Chapter Seventeen: What's He Doing?!
Fortunately, no players were injured, though Sakuragi's reckless play earned Ryonan two free throws.
Only problem—Uozumi's free throw shooting was absolutely abysmal.
Missed both.
Akagi Takenori secured the rebound. Shohoku reorganized their offense.
"Don't rush! Just focus on getting one bucket first!"
"YES!"
With Kogure Kiminobu handling the ball, Shohoku's advance became more stable. At five-ten, Kogure also held a size advantage over the five-seven Uekusa Tomoyuki.
However, Kogure lacked any penetration ability.
He stood at the top of the arc with the ball, contemplating Shohoku's biggest problem—who could help the team get their first points?
"GIVE ME THE BALL!"
"KOGURE!"
"FOUR-EYES!"
Rukawa, Akagi, and Sakuragi all demanded it simultaneously.
After brief hesitation, Kogure chose to lob it inside to Akagi Takenori.
"I won't let you score, Akagi!" Uozumi growled, using his body to seal position without yielding an inch.
"Then try stopping me!" Akagi powered up for a post move, but Uozumi's defense proved immovable—several attempts to back him down went nowhere!
As the shot clock wound down, Akagi spun right for a forced hook shot!
Uozumi timed his contest perfectly, elevating to disrupt.
CLANG!
The ball hammered off the back iron and bounced away!
"REBOUND!" Both Akagi and Uozumi shouted, battling for position in the paint, neutralizing each other.
"IT'S MINE!"
Sakuragi exploded from their flank with shocking burst, outleaping both giants to snatch the offensive board above their heads!
"How'd he get there?!" Coach Taoka roared. "IKEGAMI! STAY ON HIM! DON'T LOSE FOCUS!"
"YES SIR!"
"SAKURAGI!" Kogure shouted.
The instant Sakuragi landed with the rebound, he didn't hesitate. Seeing Ikegami closing to help, he immediately kicked it out.
Kogure caught and fired. The three-pointer swished home!
Ryonan 11 - 3 Shohoku
"IT WENT IN!"
"SHOHOKU FINALLY SCORED!"
"Great pass, Sakuragi!"
"Nice shot, Four-Eyes!"
"This is just the beginning! Get back on defense with energy!" Akagi bellowed.
"YES!"
Shohoku's morale surged.
Possession changed. Ryonan's ball.
After crossing half court, Uekusa fed the post to Uozumi who was calling for it.
Uozumi hadn't actually planned his attack—he simply wanted to go at Akagi head-on.
His forced shot over Akagi's defense missed, and Akagi grabbed the defensive board.
"GORILLA!"
Seeing the opportunity, Sakuragi immediately sprinted toward Ryonan's basket. Ikegami desperately chased behind but—
Couldn't keep up?!
"Why's he so fast?!"
Akagi fired the outlet. Sakuragi caught it, finally slowing down.
"BEHOLD MY GENIUS COMMONER LAYUP!"
SMACK!
Yagami swatted it away!
What kind of weird name... Ever since hearing Sakuragi give people ridiculous nicknames, Yagami had been thinking his naming sense was truly terrible...
However, the trailing Rukawa scooped up the blocked ball and rose from forty-five degrees for a mid-range jumper.
SWISH!
Nothing but net from long two-point range!
Ryonan 11 - 5 Shohoku
"RUKAWA! RUKAWA!"
"Damn it!" Ikegami couldn't believe Sakuragi had blown past him again.
"Don't panic. Take it slow."
Ryonan's players looked back—Yagami was speaking. "We're still leading. Just maintain our rhythm."
Normally in situations like this, Sendoh would calmly say something similar, and the team believed as long as Sendoh was there, Ryonan wouldn't lose.
But now, with Sendoh not even on the floor, Ryonan's players still felt reassured.
Just do your job, and Ryonan won't lose!
Possession changed. Ryonan's ball.
After calming down, Uekusa attacked Kogure head-on, then kicked it to Koshino.
Koshino used Ikegami's screen to shake Shiozaki and knocked down the two-pointer.
Ryonan 13 - 5 Shohoku
"No need to panic at all. Ryonan's roster is already stronger on paper than Shohoku's." Coach Taoka, who'd just stood up, slowly sat back down. Didn't look like he'd need to call timeout yet.
Possession switched. Shohoku attacked.
Rukawa drove hard on Yagami, then before the double team arrived from Yagami and Uozumi, kicked it out.
Kogure rose for another three.
Missed.
Akagi grabbed the offensive board and scored on a putback floater.
Ryonan 13 - 7 Shohoku
Ryonan played methodically. Uekusa advanced and fed Yagami.
Rukawa adjusted his defensive strategy, only guarding Yagami's drives and shots.
Yagami found the perfect moment to lob an alley-oop to Uozumi for the slam.
Ryonan 15 - 7 Shohoku
The score remained close. Shohoku had finally escaped the scoring drought, but now the inability to cut into the lead left them anxious and frustrated.
The reason was simple—Sendoh was still on Ryonan's bench, warming up and eager to enter.
Final minute of the first quarter. Ryonan possession.
Ryonan 21 - 15 Shohoku
"Hmm?" Yagami keenly sensed Shohoku's emotional state, lips curving into a slight smile. "You still have energy to worry about the bench?"
Before anyone could respond, he pulled up from beyond the arc without warning!
"WHAT?!"
Rukawa's reaction was lightning-fast—he flew to contest—but was still a half-beat slow.
SWISH!
The ball dropped cleanly through the net.
Ryonan 24 - 15 Shohoku
Possession changed. Shohoku, desperate to respond, moved the ball around until Kogure found an opening at the top of the key.
Uekusa jumped to contest.
The three-pointer rimmed out!
"REBOUND!"
The paint instantly became a war zone!
This time Ikegami locked down Sakuragi. Uozumi and Akagi battled for position. All four tangled in chaos!
"Only those who dominate the boards—can dominate the game!"
Amid the collision of bodies, Sakuragi's absurd vertical leap powered him above all three, ripping down the rebound with authority!
After landing, his target was clear—he immediately whipped the ball back out to Kogure.
Kogure took a deep breath, reset his rhythm, and fired again.
SWISH!
This time, the three-point dagger found its mark!
Ryonan 24 - 18 Shohoku
Ryonan quickly inbounded from the baseline. Yagami caught it and exploded into full-speed transition toward Shohoku's half.
"LIKE HELL!"
Rukawa's recovery was instant, chasing relentlessly, cutting Yagami off before he crossed the three-point line.
However.
Yagami had no intention of driving to the basket. One step beyond the arc, he stopped on a dime, gathered, and rose again!
"I SAID LIKE HELL!"
Rukawa recovered again, launching skyward with maximum effort, fingertips nearly reaching the ball—
SWISH!
Another clean splash through the net! Three-pointer good!
Ryonan 27 - 18 Shohoku
Yagami slowly lowered his shooting hand, pinching his index finger and thumb together with barely visible space between them. "That was close. Just a little bit, you know~"
Shohoku pushed the break. Rukawa forced a contested shot over Yagami's defense.
CLANG!
"REBOUND!"
The paint jammed up again. Uozumi fought to elevate, knowing grabbing the board over both Akagi and Sakuragi would be nearly impossible, so he simply tipped it out.
Uekusa alertly snagged the loose ball outside. Three seconds remained—Shohoku had no chance for offense.
"GIVE IT TO ME!"
Yagami shouted. The buzzer hadn't sounded yet—why stop attacking?
Uekusa reflexively fired the pass. Yagami caught it and, without time to adjust, heaved it from near half court with everything he had.
"???"
"WHAT'S HE DOING?!"
TWEET! The first quarter buzzer sounded.
The basketball traced an incredible arc through the air, and under the shocked gaze of everyone in the building—
Splashed perfectly through the center of the rim!
SWISH!
Ryonan 30 - 18 Shohoku
The gap had stretched to twelve points!
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