Chapter 12 - Finals, Ahead. (2/2)

Nakamura looked at Kiyoshi and continued with a sigh,

Nakamura: ”I think he is similar to you, he plays as the small forward, but most probably wants to play as the point guard. Just in your case, you play as a center.”

Kiyoshi looked at the screen, which was playing the Round 3 game between Sagami Middle School and Tokiwadai Middle School.

Kiyoshi: ”You are right; look at how he just assumed the point guard position after Ishida was substituted. I guess that he is waiting for next year to switch to point guard, but unlike me, he can set up plays even as the small forward.”

Nakamura looked at his friend and felt sad for him, Kiyoshi wanted to play point guard, but because he was so tall, he was more useful to the team as a center.

Nakamura was also worried about Kiyoshi as he knew that Kiyoshi was pushing himself in practice.

Kiyoshi: ”They are not the only people that we need to be careful about, look at Mibuchi Reo's performance in semi-finals, he showed a dangerous move; a high fadeaway jumper. That will be difficult to block, by the time you know Mibuchi is already above and out of reach.”

Kyoshi was worried that their defense wouldn't be enough to keep up with Tokiwadai's offense, Kiyoshi was confident that he could hold himself in the post, but Shoei's current members were more focused on offense than defense.

Kiyoshi's main worry was if Shoei was capable of outscoring Tokiwadai if the match becomes an offensive scoring game.

Kiyoshi Teppei liked to play basketball, he always considered his large body as a hindrance, but when Nakamura invited him to play basketball, he found that his body was not a hindrance but an asset.

Basketball was a sport of height, taller and stronger players were strong, but what made Kiyoshi different from other big men was that he gave importance to skill than just brute strength.

Kiyoshi was a complete novice to basketball when he joined the club in middle school, even though he was big, he couldn't handle the ball well.

When he saw his peers handle the ball better than him, he concluded that if he combined his power with better skill, then he would become even better at the sport that he had started to love.

Kiyoshi smiled as he remembered the days, when he fumbled the ball on multiple occasions, he always messed up and had a traveling violation called upon him.

But know he was in love with the hardwood floor and the leather ball that wasn't like the small things that he had difficulty handling, and more importantly, he loved his teammates, he had found a different kind of family than his grandparents.

A basketball court was the place he belonged, and he wanted to stay on the court longer than anyone else.

[A/N: The last line was copied from a character, I wouldn't say who said it so if you know, write your answers in the comments.]