First Game
First Game
Mom: "Son, you look quite chipper today. You were even faintly smiling during our morning exercise today."
Shun looked up from his breakfast and smiled at her.
Shun: "Mom, today is my first game as a regular prospect in the first-string team."
Dad: "Good luck son, play hard, but make sure not injure yourself in the excitement of the game."
Shun: "Thanks, dad. I will be careful."
Shun ate his breakfast, washed his utensils, and looked at the clock and saw that it was time to leave for school, he fetched his school and club bag and headed to the door.
Shun: "Bye, mom. Bye, Dad. I am leaving, have a good day at work."
Mom and Dad: "Bye, have a safe trip."
Shun always left his house for school on time so, he didn't have to hurry and always commuted leisurely and took in the morning rush on the streets of Tokyo. He reached his school fifteen minutes before the first bell and spent his time chatting with his classmates and friends about anything and nothing.
Shun went through his school day, as usual, diligently paying attention and drafting notes on the material taught in the classes.
Finally, the day ended, and Shun headed to the clubroom to change his clothes and then proceeded to the gym, where he started his stretch routine.
Stretching and warming up is very important and crucial for an athlete as they are the way to prepare the body for the rigorous activity that the body will go through, and similarly, stretching at the end of the workout is the correct method to give the body time to gradually cool down and relax.
Shun took stretching and warming up very seriously as his father had thoroughly explained to him about the benefits of both activities and what could happen if you ignore them, and who else to listen but a physiotherapist about injuries.
Today's practice match was against Bousou Academy, and they were the ones coming to our school, so we had the home-court advantage.
Shun also got his uniform it was numbered thirteen(numbers less than thirteen went to third, and second-year members), Tokiwadai Middle School's basketball jersey was black and purple.
Shun like the jersey a lot as black was his favorite, and the purple matched his eyes. His basketball shoes were also black, so the whole outfit looked extremely fitting to Shun.
Coach: "Ok, people huddle up."
Coach called up all the first-string members and went through the lineup and post-match strategy session.
Coach: "Today, Kageyama-kun will play from the start as the small forward, rest of the lineup will remain the same. He is a first-year, so help him on the court, but don't go easy on him. Kageyama-kun any problems?"
[A/N: Coach is kind, and is not dissing Shun. To the coach, Shun is still a talented yet inexperienced first-year.]
Shun: "No, sir. I am ready to give it my all."
Coach left, and the starting members huddled up.
Otsubo: "Kageyama, I don't know if you are nervous, or not but don't worry I have your back and will get the rebounds, so don't worry and play without pressure."
Ishida: "I will make sure to give you some nice passes, so play to your heart's content."
Mibuchi: "Don't worry, Kageyama-chan, we seniors have your back, so have fun, alright."
Aone: "Good luck."
Shun was happy with the attitude that his seniors showed, he could see that every one of them was a dependable player on the court.
They all took their positions on the court and waited for the game to start. The referee started the game with the tip-off which Otsuba won, and passed it straight to Aone. Aone went straight to the hoop and scored with an easy layup.
It was when the score was 10-7 in Tokiwadai's favor that Shun got his first possession of the ball, it was a pass from Ishida. Shun got past his mark using simple speed and scored a basket using a layup.
The game continued as Shun displayed his skill in dribbling and ball-handling and even got in a few good two-point shots.
Bousou Academy was a strong team but not strong enough to be a worthy competition to the reigning champions. During the half-time coach viewing the score and momentum displayed by the team decided to substitute Ishida for another bench player.
Coach: "Kageyama-kun, for the second half you will play as the point guard, your scoring ability is great. I would like to see what you can do as a playmaker."
Shun: "Yes, sir!"
Ishida: "Kageyama, have fun, alright."
Shun smiled at Ishida and went to court. Shun had seen the playstyle of every member on the court to play as the team's playmaker.
Mibuchi still hadn't developed his two 'special' shots, but he was good at making space between him and his mark at the right time and on the top of that Aone was good at screens, so passing to Mibuchi was easy, and Shun passed it to him at the movement when the distance between the mark and him was the largest.
Aone had quick drives, and he liked to go straight down the middle to score, so he passed the ball to him when there was the least crowd in the middle.
Otsubo likes to force his way from the sides by using his strength. Shun's passing strategy for Otsubo was to pass the ball when he was not marked by the opposition's center, and with that Otsuba was sure to score. Shun was sure that even if the mark was center Otusbo would have been able to score anyway, but why take the risk.
Shun made sure to stick to the basics and didn't do anything flashy. It was his first game and it was not the right time to be flashy.
Shun also displayed his ability to escape from his mark and ability to fake out his opponent.
The game ended in Tokiwadai's favor, and the score was 76-57. Tokiwadai won by a nineteen point difference.