Chapter 27: At the End of the Training Camp
And finally, the match against the third-years begins.
After a short break, it's on to the match against the alumni.
The third-years, including Sahori, came with seven players, so they rotate with seven for 4 quarters, basically a full regular match.
We also face them with the best lineup from yesterday, the 12 players who received uniforms.
Usually, including bench members, it's about 10 to 14 players, but it depends on tournament rules.
Except for fouling out with 5 fouls, substitutions are free, and since it's back-to-back games, it feels like everyone will definitely get playing time.
With a doubleheader and being at peak fatigue on the last day of training camp, the three of us are pretty worn out.
But then, Sahori starts complaining,
Sahori: "We've only got 7 players here! You guys should play with 7 too!"
Former Captain: "Sahori! Enough already! We're planning for fatigue and potential injuries in a doubleheader, testing different combinations and how to fight under exhaustion. That's the whole point!"
The former captain let Sahori get away with too much, so he was chewed out by the alumni and probably doesn't want any more trouble.
Does Sahori not understand that this is a training camp for the current players?
The match begins!
The starting lineup is all second-years, our current best members.
The third-years, after morning and afternoon practice, have shaken off their early stiffness and look almost at their best.
Sahori: "Hell yeah!"
Sahori has a big reaction every time he scores.
It's motivating when he's on your side, but as an opponent, it's really annoying.
The third-years' team uses counters and fast breaks, forms we've seen all along.
But,
Captain: "Switch it up! Pass it around! Show them our ingenuity!"
From the moment the generation changed, they've likely been preparing a defensive yet organized, stable playstyle, going toe-to-toe with the third-years' team.
Even if our offense is weak, our defense is strong, cutting off or stealing the ball, and when we do, fast break counters often score!
Fast breaks are part of our team concept so far, so we're used to them.
However, since our offense is weak and we have many smaller players, which is a clear weakness, we need to control the pace of the game with variation, and lacking an ace like Sahori who can score on his own is a problem.
It's a closely contested match.
The third-years want a high-scoring game, but the second-years stick to a low-scoring, deliberate attack-and-defense style.
The third-years get impatient! Sahori's individual skills and height start to overwhelm us, gradually widening the score gap.
Beep!!
Substitution time, with me as the point guard and Koji as the small forward coming in.
The captain, who's good at mid-range shots, slots in as shooting guard, increasing our offensive options. It's a formation we used the day before yesterday too!
It's exciting to see the game shift with my passes!
With my somewhat small frame, my height and power are limited.
So, I fight the third-years with speed, precision, and a smart playstyle!
Koji is an all-rounder, but he provokes Sahori to increase his movement, targeting his weakness of low stamina!
I also throw passes just out of Sahori's reach to bait him into reaching for them!
As a result, Sahori's running amount visibly increases, haha.
It's only the second quarter, and he's already starting to tire out.
Even as a current player, his stamina was low, and after retiring, it must have dropped even more.
As he heads to the bench,
"Huh? You're running away?"
Koji: "Come on, show us first-years something amazing!"
Sahori: "Don't underestimate me! I'll blow right past you!"
Come on, you don't have that kind of speed or stamina left, do you?
Sahori was this team's strength, but also its weakness.
From Sahori's forced attacks, we get counters! Or, Sahori loses the ball, and we score on fast breaks! Scenes like that keep happening.
Sahori, who looked down on us first-years, gets outplayed by us, and the new team's fast breaks steal points, making him furious and his play even more inconsistent.
In the end, Sahori becomes a liability, the score gap widens from here, and by the third quarter, whether he got bored or gave up, he stops reacting altogether and gets substituted out.
With no more weaknesses on the third-years' side, the game becomes closely contested again, but the current team wins by a 10-point margin!
Sahori leaves without saying a word.
I thought he'd snap, complain, or be selfish, but he quietly left without anyone noticing.
We only realized it after the match against the alumni.
And after the break, it's on to the match against the alumni.
Is it because it's the second game? The last day of training camp? Or because they're older?
Whatever the reason, the match against the alumni makes us realize just how amazing the Senpais are.
Height, speed, strength—they have it all in individual ability, and tactically, they seem to have analyzed us, as the attacks that worked earlier don't work at all.
It's a pretty crushing defeat, and afterward, we're in a daze.
"Thank you very much!!"
We bow, but the frustration is unbearable.
The alumni give us a summary, pointing out good plays and bad plays.
If we list every little detail, it would never end, but they point out that our variety and scoring ability are still issues.
Overall, they praised our current defensive and organized game management as good!
In some situations, we were able to use individual skills for fast breaks during the game, and targeting Sahori, who became a liability for his team, was also a good move.
...Huh? Sahori? That's when everyone noticed Sahori had been gone for quite a while.
Well, whatever.
Airi-senpai, even though they broke up, still worried about her ex-boyfriend Sahori, which was kind of sad to see.
Since yesterday, she was worried if he'd even come to the training camp, or if he'd throw a tantrum for not playing well after retiring.
In the end, the three of us who played on the same team knew Sahori's stamina and cardio were his weaknesses.
Even with his strengths, he ultimately lacks practice. If he's going to improve, it has to start with cardio, right? Stamina is key.
As for me,
Airi was worried since yesterday. Sahori needs to work on cardio!
I mumbled that to everyone, and they burst out laughing.
Finally, the training camp is over. It was a long, tough three days!
We clean up the gymnasium, mop the floors, and by the time everything is done, it's evening.
Finally heading home. It was just three days, but I can't wait to get back!
I got messages on LINE from Tomonaga-san and Airi-senpai, but I ignored them.
When I got home, I ate a huge meal, didn't study, and passed out by 8 PM.
Without studying or thinking about anything, I slept like a log with my mind completely empty.
The next morning, I was shocked at how much I slept.
I slept until noon.
Come to think of it, it had been a while since I slept without overthinking everything.
...I'm always overthinking stuff.
Sho said something in that wild way of his,
Sho: "My part-time job manager said, thinking too much is just as important as not overthinking, ya know!"
Sho's working hard too. I can't lose to him; I've gotta keep pushing!
My summer of training is nearing its final stretch.