Like a fuse reaching its end, Yuuto's three-pointer was a bomb that detonated the entire arena.
Oregon had clawed back 5 points with the refs' help. In the blink of an eye, Yuuto answered with 6.
An and-one plus a near-halfcourt three.
This time, Yuuto didn't stay stoic. He turned toward the opposing bench and struck a signature pose.
Both shoulders shrugged, hands spread wide to either side.
Today, he wasn't just going to destroy Oregon—he wanted to beat the refs too.
The head referee's nose nearly went crooked with anger.
He wouldn't let some Asian disrespect him like this.
Tweet!
Another technical foul. Yuuto followed in his coach's footsteps.
Boos rained down. Today's officiating crew had completely enraged the fans.
"Don't think you're walking out of UCLA safely tonight!"
"You son of a bitch—I'll be waiting at the exit! I'm putting money on it!"
"This isn't over! I'm filing a complaint! Your incompetence is an insult to the NCAA!"
"Fuck! @#$%^&!"
The torrent of abuse brought the head ref back to his senses.
This wasn't the NBA. These fans were mostly students.
In other words, hotheads.
They weren't like Garnett—talking big on the court then running faster than a rabbit off it, relying on media and security to avoid confrontation.
For the rest of the game.
The officiating visibly returned to fairness.
Partly because the ref genuinely feared for his safety. Partly because he needed to balance the stats.
This was the skill of experienced referees.
In many games, looking at post-game foul counts and free-throw numbers wouldn't reveal the damage refs had done to one team.
Because they'd balance things out once the result was decided.
And when that moment came, it was often the other team's doom.
Disgusting, but that's the rule in commercial sports.
Oregon quickly noticed something was off.
The refs' earlier permissiveness had emboldened their defense. But when the standards suddenly changed, the Ducks were in trouble.
In just three minutes, Oregon picked up three quick fouls.
These whistles couldn't quell the Bruins fans' fury—UCLA wasn't getting free throws from these calls.
But Yuuto was absolutely clutch. He drilled three consecutive fadeaways over the defense.
Oregon had to call timeout.
But deep down, they knew today was probably over.
The technical fouls on both the head coach and star player hadn't broken UCLA's spirit—they'd actually fired them up.
Now the Bruins were playing like men possessed.
Without ref assistance, Oregon was helpless.
"Nice work! You're all the toughest men alive! Those Oregon 'ladies' can only kneel down while you stand tall!"
"Continue our defensive scheme—pack the paint, let them shoot threes, control the pace. We're not the ones who should be desperate!"
Coming out of the timeout.
Oregon emphasized half-court penetration, but UCLA's rim protection effectively limited their scoring.
By the time Oregon realized the problem and started hunting threes, their rhythm had already been destroyed in the physical battle.
Of course.
The same applied to UCLA—frequent bricks on both sides, plummeting shooting percentages. But the intensity didn't drop; the increased physicality actually made the game more exciting.
This was when Yuuto's value became even more apparent.
He drilled two more fadeaways in this slugfest—connecting at the most critical moments!
As for the Mirage Shot.
He'd abandoned it long ago—the release was too slow.
He'd use it occasionally to catch opponents off guard, but it had been supplanted by the fadeaway.
With those two mid-range buckets, the lead officially stretched to 20.
Then.
UCLA started bleeding the clock, trying to run all 30 seconds on every possession.
Oregon, trailing badly, had to speed up.
But their leading scorer Singler had gone cold at the worst time.
Yuuto's Weakness Correction was complete—like a dragnet closing around Singler.
Singler tried to force a shot, only to see Yuuto jump simultaneously.
He didn't even get the ball off before Yuuto stuffed him.
The play stunned countless viewers.
They watched Singler rise for a shot, only for the ball to get swatted before it left his hands.
The two went up together, then came down together.
"FUCK!"
"Yu read Singler completely!"
"He pressed him right back down from mid-air—like an Eastern god pinning down the Monkey King! Uh, not the Dragon Ball one!"
Singler landed with his mind completely blank.
This was absolutely humiliating!
He'd definitely make tomorrow's headlines.
Problem was, he wouldn't be the main character—just the unfortunate backdrop.
"Look at me. Now tell me—can I just stand here and take this championship?!" Yuuto sprayed spit right in his face.
On purpose.
Singler ground his teeth but could only surrender possession.
Then.
UCLA's offense continued milking the clock.
Mosely controlled the ball. Yuuto started moving off-ball with screens.
With only 7 seconds left on the shot clock, he finally curled out beyond the arc to receive the pass.
A shot fake. The panicked Singler bit hard and flew past him.
Afraid to foul—it was behind the three-point line—all Singler could do was scramble to recover without making contact.
Yuuto?
He completely dismissed the defender, glided past the arc, and attacked Oregon's paint.
Rice rotated to help, but Yuuto took off from the painted area. Rice jumped to contest—only to watch Yuuto pirouette 360 degrees in mid-air, evading the defense and finishing with grace.
"OHHHHHHH!"
"Oh my God!"
"Yu with a highlight-reel bucket! Such an elegant move!"
"360-degree spin!"
"That's a dagger to kill the game!"
This time, Steve didn't scream.
Like most of the crowd, he clutched his head in disbelief, eyes nearly popping out.
"Goodnight, Oregon. Tonight, the ugly duckling doesn't get to become a swan."
Yuuto kept the trash talk coming.
The game was essentially over. Oregon didn't have enough time to overcome a 24-point deficit.
Though most had predicted a UCLA win, nobody expected it to be this lopsided.
At least the drama had kept the ratings up.
But the petty UCLA fans weren't about to let tonight's refs off the hook.
In fact, during timeouts, they'd already gone online to file complaints about the officiating.
...
Get 20+ chapters ahead on - P.a.t.r.e.o.n "RoseWhisky"