The atmosphere in Kyoei's side was heavy, with so of them having ugly expressions on their face. Just a few minutes ago, they thought they were one step closer to the win, especially with them reaching twenty points first and Yuki being out of the picture. However, they didn't expect Tsunemori to still fight stubbornly, dragging them back and even overtaking the score.
Unfortunately for them, the bad news didn't end just there. They still had to face Yuki's serve, sothing that would haunt them as a nightmare in the night.
"Okay, everyone! Don't panic!" Ito clapped loudly, trying to lift the mood. "This is not over yet! If they can snatch our lead, we can do that too! Co on! Aki, get ready!
Nitta, wake up! Co on, everyone!"
However, his voice didn't quite reach his teammates. Besides the fact that the last two plays hit them hard, even though his tone was encouraging, Ito himself started to feel the pressure. There was a hint of hesitation there as if he wasn't so sure about what he just said. Saito who saw that frowned, then decided to take a tiout imdiately.
This was a well-tid decision, not only because Saito could encourage his depressed players, but also because this tiout also cut off Yuki's montum on the service line.
"Listen, everyone, I know this situation looks bad. However, this is still manageable. Don't we all aim for Konan and Matsukita? The situation would be worse there, and they are definitely better than Tsunemori. So, let's use this chance to simulate the future!" He tried to say sothing positive in this situation. Unfortunately, it was clear that it didn't work.
Everyone was so down that no one even looked at him, their head bowing deeply.
Saito couldn't help but sigh helplessly, racking his brain quickly as he raced with ti right now. If he couldn't find a solution to this situation before the tiout was over, they might as well say goodbye to the tournant.
He sighed once again, sohow in a heated mont like this, his mind suddenly brought him back to the past when he was coaching this team for the first ti.
Even though he managed the team just three years ago, he was proud of himself for being able to achieve a lot of things during that ti. In the first year, he brought the team to the top 8 before losing against Matsukita, then had a setback in his second year as they lost to Shimoyawata in the top 16.
Not so good for a team aiming for the top, yet still decent for a no-na team who had never achieved sothing in the national tournant before.
Of course, half of his achievent could be said due to the generous money the school gave to him. However, Saito was still proud of himself for digging all the talents on the team by himself, with Haruo this year as the exception.
And as if God wanted to make fun of his prideful attitude of only wanting to recruit rough talents, all the players he had were never good ntally, always crumbled whenever the team needed them to step up.
That was why this year, he wanted to recruit one top rookie to help the team ntally, and the option lay in Haruo.
Unfortunately, Haruo was still a freshman, and no matter how good his mind was, he alone couldn't do so much. Compared to the other players who had been together for a while, the middle blocker still couldn't influence anyone with his actions.
'Then, are we going to lose today?' Saito thought of the worst scenario. Then, when he saw the resignation expression on his players' faces, he was stunned, then suddenly, his face hardened. 'No, I cannot give up yet! If the coach of the team resigns to fate without fighting, the team will crumble soon. I have to keep fighting, even if there is no chance to win the ga! For the future of the team!'
With that thought in mind, a new determination blazed in his eyes, startling the players around him. "Okay, everyone, we need to change our ntality here. I need you to forget everything and treat this ga as if it is still 0 – 0. Now, listen carefully to what I say…"
-0-
"Hey, look! The bastard is not there!"
"Damn, you are right! He is on the bench!"
"Really?! Where?!"
"Holly shit, you are right!"
"Have they finally given up the ga?"
Even though it was hard to listen to the whispers from the crowds, all the Tsunemori players knew what they were talking about. They were also taken aback when they saw Nitta wasn't on the court, getting replaced by one player who hadn't played even for a minute.
When they turned their head to the bench, they all saw Kyoei's ace had his head bowed and covered with a towel, not allowing people to see his expression.
"Are they really going to give up the ga?" Kaede whispered to the others.
"I don't know." Riku also looked uncertain. "The ga is still close, so there is definitely no way they would give it up this soon. However, taking off their ace is also a strange decision, especially at this mont."
"You are right, Riku. It is too soon for them to give up the ga." Akira answered the other's confusion. "In fact, this is probably their last desperate attempt to save the ga."
"Eh?! Really?!" All of them turned their head in surprise.
Continue your adventure at m|v-l'e -
"Yeah." Akira nodded once again, confirming his words. "While that boy is amazing in offense, he has two big problems here. One, he is not stable enough ntally, disturbing the other's rhythm and even intimidating his own setter to always give the ball to him, and two, he is a liability in defense.
If you noticed it, you will rember that he has never received any of our attacks perfectly in this ga."
They were surprised at the sudden information and then realized everything was true.
"By replacing him, their coach wants to stabilize the situation." Akira continued. "This new player should be a defensive player who is solid enough in the back. Their coach wants to make sure they can cut off Yuki's montum first before reintroducing their ace back to the court."
Everyone stared at each other, so of them had uncertain expressions on their face. "So, what should we do, Sensei?" Riku finally asked.
"Well, it is easy. We don't let them stabilize the ga." A small smile suddenly ford on Akira's face. "Yuki, you rember the new weapon in your arsenal?"
Yuki was startled when he heard his na was ntioned out of nowhere. Then, when he heard the coach's question, he couldn't hide his shock before asking, "Do you want to use that?"
"Yeah." Akira nodded. "I know you have been training your ass secretly to make it perfect. While I don't know how is your progress, I believe in you. So, what do you think? Is it ready to appear in a crucial mont like this ti?"
All of them turned their head to Yuki, with only so having an idea what they were talking about. After hesitating for a second, a grin suddenly spread from ear to ear on the glasses boy's face, showing confidence and a hint of mischievousness it.
"Well, you cannot bla if I ss this up, okay?"
Reviews
All reviews (0)