Chapter 31 - End of Day three (1/2)

Tokiwadai decided to go home; all of them were tired from the match and wanted to go home and relax.

Shun wanted to watch the game, but most of the team wanted to go home and relax, and as the team came to the stadium together, they had to leave together, the coach was responsible for them, and if the majority of them wanted to go home, they would go home.

Shun: 'Well, I am also tired. Even if I wanted to stay, the coach wouldn't let me stay.'

The team got to the school the coach asked them to gather in the gym for one last meeting.

Coach: ”Today was a good game; the teamwork you displayed was exemplary.”

The coach looked at Otsubo and Aone and said.

Coach: ”Otusbo and Aone, you did a good job at stopping Nebuya Eikichi. Getting those rebounds was the reason that the shooters were able to shoot without any pressure. Your performance at the end of the game was also good. Keep it up.”

Otsubo and Aone were happy with the coach's compliment. They had worked a lot in the semi-finals to hinder Nebuya Eikichi, and getting complimented felt good and made their hard work worthwhile.

The coach turned towards Ishida.

Coach: ”Ishida, your performance today was consistent throughout the game; you helped the team at all the areas of the game. Your outside shooting also showed in the latter half.”

Ishida: ”Thank you, coach.”

Coach: ”Mibuchi, today; without a doubt, you were the MVP of the match. Your shooting was so on the point today that the stadium was in awe of your performance. The pressure that you laid on Meiho's team was the reason that we could break their teamwork so easily.

It takes skill to draw fouls from other players, and with each foul, you added pressure on them, making them hesitate to go in for a block with the risk of body contact.”

It was true today all the members of the club who saw the match congratulated Mibuchi on his exceptional performance. The two form shooting was so deadly in the game that Mibuchi garnered a whole lot of attention from the youth sports magazine who had come to see the match.

Coach then looked at Shun; he had seen the first-year member leaving in the gym last almost every day, he had seen him taking shots every day after practice; Kageyama Shun was the most hardworking member of the club.

The coach would still feel shocked when Shun would start stealing passes. He saw Shun as a positionless player; Shun could excel in any position on the court.

Shun had the explosiveness and agility of a forward, soft touch of a shooting guard, the dynamic court vision of a point guard, and he had the skills to make good use of his body. He had met Shun's parents once during the preliminaries, so there high chances that he would grow to be tall.

Coach: ”Kageyama, your performance in the games have allowed us to win with such high margins, the turnovers in the second half of the games made the team's work much easier. You switched your playstyle according to the team's situation. Keep up the good work.”

Shun: ”Yes, Sir!”

At the end of the meeting, the result of the second semi-final came in,

Coach: ”Teiko Middle School beat Kamata Middle School with a thirty-nine point lead. We will be facing Teiko middle school as our finals opponents. They are a strong team so please go home, and have plenty of rest, I want all of you to be well-rested for tomorrow.