 Speed + 84.7 Help Defense — the stats speak for themselves. With defense running at full throttle, he can fill in for half an Murasakibara; that guy covers an ultra-wide defensive range.

He, meanwhile, has dropped the "ultra" and dropped the "wide," leaving just "range defense" — yet the defensive effect is still solid.

Limited to non-Teikou teams, even against the high school kings of Seiho, it still holds true.