Chapter 32: The Opponent Has a Little Something, But Not Much!

On the sidelines.

In front of the Yuancheng Temple bench, a middle-aged coach with thinning hair was fussing over his already sparse locks.

He truly couldn't figure out how Bai Shui High School could suddenly produce such a strong player—ball handling, passing, rhythm, court vision, plus the physical ability shown during the previous block.

Is this really Bai Shui High School, with a reputation comparable to Yuancheng Temple?

What kind of joke is this?!

Yukimiya Kazuma's performance stood out like a crane among chickens among the first batch of teams with mediocre strength, also energizing the spectators who had originally planned to wait for stronger teams.

Of course...

The most excited were the Bai Shui High School bench.

"Defense!"

"Defense!"

"Defense!"

The cheering voices never ceased.

Yuancheng Temple's turn.

Just now, Bai Shui's number 5 had made his team suffer consecutive setbacks; Yuancheng Temple's 'ace', small forward Minase Yukio, was determined to show the opposing number 5 some color.

Coincidentally, this guy on the other side had sought him out for a matchup defense.

That's right.

Under the coach's arrangement, Yukimiya Kazuma's defense had just switched to specifically guard the opponent's small forward; it seemed the little old man knew some intelligence about Yuancheng Temple High School.

Minase Yukio lowered his center of gravity and dribbled twice in a row to feint.

However, to his surprise, Bai Shui's number 5 had not lost his position at all; even while in a passive defensive stance, his reaction remained swift.

Ever since acquiring the 'Passing and Control Master' badge, Yukimiya Kazuma felt he had gained a brand new understanding of judging and positioning when defending dribbles and passes, giving him a sensation of anticipating the enemy's moves every time.

Minase Yukio was very surprised; he hadn't expected this guy to be able to keep up with his rhythm.

Although his own team's strength was average, he was quite proud of his dribble drives; most people couldn't handle his crossover drives.

"Hmph!"

Minase Yukio let out a dissatisfied snort, suddenly pushing off the ground to accelerate; Yukimiya Kazuma's movement was equally in place, yet Minase Yukio still drove into the paint after a wide crossover.

Facing Bai Shui's number 4 center inside the paint, Minase Yukio felt no fear at all, jumping up to prepare for an aerial collision!

And then...

A streak of white light invaded from his side—it was Yukimiya Kazuma!

During that previous drive, Yukimiya had intentionally let him in; while Minase Yukio was focused on Takefujimasa in front, Yukimiya Kazuma completed the block from behind!

Slap~!

Relying on his spatial awareness of the court, Yukimiya Kazuma set a trap for Minase Yukio, delivering a massive block right in his face!

【Badge Quest: In the match against Yuancheng Temple High School, block the opposing players five or more times】

【Completion Reward: Chance to obtain a block-related badge (Current progress 3/5)】

"Wah!"

The spectators in the arena erupted in waves of amazement again!

From the opening tip to now, in just two defensive possessions, Yukimiya Kazuma had already delivered three blocks; compared to other matches taking place inside the gymnasium, Yukimiya Kazuma's performance was far more spectacular.

This number 5 player from Bai Shui High School had already won over the audience in the arena within just a few possessions.

Transitioning from defense to offense, Yukimiya Kazuma pushed the ball up the court.

The defender in front had also switched to Minase Yukio; judging from that last play, Yukimiya Kazuma could feel the opponent definitely had some substance, perhaps even the opponent's strongest player.

But even so, compared to Yukimiya Kazuma, the opponent only had a little bit of substance, not much.

Now acting as point guard, Yukimiya Kazuma was not led astray by Minase Yukio's rhythm; seeing Yuancheng Temple's defense set, Yukimiya Kazuma slowed the pace slightly.

He passed the ball to Liang Huayin, while he himself started cutting with Minase Yukio in pursuit.

Liang Huayin made a sharp crossover, a front crossover step beating his defender.

Although he said he wouldn't continue playing basketball after high school, Yukimiya Kazuma could see during this period that Liang Huayin, this inwardly talented guy, might not be willing to give up the ball skills he had painstakingly honed over three years.

Liang Huayin's drive forced Minase Yukio to retreat and help defend; as a result, Yukimiya Kazuma easily slipped along the baseline into the paint.

At this moment, Liang Huayin suddenly pushed the ball forward, and the basketball fell back into Yukimiya Kazuma's hands.

The Yuancheng Temple center's attention was drawn to Takefujimasa, who had moved into a scoring threat position; before he could notice, Yukimiya Kazuma had already dunked the ball into the hoop.

"Ah!"

"Beautiful!!"

For middle school basketball, dunks do exist, but it is rare to see one executed beautifully.