Chapter 186 - Prelims, Round-3 (Focus: Kaitani) (1/2)

Kaitani Riku was the starting small-forward for Tokiwadai Middle School's basketball team. Standing at 168 centimeters tall, he stood at the shorter end of his team, but the person himself wasn't bothered by his lack of height. His lack of stature gave him the ability to move nimbly and was faster than most of his taller counterparts. And, in the world of basketball, those who didn't have the height supplemented their play with skill.

Kaitani Riku was no different. As a player of short stature, he went the path of the skill-based player. He learned skills and moves that would help him overcome the height gap between him and his opponents.

And currently, Kaitani was showing his skills against Fushimi Middle School in Round-3 of Tokyo preliminaries. Fushimi Middle School was a school that had a strong inside game, and the center and power-forward of Fushimi combined were the cornerstones of the team's offense and defense. The rest of the Fushimi's players moved the ball around to get it closer to the basket.

With Fushimi's already laid style, even their point-guard and small-forward were rim finishers, and their shooting-guard was only comfortable in shooting from mid-range. Fushimi's offense was concentrated on the inside and thus had a weak outside game.

Kaitani looked around the court and saw his team's point-guard, Kageyama Shun, dribbling the ball towards the basket, and raised his hand for a pass as he began running to have some distance with his defense, his defender followed him, but Kaitani wasn't worried.

He saw Shun look at him and directly passed him the straight to where his hands. Kaitani internally smiled at the timing and placement of the pass, completely satisfied with his point-guard's pass play.

Kaitani: 'Ah, man. How does he pass the ball so well?'

Kaitani focused back on the game and immediately came to a stop. His defender also stopped but was off-balance for a moment, and Kaitani took full-advantage of that lack of balance. He faked going to the left, which was the original direction both of them moving, and his defender immediately shifted to the left for defense.

But, Kaitani had other plans, as he took a few steps to the right without moving closer to the basket. He was comfortable with his distance from the basket, now with his defender off his tail, he pulled up for a face-up jump shot from the free-throw line. The ball followed an arc and banked into the net after bouncing off the backboard.

He celebrated with a short hop and spoke while he moved back for his defense.

Kaitani: ”Whoo! This is what I do, ball is life, baby!”

He turned back and saw Shun moving back to defense with his hand out for a high-five. Kaitani moved his hand and slapped Shun's hand. He smiled at his teammate and praised.

Kaitani: ”That was a delightful pass.”

Kaitani saw Shun smile and glance at him before speaking.

Shun: ”Of course, it was, who do you think was passing the ball? Now, I expect you to move the ball around. Fushimi's players are leaning towards you, ever so slightly. Let's take this opportunity to get some easy buckets.”

Kaitani: ”Aye-aye, captain.”

His captain just chuckled and gave him a final slap on the back before separating from him to go to his defensive position.

-*-*-*-*-*-*-

Kaitani once again had the ball as he moved towards the basket, but his defender was in the way. Kaitani looked at the obstacle in his way and thought.

Kaitani: 'He will have to go.'

Kaitani dribbled the ball on the spot, before exploding into action with his quick speed. He started with a left fake, converting it to a pullback making his defender move to the left, and the next moment he once again moved to the left, prompting his defender to fully commit to the left. Seeing that the balance of his defender's defense has shifted to the left, he crossed his defender by a quick spin to the right and closed in on the basket.

The defenders moved as they were expected and moved closer to Kaitani to stop him. Kaitani ran towards the basket, and just as feet touched the line on the right side of the painted area, he came to a quick stop with both his feet on the ground, knees slightly bent. Fushimi's players took it as an indication for a jump, and their power-forward jumped for a block.

But, Kaitani wasn't going for a layup. He remembered Shun's words and wanted to get easy buckets with no contesting for shots, so he drew the defenders to him, and the moment Fushimi's power-forward jumped, he passed the ball to Sora, who was now free.

Sora caught the ball, set his gaze to the basket, and shot the ball with a mid-range jumper, which sank in without a hitch. Kaitani smirked as he looked at the surprised faces of Fushimi's players on being drawn in for an uncontested shot. He turned back to go on defense and ran alongside Sora. The small-forward looked at his junior and gave him advice.

Kaitani: ”Sora, you will be needed to do similar things to what I showed. After we third-year retire, you will be the point guard of the team, so you need to learn how to manipulate the defense.

Always remember, the best position to shoot from is away from the defenders. Always aim to get the ball to the shooter when he is safe from a possible shot block.”

Sora nodded and kept Kaitani's advice in his mind.

-*-*-*-

Kaitani continued to work his charm on the court, as he started to gain extra attention from Fushimi's defenders. They began to target him more and tried to pressure him into making a poor choice.

Kaitani dribbled the ball and because he was forced to the right sideline of the court. Kaitani glanced at the two Fushimi players, who were trying to force him to the side. He smirked at the two as they inched closer to the sideline.

Kaitani: ”Oh? Double-team for the small me. I feel honored.”

Just as they were inches away from the sideline and Fushimi's players were sure that Kaitani would stop to pass, he turned the situation around by making a sharp direction change to the left. He escaped their encompassment targetting the space between the two defenders, using one of the skills he had first early in his second year, Kaitani grinned as he broke away from the double-team.