Chapter 02: Excessive Seeding of 'Almost Never Miss'
Hoshiumi Mì's steps suddenly halted.
He was just about to carefully ponder what the heck 'Future Preview' meant.
But a player on the court waved, gesturing for him to hurry up.
He could only enter the court quickly for now.
At this moment, besides the two teams, many spectators from Kamomedai Junior High had poured into the gym. There were students who came after hearing about the game, and also new students who were 'scouting' clubs right after the school year started.
Seeing Hoshiumi Mì enter the court, an upperclassman casually remarked:
"Ah~"
"It's the second-year Hoshiumi~"
"He's gotten taller."
"As expected of the basketball club."
"Speaking of which, does playing basketball really make you taller?"
The outcome of the game was long since irrelevant. The conversation about Hoshiumi Mì was limited to his height, followed by the boys complaining about the group of girls who were only excited about looks and didn't understand basketball at all.
..................................................................................
The game continues!
Kamomedai Junior High gym, Kamomedai's ball.
As the shooting guard, Hoshiumi Mì quickly got into position in his own half after inbounding the ball.
His Kamomedai teammates on the court were also players who usually warmed the bench and wouldn't get to play outside of garbage time. Now that they finally had a chance, every one of them was going all out to show off.
Teamwork?
Non-existent!
In two possessions, four players each took a shot on offense. Their enthusiasm was maxed out, and they managed to grab a few offensive rebounds, but they just couldn't get the ball into the hoop. Instead, the score gap widened even further, heading straight for 30 points.
It wasn't until Kamomedai's third offensive possession that the ball finally reached Hoshiumi Mì's hands at the top of the three-point arc.
As soon as Hoshiumi Mì caught the ball, he saw the defender standing sloppily in front of him. Without hesitation, he sprang off the ground like a coil, his form perfect, even with a slight fadeaway.
The ball traced a beautiful arc in the air.
Swish...
The net trembled lightly!
A beautiful three-pointer!
However, this one shot didn't cause the slightest stir among the audience. Facing a 30-point chasm, one three-pointer was just a drop in the bucket. Compared to the start of the game, the stands were half-empty. Most of those remaining were complaining about how Kamomedai would set a new glorious record for how many consecutive years they've failed to reach the nationals. Absolutely no one noticed Hoshiumi Mì had just made a beautiful three-pointer.
As for the few who did notice...
"Hoshiumi Mì can shoot? Threes?"
"A fluke, right?"
"Most likely..."
"With our team's performance today, I doubt anyone can shoot."
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On the court, the game continued.
Seiei Junior High clanked a shot, and Kamomedai organized another offense.
Two Kamomedai players had terrible coordination, and the ball was almost stolen by a Seiei defender. But by a stroke of luck, the ball flew towards Hoshiumi Mì again, at the top of the three-point arc.
After getting the ball, his body felt well-adapted, and there was no discordant inertia in the change of power.
Immediately...
He pulled up for a shot.
He had to seize this opportunity in the game. If he couldn't, then once the new students joined the club, a second-year player like him might have to compete with first-years for a spot. That would be too embarrassing.
Swish...
The three-pointer sailed through, piercing the net once again!
Another one that was nothing but net!
83 to 107, the gap narrowed to 24 points!
But this three-pointer was still like a pebble thrown into the ocean, failing to create many ripples in the stands. Only the Kamomedai coach was clapping loudly, the paps echoing, encouraging Hoshiumi Mì.
Immediately after, Seiei made an offensive error.
Kamomedai fast break!
Hoshiumi Mì put his head down and accelerated, running for his life towards the frontcourt and positioning himself perfectly in the corner.
The Kamomedai point guard drove for a layup, but Seiei's defense got back quickly. The opposing center was like a wall, completely blocking the path to the basket.
In a flash, the point guard subconsciously threw the ball to Hoshiumi Mì in the corner.
Hoshiumi Mì caught the ball and, still without hesitation, pulled up for the shot!
Thud~!
With a dull thud, the ball slammed hard against the front of the rim.
Hoshiumi Mì's heart instantly sank.
Luckily!
After bouncing off, the ball kissed the backboard.
It then playfully rattled around the rim a few times before reluctantly dropping into the net.
86 to 107!
Kamomedai closed the gap to just 21 points!
This time, applause finally broke out in the stands. Hoshiumi Mì hitting three consecutive three-pointers in less than a minute managed to surprise some of the audience, but that was all.
The Seiei coach immediately called a timeout. He thought to himself that although this substitute scoring 9 straight points seemed like a drop in the bucket, just to be safe, he needed to arrange a simple defense against this player. He called his players over and pointed to the one with the best one-on-one defense, a short shaved-head kid: "Focus on guarding number 12! I'd rather you let him drive than let him shoot threes comfortably!"
The shaved-head guard glanced sideways at number 12 in the distance, a confident smirk on his lips. He nodded firmly: "Don't worry, coach. Leave it to me!"
On Kamomedai's side, the coach also used the time to give instructions: "Set more screens for Hoshiumi! Hoshiumi, if you get an opening, shoot the three decisively! Don't hesitate!"
He was cheering Hoshiumi Mì on.
Hearing this, Hoshiumi Mì nodded.
"Yeah!"
But after responding, he felt a little nervous inside.
Three threes in a row... by normal game standards, he had to admit it was good luck.
But obviously... judging from that last three that almost bounced out, the situation ahead was bound to be quite unfavorable. Seiei would definitely focus their defense on his three-point shooting from now on.
But then again...
Why was he so determined to shoot three consecutive threes?
Wasn't it because of the system's strange description when he entered the game, something like 'become an outstanding three-point shooter'?
But couldn't it at least do something? The feeling of shooting was completely no different.
After a moment of contemplation, he realized he had entered the game in a rush and hadn't had time to study the system's response carefully after it appeared; he'd only heard a sound. Immediately, he tried to call out in his mind:
'System?'
Buzz~
A simple panel suddenly appeared before his eyes. The first thing that caught his attention was a video-style icon in the middle of the panel labeled 'Almost Never Misses'. The three small words 'Pending Playback' in its bottom-right corner were a glaring reminder to Hoshiumi Mì why nothing had changed just now.
[Future Preview Details...]
[Almost Never Misses: During the five-minute duration of the first playback, your three-point shooting average will be maintained at 80%.]
[Play?]
Hoshiumi Mì's heart suddenly leaped.
He clenched his right fist tightly!
Never mind this ridiculous system and what the heck 'play' or 'not play' means!
Just play it for me now