EARLY MORNING TRAINING

It has been a week since Liam decided to join our basketball team, and I have to admit he's really amazing. He has been improving at a shocking rate and is now being coached by Yukio on how to play his role as Center. I'm honestly glad that he's on our team; his input will give Yukio the opportunity to play an entirely different position, said Nanaho to herself.

"Come on, Liam, get lower than that! I know you're pretty strong, but a lot of strong centers will be in the tournament, so you need to learn how to use all of your strength when you post up in order to gain the edge. Let me demonstrate once more here," said Yukio as he passed the ball to Liam.

"Takahiro, mark me," Yukio continued.

"Right," said Takahiro as he fought Yukio for better positioning in the paint.

"Pass the ball where I ask you to, Liam!" shouted Yukio as Liam passed the basketball to him. As Yukio caught the basketball, he bounced it on the floor, spun off Takahiro, and shot a layup that swished.

"You see how effective I was? Imagine if you execute this exactly as I did. How impossible would it be to guard you? Using your full strength, which means bending more against a weaker defender, will give you the opportunity to score much easier baskets because they'll have to get extremely low to try and guard you, making it easy for you to get by them and score an uncontested shot in the post."

"On the other hand, against stronger and more experienced players, they will know that you know what you're doing if you utilize your full potential when you post up, so they won't take any chances to steal the ball."

"I understand. I just need to lower my hips, right?" asked Liam.

"Yes, let's try it once more. Pass him the ball, Takahiro." Takahiro passed the ball to Liam as he was guarded by Yukio, who was weaker and shorter than him.

"I can't move him; he's too strong," thought Liam to himself. "No, focus—just bend your hips," he told himself as he lowered his body, maximizing his strength, and pounded Yukio towards the rim. He then spun off Yukio and dunked the basketball.

"Now that's what I'm talking about! You see? Pretty simple, right?" asked Yukio.

"I had to change up their training a bit because I saw some areas where they lacked. Yukio, Liam, and Takahiro are training together. They're all aiding in Liam's training to become our Center while working on their midrange game."

"Yukio is also working on his outside game because he won't be playing in the post. I'm thinking about making him a power forward. The starting five would be Hayato as point guard, Tetsuo as shooting guard, Takahiro as small forward, Yukio as power forward, and Liam as Center. That's not a bad lineup at all," said Nanaho to herself.

Tetsuo and Shino are currently training together, with Tetsuo teaching him how to shoot better while he works on his own training routine. Noboru is still doing stamina training, but after he's done, Tetsuo will teach him how to shoot.

Hayato is working on refining his dribbling and ball-handling skills, as well as his finishing around the rim. It was smart of Hayato when he suggested morning training the other day; they get to put in a lot of work and more time working on their game. I believe that this time, for sure, we can make it to the inter-high.

"Okay, everyone, we'll be switching from individual skill development training. We'll be practicing as a team now. Shino, go ahead and call Noboru for me. I'm sure that he must be really tired of competing with the girls' track team," said Nanaho.

"Yes, I'll go right now," said Shino as he ran off.

"What kind of training do you have in mind, Nanaho?" asked Yukio.

"Oh, just you wait and see," said Nanaho as she chuckled.

"Alright, now that you're all here, I'll explain what we are doing. After repeatedly watching the video of the match against Yokonan, I realized that you guys can't function as a team in certain situations. For example, when it's a three-on-two, most of the time, your attack fails against two defenders when there are three of you. And when it's the other way around, they manage to score."

"With the exception of Tetsuo, who single-handedly broke down Yokonan's defense, the rest of you need to understand and learn how to operate in any situation, even if there is less of you on both offense and defense. So, I came up with a fun little drill to help us mitigate this issue and teach you guys to function effectively without five players on both ends of the court."

"Since there are seven of you, I'll be dividing you into teams of three. The first team will be Yukio and Noboru. 'Let's go score some points, captain,' said Noboru, pumped. The second team will be Hayato, Shino, and Liam. And the third team will be Tetsuo and Takahiro."

"Now that we've established the teams, we can begin. Yukio and Noboru will start with the ball, and Hayato's team will be playing defense. If they manage to score, they remain on offense. However, if they miss, Hayato's team will go on the offensive."

"Takahiro and Tetsuo will be playing defense on whoever wins the three-on-two. And Liam, there will be no posting up. Everyone will be playing outside the arc."

"Alright, Coach," said Liam.

"She's such a beautiful Japanese girl," said Liam to himself as he looked at her with a weird face.

"I have a question: How can two players defend a hoop? That doesn't seem possible," said Shino.

"You're right. There's a high chance that the opposition scores, but there is also a chance that you stop them. For the teams of two, one of you will be playing in the key while the other stays at the top. When the ball is passed, if the key player steps to it, the top player will have to cover for him. And for Hayato's team, anyone who gets the ball should be double-teamed."

"Yes, Coach Fukazawa," said Hayato.

Noboru dribbled the basketball upcourt, and as soon as he crossed half, Shino and Hayato stepped to guard him, double-teaming him.

"Damn it, I can't see the hoop," thought Noboru, frustrated.

"Noboru, pass, I'm open!" said Yukio.

"Here you go, Captain," said Noboru as he passed the basketball to Yukio.

Yukio then drove to the basket and tried to score a layup; however, Liam, who was 198 centimeters tall, jumped and swatted the ball out of the air.

"This guy is like a wall built in front of the rim," thought Yukio.

"Let's go, it's our turn to attack," said Hayato as he dribbled the ball upcourt.

Surprising Hayato, Tetsuo immediately guarded him and stole the ball. He then dribbled the basketball upcourt, where he was met by Yukio, who was guarding him.

Tetsuo then drove to the rim and passed to Takahiro, who easily passed Shino and scored a layup.

"Let's go, Takahiro!" said Tetsuo as he dribbled the basketball upcourt again. This time, he was double-teamed by Shino and Hayato.

"This is payback for stealing the ball," said Hayato as he smirked.

Tetsuo, who was calm, crossed between his legs, accelerated, and attacked Shino's side, beating the double-team.

"Crap, he got right by us," said both Shino and Hayato as they tried catching up.

Tetsuo made a sudden stop and then stepped back, shooting a three-pointer that swished.

"Great, this is turning out better than I expected," said Nanaho to herself as she smiled.

On the next possession, Yukio blocked Takahiro. Yukio then dribbled the basketball upcourt and passed to Noboru, who attempted a layup but got blocked by Liam. Liam then dunked the ball.

Coming down again, Hayato shot a three-pointer that swished.

Liam dunked the basketball once more, dominating the training drill. Hayato shot a floater that swished. Yukio then managed to steal the basketball and slam dunked it in the rim. Noboru ran as fast as he could and scored a layup.

"Great work, everyone! We'll end training here. Go ahead and freshen up for your classes," said Nanaho, and everyone replied with "Yes."