Chapter 25: Basketball Club Training Camp
And finally, the training camp begins!
The girls' basketball club is away on a trip, so they're not here. We get to use both courts in the gymnasium.
We're doing joint practice with a slightly higher-ranked high school nearby.
Since we're the host, the schedule is matched to our usual practice, so it's a full day of training.
Captain: "Listen up! We're making practice 1.5 times harder than usual! But act like this is our normal routine in front of them, got it!"
"""Ossu!!"""
This weird sense of pride comes out!
Today's all about tough physical drills—footwork, dash-and-go, jumping up to tap the high spots—way harder than usual!
It's not hostile, but we're definitely sizing each other up as we practice.
We probably do similar drills, but since they're not used to our routine, it looks pretty tough for them!
But ever since the captain changed, we've been doing more of these plain physical workouts than before, so we're used to it—still got more in us!
The female managers are apparently having a blast making chicken curry together.
It looked fun, but later Tomonaga-san told me it was so much curry and stirring the big pot to keep it from burning was hell—so hot and they had to use muscles they never use, she said she nearly died.
Tanaka-kun, who was filming nearby,
Tanaka: "I heard no one actually dies from saying 'I'm dying'? Want to do Billy's Bootcamp?"
Tomonaga: "Eek!!"
Tomonaga-san says Tanaka-kun is scary because you can't sense his presence at all while he's filming...!
Tanaka-kun...
After the physical drills, we moved on to basic passing and shooting practice until lunchtime.
Don't miss more shots than the other team! Blow their minds!
My friend Koji tried to show off, but this amazing guy from the other school in our year totally shut him down.
(He's really something.)
As a beginner, I just kept watching this amazing guy.
The female managers come into the gym!
Airi: "Lunch tiiime!"
"""Ooooooh?!"""
When it comes to manager beauty, our school wins! Or so the captain boasted.
We guided everyone to the training camp facility and had a curry party.
I mean, it's summer.
Even so, the breezy, shady spots felt so good that both our team and the other school devoured chicken curry like crazy.
There's rivalry, but when you're the same year, you end up getting along quickly.
While eating curry, we talked and laughed about basketball, badmouthing the seniors, and high school stuff.
In the afternoon, we split both courts into four half-court zones for practical mini-games—teams were mixed regardless of school, rotating through different situations in all sorts of combos.
Then, from 3 PM, we played year-vs-year matches: first-years vs first-years, second-years vs second-years,
And finally, a match with the current best members.
The first-years went at it like crazy! Since we rarely get to play in real games, we all gave it everything we had—including me!
The other school's first-year ace was a monster scorer, and Koji, our all-rounder, tried to hold him down but couldn't—he was insane!
We barely won by keeping the ball away from that side as much as possible.
It was a game with a lot of issues, and afterward we came up with more ideas for improvement.
Gotta be able to put those ideas into practice during games.
The second-years apparently lost in a close match.
And in the best-member match, Koji and I got uniforms and started on the bench.
We got to play, but again it was from the third quarter, and with no Sahori-senpai, our team felt weak offensively.
The captain is running things as point guard right now, but since he's also a good shooter, maybe he'd be better in a more offensive position.
...If that's the case, I'm the second or third point guard right now, but maybe there'll be more chances for me.
My role overlaps with the captain a bit, but if I can shoot well, I can boost the team's offense too... I'll ask Airi-senpai for advice.
We lost in another close game.
After breaking up at 5 o'clock, we saw off the other school, then everyone cleaned the gym and polished the balls. Just a light cleanup.
At 6 PM, we all watched footage of the earlier game and had a reflection session.
Dinner was... ginger pork set meal.
If you were still hungry, there was leftover curry from lunch.
I ate curry too. So good.
At night, the club members played trump and card games—it felt just like a school trip.
The female managers hung out until 8 o'clock, with Tomonaga-san looking half dead, lol.
Then someone said, "Let's do something fun this year too?"
So we ended up doing a kind of talent show—everyone did impressions or improvised acts...
Tomonaga-san smiled sweetly.
Tomonaga: "I brought this from Captain Tanaka♪"
Kousuke: "..."
"""Oooooooh?!"""
Tomonaga: "Cute!"
Airi: "So cute!"
Is there really demand for me in drag...?
They put me in a Hokusho girls' uniform, slapped a wig on me, and Tomonaga-san did my makeup.
It was surprisingly well received—even the girls, though frustrated, said it was cute. Why?
Stop looking at me like that!
That night, I was haunted. What if I develop not just a fear of girls, but a fear of guys too? How will I survive in society?
On day two, we headed to a nearby university and joined their practice.
The college players' physical strength was insane—it blew me away.
They're already adults! Some looked like full-on old men!
Us, three years from now? Are we going to turn into that?
For lunch, the managers brought us a mountain of rice balls, fried chicken, croquettes, menchi-katsu—so much fried food, and the rice balls were delicious!
I get it's about balance, but... please, no vegetable juice with rice balls.
Both their practices and games were on a whole other level of intensity and speed—it was brutal.
Well, of course—even their bench players have been training longer than our third-years.
Yesterday's matches against high school guys were so much easier!
Well, it's day two, so maybe we're just getting tired.
On the night of day two, the camp ends tomorrow.
After playing a bunch again, we all crashed in futons spread out across the big hall in the camp facility.
When lights-out came, the whole room went pitch dark,
Captain: "Actually, Tendou. I heard Airi-manager and Sahori-senpai broke up."
Zawa... zawa...!
Because of Sahori-senpai's cheating and bad habits with girls, people were shocked that Airi-senpai put up with his uselessness for so long—you could hear sighs all around.
"I'm a hopeless guy too!"
"If Airi-manager would pay attention to me, I'd work hard!"
"Babuu! I'm a baby!"
A scene straight out of hell...
Captain: "But she wants everyone to leave her alone for now. So just because she's single, don't go forcing yourself on her, okay?"
But the murmuring didn't stop.
Even though Airi-senpai had forgiven him for cheating so many times, she finally gave up on Sahori-senpai.
The basketball club guys respect Airi's tolerance, but they're pissed at how careless Sahori was.
The basketball club members muttered,
Airi's a saint! Sahori's a dead man!
(Quoted from @dragoonwalker's comment on episode 22!)
I wonder if Sahori-senpai will show up tomorrow?
Tomorrow, the alumni are coming.
Apparently, they invited upperclassmen from up to about three years ago who are still playing basketball.
Of course, the third-years too. Since they're prepping for college entrance exams, some might not make it, though.
Normally, if your ex-girlfriend is there, you couldn't show up, but...
If it's Sahori-senpai, I bet he'll come.
On the third day, as usual, the alumni visit is basically about adding the drills and intensity that the alumni used to their regular practice to ramp up the training load.
After practicing offense and defense in a scrimmage format in the afternoon, we play a match, and then the Senpais give us their feedback and suggestions for improvement in a final summary to us underclassmen.
When the team changes, the tactics change too.
That's only natural since the players are different.
The team's concept should change each time to match.
But lately, Sahori-senpai, who keeps showing up, insists we stick to the same concept as always!
The current captain declared, The players are different now, so we need to change things up.
Sahori: "You guys! Don't come crying to me later!"
Annoyed that the underclassmen wouldn't follow his instructions, Sahori-senpai stopped coming.
Well, maybe getting dumped by Airi-senpai was another reason he quit showing up.
Plus, while Sahori-senpai and the other third-years were all tall and mostly offense-oriented, the current regulars are mainly tenacious defenders, so using the same tactics would put us at a disadvantage. But even if you point that out, he won't listen.
We don't need that Senpai anymore.
Compared to him, the way Airi-senpai carries herself doing her manager duties is just beautiful...
The basketball club members said,
Airi is Fuyou. Sahori is fuyou!!
*Fuyou... a big pink flower.*
*It's a flower that's been used as a metaphor for beautiful people since long ago. Apparently, a graceful and lovely face is called 'a Fuyou face.'*
At last, it's the final day of training camp!
Sahori-senpai was the very first one to come swaggering into the gymnasium, grinning.
With the other Senpais in tow.