Inside the gym, the lights were bright. The basketball glowed orange-yellow, flickering under everyone's gaze.
Akagi Takenori and Nango Koichiro leapt into the air like two towering peaks, both reaching hard for the falling ball.
Pa!
Two large hands, like giant fans, smacked the ball at the same time.
Under the force of their palms, the ball shot out like an unbridled horse, whizzing away.
At Shohoku's bench—
Everyone watching jumped in surprise.
It was evenly matched.
Ishii Kentaro's eyes widened. "That number 15 on the other side—he's a first-year, right?!"
Sasaoka Tomoya added, "Didn't expect him to jump that high."
…
Back on court—
The deflected ball bounced toward Tsukubu's side.
In a flash, it landed in Natsume Hiroshi's hands.
Miyagi Ryota charged up fast, arms wide like a moving wall, blocking his way.
Natsume smirked. He suddenly feinted, raised the ball high like he was about to pass.
Miyagi reacted instantly, but before he could move, Natsume pulled the ball back and spun behind his back. He completely faked Miyagi out, then followed up with another behind-the-back dribble to drive forward.
Miyagi lost position, stumbling, and could only watch as Natsume drove toward Shohoku's paint.
Rukawa Kaede took off like the wind, closing in fast and applying pressure.
As soon as Rukawa cut in front of him, Natsume didn't stop. His hands moved like magic, flinging the ball sideways in a sharp pass right to Nango Koichiro.
Nango caught it, dribbled straight into Shohoku's key, yelling loudly, "Outta the way, outta the way! Watch me!"
"Don't get cocky, brat." Akagi stuck close, not giving an inch.
As soon as they reached the basket, Nango sprang up like he had springs in his shoes, aiming to shoot.
Akagi jumped too, matching his timing. His palm whooshed through the air and smacked down hard.
Pa!
A dull sound rang out.
Akagi completely stuffed Nango's shot.
But the ball bounced out and ended up back in Natsume Hiroshi's hands.
Natsume reacted fast. Without even looking, seeing Rukawa approaching, he spun and made a behind-the-back pass straight to Tsukubu's power forward, Mine Kenta.
Mine caught it, used Natsume's screen, and lobbed it backward again—this time to their captain, Godai Tomokazu.
Godai was wide open with no one in front of him, a perfect shot window.
Without hesitation, he raised the ball, jumped, and let it fly.
The ball drew a rainbow arc through the air, then dropped cleanly through Shohoku's net.
Swish!
Nothing but net.
Score: Shohoku 0, Tsukubu 3.
Tsukubu scored first.
Instantly, the Tsukubu cheering section exploded like a tidal wave.
"Tsukubu! Tsukubu! Tsukubu!"
…
At Shohoku's bench—
"Damn, that was fast. Their coordination's insane," Yasuda Yasuharu exclaimed.
Shiozaki Tetsushi's face turned serious. "They dodged Rukawa and Miyagi like it was nothing."
Ayako was stunned too. "Even though most of Tsukubu's players are short, their speed is crazy. Their offense is quick and super well coordinated."
Coach Anzai nodded beside her. "Mm. They're a solid team."
Then Shimizu Kanon spoke up. "Tsukubu's weakness is obvious—height. Their playstyle might catch us off guard at the start, but the longer the game goes, the more their stamina will drop. Sure, that's true for us too, but…"
She looked toward Aoi Kunisaku on the court, thinking to herself, "If they can't stop Saku-chan, then no amount of teamwork is going to save them."
…
Akagi's sharp eyes swept over the court, quickly scanning for positions.
Just as he was about to pass to Aoi, two figures jumped out beside him—it was Nango Koichiro and Mine Kenta.
Nango grinned. "I'm not letting you touch the ball. With me here, forget about it."
A double-team on Aoi right from the start?
Everyone on Shohoku—and even the crowd—was floored. No one expected Tsukubu to be this wary of Aoi.
Akagi saw the pass wasn't open, so he quickly tossed the ball to Miyagi Ryota.
Miyagi dashed forward with the ball like a gust of wind.
But just past half-court, Natsume Hiroshi popped up like a phantom and blocked his path.
Miyagi faked left, feinted right, trying everything, but Natsume stuck to him like glue. He couldn't shake him.
With no choice, Miyagi spotted a flash of red from the corner of his eye and swung a pass.
But Natsume struck fast, reached out, and just managed to graze the ball with his fingertips.
The ball was tipped—intercepted—and it fell neatly into Tsukubu's hands.
Mine Kenta appeared out of nowhere and caught the tipped ball cleanly.
Before Miyagi could react, Mine bounced the ball between his legs and aimed it right under him.
The ball hit the floor, popped back up through Miyagi's legs, and landed right back in Natsume Hiroshi's hands.
Natsume Hiroshi took the chance to make a long pass. The basketball drew a wide arc through the air and landed right in Nango Koichiro's hands.
Nango Koichiro caught it mid-air and went straight into a smooth three-step layup.
Swish. The ball dropped cleanly through the net.
Shohoku 0–5 Tsukubu.
Shohoku had to inbound again.
Aoi Kunisaku was still double-teamed and couldn't get the ball at all.
Rukawa Kaede was locked down, too.
This time, Akagi Takenori passed to Mitsui Hisashi.
Mitsui caught the ball and took off like an arrow, dribbling forward. He broke through two defenders and charged all the way to just outside Tsukubu's three-point line.
He jumped, aimed, and was about to shoot a three.
But suddenly, a shadow appeared—it was Godai Tomokazu.
He stretched his arm high like a wall of darkness, cutting off Mitsui's shot path.
Then he swatted hard.
Smack—
The basketball flew off to the side.
Mine Kenta was quick on his feet, caught the ball solidly, then sent a behind-the-back pass right to Natsume Hiroshi.
Natsume dribbled fast, pushing deep into Shohoku's side.
But just before entering the key, he suddenly stopped.
Right in front of Akagi Takenori, he spun and did a quick pass behind him, sending the ball to the approaching Godai Tomokazu.
Godai took it, leapt high, and launched the shot.
Whoosh—
It sailed clean through the air and swished into Shohoku's net again.
Shohoku 0–8 Tsukubu.
…
Aida Yayoi stared at the scoreboard in shock. "I didn't expect Tsukubu to take control right from the start. When Shohoku focuses on their center, Godai gets those open three-point looks. What will Shohoku do?"
At Ryonan's seats…
Aida Hikoichi looked at the 0–8 score, dumbfounded. "Shohoku hasn't scored a single point! What's going on? Rukawa Kaede and Aoi Kunisaku both look totally locked down."
Koshino Hiroaki added, "Tsukubu's center isn't simple. He's pulling Akagi's attention completely."
Ikegami Ryoji followed up, "Tsukubu cut off Aoi Kunisaku from the start. They're clearly making sure he doesn't get any easy touches."
Sendoh Akira said nothing as he watched Aoi Kunisaku from the stands.
He didn't believe for a second that two players could really shut Aoi down.
On the other side…
Hanagata Toru analyzed the court. "Tsukubu's inside and outside game works well together. If Shohoku keeps letting them score like this, they'll fall behind fast."
Fujima Kenji's eyes were sharp. "Shohoku has three who can turn things around: Rukawa Kaede, Mitsui Hisashi, and Aoi Kunisaku. We don't know exactly how strong Aoi is yet. But Tsukubu probably can't lock down all three."
…
As if to prove Fujima's words, Shohoku got the ball back.
This time, the one to make the move wasn't Aoi Kunisaku, but Rukawa Kaede.
Rukawa faked, shook his defender, and broke free to receive the pass.
He took the ball like a whirlwind, charging toward Tsukubu's basket.
Izumi Takashi tried to stop him, but Rukawa's moves were too sharp. He twisted past him like an eel, slipping through clean.
He stepped into the paint and jumped high for a shot.
Nango Koichiro rushed over and went up to block.
Everyone thought Rukawa's shot would get blocked.
But in mid-air, Rukawa suddenly pulled his shooting hand back, twisted, and tossed the ball to the side behind him.
Nango's face froze in surprise.
Then a figure stepped in and grabbed the pass.
It was none other than Akagi Takenori.
Akagi gathered the ball, planted hard, and leapt up like a furious forest king, slamming the ball into the basket.
Clang—
The ball went in.
Shohoku 2–8 Tsukubu.
Shohoku finally broke their scoring drought.
"No big deal. We'll get that one back," Godai Tomokazu clapped and encouraged his teammates.
"Yes!" Tsukubu's players answered in unison, full of energy.
Heh…
Aoi Kunisaku let out a cold chuckle. "So this is a top-eight team? What a joke."
His voice wasn't loud, but it stirred the whole court like a pebble dropped into a still pond. Both Shohoku and Tsukubu's players heard it clearly. Even some in the crowd caught bits of it.
"What did he say?"
"Shohoku's the one behind. Is he just talking big?"
"Maybe he's just given up after falling behind?"
…
The crowd buzzed, thinking Aoi might just be bluffing.
Nango Koichiro stared at him with a smug grin and taunted, "What are you even saying? We're in the lead. We've totally shut you down. You can't do anything, right?"
"Huh? What a joke," Aoi's face was pure disdain.
He looked up at the Tsukubu players and said, "Shut me down? You guys?"
Then he turned away, ignored them, and walked back toward his basket.
He called out to Akagi Takenori, "Don't worry about them. Just pass it to me."