Tomorrow, July 9 (Thursday), it will mark my third anniversary of entering to Anime-Sharing Forum and I’m so excited that I wanted to make this celebration going to be more harmonized.:D Also, this will mark the beginning of the (earlier) third anniversary of Rooks, Knights and Bravehearts! From this day until the end of the month, I’ll be posting the updates that will give you thrills and smiles as the main part of the second part of Volume 8 will almost come to an end. But first, the birthday corner. For the character birthdays, yesterday (July 7), it was a double birthday celebration as it was the birthdays of Kōme Ogi (Tenshi no 3P!/Angel’s 3Piece!) and Hanako Yamadaki (Ongaku Shoujo). Kōme is the Shrine Priestess of the Soryu Island and the illustrator of her friend Kyō Nukui ’s album covers. (By the way, Kyō is voiced by Yūki Inoue.) Kōme’s nickname is Kiriyume due to her position as the Shrine Priestess of the Soryu Island. Kōme had a crush on Kyō when they both chat with each other online, but she didn’t confess to him because Yuzuha Aigae (CV: Yuka Iguchi) had tried to sabotage their relationship by pretending to be Kiriyume to blackmail them. Despite this, Kōme and Kyō have mended their relationship with each other and Kyō gave Kōme another chance by drawing a new album cover for Lien de Famille’s new song “INNOCENT BLUE”. On the other hand, Hanako Yamadaki is a singer and manager of the Music Girls, who gave her a spot to become a member of that group throughout the series. Kōme Ogi is voiced by Kana Hanazawa while Hanako Yamadaki is voiced by Seria Fukagawa. Belated happy birthday, Kōme and Hanako!:) And as for the seiyu birthdays, there’s only one, which is Kiyono Yasuno, whose birthday will be tomorrow (July 9). Since I’ll be posting this update right now, I’ll make this as a birthday gift for Kiyono as I will dedicate today’s update to her. Born in Wakuya, Miyagi, Kiyono is a singer and voice actress as she is famously voicing for Megumi Katō (Saekano: How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend?) and Kaname Buccaneer (Macross Delta, also part of the musical unit Walküre). Aside from Megumi and Kaname, she had also voiced different characters such as Natsuki Kimura (THE IDOLM@STER), Monika (Didn't I Say to Make My Abilities Average in the Next Life?!), Mutsu Amatani (Sounan Desuka?), Tina Kobayakawa (Wake Up, Girls!, due to her being born in Miyagi) and Nana (Death Match to the Parallel World Rhapsody). I hope that she will continue making progress of her voice acting and music career. Advanced happy birthday, Kiyono!:) Now that I finished my long introduction, onto today’s update to kick off my third anniversary of entering to Anime-Sharing Forum!:)
As the Ikegami Invitationals is almost approaching in three days, Maho will try her best to perform her beautiful moves like she is an energetic girl when she and her fellow teammates are trying to show their skills during the training of the Keishin Academy Middle School girls’ basketball team. Today’s update will be all about Maho’s strategies and tricks as she and her fellow teammates are going to battle against Chinami Itagaki and her team in a scrimmage, trying to prove herself that she is ready for the Ikegami Invitationals. Named her special ability as ‘The Fireworks’, Maho was always excited and energetic to show her moves to her opponents, which means that nobody will expect to see her shine like her fellow bravehearts such as Tomoka and Saki. Also, you’re gonna see Natsuhi’s twin sisters Tsubaki and Hiiragi performing in the court because it’s going to be a full of surprises for them to show their moves against their fellow teammates in the Keishin Academy Elementary School girls’ basketball team. Get ready to see them shine before your very eyes as here comes Chapter 175 with the title “A Set of Sparkling Strategies and Booming Tricks”! Enjoy reading Chapter 175!:)
In order to make herself prepared for the upcoming Ikegami Invitationals, Maho must perform her beautiful moves during the training of her varsity team, the Keishin Academy Middle School girls’ basketball team, so that she’ll be ready to use those for the intense training later at the Recreational Center of the Misawa Resort Hotel. But before it could happen, the training of the Keishin Academy Elementary School girls’ basketball team had begun earlier. Tsubaki and Hiiragi show their performance in the court as they were able to use their special moves against their fellow teammates in the scrimmage. After that, Maho and her teammates have stepped up in the scrimmage for the the Keishin Academy Middle School girls’ basketball team where they’ll take on Chinaki Itagaki and her team, composed of those from the reserve team. During the scrimmage, Maho would show her moves through her Fireworks ability, so that her team will power up while performing their moves to shine. Maho helps her fellow teammates including Hitomi Hakamada (cousin of Hinata) and Asako Sakurada (sister of Kōsuke Sakurada) to dazzle with their moves, thanks to the power of the Fireworks ability. By the end of the scrimmage, Maho’s team wins in a sparkling-fashioned way after Maho and Hitomi performed the alley-oop where the latter lets go of the ball for the pass before Maho finishes it off with the dunk. Now that her team got the job done in the scrimmage, Maho is finally ready to prepare herself for the intense training. The strategies and tricks of Maho and the Takenaka twins are more exciting and more energizing as these girls will never lose their cool while performing their special moves, which means that they’ll be able to get the job done while letting the sparks and bombs roll to shine for their teams.
The next day, at the Keishin Academy, the classes were held from morning to afternoon where the teachers discusses the students about the new topics and then, give the students their assignments. At the room of the section 6-A, Tsubaki and Hiiragi have packed their stuff before the bell rings a few seconds later, which makes them excited for another training.
“Alright! It’s time for another day of training!” said Tsubaki.
“Yeah, Tsuba! Let’s tell the others!” said Hiiragi.
“Okay, Hii!” said Tsubaki as she and her twin sister Hiiragi get out of their room to call her fellow teammates.
All sixth graders, composed of Mimi, Kagetsu, Tsubaki, Hiiragi, Masami, Kazuko, Mizuki and Sayaka, are present at the hallway.
“So, what are we gonna do today, Tsubaki?” asked Masami.
“Today’s the training. We shouldn’t be late for that because the training is about to begin in 20 minutes” said Tsubaki.
“Oh, I see, Tsubaki” said Masami.
“It looks like you and Hiiragi are excited about the training, Tsubaki” said Mizuki.
“Yeah, I see you and Hiiragi with your happy faces what you called us” said Kazuko.
“Of course, Kazuko! The two of us will about to take over the training for a while” said Tsubaki.
“Yeah! Mao said that anyone can take over the training once a week” said Hiiragi.
“Well, I like that idea, Hiiragi-chan. I guess that you two will be the first persons to take over the training” said Mimi.
“I agree. If you want to be the leader for just a day, you must know about the strengths and weaknesses before you had a desire to lead one day” said Kagetsu.
“But remember, even you’re not the captain of the team, Tsubaki-chan and Hiiragi-chan, you should do something nice for us including the kouhais like Himeko and Yuka” said Sayaka.
“Yeah, of course!” said Tsubaki and Hiiragi.
“We’ll make sure that no one will make a mistake while one of us is leading” said Tsubaki.
“That way, the training will be more beautiful as expected” said Hiiragi.
“Yeah!” said the sixth graders of the Keishin Academy Elementary School girls’ basketball team.
“Now, shall we go to the gym?” asked Tsubaki.
“Oh, yeah!” said Masami.
“You got it!” said Kagetsu.
“Yeah!” said Mimi.
“I’m so excited about this, Tsubaki and Hiiragi!” said Mizuki.
“Looks like we have more to prepare before the training starts” said Kazuko.
“We should wear our jersey uniforms now” said Sayaka.
“Of course, Sayaka! After all, we’re united as a team!” said Hiiragi.
“Yeah!” said the sixth graders of the Keishin Academy Elementary School girls’ basketball team.
“Then, let’s go!” said Tsubaki as she and her teammates run together in excitement as they’re going to the Keishin Academy Gymnasium, so that they’ll attend the training.
A few minutes later, everyone is now wearing their jersey uniforms on the top while shorts on the bottom. Mao Kayano would be present to meet the members of the Keishin Academy Elementary School girls’ basketball team.
“Nice job, everyone! Looks like every one of them is present. Not bad” said Mao.
“I’m happy to see everyone coming for today’s training. So, I’ll give you something surprised by the end of the training. Okay?” said Hitomi Hakamada.
“Okay, Hitomi-sensei!” said the members of the Keishin Academy Elementary School girls’ basketball team.
“Great! Now, let’s start the training right now!” said Mao.
“Okay!” said the members of the Keishin Academy Elementary School girls’ basketball team.
Mao would instruct the members of the Keishin Academy Elementary School girls’ basketball team to do one thing to start the training. “Now run around the court!”
“Yes, Coach!” said the members of the Keishin Academy Elementary School girls’ basketball team as everyone starts running around the basketball court.
At the entrance of the Keishin Academy Gymnasium, Misako Kuriyama of the Ōmori Sakura appear to watch his schoolmates running around the gymnasium.
“Hi, Mao-chan!” said Misako Kuriyama.
“Oh, it’s you, Misako! I’m glad that you drop by to see your friends, who had just started the training now” said Mao.
“Yeah, I guess so” said Misako before asking Mao a question. “Where is Ginga-sensei?”
“Uh… he’s gonna be late, Misako. He had just prepared himself to step in for the training because he’s the head coach after all” said Mao.
“Oh, okay, I see the point, Mao-chan” said Misako.
“So, what are you going to ask, Mao?” asked Hitomi.
“Uh… I had just taken a break from finding the former members of the Dragons of Ōta. So, I decided to let my friends to do their job for a while because I want to see your players right now” said Misako.
“Well, they have been alright since they trained well last week” said Hitomi.
“I think that they’re just fine” said Mao.
“Okay, I understand about that, Mao-chan” said Misako.
“By the way, Mao-sensei, when Ginga-sensei is here, I think that it’s time for him to announce something important” said Hitomi.
“Ah, I believe that there’s something big that Ginga had planned on” said Mao.
“I don’t know, but we’ll see about that” said Hitomi.
A few seconds later, Ginga arrives to meet Mao, Hitomi and Misako. “Hey, girls!”
“Coach! You’re here!” said Mao.
“I’m so glad that you are here!” said Hitomi.
“You must be in a rush now, Ginga-sama” said Misako.
“Yeah, my son told me when I was calling that the Recreational Center will be fully loaded after I accepted the waiver from Maho and her friends, who were organizing the intense training, in preparing for the Ikegami Invitationals” said Ginga.
“I see. So, did you get the tournament bracket of the Ikegami Invitationals?” asked Mao.
“Well, not yet, but I’ll get it by tomorrow” said Ginga.
“I hope that the tournament will be easy for Maho and her friends because they have been excited about the fact that they’ll participate at the Ikegami Invitationals” said Hitomi.
“Yeah, I agree, Hitomi-san” said Ginga before talking to Mao. “Are those girls ready, Mao-san?”
“Of course not, Coach! They have been prepared now since they were able to do the five-lap run around the court” said Mao.
“That’s good. Now, I’ll announce something important to make, Mao-san. So, get ready” said Ginga.
“Okay! You got it!” said Mao.
Once the members of the of the Keishin Academy Elementary School girls’ basketball team are done doing the five-lap run, Mao shouts at them. “Gather up, everyone, because the Coach is about to say something.”
“Okay!” said the members of the Keishin Academy Elementary School girls’ basketball team as they run together to meet with the head coach Ginga.
Ginga would start talking to the members of the Keishin Academy Elementary School girls’ basketball team as the training had been started. “Everyone. I had an announcement to make. You see, while the high school basketball program will prepare themselves for the upcoming Interhigh prefectural tournament this coming next month, we’re going to temporarily move the schedule of the training sessions of both elementary school and middle school basketball programs to Thursday and Friday, starting next week.”
“That’s good. I finally see that coming” said Masami.
“That was a very nice announcement that you have, Ginga-sama” said Mimi.
“I’m sure that we’re going to work on that, Coach. I mean, those high schoolers are might gonna be busy using the gym for a while” said Kagetsu.
“Yes, it is, Kagetsu-san. That means, once their Interhigh campaign is over, we’ll finally go back to the usual schedule at the same time. Now, to settle the plans for the month of May and June, we’re going to run some practice drills for our strategy to be made and since we’re not yet in tournament mode, you girls must keep practicing until you have mastered my strategy that I’ll be playing with” said Ginga.
“Well, if I remember correctly, you must be using the pace and space strategy, Coach” said Mizuki.
“Yeah, that’s where we used to run for offense to shoot the ball to score, but I don’t know how it will work on the defense” said Kazuko.
“Did you have one?” asked Sayaka.
“Yeah, of course, Sayaka-san. I made the Beautiful Flower Strategy where everyone must play smart while using the special moves. Even you used your normal moves, it will speed the process up” said Ginga.
“That’s a nice name that you come up, Ginga-sensei. I hope that this works” said Sayaka.
“Yes, it will, Sayaka-san. For now, we’ll do something to warm it up” said Ginga.
“What’s gonna be?” asked Tsubaki.
“Yeah, show us” said Hiiragi.
“I’ll be giving you the time to practice your shooting around the court for 15 minutes and then, we’ll work on some other strategies outside of the Beautiful Flower” said Ginga.
“Okay, Coach!” said the members of the Keishin Academy Elementary School girls’ basketball team.
“Then, I’ll be putting a scrimmage later to see which players will be participating into” said Ginga.
“That’s good! I’m ready for that!” said Tsubaki.
“Me too! I’m sure that I’m hyped for this!” said Hiiragi.
“Yeah, I know, Tsubaki-san and Hiiragi-san. Since I heard that the two of you will be leading, then I’m going to the two of you teaming up in the same team against…” said Ginga before seeing the fifth graders, who were motivated about today’s training. “…the fifth graders, composed of Yuka Suehiro and Chiyako Kayama.”
“Well, I’m good for that, Coach!” said Tsubaki.
“Yeah! This might be our chance to step in further!” said Hiiragi.
“I agree, Tsubaki-san and Hiiragi-san. Now, I’ll let you start practicing with your shots before we’ll move on the strartegy” said Ginga before he blows his whistle and says two words. “Now, go!”
Everyone in the Keishin Academy Elementary School girls’ basketball team start practicing their shooting around the court where some have worked on the inside shots while others have tried the outside shots. Tsubaki and Hiiragi did the jump shots because they were good on this.
While Tsubaki and Hiiragi are working on their jump shots inside the free throw line, their cousin Rin Takenaka arrives shortly before seeing them.
“Ah! Looks like they’re having a practice! I can see that they’re doing jump shots like my Natsuhi did” said Rin Takenaka, smiling on her face while watching Tsubaki and Hiiragi doing their practice.
Rin would be confronted by Misako. “Hi, Misako!”
“Hi, Rin-chan!” said Misako, greeting the blue-haired first year middle school student. “What are you doing?”
“Uh, school class is over in my section and I wanted to look at my cousins on how they have trained” said Rin.
“Well, you must be confident about them, aren’t you?” asked Misako.
“Yep!” said Rin.
“Okay, sit down and watch those girls on how they work” said Misako.
“Sure, I will, Misako!” said Rin as she sits down beside Misako in the bench seat.
Tsubaki and Hiiragi successfully make their jump shots before giving it to the kouhais. Their kouhais were Yuka Suehiro and Chiyako Kayama. Yuka and Chiyako are very good shooters in between the inside and outside zone, which means that they will have their shots going in if they go perfect in the line.
“Wow! My shots are so good!” said Yuka.
“It goes in perfectly when I shoot the ball!” said Chiyako.
“That’s right, you two! Being a member of our team had a lot of expectations to make, so that you’ll grow your potential” said Tsubaki.
“If you had worked hard to become a member of our varsity, you can be like us” said Hiiragi.
“Yeah!” said Tsubaki.
“So, am I aim to be a starter, Tsubaki-chan?” asked Yuka.
“Well, I would be glad to, Yuka, but you should know that our team is full of good shooters from both outside and inside” said Tsubaki.
“If you want to become a starter soon, you should contribute. Is that okay with that?” said Hiiragi.
“Yes, I want to!” said Yuka.
“If we want to become starters soon, then we will show you who we are!” said Chiyako.
“Wow! What an intense expression that I see, Yuka and Chiyako” said Tsubaki.
“Then, let’s see if you can handle us in the scrimmage” said Hiiragi.
“Okay!” said Yuka and Chiyako.
At the bench, Rin, Misako and Hitomi are delightful to see Tsubaki and Hiiragi being challenged by Yuka and Chiyako.
“And they’re up now, Hitomi-chan! Tsubaki and Hiiragi are really confident about the fact that they’ll be challenged by the two kouhais” said Misako.
“Oh! And look at their eyes, Hitomi! They’re about to clash with each other!” said Rin.
“Yep. Tsubaki and Hiiragi are a good duo when it comes to the inside plays in the zone, but they’re confident because they know about the strengths and weaknesses of their teammates, especially to Yuka and Chiyako” said Hitomi.
“I agree, Hitomi. Tsubaki and Hiiragi are playing basketball with their tricks when they were little girls, playing with her brother. I believe that Tsubaki and Hiiragi have some good plays to show with when they’re stepping up” said Rin.
“Their Double Mean Play was a fantastic move that allows them doing their own tactic to surprise their opponents in a quicker way” said Misako.
“True. They’re looking great with their potential as of now, but hopefully, they’ll be dazzling like their brother Natsuhi” said Hitomi.
“Yeah!” said Rin and Misako.
“On the other hand, Yuka and Chiyako were very good in making their shots of their own while pulling down their opponents’ offensive plays with their defense” said Misako.
“They can’t be stopped because they can’t run out of their energy” said Hitomi.
“I also agree with that, Misako and Hitomi. I wonder if those two will take over the spot once Tsubaki and Hiiragi will be graduating next year” said Rin.
“Maybe, but I’m sure that your cousins will be able to teach Yuka and Chiyako on how they do their job done” said Misaki.
“That way, they’re going to step up to represent their team next year” said Hitomi.
“You got that right, you two!” said Rin.
The montage shows Tsubaki and Hiiragi squaring off against both Yuka and Chiyako in the obstacle drill, trying to improve their speed and stamina. They also participate at the acceleration drill where they try to improve their acceleration by doing their sprint and run-and-dash moves.
“Now, run, Tsuba!” said Hiiragi.
“Okay!” said Tsubaki as Hiiragi passes the ball with her acceleration and then, Tsubaki grabs the ball with a swift.
Tsubaki and Hiiragi perform the Double Mean Play as they do the invisible ball strategy where Tsubaki makes the jab step before doing the Invisible Ball Pass. When Tsubaki passes the ball to Hiiragi, the ball disappears like a shadow before Hiiragi grabs it with her hands. Then, Hiiragi dunks the ball with the driving dunk.
“Wow!” said Mimi.
“Amazing!” said Kagetsu.
“Can Hiiragi dunk the ball like that?” asked Kazuko.
“Yeah, Kazuko! She’s a strong inside shooter like her twin sister” said Masami.
“She can crush her opponents through her dunking shots like a boulder” said Sayaka.
“Yeah, I agree! I bet that she’s going tougher now” said Kazuko.
“Like the way Rena and Miyu have because of their strength” said Mizuki.
“Yeah!” said Mimi, Kagetsu, Masami and Sayaka.
“That was a nice shot, Hiiragi-chan!” said Yuka.
“You are quickly doing that dunk! Unlike your brother, you must be good in the inside” said Chiyako.
“That’s right, Chiyako! My brother knows how to do a layup and he can do whatever he wants, but when it comes to dunks, he’s not good at it. I did great with the inside alongside my twin sister” said Hiiragi.
“That’s why we go invisible and then, we fly hard!” said Tsubaki.
“Well, I’m thrilled to see that kind of expression, Tsubaki-chan and Hiiragi-chan” said Yuka.
“It seems that you are good players after all” said Chiyako.
“You got that right!” said Tsubaki.
“We’re good be thrilled rather than being innocent” said Hiiragi. Yuka and Chiyako nod their faces to agree on what Hiiragi said.
Himeko was surprised after watching Tsubaki and Hiiragi doing their move. “I’m so shocked when Hiiragi is about to do the impossible, but she was able to save her stamina by making that dunk. I would imagine if one of my teammates can do that for sure.”
Later, it was the turn of Yuka and Chiyako to do their acceleration play. Yuka and Chiyako run together in the court with Yuka doing the bounce pass before Chiyako grabs it. Chiyako does the between the legs move by herself before shooting the ball with the reverse layup, which is called the Violet Lightning Layup.
“Wow! Chiyako had picked up to shoot the ball with the layup” said Hana Mikimoto.
“Now that’s what I called a Violet Power Play!” said Mizuko.
“Yeah, I agree, Mizuko-san! It turns out that both Yuka and Chiyako have the same level of acceleration like Tsubaki and Hiiragi” said Himeko.
“I believe that they’re on competition with each other” said Asuka.
“This is going to be a real deal to see who the best duo with the best accelerator is” said Kana.
“Yeah, I see the point, Kana-san. Hopefully, this clash might be less fun, but intense as I expected” said Himeko.
“Yeah!” said Mizuko, Hana, Asuka and Kana.
“I can’t believe that you had that layup, Chiyako!” said Hiiragi.
“That move was almost resembled to my twin sister’s move, but it’s like a layup” said Tsubaki.
“Yep. My tune had been made to rumble the shot around and I’m sure that you like the sparkle I created” said Chiyako.
“Yeah!” said Tsubaki and Hiiragi.
“Well, you two will be prepared because we’re going to have a battle right now!” said Yuka.
“Oh, yeah, I’m ready for that!” said Tsubaki.
“Me too! I’m sure that it will be shocking I tell you!” said Hiiragi.
“Yeah!” said Yuka and Chiyako.
A few minutes later, Team Takenaka and Team Suehiro will square off against each other in the court in a scrimmage. Team Takenaka will be composed of Tsubaki, Hiiragi, Masami, Kazuko and Mizuki while Team Suehiro will be composed of Yuka, Chiyako, Hana, Mizuko and Kana.
Team Takenaka: Masami Fujii (PG), Kazuko Kakimoto (SG), Tsubaki Takenaka (SF), Hiiragi Takenaka (PF), Mizuki Koyama (C)
Team Suehiro: Mizuko Fujisaki (PG), Yuka Suehiro (SG), Chiyako Kayama (SF), Kana Hanaoka (PF), Hana Mikimoto (C)
The ten minutes of the scrimmage begins with Tsubaki and Hiiragi do their plays with their own game. First up, Tsubaki does the between the legs move on Chiyako before seeing Masami in the outside. Tsubaki passes the ball to Masami with the Invisible Ball Pass before Masami shoots the ball with the Wisteria Rustle Jump Shot.
“Nice shot, Masami-chan!” said Kagetsu.
“That jump shot was very beautiful!” said Mimi.
“Thanks, Mimi and Kagetsu!” said Masami with a smile on her face.
“Hey, is that Masami’s new move?” asked Misako.
“Yep. When it comes to her jump shot, it can drive the ball into the basket with her acceleration. That move was called the Wisteria Rustle Jump Shot” said Hitomi.
“That move was almost like the Majestic Lavender Star, but it is the abridged version of it. It can combine that with the Rustling Wisteria” said Mao.
“Sounds like it’s a combination of mimicking the moves and create the shots of its own. I never seen that before, Mao-san, but I see her acceleration going up” said Rin.
“Yeah, I agree, Rin-san!” said Mao.
“I’m going to say that Masami can take the shot like a shooting star, but it can be more beautiful when she used her Complete Synchronization Skill” said Misako.
“Yeah!” said Mao and Hitomi.
The scene changes with Hiiragi doing the between the legs move against Kana in a quicker way. Then, Hiiragi does the run-and-dash drive to drive past Kana before passing the ball to Kazuko, who would shoot the ball with the three-point shot. Tsubaki performs the crossover move on Chiyako while calling Mizuki the screen on Chiyako. Tsubaki accelerates her way before doing the alley-oop pass to Hiiragi, who dunks the ball with the dunk just like how she did earlier.
When Yuka drives past Kazuko, she gets through Tsubaki as both Yuka and Tsubaki battle against each other. Yuka does the behind the back move while Tsubaki goes on defense.
“You think that you’re gonna stop me, Tsubaki-chan?” asked Yuka.
Tsubaki smiles while nodding her face. “Yeah!”
“Well, then, let’s see if you get it!” said Yuka as she steps back before doing the crossover move on Tsubaki before trying to drive past Tsubaki. However, Tsubaki does the Mirror Nightingale to keep her defense alive, creating her own resiliency.
“Nice try, Yuka, but I’m not done yet!” said Tsubaki.
“Now, what about this!” said Yuka as he goes the crossover spin move, but Tsubaki dodges it, thanks to her Mirror Nightingale. “What?! It didn’t work!”
“That’s because I’m dodging my moves, Yuka!” said Tsubaki.
“Okay, then. I’ll show you how it’s done!” said Yuka as she steps back before passing the ball to Chiyako, who would get the ball in a haste.
“What the?! She is so fast!” said Tsubaki.
“Chiyako is not only the person she is good in the inside, but she is good in being invisible!” said Mizuki.
“That’s what I thought!” said Hiiragi.
When Chiyako tries to shoot the ball with the Violet Lightning Layup, Mizuki tries to block that shot. “Oh no, you don’t!”
“Then, I’ll go in reverse!” said Chiyako as she shoots the ball with the reverse layup version of the Violet Lightning Layup.
“She goes in with that reverse layup!” said Masami.
“She is so good when she was going for that shot in the inside” said Kazuko.
Chiyako was flanked by Yuka as Yuka gives Chiyako a high five.
“Nice shot, Chiyako-chan!” said Yuka.
“Thanks, Yuka! I’m not pretty nervous when I’m going for the layup!” said Chiyako.
“Yeah, that’s true, Chiyako-chan” said Yuka.
“You think that you’re going to make it if the two of us are targeting on you?” asked Tsubaki.
“Oh, great, here comes the suspense!” said Kazuko.
“I never seen that expression before!” said Mizuki.
“Well, I’m in for that!” said Yuka.
“Hey, you can’t do that, Yuka! This is our challenge, not a showdown!” said Chiyako.
“Yeah, I know, but we should work together. Right?” said Yuka.
“Yeah!” said Chiyako.
The scrimmage continues as Tsubaki and Hiiragi are clashing against Yuka and Chiyako in separate plays. Tsubaki performs the crossover move on Yuka before doing the spin move to get away from Yuka. Then, Tsubaki sees her twin sister in the post as she’s going to do the Invisible Ball Pass.
“Now, get it!” said Tsubaki.
“Okay!” said Hiiragi as she’s about to get the ball with her speed, but she sees Chiyako, who is trying to get the ball for the steal.
“Oh, yeah? I’m going to get that ball!” said Chiyako.
“Really?” asked Hiiragi before she does the run-and-dash move to prevent Chiyako from getting the ball. Hiiragi grabs the ball in a quick move instead.
Hiiragi can switch places with her twin sister, which means that Hiiragi can post up with her moves. “I’ll make sure that you’ll not gonna stop me!”
“Then, I’ll not gonna let that happen, Hiiragi-chan!” said Chiyako as she tries to stop Hiiragi with her defense, however, Hiiragi increases her strength to make sure that Chiyako won’t get in the former’s way.
“I thought that Tsubaki will be the power forward, but instead it was Hiiragi. Why?” said Sayaka.
“That’s because both Tsubaki and Hiiragi were playing as forwards, which means that they can switch places whatever they want to” said Mimi.
“In other words, the Double Mean Play can be more applied to make it more complex with their performance because Tsubaki and Hiiragi are good in doing tricks, which might be more fun, but less prankier” said Kagetsu.
“Well, I hope that this applies when we’re having a real game, Mimi-chan and Kagetsu-chan! They’re going to bring nightmares to their opponents, thanks to that strategy” said Sayaka.
“Yeah!” said Mimi and Kagetsu.
“You won’t stop me now, Chiyako!” said Hiiragi as she shoots the ball with the Midnight Floater and the ball drives to the basket.
The next scene is where Yuka dazzles her way to drive past Tsubaki before shooting the ball with the Blue Violet Flower Shot, a variant of a layup. It was followed by Tsubaki does the pass-and-assist play where she performs the crossover move on Yuka before doing the Mean Eye Drive to drive past Yuka and then, passing the ball to Hiiragi, who would go for the Nighteye Layup. Chiyako doesn’t stop her way when she posted up her strength against Hiiragi and then, performs the Shocking Violet Clutch, a variant of a driving dunk shot.
“Tsubaki and Hiiragi have worked hard in teaming up together to make their moves, but Yuka and Chiyako are bonded with their combo play” said Hitomi.
“Yeah, Hitomi-san. It looks like these players are going to go hard when they’re having a real battle. I believe that they’ll get their tendencies being improved as soon as they’re going to reach their potential to be great players in our team” said Mao.
“Yeah, I agree, Mao-san!” said Hitomi.
Both Team Takenaka and Team Suehiro go back and forth with their shots going in, however, they also find defensive efforts to stop one’s play to another. Masami and Kazuko did well in scoring their baskets, thanks to the assists made by Tsubaki, while Hiiragi combined her acceleration and resiliency to stop her opponents. For Mizuki, she was able to put the screen on her opponents as well as dunking the ball with her force. For Yuka and Chiyako’s teammates, they also get their job done, despite they initially struggle at first.
With only 31 seconds left to end the scrimmage, the score is now tied at 24 with Team Suehiro getting their possession after the rebound by Chiyako. Mizuko Fujisaki shouts at Yuka as she passes the ball with the overhead pass. “Catch, Yuka!”
Yuka gets the ball with her right hand before she prepares for a battle against Tsubaki. Tsubaki and Hiiragi keep their eyes on both Yuka and Chiyako as the closing minutes of the scrimmage begin.
“I’m definitely ready to finish you, Tsubaki! You’re going down!” said Yuka.
“Oh, yeah, I’m not going to be down! I’ll make sure that you’ll not get that shot!” said Tsubaki.
“We’ll see!” said Yuka as she performs the crossover move on Tsubaki before Tsubaki activates the Mirror Nightingale to guard Yuka tightly. Yuka steps back before doing the turnaround spin move on Tsubaki, which Tsubaki keeps her resiliency.
“I’m not going to let you get away from me, Yuka!” said Tsubaki.
Yuka would about to drive past Tsubaki and go to the paint when Hiiragi is guarding Yuka as Hiiragi shouts at Yuka. “Surprise, Yuka!”
“Oh, you got to be kidding me!” said Yuka.
“There’s no way you can get away from us because of our Double Mean Play!” said Hiiragi. The Takenaka twins are already locking Yuka in while Chiyako tries to anxiously wait for Yuka to make the move.
“Do you think that you’re going to stop me, you two? I’m about to get past Tsubaki, but you ruin it on purpose!” said Yuka.
“Yeah, Yuka! I’ll make sure that you don’t get the last shot, I’ll get the last shot!” said Tsubaki.
“What?!” shouted Yuka.
“Come on, Yuka, just stop them!” said Chiyako, trying to reach the communication on Yuka.
“Okay!” said Yuka, giving her resiliency to be growing, but unfortunately, as she tries to get away from the Takenaka twins with her Violet Raylight Drive, Hiiragi tips the ball away. Yuka gasps in horror before she shouts at her teammates. “The ball!”
Mizuko grabs the ball to keep Team Suehiro’s possession alive before passing the ball to Yuka. “Here you go!”
“Thank goodness! I should have gotten a turnover, but there’s no way you can stop me now, Tsubaki and Hiiragi!” said Yuka as she performs the Violet Raylight Drive to get away from Tsubaki and Hiiragi.
“Fifteen seconds, Tsubaki and Hiiragi!” said Masami.
“Just stop that girl!” said Mizuki.
“There’s no time because the shot clock is about to run out soon!” said Kazuko.
“Okay!” said Tsubaki and Hiiragi as they nod their heads in agreement before splitting up to work together to stop Team Suehiro from getting their last shot going in. Yuka tries to get her momentum, but Tsubaki catches her time to stop Yuka.
“You’re back, Tsubaki-chan?!” grumbled Yuka.
“Yeah! I’ll make sure that you won’t get that shot!” said Tsubaki as she prepares to do the steal attempt with the Double Mean Play. “Take this!”
When Tsubaki tries to steal the ball, Yuka sways the ball away from the hands of Tsubaki. “Miss me!” Yuka eventually passes the ball to Chiyako with the Violet Illuminative Drive.
“Darn it!” said Tsubaki.
When Chiyako tries to get the ball, Hiiragi saves her time stop the combination play of Yuka and Chiyako as Hiiragi steals the ball with her Double Mean Play.
“It’s not over yet!” said Hiiragi.
“What?!” said Chiyako.
“That girl stole the ball!” said Yuka.
“We must stop her!” said Chiyako.
“Okay!” said Yuka.
“Don’t let them catch up on us!” said Tsubaki.
“Okay!” said Masami, Kazuko and Mizuki while Tsubaki and Hiiragi do their strategy.
Hiiragi runs through her speed before she passes the ball to Tsubaki with the Invisible Ball Pass. “Now, finish it, Tsuba!”
“You got it!” said Tsubaki as she grabs the ball before she’s about to do the layup, however, Yuka jumps high and tries to block the shot of Tsubaki.
“You’re not gonna win that match, Tsubaki-chan!” said Yuka.
“Oh, yeah? You won’t block my shot!” said Tsubaki as she posterizes Yuka with the Dimming Blue Clutch to end the match with the win for Team Takenaka. The final score is 26 to 24.
“Wow! Look at that!” said Mimi.
“Tsubaki had posterized Yuka!” said Kagetsu.
“Looks like Tsubaki had saved the day!” said Sayaka.
“Yeah, Sayaka-chan! That’s an unbelievable moment!” said Mimi.
“And it was a perfect shot to end the game!” said Kagetsu.
“Yeah!” said Sayaka.
When Tsubaki jumps down to the ground, she looks at Yuka, who was fallen to the ground when she was posterized by the former. Tsubaki offers a hand to Yuka as Tsubaki tries to help Yuka. “Just get up.”
“Okay” said Yuka as she was able to get up from her feet and lands on Tsubaki to hug with her. “Thanks, Tsubaki-chan! I knew that you are a kind person.”
“Yeah, Yuka, please stop hugging me out!” said Tsubaki.
“Oh, okay!” said Yuka as she lets go of her hug on Tsubaki before scratching her head. “Well, it was a good game though.”
“Yeah, I agree, Yuka. I’m sure that you’ll get used to do some contact shots to make sure that your strength had been better than your opponents you faced” said Tsubaki.
“Of course, I will, Tsubaki-chan!” said Yuka.
Hiiragi, Masami, Kazuko and Mizuki arrive to meet with Tsubaki and Yuka. Yuka’s teammates would also arrive to meet with Yuka.
“That was a good shot, Tsuba!” said Hiiragi.
“You’re certainly a good dunker!” said Masami.
“Yeah, I agree… Oh, wait, what do you mean ‘good dunker’?” said Tsubaki.
“That’s right, Tsubaki-chan. You did the posterizing dunk on Yuka” said Mizuki.
“That one was a good move to keep your strength out” said Kazuko.
“Well, of course, Kazuko! I’m definitely good at doing speed and acceleration because it makes me motivate to do some tricks in the game” said Tsubaki.
“You certainly got right, Tsubaki! I’m happy to see your skills getting improved, not even you did that posterizer for the first time” said Masami.
“Uh… yes, I am, Masami” said Tsubaki.
Then, a female voice comes out, which Tsubaki hears a compliment. “I say that your skills have been paid off since you had worked with those inside shots.”
Tsubaki and her teammates turns around to see Mao and Hitomi. Tsubaki shouts after seeing Mao and Hitomi. “Mao! Hitomi! You’re here!”
“Yep. I see what you are doing when you’re about to finish the match, Tsubaki-san. That dunk was fantastic!” said Mao.
“I never see one person doing the dunk before in my life not after Kagetsu did” said Hitomi.
“Yeah! I tried my best to do it, even though I’m still a small girl” said Tsubaki.
“Well, you did the best, Tsubaki-san. Since you are a good player with acceleration and strength, I am so happy that you had got the job done” said Mao.
“Thank you very much, Mao-sensei!” said Tsubaki.
Mimi, Kagetsu and Sayaka arrive just in time for Mimi to talk with Tsubaki. “You know what, Tsubaki-chan, I think that you had the perfect spot for your dunking skills after what you did earlier.”
“Yeah, I’m pretty sure that you’re going to keep on practicing that move until you have mastered it” said Kagetsu.
“Hopefully, you’ll be able to pull off the tricks to do that shot again” said Sayaka.
“Of course, I will! You can never understand of me!” said Tsubaki.
“Yeah!” said the sixth graders of the Keishin Academy Elementary School girls’ basketball team.
“Now, I’ll gather you up to end the training before the middle schoolers arrive for their training in a few minutes” said Mao.
“Okay!” said the sixth graders of the Keishin Academy Elementary School girls’ basketball team as their training will about to end with Ginga and Mao doing some pointers to them before they decide to call it a day.
Part 2 will be on the next post.
As the Ikegami Invitationals is almost approaching in three days, Maho will try her best to perform her beautiful moves like she is an energetic girl when she and her fellow teammates are trying to show their skills during the training of the Keishin Academy Middle School girls’ basketball team. Today’s update will be all about Maho’s strategies and tricks as she and her fellow teammates are going to battle against Chinami Itagaki and her team in a scrimmage, trying to prove herself that she is ready for the Ikegami Invitationals. Named her special ability as ‘The Fireworks’, Maho was always excited and energetic to show her moves to her opponents, which means that nobody will expect to see her shine like her fellow bravehearts such as Tomoka and Saki. Also, you’re gonna see Natsuhi’s twin sisters Tsubaki and Hiiragi performing in the court because it’s going to be a full of surprises for them to show their moves against their fellow teammates in the Keishin Academy Elementary School girls’ basketball team. Get ready to see them shine before your very eyes as here comes Chapter 175 with the title “A Set of Sparkling Strategies and Booming Tricks”! Enjoy reading Chapter 175!:)
In order to make herself prepared for the upcoming Ikegami Invitationals, Maho must perform her beautiful moves during the training of her varsity team, the Keishin Academy Middle School girls’ basketball team, so that she’ll be ready to use those for the intense training later at the Recreational Center of the Misawa Resort Hotel. But before it could happen, the training of the Keishin Academy Elementary School girls’ basketball team had begun earlier. Tsubaki and Hiiragi show their performance in the court as they were able to use their special moves against their fellow teammates in the scrimmage. After that, Maho and her teammates have stepped up in the scrimmage for the the Keishin Academy Middle School girls’ basketball team where they’ll take on Chinaki Itagaki and her team, composed of those from the reserve team. During the scrimmage, Maho would show her moves through her Fireworks ability, so that her team will power up while performing their moves to shine. Maho helps her fellow teammates including Hitomi Hakamada (cousin of Hinata) and Asako Sakurada (sister of Kōsuke Sakurada) to dazzle with their moves, thanks to the power of the Fireworks ability. By the end of the scrimmage, Maho’s team wins in a sparkling-fashioned way after Maho and Hitomi performed the alley-oop where the latter lets go of the ball for the pass before Maho finishes it off with the dunk. Now that her team got the job done in the scrimmage, Maho is finally ready to prepare herself for the intense training. The strategies and tricks of Maho and the Takenaka twins are more exciting and more energizing as these girls will never lose their cool while performing their special moves, which means that they’ll be able to get the job done while letting the sparks and bombs roll to shine for their teams.
VOLUME 8: “A NEW ANGELIC AND HARMONIOUS ERA IN ŌTA”
CHAPTER 175: “A SET OF SPARKLING STRATEGIES AND BOOMING TRICKS”
CHAPTER 175: “A SET OF SPARKLING STRATEGIES AND BOOMING TRICKS”
The next day, at the Keishin Academy, the classes were held from morning to afternoon where the teachers discusses the students about the new topics and then, give the students their assignments. At the room of the section 6-A, Tsubaki and Hiiragi have packed their stuff before the bell rings a few seconds later, which makes them excited for another training.
“Alright! It’s time for another day of training!” said Tsubaki.
“Yeah, Tsuba! Let’s tell the others!” said Hiiragi.
“Okay, Hii!” said Tsubaki as she and her twin sister Hiiragi get out of their room to call her fellow teammates.
All sixth graders, composed of Mimi, Kagetsu, Tsubaki, Hiiragi, Masami, Kazuko, Mizuki and Sayaka, are present at the hallway.
“So, what are we gonna do today, Tsubaki?” asked Masami.
“Today’s the training. We shouldn’t be late for that because the training is about to begin in 20 minutes” said Tsubaki.
“Oh, I see, Tsubaki” said Masami.
“It looks like you and Hiiragi are excited about the training, Tsubaki” said Mizuki.
“Yeah, I see you and Hiiragi with your happy faces what you called us” said Kazuko.
“Of course, Kazuko! The two of us will about to take over the training for a while” said Tsubaki.
“Yeah! Mao said that anyone can take over the training once a week” said Hiiragi.
“Well, I like that idea, Hiiragi-chan. I guess that you two will be the first persons to take over the training” said Mimi.
“I agree. If you want to be the leader for just a day, you must know about the strengths and weaknesses before you had a desire to lead one day” said Kagetsu.
“But remember, even you’re not the captain of the team, Tsubaki-chan and Hiiragi-chan, you should do something nice for us including the kouhais like Himeko and Yuka” said Sayaka.
“Yeah, of course!” said Tsubaki and Hiiragi.
“We’ll make sure that no one will make a mistake while one of us is leading” said Tsubaki.
“That way, the training will be more beautiful as expected” said Hiiragi.
“Yeah!” said the sixth graders of the Keishin Academy Elementary School girls’ basketball team.
“Now, shall we go to the gym?” asked Tsubaki.
“Oh, yeah!” said Masami.
“You got it!” said Kagetsu.
“Yeah!” said Mimi.
“I’m so excited about this, Tsubaki and Hiiragi!” said Mizuki.
“Looks like we have more to prepare before the training starts” said Kazuko.
“We should wear our jersey uniforms now” said Sayaka.
“Of course, Sayaka! After all, we’re united as a team!” said Hiiragi.
“Yeah!” said the sixth graders of the Keishin Academy Elementary School girls’ basketball team.
“Then, let’s go!” said Tsubaki as she and her teammates run together in excitement as they’re going to the Keishin Academy Gymnasium, so that they’ll attend the training.
A few minutes later, everyone is now wearing their jersey uniforms on the top while shorts on the bottom. Mao Kayano would be present to meet the members of the Keishin Academy Elementary School girls’ basketball team.
“Nice job, everyone! Looks like every one of them is present. Not bad” said Mao.
“I’m happy to see everyone coming for today’s training. So, I’ll give you something surprised by the end of the training. Okay?” said Hitomi Hakamada.
“Okay, Hitomi-sensei!” said the members of the Keishin Academy Elementary School girls’ basketball team.
“Great! Now, let’s start the training right now!” said Mao.
“Okay!” said the members of the Keishin Academy Elementary School girls’ basketball team.
Mao would instruct the members of the Keishin Academy Elementary School girls’ basketball team to do one thing to start the training. “Now run around the court!”
“Yes, Coach!” said the members of the Keishin Academy Elementary School girls’ basketball team as everyone starts running around the basketball court.
At the entrance of the Keishin Academy Gymnasium, Misako Kuriyama of the Ōmori Sakura appear to watch his schoolmates running around the gymnasium.
“Hi, Mao-chan!” said Misako Kuriyama.
“Oh, it’s you, Misako! I’m glad that you drop by to see your friends, who had just started the training now” said Mao.
“Yeah, I guess so” said Misako before asking Mao a question. “Where is Ginga-sensei?”
“Uh… he’s gonna be late, Misako. He had just prepared himself to step in for the training because he’s the head coach after all” said Mao.
“Oh, okay, I see the point, Mao-chan” said Misako.
“So, what are you going to ask, Mao?” asked Hitomi.
“Uh… I had just taken a break from finding the former members of the Dragons of Ōta. So, I decided to let my friends to do their job for a while because I want to see your players right now” said Misako.
“Well, they have been alright since they trained well last week” said Hitomi.
“I think that they’re just fine” said Mao.
“Okay, I understand about that, Mao-chan” said Misako.
“By the way, Mao-sensei, when Ginga-sensei is here, I think that it’s time for him to announce something important” said Hitomi.
“Ah, I believe that there’s something big that Ginga had planned on” said Mao.
“I don’t know, but we’ll see about that” said Hitomi.
A few seconds later, Ginga arrives to meet Mao, Hitomi and Misako. “Hey, girls!”
“Coach! You’re here!” said Mao.
“I’m so glad that you are here!” said Hitomi.
“You must be in a rush now, Ginga-sama” said Misako.
“Yeah, my son told me when I was calling that the Recreational Center will be fully loaded after I accepted the waiver from Maho and her friends, who were organizing the intense training, in preparing for the Ikegami Invitationals” said Ginga.
“I see. So, did you get the tournament bracket of the Ikegami Invitationals?” asked Mao.
“Well, not yet, but I’ll get it by tomorrow” said Ginga.
“I hope that the tournament will be easy for Maho and her friends because they have been excited about the fact that they’ll participate at the Ikegami Invitationals” said Hitomi.
“Yeah, I agree, Hitomi-san” said Ginga before talking to Mao. “Are those girls ready, Mao-san?”
“Of course not, Coach! They have been prepared now since they were able to do the five-lap run around the court” said Mao.
“That’s good. Now, I’ll announce something important to make, Mao-san. So, get ready” said Ginga.
“Okay! You got it!” said Mao.
Once the members of the of the Keishin Academy Elementary School girls’ basketball team are done doing the five-lap run, Mao shouts at them. “Gather up, everyone, because the Coach is about to say something.”
“Okay!” said the members of the Keishin Academy Elementary School girls’ basketball team as they run together to meet with the head coach Ginga.
Ginga would start talking to the members of the Keishin Academy Elementary School girls’ basketball team as the training had been started. “Everyone. I had an announcement to make. You see, while the high school basketball program will prepare themselves for the upcoming Interhigh prefectural tournament this coming next month, we’re going to temporarily move the schedule of the training sessions of both elementary school and middle school basketball programs to Thursday and Friday, starting next week.”
“That’s good. I finally see that coming” said Masami.
“That was a very nice announcement that you have, Ginga-sama” said Mimi.
“I’m sure that we’re going to work on that, Coach. I mean, those high schoolers are might gonna be busy using the gym for a while” said Kagetsu.
“Yes, it is, Kagetsu-san. That means, once their Interhigh campaign is over, we’ll finally go back to the usual schedule at the same time. Now, to settle the plans for the month of May and June, we’re going to run some practice drills for our strategy to be made and since we’re not yet in tournament mode, you girls must keep practicing until you have mastered my strategy that I’ll be playing with” said Ginga.
“Well, if I remember correctly, you must be using the pace and space strategy, Coach” said Mizuki.
“Yeah, that’s where we used to run for offense to shoot the ball to score, but I don’t know how it will work on the defense” said Kazuko.
“Did you have one?” asked Sayaka.
“Yeah, of course, Sayaka-san. I made the Beautiful Flower Strategy where everyone must play smart while using the special moves. Even you used your normal moves, it will speed the process up” said Ginga.
“That’s a nice name that you come up, Ginga-sensei. I hope that this works” said Sayaka.
“Yes, it will, Sayaka-san. For now, we’ll do something to warm it up” said Ginga.
“What’s gonna be?” asked Tsubaki.
“Yeah, show us” said Hiiragi.
“I’ll be giving you the time to practice your shooting around the court for 15 minutes and then, we’ll work on some other strategies outside of the Beautiful Flower” said Ginga.
“Okay, Coach!” said the members of the Keishin Academy Elementary School girls’ basketball team.
“Then, I’ll be putting a scrimmage later to see which players will be participating into” said Ginga.
“That’s good! I’m ready for that!” said Tsubaki.
“Me too! I’m sure that I’m hyped for this!” said Hiiragi.
“Yeah, I know, Tsubaki-san and Hiiragi-san. Since I heard that the two of you will be leading, then I’m going to the two of you teaming up in the same team against…” said Ginga before seeing the fifth graders, who were motivated about today’s training. “…the fifth graders, composed of Yuka Suehiro and Chiyako Kayama.”
“Well, I’m good for that, Coach!” said Tsubaki.
“Yeah! This might be our chance to step in further!” said Hiiragi.
“I agree, Tsubaki-san and Hiiragi-san. Now, I’ll let you start practicing with your shots before we’ll move on the strartegy” said Ginga before he blows his whistle and says two words. “Now, go!”
Everyone in the Keishin Academy Elementary School girls’ basketball team start practicing their shooting around the court where some have worked on the inside shots while others have tried the outside shots. Tsubaki and Hiiragi did the jump shots because they were good on this.
While Tsubaki and Hiiragi are working on their jump shots inside the free throw line, their cousin Rin Takenaka arrives shortly before seeing them.
“Ah! Looks like they’re having a practice! I can see that they’re doing jump shots like my Natsuhi did” said Rin Takenaka, smiling on her face while watching Tsubaki and Hiiragi doing their practice.
Rin would be confronted by Misako. “Hi, Misako!”
“Hi, Rin-chan!” said Misako, greeting the blue-haired first year middle school student. “What are you doing?”
“Uh, school class is over in my section and I wanted to look at my cousins on how they have trained” said Rin.
“Well, you must be confident about them, aren’t you?” asked Misako.
“Yep!” said Rin.
“Okay, sit down and watch those girls on how they work” said Misako.
“Sure, I will, Misako!” said Rin as she sits down beside Misako in the bench seat.
Tsubaki and Hiiragi successfully make their jump shots before giving it to the kouhais. Their kouhais were Yuka Suehiro and Chiyako Kayama. Yuka and Chiyako are very good shooters in between the inside and outside zone, which means that they will have their shots going in if they go perfect in the line.
“Wow! My shots are so good!” said Yuka.
“It goes in perfectly when I shoot the ball!” said Chiyako.
“That’s right, you two! Being a member of our team had a lot of expectations to make, so that you’ll grow your potential” said Tsubaki.
“If you had worked hard to become a member of our varsity, you can be like us” said Hiiragi.
“Yeah!” said Tsubaki.
“So, am I aim to be a starter, Tsubaki-chan?” asked Yuka.
“Well, I would be glad to, Yuka, but you should know that our team is full of good shooters from both outside and inside” said Tsubaki.
“If you want to become a starter soon, you should contribute. Is that okay with that?” said Hiiragi.
“Yes, I want to!” said Yuka.
“If we want to become starters soon, then we will show you who we are!” said Chiyako.
“Wow! What an intense expression that I see, Yuka and Chiyako” said Tsubaki.
“Then, let’s see if you can handle us in the scrimmage” said Hiiragi.
“Okay!” said Yuka and Chiyako.
At the bench, Rin, Misako and Hitomi are delightful to see Tsubaki and Hiiragi being challenged by Yuka and Chiyako.
“And they’re up now, Hitomi-chan! Tsubaki and Hiiragi are really confident about the fact that they’ll be challenged by the two kouhais” said Misako.
“Oh! And look at their eyes, Hitomi! They’re about to clash with each other!” said Rin.
“Yep. Tsubaki and Hiiragi are a good duo when it comes to the inside plays in the zone, but they’re confident because they know about the strengths and weaknesses of their teammates, especially to Yuka and Chiyako” said Hitomi.
“I agree, Hitomi. Tsubaki and Hiiragi are playing basketball with their tricks when they were little girls, playing with her brother. I believe that Tsubaki and Hiiragi have some good plays to show with when they’re stepping up” said Rin.
“Their Double Mean Play was a fantastic move that allows them doing their own tactic to surprise their opponents in a quicker way” said Misako.
“True. They’re looking great with their potential as of now, but hopefully, they’ll be dazzling like their brother Natsuhi” said Hitomi.
“Yeah!” said Rin and Misako.
“On the other hand, Yuka and Chiyako were very good in making their shots of their own while pulling down their opponents’ offensive plays with their defense” said Misako.
“They can’t be stopped because they can’t run out of their energy” said Hitomi.
“I also agree with that, Misako and Hitomi. I wonder if those two will take over the spot once Tsubaki and Hiiragi will be graduating next year” said Rin.
“Maybe, but I’m sure that your cousins will be able to teach Yuka and Chiyako on how they do their job done” said Misaki.
“That way, they’re going to step up to represent their team next year” said Hitomi.
“You got that right, you two!” said Rin.
The montage shows Tsubaki and Hiiragi squaring off against both Yuka and Chiyako in the obstacle drill, trying to improve their speed and stamina. They also participate at the acceleration drill where they try to improve their acceleration by doing their sprint and run-and-dash moves.
“Now, run, Tsuba!” said Hiiragi.
“Okay!” said Tsubaki as Hiiragi passes the ball with her acceleration and then, Tsubaki grabs the ball with a swift.
Tsubaki and Hiiragi perform the Double Mean Play as they do the invisible ball strategy where Tsubaki makes the jab step before doing the Invisible Ball Pass. When Tsubaki passes the ball to Hiiragi, the ball disappears like a shadow before Hiiragi grabs it with her hands. Then, Hiiragi dunks the ball with the driving dunk.
“Wow!” said Mimi.
“Amazing!” said Kagetsu.
“Can Hiiragi dunk the ball like that?” asked Kazuko.
“Yeah, Kazuko! She’s a strong inside shooter like her twin sister” said Masami.
“She can crush her opponents through her dunking shots like a boulder” said Sayaka.
“Yeah, I agree! I bet that she’s going tougher now” said Kazuko.
“Like the way Rena and Miyu have because of their strength” said Mizuki.
“Yeah!” said Mimi, Kagetsu, Masami and Sayaka.
“That was a nice shot, Hiiragi-chan!” said Yuka.
“You are quickly doing that dunk! Unlike your brother, you must be good in the inside” said Chiyako.
“That’s right, Chiyako! My brother knows how to do a layup and he can do whatever he wants, but when it comes to dunks, he’s not good at it. I did great with the inside alongside my twin sister” said Hiiragi.
“That’s why we go invisible and then, we fly hard!” said Tsubaki.
“Well, I’m thrilled to see that kind of expression, Tsubaki-chan and Hiiragi-chan” said Yuka.
“It seems that you are good players after all” said Chiyako.
“You got that right!” said Tsubaki.
“We’re good be thrilled rather than being innocent” said Hiiragi. Yuka and Chiyako nod their faces to agree on what Hiiragi said.
Himeko was surprised after watching Tsubaki and Hiiragi doing their move. “I’m so shocked when Hiiragi is about to do the impossible, but she was able to save her stamina by making that dunk. I would imagine if one of my teammates can do that for sure.”
Later, it was the turn of Yuka and Chiyako to do their acceleration play. Yuka and Chiyako run together in the court with Yuka doing the bounce pass before Chiyako grabs it. Chiyako does the between the legs move by herself before shooting the ball with the reverse layup, which is called the Violet Lightning Layup.
“Wow! Chiyako had picked up to shoot the ball with the layup” said Hana Mikimoto.
“Now that’s what I called a Violet Power Play!” said Mizuko.
“Yeah, I agree, Mizuko-san! It turns out that both Yuka and Chiyako have the same level of acceleration like Tsubaki and Hiiragi” said Himeko.
“I believe that they’re on competition with each other” said Asuka.
“This is going to be a real deal to see who the best duo with the best accelerator is” said Kana.
“Yeah, I see the point, Kana-san. Hopefully, this clash might be less fun, but intense as I expected” said Himeko.
“Yeah!” said Mizuko, Hana, Asuka and Kana.
“I can’t believe that you had that layup, Chiyako!” said Hiiragi.
“That move was almost resembled to my twin sister’s move, but it’s like a layup” said Tsubaki.
“Yep. My tune had been made to rumble the shot around and I’m sure that you like the sparkle I created” said Chiyako.
“Yeah!” said Tsubaki and Hiiragi.
“Well, you two will be prepared because we’re going to have a battle right now!” said Yuka.
“Oh, yeah, I’m ready for that!” said Tsubaki.
“Me too! I’m sure that it will be shocking I tell you!” said Hiiragi.
“Yeah!” said Yuka and Chiyako.
A few minutes later, Team Takenaka and Team Suehiro will square off against each other in the court in a scrimmage. Team Takenaka will be composed of Tsubaki, Hiiragi, Masami, Kazuko and Mizuki while Team Suehiro will be composed of Yuka, Chiyako, Hana, Mizuko and Kana.
Team Takenaka: Masami Fujii (PG), Kazuko Kakimoto (SG), Tsubaki Takenaka (SF), Hiiragi Takenaka (PF), Mizuki Koyama (C)
Team Suehiro: Mizuko Fujisaki (PG), Yuka Suehiro (SG), Chiyako Kayama (SF), Kana Hanaoka (PF), Hana Mikimoto (C)
The ten minutes of the scrimmage begins with Tsubaki and Hiiragi do their plays with their own game. First up, Tsubaki does the between the legs move on Chiyako before seeing Masami in the outside. Tsubaki passes the ball to Masami with the Invisible Ball Pass before Masami shoots the ball with the Wisteria Rustle Jump Shot.
“Nice shot, Masami-chan!” said Kagetsu.
“That jump shot was very beautiful!” said Mimi.
“Thanks, Mimi and Kagetsu!” said Masami with a smile on her face.
“Hey, is that Masami’s new move?” asked Misako.
“Yep. When it comes to her jump shot, it can drive the ball into the basket with her acceleration. That move was called the Wisteria Rustle Jump Shot” said Hitomi.
“That move was almost like the Majestic Lavender Star, but it is the abridged version of it. It can combine that with the Rustling Wisteria” said Mao.
“Sounds like it’s a combination of mimicking the moves and create the shots of its own. I never seen that before, Mao-san, but I see her acceleration going up” said Rin.
“Yeah, I agree, Rin-san!” said Mao.
“I’m going to say that Masami can take the shot like a shooting star, but it can be more beautiful when she used her Complete Synchronization Skill” said Misako.
“Yeah!” said Mao and Hitomi.
The scene changes with Hiiragi doing the between the legs move against Kana in a quicker way. Then, Hiiragi does the run-and-dash drive to drive past Kana before passing the ball to Kazuko, who would shoot the ball with the three-point shot. Tsubaki performs the crossover move on Chiyako while calling Mizuki the screen on Chiyako. Tsubaki accelerates her way before doing the alley-oop pass to Hiiragi, who dunks the ball with the dunk just like how she did earlier.
When Yuka drives past Kazuko, she gets through Tsubaki as both Yuka and Tsubaki battle against each other. Yuka does the behind the back move while Tsubaki goes on defense.
“You think that you’re gonna stop me, Tsubaki-chan?” asked Yuka.
Tsubaki smiles while nodding her face. “Yeah!”
“Well, then, let’s see if you get it!” said Yuka as she steps back before doing the crossover move on Tsubaki before trying to drive past Tsubaki. However, Tsubaki does the Mirror Nightingale to keep her defense alive, creating her own resiliency.
“Nice try, Yuka, but I’m not done yet!” said Tsubaki.
“Now, what about this!” said Yuka as he goes the crossover spin move, but Tsubaki dodges it, thanks to her Mirror Nightingale. “What?! It didn’t work!”
“That’s because I’m dodging my moves, Yuka!” said Tsubaki.
“Okay, then. I’ll show you how it’s done!” said Yuka as she steps back before passing the ball to Chiyako, who would get the ball in a haste.
“What the?! She is so fast!” said Tsubaki.
“Chiyako is not only the person she is good in the inside, but she is good in being invisible!” said Mizuki.
“That’s what I thought!” said Hiiragi.
When Chiyako tries to shoot the ball with the Violet Lightning Layup, Mizuki tries to block that shot. “Oh no, you don’t!”
“Then, I’ll go in reverse!” said Chiyako as she shoots the ball with the reverse layup version of the Violet Lightning Layup.
“She goes in with that reverse layup!” said Masami.
“She is so good when she was going for that shot in the inside” said Kazuko.
Chiyako was flanked by Yuka as Yuka gives Chiyako a high five.
“Nice shot, Chiyako-chan!” said Yuka.
“Thanks, Yuka! I’m not pretty nervous when I’m going for the layup!” said Chiyako.
“Yeah, that’s true, Chiyako-chan” said Yuka.
“You think that you’re going to make it if the two of us are targeting on you?” asked Tsubaki.
“Oh, great, here comes the suspense!” said Kazuko.
“I never seen that expression before!” said Mizuki.
“Well, I’m in for that!” said Yuka.
“Hey, you can’t do that, Yuka! This is our challenge, not a showdown!” said Chiyako.
“Yeah, I know, but we should work together. Right?” said Yuka.
“Yeah!” said Chiyako.
The scrimmage continues as Tsubaki and Hiiragi are clashing against Yuka and Chiyako in separate plays. Tsubaki performs the crossover move on Yuka before doing the spin move to get away from Yuka. Then, Tsubaki sees her twin sister in the post as she’s going to do the Invisible Ball Pass.
“Now, get it!” said Tsubaki.
“Okay!” said Hiiragi as she’s about to get the ball with her speed, but she sees Chiyako, who is trying to get the ball for the steal.
“Oh, yeah? I’m going to get that ball!” said Chiyako.
“Really?” asked Hiiragi before she does the run-and-dash move to prevent Chiyako from getting the ball. Hiiragi grabs the ball in a quick move instead.
Hiiragi can switch places with her twin sister, which means that Hiiragi can post up with her moves. “I’ll make sure that you’ll not gonna stop me!”
“Then, I’ll not gonna let that happen, Hiiragi-chan!” said Chiyako as she tries to stop Hiiragi with her defense, however, Hiiragi increases her strength to make sure that Chiyako won’t get in the former’s way.
“I thought that Tsubaki will be the power forward, but instead it was Hiiragi. Why?” said Sayaka.
“That’s because both Tsubaki and Hiiragi were playing as forwards, which means that they can switch places whatever they want to” said Mimi.
“In other words, the Double Mean Play can be more applied to make it more complex with their performance because Tsubaki and Hiiragi are good in doing tricks, which might be more fun, but less prankier” said Kagetsu.
“Well, I hope that this applies when we’re having a real game, Mimi-chan and Kagetsu-chan! They’re going to bring nightmares to their opponents, thanks to that strategy” said Sayaka.
“Yeah!” said Mimi and Kagetsu.
“You won’t stop me now, Chiyako!” said Hiiragi as she shoots the ball with the Midnight Floater and the ball drives to the basket.
The next scene is where Yuka dazzles her way to drive past Tsubaki before shooting the ball with the Blue Violet Flower Shot, a variant of a layup. It was followed by Tsubaki does the pass-and-assist play where she performs the crossover move on Yuka before doing the Mean Eye Drive to drive past Yuka and then, passing the ball to Hiiragi, who would go for the Nighteye Layup. Chiyako doesn’t stop her way when she posted up her strength against Hiiragi and then, performs the Shocking Violet Clutch, a variant of a driving dunk shot.
“Tsubaki and Hiiragi have worked hard in teaming up together to make their moves, but Yuka and Chiyako are bonded with their combo play” said Hitomi.
“Yeah, Hitomi-san. It looks like these players are going to go hard when they’re having a real battle. I believe that they’ll get their tendencies being improved as soon as they’re going to reach their potential to be great players in our team” said Mao.
“Yeah, I agree, Mao-san!” said Hitomi.
Both Team Takenaka and Team Suehiro go back and forth with their shots going in, however, they also find defensive efforts to stop one’s play to another. Masami and Kazuko did well in scoring their baskets, thanks to the assists made by Tsubaki, while Hiiragi combined her acceleration and resiliency to stop her opponents. For Mizuki, she was able to put the screen on her opponents as well as dunking the ball with her force. For Yuka and Chiyako’s teammates, they also get their job done, despite they initially struggle at first.
With only 31 seconds left to end the scrimmage, the score is now tied at 24 with Team Suehiro getting their possession after the rebound by Chiyako. Mizuko Fujisaki shouts at Yuka as she passes the ball with the overhead pass. “Catch, Yuka!”
Yuka gets the ball with her right hand before she prepares for a battle against Tsubaki. Tsubaki and Hiiragi keep their eyes on both Yuka and Chiyako as the closing minutes of the scrimmage begin.
“I’m definitely ready to finish you, Tsubaki! You’re going down!” said Yuka.
“Oh, yeah, I’m not going to be down! I’ll make sure that you’ll not get that shot!” said Tsubaki.
“We’ll see!” said Yuka as she performs the crossover move on Tsubaki before Tsubaki activates the Mirror Nightingale to guard Yuka tightly. Yuka steps back before doing the turnaround spin move on Tsubaki, which Tsubaki keeps her resiliency.
“I’m not going to let you get away from me, Yuka!” said Tsubaki.
Yuka would about to drive past Tsubaki and go to the paint when Hiiragi is guarding Yuka as Hiiragi shouts at Yuka. “Surprise, Yuka!”
“Oh, you got to be kidding me!” said Yuka.
“There’s no way you can get away from us because of our Double Mean Play!” said Hiiragi. The Takenaka twins are already locking Yuka in while Chiyako tries to anxiously wait for Yuka to make the move.
“Do you think that you’re going to stop me, you two? I’m about to get past Tsubaki, but you ruin it on purpose!” said Yuka.
“Yeah, Yuka! I’ll make sure that you don’t get the last shot, I’ll get the last shot!” said Tsubaki.
“What?!” shouted Yuka.
“Come on, Yuka, just stop them!” said Chiyako, trying to reach the communication on Yuka.
“Okay!” said Yuka, giving her resiliency to be growing, but unfortunately, as she tries to get away from the Takenaka twins with her Violet Raylight Drive, Hiiragi tips the ball away. Yuka gasps in horror before she shouts at her teammates. “The ball!”
Mizuko grabs the ball to keep Team Suehiro’s possession alive before passing the ball to Yuka. “Here you go!”
“Thank goodness! I should have gotten a turnover, but there’s no way you can stop me now, Tsubaki and Hiiragi!” said Yuka as she performs the Violet Raylight Drive to get away from Tsubaki and Hiiragi.
“Fifteen seconds, Tsubaki and Hiiragi!” said Masami.
“Just stop that girl!” said Mizuki.
“There’s no time because the shot clock is about to run out soon!” said Kazuko.
“Okay!” said Tsubaki and Hiiragi as they nod their heads in agreement before splitting up to work together to stop Team Suehiro from getting their last shot going in. Yuka tries to get her momentum, but Tsubaki catches her time to stop Yuka.
“You’re back, Tsubaki-chan?!” grumbled Yuka.
“Yeah! I’ll make sure that you won’t get that shot!” said Tsubaki as she prepares to do the steal attempt with the Double Mean Play. “Take this!”
When Tsubaki tries to steal the ball, Yuka sways the ball away from the hands of Tsubaki. “Miss me!” Yuka eventually passes the ball to Chiyako with the Violet Illuminative Drive.
“Darn it!” said Tsubaki.
When Chiyako tries to get the ball, Hiiragi saves her time stop the combination play of Yuka and Chiyako as Hiiragi steals the ball with her Double Mean Play.
“It’s not over yet!” said Hiiragi.
“What?!” said Chiyako.
“That girl stole the ball!” said Yuka.
“We must stop her!” said Chiyako.
“Okay!” said Yuka.
“Don’t let them catch up on us!” said Tsubaki.
“Okay!” said Masami, Kazuko and Mizuki while Tsubaki and Hiiragi do their strategy.
Hiiragi runs through her speed before she passes the ball to Tsubaki with the Invisible Ball Pass. “Now, finish it, Tsuba!”
“You got it!” said Tsubaki as she grabs the ball before she’s about to do the layup, however, Yuka jumps high and tries to block the shot of Tsubaki.
“You’re not gonna win that match, Tsubaki-chan!” said Yuka.
“Oh, yeah? You won’t block my shot!” said Tsubaki as she posterizes Yuka with the Dimming Blue Clutch to end the match with the win for Team Takenaka. The final score is 26 to 24.
“Wow! Look at that!” said Mimi.
“Tsubaki had posterized Yuka!” said Kagetsu.
“Looks like Tsubaki had saved the day!” said Sayaka.
“Yeah, Sayaka-chan! That’s an unbelievable moment!” said Mimi.
“And it was a perfect shot to end the game!” said Kagetsu.
“Yeah!” said Sayaka.
When Tsubaki jumps down to the ground, she looks at Yuka, who was fallen to the ground when she was posterized by the former. Tsubaki offers a hand to Yuka as Tsubaki tries to help Yuka. “Just get up.”
“Okay” said Yuka as she was able to get up from her feet and lands on Tsubaki to hug with her. “Thanks, Tsubaki-chan! I knew that you are a kind person.”
“Yeah, Yuka, please stop hugging me out!” said Tsubaki.
“Oh, okay!” said Yuka as she lets go of her hug on Tsubaki before scratching her head. “Well, it was a good game though.”
“Yeah, I agree, Yuka. I’m sure that you’ll get used to do some contact shots to make sure that your strength had been better than your opponents you faced” said Tsubaki.
“Of course, I will, Tsubaki-chan!” said Yuka.
Hiiragi, Masami, Kazuko and Mizuki arrive to meet with Tsubaki and Yuka. Yuka’s teammates would also arrive to meet with Yuka.
“That was a good shot, Tsuba!” said Hiiragi.
“You’re certainly a good dunker!” said Masami.
“Yeah, I agree… Oh, wait, what do you mean ‘good dunker’?” said Tsubaki.
“That’s right, Tsubaki-chan. You did the posterizing dunk on Yuka” said Mizuki.
“That one was a good move to keep your strength out” said Kazuko.
“Well, of course, Kazuko! I’m definitely good at doing speed and acceleration because it makes me motivate to do some tricks in the game” said Tsubaki.
“You certainly got right, Tsubaki! I’m happy to see your skills getting improved, not even you did that posterizer for the first time” said Masami.
“Uh… yes, I am, Masami” said Tsubaki.
Then, a female voice comes out, which Tsubaki hears a compliment. “I say that your skills have been paid off since you had worked with those inside shots.”
Tsubaki and her teammates turns around to see Mao and Hitomi. Tsubaki shouts after seeing Mao and Hitomi. “Mao! Hitomi! You’re here!”
“Yep. I see what you are doing when you’re about to finish the match, Tsubaki-san. That dunk was fantastic!” said Mao.
“I never see one person doing the dunk before in my life not after Kagetsu did” said Hitomi.
“Yeah! I tried my best to do it, even though I’m still a small girl” said Tsubaki.
“Well, you did the best, Tsubaki-san. Since you are a good player with acceleration and strength, I am so happy that you had got the job done” said Mao.
“Thank you very much, Mao-sensei!” said Tsubaki.
Mimi, Kagetsu and Sayaka arrive just in time for Mimi to talk with Tsubaki. “You know what, Tsubaki-chan, I think that you had the perfect spot for your dunking skills after what you did earlier.”
“Yeah, I’m pretty sure that you’re going to keep on practicing that move until you have mastered it” said Kagetsu.
“Hopefully, you’ll be able to pull off the tricks to do that shot again” said Sayaka.
“Of course, I will! You can never understand of me!” said Tsubaki.
“Yeah!” said the sixth graders of the Keishin Academy Elementary School girls’ basketball team.
“Now, I’ll gather you up to end the training before the middle schoolers arrive for their training in a few minutes” said Mao.
“Okay!” said the sixth graders of the Keishin Academy Elementary School girls’ basketball team as their training will about to end with Ginga and Mao doing some pointers to them before they decide to call it a day.
Part 2 will be on the next post.
