Chapter 164

And the defense Yukimiya Kazuma just put on left a deep impression on every spectator and player present, especially the players who had a deeper understanding of basketball.

Kitagaoka Middle School's Dakou Longzhi, the idol-burdened one whose "Ghost Step" had left a deep impression on Yukimiya Kazuma, now rested his chin on both hands, looking at Yukimiya Kazuma with an expression of pure admiration.

"Beautiful."

"Compared to the astonishing score Bai Shui put up, what interests me more is the showdown between Yukimiya and Akashi in that last possession."

"If I'm not mistaken, on that play Akashi didn't have the intention of passing the ball to someone else on his own — it was forced out of him by Yukimiya's defense."

"Oh, that's right, Dakou's not wrong." Kitagaoka Middle School's coach affirmed Dakou Longzhi's words. "On Akashi's drive just now, it was Yukimiya who deliberately let him past."

In front of his juniors, Dakou Longzhi, whose rhythm had been abruptly cut off, stiffened. "Hehe~~ that kind of method, only he could think of something like that!"

"Eh?"

"What do you mean?"

Kitagaoka Middle School's center, looking at the coach and Dakou Longzhi who were playing riddles with each other, said with some displeasure: "What exactly do you mean? If you figured it out, Dakou, just say it straight."

The other players also cast the same looks over.

"Ahem…"

Dakou Longzhi scratched his head and said: "It's nothing all that amazing. To put it plainly, Yukimiya just chose to deliberately let Akashi drive past him, then defend from behind Akashi."

"Huh?"

Kitagaoka's center closed his eyes and put himself in the situation, then immediately retorted: "How could that be possible… Even if Yukimiya is very fast, after being beaten, having to turn his back first and then spin to chase and defend, there's no way he could pull off a threatening stop."

"Uh…"

"But, just now he did catch up…"

On the other side.

A similar conversation was also taking place between Huacheng Xiuyi and Sasame Akira.

However.

Compared to Dakou Longzhi, who was hemming and hawing and couldn't explain it clearly, Sasame Akira had figured out the situation on the court almost the instant the referee's whistle blew.

"No, of course it's possible."

Sasame Akira said: "First, it's wild instinct. With wild instinct, Yukimiya can, without using his eyes, constantly track every move Akashi makes from the drive all the way through to his shooting preparation after the drive."

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"That way, after he turns around, he can head straight for the basketball in the shortest time to block it."

"However, Yukimiya Kazuma clearly doesn't have that kind of ability. What he has is something else."

"Vision and spatial perception. After Akashi drove past him, he can likewise lock onto Akashi's position and movements without looking."

"Vision + spatial perception is an ability stronger than the 'Hawk Eye,' which simply uses sight."

"Second…"

"The most simple and direct — the gap in height."

"Huh?"

Huacheng Xiuyi was somewhat surprised by this, because when it came to Akashi's ability, basically everyone in Teikou had overlooked this issue.

"That's right, it's height."

"No matter how strong Akashi's ability is, his height is only 170 cm. Yukimiya's maximum block reach is at Murasaki's level. Using that as a reference, when I, Facing Qingfeng, and Kise shoot, the release height is at least a tenth lower than their block reach, while Akashi's is at least three-tenths lower or more."

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"Blocking a shot isn't only about blocking the moment of release — you can also intercept the ball mid-flight after the release, before it reaches the interference range."

"The higher the release point, the less room it naturally leaves for that kind of block. Conversely, in Akashi's case, the insufficient release point gives Yukimiya more reaction time."

"Yukimiya exploited exactly that point, and combined it with vision + spatial perception to lock onto Akashi's release position in advance, completing this seemingly impossible defense of deliberately leaving the man open."

"Moreover, even Akashi's Emperor Eye can't execute an ankle break on a defender behind him — those eyes, after all, still need to 'see' to activate."

Huacheng Xiuyi was completely stunned. Even after hearing Sasame Akira's clear explanation, his face still showed disbelief: "The Emperor Eye can actually be defended like that? Something like this can actually be done?"

"This isn't something just anyone can do." Sasame Akira shook his head, then continued: "Even among the 'Generation of Miracles,' right now the only one who could probably do something similar is Facing Qingfeng, whose build is similar to Yukimiya's and who also has 'wild instinct.' His block reach isn't as high as Yukimiya's, but his speed is faster than Yukimiya's, so he should be able to pull it off."

"Also…"

"Nijimura's experience-based anticipation could do it too."

"As for the others, they're missing the key link of locking on in advance, so even Murasaki might not be able to do it." Nine.