Chapter 142: Three Minutes!
The second half began with Sannoh's possession.
"Sawakita, show me." Coach Domoto Goro interlaced his fingers, focusing intently on the players from both teams. "Three minutes. Reverse the score!"
"Whoosh!"
The ball reached Sawakita Eiji's hands. Yagami Sorato stepped forward with tight defense.
"Hey, I accept your challenge." Sawakita crouched into his dribble stance at the three-point line, his speed accelerating. "And I'm returning it threefold!"
"Bang!"
The instant the ball bounced up, Sawakita had already blown past half of Yagami's body.
"He beat him again!! What a fast first step!"
Yagami's pupils contracted. This long-lost feeling—it was like facing Aomine Daiki.
But it was also slightly different.
Aomine's speed came from his zero-to-one-hundred acceleration, executing ordinary movements as if they were fast-forwarded. But Sawakita simplified complexity. When he attacked, there were only necessary movements, not a single wasted motion!
Sprint.
Shoot.
"Not losing again!"
Yagami clenched his teeth and the instant he predicted the drive direction, slid over quickly.
"Can't keep up?!!"
Sawakita's first step wasn't just fast—his stride was longer than usual!
"Oh?!"
Sawakita noticed Yagami's reaction with slight surprise. He lowered his center of gravity again, driving toward the paint.
"Damn it!" Yagami spun around. All he could see was his opponent's back.
Fukuda Kicchou came up to challenge, but Sawakita deceived him easily with a shoulder fake before rising for the floater.
"Swish!"
The ball dropped cleanly through.
Ryonan 53, Sannoh Industrial 49.
The deficit shrank to four points.
After landing, Sawakita glanced meaningfully at Yagami Sorato before turning to get back on defense.
Possession changed. Ryonan on offense.
Sendoh Akira pushed the ball up. Fukatsu Kazunari switched onto him again.
Sawakita Eiji guarded Yagami Sorato. Kawata Masashi boxed out Uozumi Jun under the basket. Only one thing differed from Coach Taoka's prediction—Ichinokura Satoshi was defending Fukuda Kicchou.
"In that case, Nobe Masahiro will be drawn out near the free throw area by Ikegami Ryoji, and actually the paint will favor Ryonan!"
Sendoh passed the ball inside to Uozumi Jun, testing with a probe.
Uozumi posted up with his back to the basket, pushing backward. No movement. Next he tried using footwork, leaning on Kawata Masashi and half-spinning inside, but his opponent's lateral quickness was faster, cutting off the turn.
"As expected, it won't work?"
Sendoh cut into the paint at just the right moment. Uozumi made the sharp read and passed back out.
"Great pass! Uozumi's playmaking is getting more fluid!" Akagi Takenori nodded from the stands. If it were him, he'd make the same choice.
However, the instant Sendoh caught the ball, Kawata Masashi burst out from the paint to help, and Fukatsu Kazunari arrived simultaneously from his pursuit—double team!
"Trouble!"
Sendoh, trying to finish the possession, was completely trapped before he could transfer the ball.
"Sendoh! Five seconds!"
Ikegami Ryoji rushed up to receive.
Sendoh faked a bounce pass to Ikegami, but actually pulled the ball back and lobbed it high to Uozumi, who had open space under the basket!
"Smack!"
Kawata Masashi leaped and secured the ball cleanly!
"!!!"
"He read it?!" Sendoh didn't have time for second thoughts, immediately sprinting back on defense toward Ryonan's end.
But Yagami Sorato and Sawakita Eiji were faster, already charging past halfcourt shoulder to shoulder.
Fukatsu Kazunari trailed behind them, caught Kawata Masashi's outlet pass and attacked the rim for an easy two.
"Sawakita, don't hog all the glory."
Ryonan 53, Sannoh Industrial 51.
The gap had closed to two points!
"Sorry, that was on me." Sendoh only now made it back under the basket.
"No, it was me—" Uozumi Jun said in a low voice. Just now, Kawata Masashi had clearly read his intention to pass back out, which is why he'd been able to trap Sendoh so quickly.
"Let's just get a solid bucket!" Sendoh cut off Uozumi's self-blame, rallying his teammates. "Don't let them catch up!"
"Right!!"
Ryonan inbounded again. After Sendoh crossed halfcourt, Ikegami Ryoji quickly came up to set a screen.
Although Ryonan's pick-and-roll had been successfully defended by Sannoh in the first quarter, this time Sendoh came prepared, shooting much more quickly after curling off the screen.
"Whoosh!"
"Swish!"
Long two-pointer good!
Ryonan 55, Sannoh Industrial 51.
"That's Sendoh for you!"
"Let's go Ryonan! Let's go Ryonan!"
"If we can't contain Sendoh and Yagami and let Ryonan establish their rhythm, this will get troublesome." Fukatsu Kazunari told his teammates.
"Kawata, Sawakita, you two need to apply stronger pressure."
"..." Kawata Masashi considered this.
"I'll crush them all!" Sawakita Eiji shouted.
"Hmm. I think you look more like a first-year than Yagami." Kawata Masashi said slowly.
"Yeah, Sawakita's performance today has been pretty stupid. Not nearly as impressive as that first-year on the other side." Fukatsu agreed.
"Hmph, say whatever you want." Sawakita turned back, speaking seriously. "Fukatsu-senpai, leave all the shots to me from now on!"
"We'll see how you perform." Fukatsu didn't immediately agree. He'd noticed that only at times like this did Sawakita remember to call him "senpai."
Possession changed. Sannoh on offense.
Fukatsu's push was fast. When Sendoh Akira cut him off, he passed without hesitation to the right side.
Sawakita Eiji caught it, facing Yagami Sorato's defense.
He didn't make any fakes. Didn't even dribble. A full meter beyond the three-point line, the instant he caught the ball he pulled up for a dry jumper!
"Tch."
Yagami Sorato, still processing how to handle Sawakita's drives, jumped forward with maximum effort to contest, but couldn't get there in time.
"Swish!"
Three-pointer good!
Ryonan 55, Sannoh Industrial 54.
The deficit down to one point!!
Possession changed. Ryonan on offense.
"Why aren't you coming at me on offense?" Sawakita Eiji couldn't help but taunt Yagami Sorato. "You don't seem like someone who'd play it safe."
Sendoh Akira held the ball at the left wing, surveying his teammates' movement. Yagami Sorato made no gesture to call for it.
"It shouldn't be that you're scared of me." Once Sawakita's mouth started, it wouldn't stop. "Are you trying to conserve energy for defense?"
"Or have you given up on playing one-on-one and decided to try working with teammates instead?"
"Either way, a mere first-year could never be a match for me, Sawakita Eiji."
Sendoh Akira used consecutive hesitation dribbles to penetrate inside again, but Fukatsu Kazunari stayed glued to him, giving no shooting space.
Seeing his position being forced toward the baseline, Sendoh made a cross-court pass, swinging it to Fukuda Kicchou in the right corner.
Ichinokura Satoshi's speed was extreme—he nearly stole it.
Unable to break through Ichinokura's blockade, Fukuda had no choice but to use his height advantage and force up a contested shot!
"Clang!"
The ball clanged off the rim.
"Rebound!!"
Uozumi Jun and Kawata Masashi battled under the basket. Yagami Sorato crashed in too, but was immediately boxed out by both Nobe Masahiro and Sawakita Eiji.
"I already knew you'd do that!"
"Smack!"
Uozumi Jun used his slight wingspan advantage to tip the ball out.
Fukuda Kicchou fought for the loose ball, but the taller Nobe Masahiro interfered, slapping it away.
"Let's go Sannoh!!"
"Ryonan! Push through!!"
The crowd's energy was ignited by the physical battle in the paint.
Ikegami Ryoji controlled the ball, completely unguarded!
"Ikegami!"
Ikegami composed himself slightly. In crucial moments, his shot had never missed!
"Whoosh!"
The ball's arc was beautiful.
"Smack!"
But Kawata Masashi swatted it away with authority!
The whistle blew.
The ball flew out of bounds.
"Ryonan ball!"
"Ah, so close!"
"Kawata, great block!!"
"Just defend this possession and we're ahead!!"
On the sideline, Coach Domoto instinctively checked the time. The pace of the third quarter was considerably faster. Only two and a half minutes had passed—plenty of time within three minutes to complete the comeback!
Ryonan inbounded from the sideline. Eight seconds left on the shot clock.
Sendoh Akira received the ball, posting up against Fukatsu Kazunari with his back, lowering his center of gravity before using his weight advantage to back down toward the paint.
"He wants to post up? But that not only drains stamina, and there's no time for him to establish position!" Fukatsu felt Sendoh's force, silently preparing.
"Bang!"
Using his left foot as the pivot, Sendoh backed Fukatsu off then spun quickly, raising the ball.
"Just as I thought—fadeaway!" Fukatsu wasn't surprised. With only three seconds left on the shot clock, Sendoh had no other options!
"Whoosh!"
Sendoh tossed the ball gently, clearly not a shot!
"???"
The ball sailed over Fukatsu. Sendoh exploded forward, shaking off the lunging Fukatsu in one step. He caught his own pass, but Kawata Masashi had already rotated over.
"Bang!"
Sendoh gathered and rose, colliding with the stationary Kawata who had his hands raised high. Yet Sendoh's hands showed no waver, smoothly releasing the shot.
"Swish!"
Nothing but net!
Ryonan 57, Sannoh Industrial 54.
Sendoh Akira used a contested finish to deny Sannoh Industrial's comeback!
"Foul! That's an offensive foul!" Coach Domoto Goro shouted from the sideline.
"He'd already started his shooting motion. Legal contact." The referee had his own judgment, explaining briefly to the bench before saying nothing more.
Possession changed. Sannoh on offense.
"Are you expecting me to pass to Sorato so he can go one-on-one with Sawakita?" Sendoh asked while pressing Fukatsu on defense.
"Doesn't matter to me." Fukatsu showed no distraction from the previous play, nor did he intend to answer Sendoh's question.
"Heh, I'll give you what you want." Sendoh smiled. "Sorato will grow rapidly right before your eyes."
"Is that so?"
Fukatsu's expression remained unchanged as he passed directly to Sawakita Eiji.
"I'm really happy I got to meet someone like you before heading to America." Sawakita dribbled between his legs continuously, in no rush to attack.
"And those Generation of Miracles guys. That Murasakibara Atsushi I ran into before was interesting too."
"Honestly, I'm kind of going to miss you all."
Yagami Sorato tried to press up and force a mistake, but Sawakita protected the ball while backing away, creating separation.
"Don't rush."
"I figured out a long time ago what I wanted to accomplish in this national tournament." Sawakita made an expression as if he'd finally reached a conclusion after agonizing deliberation.
"For the sake of Sannoh, before I leave for America, I'm going to crush you young shoots—"
"Every last one of you!"
"You sure talk a lot." For the first time, Yagami Sorato's calm expression showed a change—a long-suppressed excitement slowly revealing itself.
"I don't care about Sannoh or America or any of that."
"Sawakita, I'm going to surpass you!"
"Then try it!" Sawakita suddenly exploded into a massive between-the-legs crossover.
Yagami successfully read it, quickly sliding to cut him off.
"Bang!"
Sawakita yanked the ball behind his back, smoothly flowing into a behind-the-back dribble before attacking from the other side.
Yagami's feet reset with a light hop, his body sliding hard to the right again.
"Bang!"
Their bodies made slight contact. Sawakita retreated while raising the ball.
"!!!"
"Whoosh!"
In that split-second of space, Sawakita got his shot off!
"Swish!"
Three-pointer good again!
Ryonan 57, Sannoh Industrial 57.
Sannoh Industrial had tied the score!!!
"Whoa!! Sawakita's going all out!!"
"We've been waiting so long for this, Sawakita!!"
"Super ace!!"
"When it matters most, it's still Sawakita!! Close this game out!!"
"In one-on-one technical skill, no one in Japan can match Sawakita." Coach Domoto showed satisfaction on the sideline. "Not high schoolers, not—not even college players can necessarily beat him..."
"Eiji Eiji nice job!!"
"Eiji Eiji nice job!!"
On the sideline, Sawakita's father could no longer contain himself, throwing his arms up in celebration.
Just tying the score, yet the arena had returned to the very beginning of the game—only cheers for Sannoh could be heard.
"That Yagami Sorato kid, and that Aomine Daiki from Tokyo—they're both a lot like you, Eiji." Sawakita Tetsuji's gaze focused on the two confronting figures on the court.
"If they keep growing, they'll definitely become your rivals in the future."
"So better to beat them early and carve the mark of 'Sawakita is unbeatable' into their hearts."
Possession changed. Ryonan on offense.
After Sendoh Akira dribbled past halfcourt, Yagami Sorato suddenly made a move that surprised everyone—he called for the ball while signaling everyone to clear out.
"Here it comes?" Sawakita Eiji asked impatiently.
Yagami Sorato didn't answer.
"That kid's got guts," Fukatsu Kazunari said to Sendoh Akira. "But I think he might also have lost his head."
"Heh, he'd never do that." Sendoh passed the ball to the right wing without hesitation.
Yagami Sorato caught it, his gaze calm.
"You sure you want to go one-on-one?" Sawakita Eiji's expression turned strange. "Honestly, I figured you'd use the threat of passing to create an advantage first—"
"Bang!"
Before Sawakita finished speaking, Yagami's center of gravity dropped sharply. His first step exploded out, attacking hard to the left!
"Sneak attack!!"
Sawakita was just being talkative—his focus hadn't slipped at all. He slid over quickly to cut him off.
Even with Yagami Sorato's first-step explosiveness at its peak, he still couldn't shake free. Their bodies collided violently.
"Bang!"
Yagami didn't stop. He muscled out half a body length, though his own balance wavered too.
"That move?!"
Sawakita remembered the miracle shot Yagami had hit in the first quarter from exactly this position! Though that kind of bucket was pure luck—he didn't believe Yagami could make it twice.
But still—
"I won't let you shoot!"
Sawakita first stepped back, then pushed off hard, his body lunging toward Yagami's shooting hand!
"Bang!"
Yagami switched the ball from right hand to left, then planted his right hand on the floor, forcibly stabilizing his off-balance center of gravity. Next, he seemed to stumble backward, but his form grew increasingly stable.
"This guy!"
Sawakita realized he'd been deceived and immediately steadied his center, lunging forward.
And throughout this entire sequence, Yagami Sorato had kept his eyes locked on Sannoh's rim, never once looking at the basketball in his hands.
"Thump!"
Yagami jumped backward, smoothly raising the ball with both hands.
"That's—Eiji's gather from just now!!" Sawakita Tetsuji's eyes widened.
"Whoosh!"
The basketball launched from in front of Sawakita Eiji, tracing a perfect arc through the air.
"Swish!"
Nothing but net!
Ryonan 59, Sannoh Industrial 57.