Chapter One Hundred Five: Can't Mess Up My Shooting Touch
Halftime ended.
[Ryonan 46 - Shutoku 49]
After entering the second quarter, both teams' offensive efficiency improved significantly.
The key factor was the scoring explosion from the two aces who'd been relatively quiet in the first quarter—Yagami Sorato and Midorima Shintaro.
Behind his teammates' screens, Midorima demonstrated the terrifying firepower of the "Generation of Miracles," hitting all five of his three-point attempts for fifteen points in the quarter alone, giving him eighteen at the half.
Yagami responded with fierce determination, going six-for-six from the field in the second quarter including two three-pointers—perfect efficiency—adding fourteen points in the period for seventeen at halftime.
With both players trading blows, the game had reached white-hot intensity.
---
Halftime concluded. The second half officially began.
Neither coach adjusted their rotations, continuing with the lineups from the end of the second quarter.
Ryonan's possession.
Sendoh calmly advanced the ball to the top of Shutoku's three-point arc.
The moment Miyaji stepped up to apply pressure, Sendoh signaled. Ikegami understood immediately, quickly stepping up to set a solid pick-and-roll.
Shutoku's defense was forced to switch. Takao once again found himself exposed before Sendoh.
Sendoh used the opportunity to create space on the right wing. Takao reacted with excellent speed, leveraging his quickness to stay glued to Sendoh, preventing an easy first step.
Sendoh remained unhurried. Using his height advantage, he first used his off-arm to create slight separation, then with Takao as his pivot, executed a quick, fluid spin move that left his defender behind as he attacked the rim!
Kimura immediately abandoned his assignment, collapsing inside. Otsubo had already shifted over preemptively. Together with Kimura, they constructed a two-man wall, blocking the path between Sendoh and the basket.
"Excellent defensive choice." Sendoh's expression sharpened, silently praising them. "Not only blocking my driving lane but also cutting off the passing angle to Uozumi-senpai."
Uozumi hadn't made particularly impressive plays inside this game, largely due to the mutual consumption and limitation between him and Otsubo.
Koshino relocated to the wing for an outlet. Sendoh only used his eyes to manipulate Shutoku's defense. His hands showed no hesitation, lofting the ball high.
The basketball traced an extremely high arc through the air, clearing the wall formed by Kimura and Otsubo, dropping cleanly through the net!
Two points.
[Ryonan 48 - Shutoku 49]
---
Change of possession. Shutoku's offense.
Takao advanced to the frontcourt, cleverly utilizing Midorima's up-screen to fake a hand-off pass convincingly. Instead, his wrist flicked, finding the open Miyaji on the right wing.
After catching the ball, Miyaji didn't pause. He quickly swung it to Kimura in the corner, then cut like a blade toward the basket himself.
Kimura understood perfectly. A precise bounce pass back, and Miyaji rose smoothly, finishing with a soft floater.
[Ryonan 48 - Shutoku 51]
"Let's see who gets destroyed first!" After scoring, Miyaji shot Sendoh a provocative glance.
---
Change of possession. Ryonan's offense.
Sendoh's interest was clearly piqued. He raised his hand, signaling for space—he wanted to isolate Miyaji.
Miyaji maintained distance from Sendoh, his palm hovering before him.
Sendoh lowered his body, dropping his center of gravity. After using continuous rhythm changes to rock Miyaji's balance, he again used a fluid spin move to slice directly into the paint.
Shutoku's interior had prepared. Otsubo and Kimura instantly formed a trap, like two doors slamming shut, sealing Sendoh's path to the rim.
Miyaji spun to pursue.
Triple team!
Sendoh remained calm under pressure. The instant before the trap closed, he kicked the ball to the open Koshino in the right corner.
Koshino caught it, rising for the long two!
"CLANG!"
The ball ricocheted off the rim.
"Rebound!"
Otsubo spun quickly, battling Uozumi for the board. Uozumi leveraged his height and positioning advantage, tipping the ball out first.
Sendoh secured the loose ball. Kimura immediately pressured him. Sendoh executed a slick pull-back, protecting the ball to his side, avoiding the first swipe.
"Sendoh, watch out!" Ikegami warned.
Miyaji appeared ghost-like from the wing. While Sendoh's attention remained on Kimura, Miyaji struck, slapping the ball away!
"Fast break!!"
Shutoku immediately launched the counter.
Takao and Midorima broke left and right. After the steal, Miyaji showed no hesitation, firing a long outlet pass.
Takao caught it, using a slick behind-the-back dribble to blow past the pursuing Ikegami. Before him stretched open court—Ryonan's undefended basket.
Just as he prepared to lay it in, intense pressure surged from behind!
Yagami! He'd sprinted from the opposite end of the court at full speed. Now airborne, his massive hand loomed over the rim.
"I thought you'd stick with Shin-chan the whole time." Though Takao said this, the corner of his mouth showed an unsurprised smile.
For him, assisting Midorima's three-pointer was far more exciting than scoring these two points himself!
"Swish!"
Takao whipped the ball backward—since Yagami had appeared at the rim, Midorima must be open!
A quick glance confirmed Midorima positioned on the wing beyond the arc, ready to catch and shoot.
However, one figure moved faster than his pass!
"I was certain from the start that you'd choose to pass." Yagami's voice reached Takao's ears.
Sendoh had pursued the passing lane!
The momentum reversed instantly!
Sendoh's steal succeeded. Midorima immediately applied tight pressure, attempting to delay the fast break. But Sendoh's court vision was expansive. Ignoring the body contact, he fired a high lob toward midcourt.
Yagami had already crossed halfcourt, leaping to secure the ball cleanly mid-air. Miyaji happened to be near the center circle, quickly sliding over to block his path.
After catching the ball, Yagami adjusted with one step, already approaching the three-point line. He gathered as if to shoot, his eyes looking toward the right corner—a convincing pass fake that instantly shifted Miyaji's center of gravity.
"Perfect timing!"
Yagami stepped back to create space, rising beyond the arc!
"CLANG!"
Unfortunately, a crisp clang rang out. The ball crashed off the front iron, bouncing away.
"Rebound!"
Uozumi roared, battling Otsubo physically. After most of this game, Uozumi had fully realized how difficult his opponent was.
"But it doesn't matter! Stats mean nothing—victory is everything!"
Under the double-team from Otsubo and Kimura, Uozumi leaped with everything he had. Though unable to control the rebound directly, he stubbornly tipped the ball back out toward the perimeter!
Koshino caught it, took a deep breath to adjust, and buried the mid-range jumper!
[Ryonan 50 - Shutoku 51]
"Damn it!" Takao had barely crossed halfcourt, frustration written across his face.
That had been a golden defensive opportunity. They could have extended the lead beyond five points, only to see it vanish in an instant.
On the sideline, Coach Nakatani stood with arms crossed, brow furrowed.
"Is it because Midorima's second-quarter dominance was too strong, forcing them to adjust their defensive focus to prepare for traps?" He thought quickly, then dismissed the idea. "No, not quite a trap yet. Just these two players' natural chemistry, completing efficient defensive collaboration instinctively."
"The problem is Takao... He understands Midorima's value too clearly. At critical moments, his passing intent becomes too obvious, completely read by opponents."
Reaching this conclusion, Coach Nakatani hesitated no longer. He strode to the sideline, calling out loudly: "Otsubo!"
Shutoku's captain looked over. Coach Nakatani decisively made a clear gesture—shift the offensive focus inside!
Otsubo nodded heavily, acknowledging the instruction.
---
Change of possession. Shutoku's offense.
Midorima continued his active movement, trying to find receiving opportunities through screens despite Yagami's tight defense.
However, the ball didn't go to the perimeter. Otsubo raised his hand in the low post. Takao understood immediately, delivering a precise lob inside.
Otsubo caught it, dropping his shoulder to generate force, backing into his defender—as expected, Uozumi didn't budge.
Otsubo had anticipated this. He cleverly used the contact's counter-force, pivoting quickly off his left foot in a clean spin, rising immediately!
His movement proved unexpectedly fluid. His massive frame maintained balance mid-air, his wrist softly guiding the ball out.
"Swish!"
The ball dropped through clean. Two points!
[Ryonan 50 - Shutoku 53]
Shutoku relied on steady interior play to maintain their narrow advantage.
"Hmph." A dull sound escaped Uozumi's nostrils.
Shutoku's center was the first truly equal opponent he'd faced in these regional qualifiers. Otsubo gave him the feeling of a slightly weaker but more technically refined Akagi Takenori.
This kind of solid, physical battle in the paint actually stirred a sense of mutual respect between worthy opponents.
---
Change of possession. Ryonan's offense.
Sendoh held the ball at the top. Yagami circled from behind. The instant the screen formed, Sendoh executed the hand-off.
Midorima got caught on Sendoh's screen. Miyaji reacted quickly, immediately switching, refusing to give Yagami any shooting space.
But his defense was too tight. Yagami exploded past him, slicing into the paint.
Takao decisively abandoned the low-percentage shooter Ikegami, stepping up to trap.
At that moment, Sendoh cut from the left. Without hesitation, Ikegami screened the pursuing Midorima, smoothly executing another hand-off to transfer the ball.
After receiving the pass, Sendoh rose for an open three!
"Swish!"
Nothing but net!
[Ryonan 53 - Shutoku 53]
Tied game!
Midorima's brow furrowed. The situation before him only reinforced his thinking: only by relying on three-pointers could they reclaim and solidify the lead.
---
Change of possession. Shutoku's offense.
Rather than expend stamina on constant movement, Midorima would invest it entirely in maintaining shooting stability.
He received the ball beyond the arc, no unnecessary fakes. A direct step-back created minimal space, then he rose for the pull-up!
Yagami closed out perfectly, his fingertips once again nearly grazing the ball's underside.
"CLANK!"
An unclean rattle rang out. The ball hit the back iron but still dropped through the net.
[Ryonan 53 - Shutoku 56]
"His shooting style creates so much pressure..." A spectator in the stands clutched his chest, struggling to speak.
"Completely unreasonable!" His companion picked up the thought, helplessness in his tone. "Totally ignoring defensive effort. No matter who's in front, no matter the distance, as long as he wants to shoot, there's a huge chance it goes in. This style crushes defensive morale!"
"Putting myself in Ryonan's shoes—every time the team builds momentum, finally tying or taking the lead, Midorima immediately answers with a three-pointer, instantly extinguishing that spark. Just thinking about it feels suffocating."
The atmosphere on the court grew somewhat oppressive. Though the gap hadn't widened, the momentum seemed to have completely shifted toward Shutoku.
---
Yagami scored against defensive pressure.
[Ryonan 55 - Shutoku 56]
---
Change of possession. Shutoku's offense.
After several passes, the ball again reached Midorima's hands.
After catching it, Midorima quickly stepped back to create space.
For him, distance from the basket wasn't the issue. All he needed was that instant when his shooting motion wouldn't face direct interference from Yagami's contest.
Midorima bent his knees, gathered the ball, his hands like executing a fixed program, beginning to raise it upward—
"SLAP!"
An extremely crisp striking sound rang out!
Yagami had timed Midorima's gathering motion perfectly. His right hand shot out, precisely slapping the ball from his hands!
"???"
Midorima's pupils constricted sharply. The empty feeling in his hands left him momentarily stunned.
"What?!" The entire arena simultaneously erupted with disbelieving exclamations!
Yagami showed no pause. Scooping up the ball he'd knocked away, he instantly exploded, accelerating to maximum speed, charging alone toward Shutoku's half!
Midorima pursued at full sprint. Only he could make up for this mistake.
Yagami stepped one pace inside the free-throw line, launching himself skyward with maximum effort. His ears filled with rushing wind and the urgent sound of pursuing footsteps.
Just as Yagami was about to complete a thunderous dunk, Midorima arrived from behind, leaping with everything he had, reaching toward the ball in Yagami's hands!
In that critical instant, Yagami demonstrated incredible core strength and body control. Mid-air, he showed obvious hang time and contortion, pulling the ball back, cleverly avoiding Midorima's blocking range. Then his wrist flicked, softly floating the ball from the backboard's opposite side toward the rim.
"Swish!"
He finished with a smooth reverse layup!
[Ryonan 57 - Shutoku 56]
"Don't worry, I won't dunk." After landing, Yagami looked at the serious-faced Midorima, his expression showing an open smile. "After all, I still need to compete with you in three-pointers."
"That kind of overly aggressive finishing method might mess up my shooting touch afterward. That wouldn't be good."
Sometimes, an excessively standard, textbook-perfect shooting form, while bringing extremely high stability, could also become an invisible constraint. From another perspective, this often meant lacking adaptability and adjustment ability under defensive pressure.
Midorima relied precisely on his mechanically stable shooting form to maintain his absurdly high accuracy, ensuring every shot remained as calm and precise as on an empty training court.
But this was difficult to achieve in actual games.
As opponents continuously elevated defensive pressure, and as personal stamina steadily depleted, barring extremely special circumstances, declining shooting percentage was the norm for players.
And now—
"I've completely mastered your shooting rhythm, Midorima Shintaro!"
Yagami's gaze locked onto Midorima's retreating back like a hunter fixing on prey.