Teiko's basketball III: Three's a charm

Third quarter

"Okay, listen up," began Sora, "I have come to the following conclusion after analyzing their play. It isn't much different from what we're doing. They're playing zone defense in a way."

"I thought zone defense sucked—" began Aomine, only to be shushed by the rest of the team.

"Not the way they're doing it. If I were to divide the court into three, I'd say that Murasakibara plays defense, obviously; the three girls take care of the offense and Akashi is a link, switching to both. So, we can essentially try to do the same thing."

"You want to switch our positions?" said Kise.

"No. Instead of zone defense, why not man to man... With some modifications of course," said Sora.

"As in..." said Kise.

"Midorima-kun, you have the highest chance of getting a ball in. Stay in your comfort zone but can you help a bit with a defense?"

"Fine, nanodayo."

Sora paused. "Aomine-kun, I'm so sorry but can you play defense for a while."

Aomine's jaw dropped. "Defense?" he spluttered.

"Yes. Switch marks with me. I need you to keep Seijuro under check completely."

"That is such a pain!" moaned Aomine.

"You take the center," said Sora decisively, "Mayu-san, I need you to mark Aoba. Don't leave her side."

"Rodger."

"Kise-kun, you and I are taking offense. We have a better chance that way. I'll brief you on court."

"Okay."

"Aomine-kun, can I completely trust you with Seijuro?" said Sora pointedly.

Aomine made an irritated sound and nodded. Coach sounded the whistle and they walked back onto the court.

Akira took the ball. She headed towards the hoop. Aomine stepped in her way because of his reflexes. "Ahomine Daiki! What- did- I- tell-you," yelled Sora.

"Damn... Sorry," said Aomine catching up with his mark. Akashi looked at Aomine with interest. So Sora had put him on his tail. Aomine could be tough to shake off but he had other problems which Akashi could use effectively.

"Eh... The ace is going to play defense, huh?" he said.

"Shut up," said Aomine, who looked uncomfortable.

"Watch your tone, Daiki," said Akashi sternly, "What is she planning to do? Irritate me to death?"

"I don't really care. I can beat you all anytime."

"Eh... I am absolute. Stay out of my way," said Akashi.

Kise stepped in front of Akira. He took the ball from her. Sora caught up with him. "Kise-kun, you've seen me and Akira do the back and forth passing move, right?"

"Yeah."

"Go!" said Sora, moving towards the hoop. Kise passed to her and they used that tactic to get closer to the hoop. This time, they had minimal resistance because Mayu was covering Aoba and Aomine, Akashi. Both of them were quite equal to the task and so Kise found it easier to score.

5 – 7.

"Nae, Akiracchi, how was that?" asked Kise with a grin.

"Kise-kun, quiet. Don't pour oil on the fire," said Sora.

Yukiji had the ball. Sora blocked her, so she tried to pass it to Akashi. Akashi caught it and was blocked by Aomine. Akashi tried to pass Aomine with a drive but he couldn't. "Move... Move..." he began to mutter. Aomine tried to defend but Akashi used ankle-break on him. Akashi moved passed and he was blocked by Sora. Sora could see that he was a bit irritated, which could be attributed to the fact that they had scored so early into the third quarter. The flow of this quarter was crucial. Sora knew that their new strategy would disconcert them for a while and they had to use that tiny time interval as much as they could.