Looks like the gig is up. Yuel frowned as he watched Mike and James exchange whispers.

A few seconds earlier, Mike was analyzing Yuel from head to toe, like a scientist dissecting a lab frog. He probably figured everything out.

It was just a question of time. Yuel thought. I knew we wouldn’t be able to keep this a secret forever. Though, I hoped we’ll score more points before the cat is out of the bag. I should’ve been more careful.

The way Yuel chose to pass the ball to Lars instead of shooting was a big tell. He practically shouted, “I can’t shoot for the life of me!” Mike was sharp enough to pick on things like that.

No use crying over spilled milk. Yuel shook his head and concentrated on the enemy’s next offense. A lead of 8 points should be plenty. Even if things start getting rough, we should be able to hold on.

Unlike with the previous attacks, James was handed the ball for opening this one. The enemy must’ve wanted to take advantage of the guy’s smooth passes right at the start, on the very first play.

The guy grabbed the ball under the basket and aimed in Mike’s direction. It was Yuel’s job to mark James, so he stepped in between the two.

I doubt I can intercept his passes. Yuel thought. So, I need to tempt him into driving past me.

It was the same as last time. Yuel loosened his form. He stood in front of James like a scarecrow that posed no threat. It should be easy enough to break past a defender like this. But...

“Heh, dodge me with that shit!” James grinned. I ain’t falling for this again. Mike told me you gonna try to pull something, so I’mma just ignore ya. Just gotta pass, that’s what I do best!

Yuel’s ploy fell through. James delivered a sharp pass across the court, right into Mike’s hands.

“Dang!” Lars tried to intercept the pass with his long arm but the ball found its way to Mike anyway. “Sick pass, yo!”

“Right? Right?” James nodded in approval as he charged at Lars.

Until now, James was tasked with keeping tabs on Yuel. But, not this time. He ignored his usual mark and went straight after Lars as if everything was planned in advance.

So, it begins. Yuel frowned. It was clear enough what kind of tip James received from Mike. The game was about to become ten times harder.

“Lars! He’s coming behind you!” Yuel warned as he gave chase. He couldn’t keep up with James’s speed, so the best he could do was to warn Lars about the incoming danger. “They’re going to screen you!”

“Too late for warnings!” James already reached Lars’s right flank and assumed a firm stance. “Yo! You ain’t passing through.”

At the same time, Mike broke into a run while driving the ball. He passed by Lars’s right side, the same side James was blocking like an impassable wall!

If Lars charges straight ahead, he’ll crash right into that wall. Either he’ll get overpowered and get knocked back, or he’ll knock the opponent away and cause a foul. In any case, he won’t be able to properly chase Mike. At least, not if he charges straight ahead.

“Ya ain’t getting away!” Lars gave chase regardless! However, instead of dashing forward, he first maneuvered around James’s screen.

“Wha-!? This guy...!” James exclaimed.

He rooted himself in place like a tree, bracing for any incoming impact. However, instead of running into him, the wild beast circled around and passed through! James was so concerned about getting tackled that it took him a while to respond to this unexpected turn of events.

“Crap!” James cursed. “Mike, he’s after your ass!”

“Doesn’t matter.” Mike already got close enough to the basket. It was time to shoot. He raised the ball over his head and released it.

“No, you don’t!” Lars jumped into the scene at the last moment and slapped the ball away!

“Wha-!?” Mike couldn’t believe it. He had already released the ball, yet Lars still reached it in mid-air. Just what sort of monstrous agility and jumping ability did this guy possess!?

The ball jumped away from both of them and ended up in Yuel’s hands. It looked like a lucky fluke, but that wasn’t the case at all.

Even as Lars hastily smacked the ball in mid-air, he still did his best to aim it in Yuel’s general direction. And, Yuel made sure to position himself ahead of time in a good spot for receiving this sort of pass. He calculated that, at best, Lars will only manage to hit the ball out of Mike’s hands, that he won’t have the luxury to make a proper pass.

And with that, the tides have turned. Now, Yuel’s team was on the offensive!

But, there was a problem. A big one.

Even though Yuel was in a pretty good position for taking a shot at the basket, Mike didn’t dash at him like last time. Instead, the guy stuck close to Lars and blocked all pass routes.

“Don’t mind that nerd!” Mike shouted. “Focus on this three-pointer machine over here.”

Following the instructions, James blocked Lars’s other side. There was no getting out of this double mark. Even though Yuel was holding the ball and was so close to the basket, the enemy chose to ignore him and gang on Lars instead.

As I thought, they figured it out. Yuel’s role in this game was that of a delivery boy. All he had to do, all he could do, was to deliver the ball to Lars.

The enemy realized Yuel wasn’t going to score any shots. Why? Because he couldn’t. His aim was atrocious.

And, Mike probably figured that out from their previous exchange. After all, what kind of player would choose to pass the ball when the basket was right in front of him and there were no blockers? Only somebody who couldn’t score goals would resort to an inefficient move like that.

Of course, it’s not like Mike had any solid proof, so leaving Yuel unmarked was a gamble. In other words, Mike was willing to sacrifice one point to determine just how bad Yuel was at shooting.

It’s the smart thing to do. Yuel had to admit. If they learn they can ignore me, they can start using numbers to shut Lars down. That’s when the game will start for real.

Was there anything Yuel could do to prevent this development? No, there wasn’t. He had been racking his brain about this predictable problem before the game even started, but he couldn’t find a solution.

The enemy was bound to learn of his terrible athletic skills sooner or later, there was no way to hide it. And, once they learn that, they were bound to focus their manpower on the rest of the team. Namely, on Lars.

But, there’s a one in a million chance I can keep deceiving them for a little longer. Yuel glanced at the ball in his hands, then at the basket in front of him. If I shoot and score, it’ll make them wary of me again. It’ll show them they can’t just leave me unmarked all the time.

As unlikely as this plan sounded, Yuel nonetheless dribbled the ball toward the basket and carefully took aim.

Even though his aim was terrible, it’s not like he couldn’t score any goals ever. As long as he carefully aimed toward the basket and released the ball in that direction, there was always a chance the ball will land inside the hoop. It’s just that, in Yuel’s case, the chance of that happening was about 1 in 10000000000000000000...

There’s nothing else I can do anyway. Yuel glanced one last time at his teammates. Mike and James were still pinning Lars down, while Larry was keeping Ben strictly behind him. There was no way of passing the ball to either of them.

So, Yuel had to take the shot and pray for that nano-chance of success. He took his stance and fired toward the basket! Or, at least, the ball should have gone toward the basket, but...

The ball flew through the air, then landed on the floor outside the court. BUMP. BUMP. BUMP. It bounced a few times, then went silent. And, all sound on the court died along with it.

“...........................” There was a loud silence. Yuel felt countless stares prickling his back. Everybody must’ve been staring at him, wondering what kind of alien he was.

Needless to say, the ball he sent flying didn’t score. In fact, it didn’t even touch the hoop. But, that was still fine. It wasn’t unusual for amateurs to miss the hoop when throwing.

But, Yuel missed more than just the hoop. He missed the entire backboard! He threw the ball from such a close distance, yet it went completely off-bounds...

That made Yuel’s entire resolve sound like a joke. “Score a goal to make the enemy wary.” Yeah, right. It was a nice short-lived dream, that’s all it was.

Instead of establishing himself as a threat, he only proved how utterly incompetent he was. This terrible shot was practically shouting: “You can ignore me for the rest of the game.”

“A-Ahem.” Yuel cleared his throat to break the heavy silence. “I believe it’s your ball.”

“No shit, Sherlock.” Mike gave a half-hearted reply. It seemed he was still a little shocked by what he had just witnessed.

The first one to truly break the heavy silence was James, with his usual annoying laugh. “Hahaha! The heck was that, man!? The heck were you aiming at? Hahaha!”

“There was a mosquito there. I was trying to hit it.” Yuel made a dumb excuse and averted his eyes. His cheeks were heating up.

“Haha! This bruh is trash!” Larry joined the laughter. “So, this is a 3v2, huh.”

“Pretty much.” Mike nodded. “Alright, so this is our new formation. Two will mark Lars, the remaining one will keep tabs on the Meatball.”

“Gotcha!” Larry gave a thumbs up.

“Alrighty.” James grabbed the ball and grinned. “Let’s get this offense rolling!” He passed the ball to Mike. It was a clean pass as usual. Lars failed to intercept it.

“Your gig is up.” Mike declared boldly. “Now the game starts for real!”

“Oh, yeah?” Lars smiled confidently. “Come at me, dude!”

“Oh, you bet I will!’ Mike dribbled the ball back and forth, trying to throw Lars off balance. But, the bastard didn’t yield. He followed every motion without failure and responded immediately whenever Mike tried to make a move. It was impossible to get past him.

Nah, it’s totally possible. Mike reassured himself. It’s just hella risky. I can’t be sure he won’t grab the ball somehow.

In a 1v1, Mike wasn’t 100% certain he’ll be able to break past Lars. So, there was no reason to keep it as a 1v1, was there?

“Lars!” Yuel called out. “Another screen is coming!” 

“Geh, that stuff again!?” Lars glanced behind him. Indeed, James was slithering closer to him like a snake.

But, executing the screen wasn’t even the main point here. Mike just needed something, anything, to break Lars’s concentration. So, the brief glance Lars threw behind his back was going to cost him dreary.

Got you! Mike broke into a sprint and drove the ball toward the basket!

“Gah!?” Lars jumped. “No, you don’t!” He turned around and darted after his target. I’m not lettin’ ya score, yooooo- geh!?

Lars crashed into a wall! Or, more accurately, into a screen!

“Hello there.” James grinned while flinching. The collision hurt him a little, but the pain was numbed by the sense of satisfaction. Finally, he stopped this beast and allowed Mike to break through! The game was about to start rolling for real now!

It’s all up to me. Yuel was the only one in position to defend against Mike’s shot. He advanced toward the charging boar and assumed a defensive stance.

Fortunately, defending was actually one of the few areas in which Yuel wasn’t completely terrible at. As long as he could predict the opponent’s movements and drag them into psychological warfare, Yuel had a chance of defeating them.

But, that only worked on opponents who agreed to entertain him with mind games...

“Move, trash!” Mike didn’t slow down in the slightest, even with Yuel standing in his path. He was like a speeding train with a fixed course. Forward! Only forward!

H-He’ll run over me! Yuel shuddered. An avalanche was heading his way!

B-But, if he pushes me away, it’ll be a foul. Yuel gulped. It’ll hurt for sure but it’s better than letting them score and gain momentum. I have to stand my ground!

Yuel raised his arms and braced for impact.

“Tch. You got guts, if not else.” Mike hit the brakes at the very last second. He also understood the importance of this first goal all too well.

The moment he scores it, the tides of the game will shift in a big way and the team will gain momentum. Therefore, he had to score no matter what. As much as he wanted to ram into this twiggy nerd, this was not the time to foul scrubs.

Gotta say, though. This guy is crazy. Mike thought as he raised the ball. Like, I’d understand standing his ground like this if he were some well-built mofo. But, look at this scarecrow. He’s just a skinny lil’ bitch. I’d freakin’ kill him if I crash into him. Does he have a death wish or something?

Seriously, the members of the Classmancers club were a bunch of weirdos. There was Lars, who had such amazing talent for basketball yet wasted it all on playing a video game. And, there was this nerdy scrub who apparently sucked ass in basketball, yet employed some nasty tricks to throw everybody off guard. And, even against Mike’s intimidating drive, this guy barely flinched.

I don’t get it. These guys are supposed to be nerds pretending to be athletes. What’s with all this fighting spirit? Fuck off with that shit!

Mike shot toward the basket. Despite his anger, the ball flew in an elegant arc and went in.

I can’t stand this. I’ll crush you all. Mike declared. I’ll crush you so hard, you won’t want to compete at anything ever again!

Finally, Mike’s team scored the first point. It was just one point, but it was the turning point of this entire game...