Chapter 146: Provocation from Matsukita
"SHIT!"
It wasn't just Koji who cursed out loud, but also all the Konan players on the front line. Based on Riku's offense pattern which was to give all the difficult ball to Koji, they all thought Koji was the ace of the team and would definitely have a powerful jump serve. That was why they took a step back unconsciously to prepare for the attack.
Who would think that the ball thrown by Koji, while it was weak and a bit shaky, still hit the net and rolled over to their side just like what Yuki did before.
"Shimada! Cover it!"
The defensive specialist who was the closest player to the net reacted quickly. He rushed forward and dived to save the ball. His effort was proven to be successful as he put the back of his palm on the floor, using it to prevent the ball from touching the floor.
"Oh! Pancake!"
"Damn! Cover!" Even though Shimada was able to save the ball, his position was too close to the net, resulting in the ball bouncing there and going back in his direction. "Lucas!"
Knowing his teammates couldn't touch the ball twice in a row, Lucas also moved from his spot to cover the ball. Unfortunately, the ball's position was too low for him to set it up, so all the Brazilian boy could do was to let it fly in the air.
"Matsumoto!"
"I got this!"
The situation in Konan's side was a bit chaotic with everyone trying their best to keep the ball in the air. After Lucas hit the ball with an underhand pass, Matsumoto ran forward, trying to execute the last touch with a spike. Unfortunately, the ball was too close to the net, and Hirano on the other side of the net had already jumped and was ready to push it over to Konan's side once again.
However, Matsumoto still tried his best. Even though he was one step behind, he still jumped too, then extended one of his hands to reach the ball and pushed it to disturb Hirano's attempt. Unfortunately, his unfavorable position prevented him from exerting more force from inside his body, and as a result, Hirano won the overhead ball and pushed the ball gently to Konan's side.
And this time, Shimada was too far from the ball to save it once again for Konan High.
"OH!"
"Damn, nice kill, Rano!"
"Come on!"
"Nice serve too, Koji! Keep it up!"
All the Tsunemori players were excited over this point. They didn't expect they would get two free points in a row against Konan, which probably never happened before. Even though there was still a six-point gap between the two teams, that wasn't enough to dampen Tsunemori's enthusiasm right now.
"Oi, oi, what the hell is happening here?" Suddenly, a voice came from the stand that could only be heard by the people around there. "They only lead six points? Does Tsunemori High become so strong after playing against us? Or do those guys Matsumoto and Lucas fall asleep in the middle of the game?"
All the people who heard that turned their heads around to see who dared to mock Konan High openly like that. In their mind, even though Konan's performance today was far below the usual standard, they were still the best team in Japan. Not a lot of people dared to say something bad to Konan High like that.
However, when they saw the source of the mocking tone before, they all were stunned to see more than ten people wearing the same yellow jackets come from the entrance. What made their surprise was the name of the school written boldly on the back of their jersey, 'Matsuyama Kita'.
Yeah, the one who just mocked the best team in Japan was Matsukita High, the second-best team there and Konan High's rival in this tournament.
"Don't underestimate Tsunemori, Amagi." Gondo, the captain of the team spoke. "You know they have two decent freshmen on their team. If they had a good strategy and better cooperation between each other, it is not impossible to put up a good fight even against Konan."
"I know, I know." Amagi waved his hand casually, his eyes were on Yuki and Riku.
He remembered the game they played against each other two months ago, how those two could trouble Matsukita even though it was clear at that time they were still unfamiliar with the team. Now, even though there was no glaring change between those two, Amagi could see even from afar the different aura radiated from Yuki and Riku, the aura of a leader for the team.
'So, the baby bird started to learn how to fly by himself, huh? Not bad…'
Still, no matter how good the two Tsunemori freshmen were, he couldn't stand seeing the rival team fall to the point they were struggling to beat the opponent Matsukita in the past.
'Well, there is one thing I can do to wake them up.'
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING, MATSUMOTO-SAN?! LUCAS?!" He suddenly shouted from the stand, startling all the people in the building. Even all the players on the court turned around, curious about the person who dared to make such a huge commotion in the middle of the game. Gondo himself had a deadpanned expression, trying to pretend he didn't know Amagi at all.
However, Amagi wasn't done with it at all. "TRY TO BE MORE SERIOUS, WILL YOU?! DON'T SHOW SUCH AN EMBARRASSING GAME TO US!"
"Oi, oi, who is that?"
"He is Amagi, Matsukita's setter."
"No wonder he dares to scream like that."
On the Tsunemori's side, Yuki couldn't help but chuckle dryly. "So, we are getting underestimated, huh?"
"Of course." Riku shrugged. "If they could win against us in the past, they would assume Konan could do the same or even better than them."
As for the other side of the court, all the Konan players suddenly turned serious, with Lucas grinning even more widely compared to before. This was blatant provocation against them, and even though the one who did that was a Matsukita player, they still had their pride to answer that challenge.
"Well, Amagi-san sure is interesting."Lucas grinned. Even though his expression didn't change at all, it was clear to anyone who knew him that Lucas was excited at this point. And when he was in this state, it was usually game over for the opponent. "So, should we get more serious just like what he said?"
"Well, let's do that." Matsumoto nodded, relaxing his knuckle for a moment. "Since they dare to scream at us like that, we cannot show a weak and embarrassing game in front of them, right?"
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