Chapter 124: Ready to Take the Court
Possession changes.
Nash Gold brings the ball across half court at an unhurried pace.
Looking at Titus Monroe guarding him, Nash Gold feels no interest whatsoever. Ever since learning the true function of [Hawk Eyes], Titus Monroe has completely failed to excite him.
When he sees Nick drift out to the perimeter, Nash Gold passes him the ball and stays where he is, clearly ready to watch how things play out.
Miyamoto Tokima does the same. He pulls Hausberg out toward the perimeter, creating space for Nick to isolate, then switches into spectator mode as well.
There’s simply no one on the court who can spark his interest, so he decides to take it easy for now.
Once Shuzo Nijimura has more or less figured out the Venomous Snakes’ rhythm, Miyamoto Tokima plans to start feeding him the ball.
After all, with someone’s father seriously ill and still insisting on coming to watch the game, the least he can do is give Shuzo a chance to shine.
That said, if Shuzo Nijimura misses several shots in a row, Miyamoto Tokima won’t hesitate to stop feeding him and will instead give the ball to whoever can score reliably.
Nick catches the ball and, without any hesitation, takes a single dribble to feign an attack. In reality, he slides laterally one step and immediately rises for the shot.
Judith Gall’s center of gravity shifts slightly backward. By the time he reacts and tries to contest, the ball has already left Nick’s hands.
The basketball flies just over Judith Gall’s fingertips, missing them by a hair.
But everything is going exactly according to Nick’s plan.
He doesn’t like flashy offense. He prefers scoring in the simplest, most efficient way possible.
If he can’t break through or score effectively within three seconds, he’ll pass the ball back to Nash Gold and let him reorganize the offense, never monopolizing possession.
Swish!
The ball drops cleanly through the net with a crisp sound.
Judith Gall smacks his head in frustration.
“Damn it… just a little more.”
After venting his frustration, Judith Gall turns to Nick and says,
“You won’t fool me next time.”
Nick simply replies with a calm, “Oh,” then turns around to get back on defense.
Possession changes.
Titus Monroe passes the ball to Judith Gall, then backs off to create space for an isolation play.
Watching the action on the court, Shuzo Nijimura speaks up,
“Their style of play…”
Allen rests his hands behind his head and says,
“You noticed too, right? They’re clearly focusing on isolation.”
Shuzo Nijimura nods. He has to admit that the Venomous Snakes’ lineup is indeed very well suited for isolation offense.
Dicky Anthony, Hausberg, and Judith Gall serve as the team’s primary isolation scorers.
Titus Monroe functions as the engine of the team.
Kit Barry acts as the safety net—no matter how badly a shot misses, his exceptional rebounding instincts allow him to grab offensive boards and create second-chance opportunities.
A team that pushes individual ability to its absolute limit like this is genuinely hard to deal with.
Unfortunately for them, they’re facing the Black Emperor Dragon Team.
And every single member of the Black Emperor Dragon Team is no slouch in one-on-one situations.
What’s more, Nash Gold, Jason Silver, and Miyamoto Tokima are all capable of pushing their offensive firepower to the extreme.
For now, though, none of the three shows obvious attacking intent. They’re observing—or more precisely, waiting for Shuzo Nijimura to finish observing.
On the court.
Judith Gall catches the ball and, without the slightest hesitation, completely ignores Nick’s defense.
He suddenly drops low, leans his upper body backward, and forcefully brings the ball down behind him with both hands.
Nick stares at the bizarre posture, momentarily unsure how to defend it.
Judith Gall explodes with power from his knees, waist, and arms all at once, launching the ball like a siege engine.
Nick has never seen a shooting form like this before. He freezes on the spot.
Judith Gall didn’t even jump.
By the time Nick reacts and leaves the ground, the ball is already gone.
Just like that, the basketball drops through the hoop off Judith Gall’s strange-looking shot.
Swish!
Seeing the ball go in, Nick can’t help but complain,
“What kind of messed-up shooting form is that?”
Judith Gall immediately bristles and fires back,
“Watch your mouth! This is my signature move—[Cannon Shot]!”
Nick tugs at the corner of his mouth, momentarily at a loss for words.
After all, the name [Cannon Shot] does fit the shot perfectly… but it’s also kind of ridiculous.
Even the spectators seem too embarrassed to say the name out loud, falling into an awkward silence.
“…If you’re happy, that’s all that matters.”
After holding it in for quite a while, that’s all Nick manages to say.
Miyamoto Tokima glances at the clock and the score, then turns to Zack.
“Zack, offense.”
Zack immediately understands what Miyamoto Tokima is thinking and nods, preparing to attack.
Possession changes.
Nash Gold dribbles past half court and passes straight to Zack, setting up a one-on-one matchup between Zack and Dicky Anthony.
Miyamoto Tokima does this because he wants to quickly figure out Dicky Anthony’s defensive habits and current condition, so he can prepare to send Shuzo Nijimura onto the court.
He decides to give Zack three possessions to probe Dicky Anthony’s defense.
Zack understands Miyamoto Tokima’s intention and attacks seriously over three plays.
On the first possession, Zack uses a simple crossover to shake off Dicky Anthony and scores with a jump shot.
On the second possession, Zack tries the same move again, attempting to break through with another crossover.
This time, Dicky Anthony clearly anticipates it and stays firmly in position.
With no other choice, Zack spins away to create space and goes for a fadeaway jumper.
But he underestimates Dicky Anthony’s defensive range.
With a height and wingspan both exceeding two meters, Dicky Anthony’s defensive coverage is massive.
Even from a full body-length away, he reaches out and pins Zack’s shot.
On the third possession, Zack uses a double crossover to completely shake Dicky Anthony, drives into the paint, and finishes with a floater.
At this point, Miyamoto Tokima fully understands Dicky Anthony’s defensive state.
First, Dicky Anthony’s height and wingspan make him extremely strong in straight-line defense.
However, his lateral movement speed isn’t particularly fast.
In other words, Dicky Anthony is best suited for help defense or guarding slower players.
Against faster opponents, he struggles to keep up with their rhythm.
That said, for the current Shuzo Nijimura, Dicky Anthony’s defense is still terrifying.
Breaking through him right now would require an enormous amount of effort.
After successfully stopping the Venomous Snakes’ offense and regaining possession, Miyamoto Tokima calls for a timeout.
“Beep! The Black Emperor Dragon Team requests a timeout.”
Miyamoto Tokima leads everyone off the court and immediately gives instructions.
“Shuzo, sub in for Zack. Senior Shuzo, you should have observed enough by now, right?”
Shuzo Nijimura takes a deep breath and nods seriously.
“Tokima, I’m ready.”
Miyamoto Tokima nods in response.
“Good. Get ready to take the court.”
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