Possession changed.
Kirisaki Daiichi's ball.
Miyamoto Tokima still didn't come back to receive the ball, so Shogo Haizaki naturally became the ball-handler again.
This time, however, Shogo Haizaki made absolutely sure Tetsuya Kuroko was still in the backcourt before stepping forward to receive the pass.
He had genuinely been spooked by that sneaky Phantom Sixth Man.
The last thing he wanted was for Tetsuya Kuroko to suddenly appear out of nowhere and ambush him again.
Once burned, twice cautious.
Only after securing the ball did Shogo Haizaki begin bringing it up the court.
He could have gone one-on-one if he wanted to, but there was no need.
He had to think about the team as well.
Could he force the issue?
Sure.
But right now, there was no reason to.
Following Satsuki Momoi's strategy, he decided to focus the offense on Atsushi Murasakibara first.
Once he reached the frontcourt, Shogo Haizaki lobbed the ball high toward Atsushi Murasakibara.
Atsushi Murasakibara had Taiga Kagami firmly pinned behind him and caught the lob with his right hand.
After securing the ball, Atsushi Murasakibara held it with both hands, his back to the basket, and began putting pressure on Taiga Kagami with his body.
Taiga Kagami braced both arms in front of himself as sweat streamed down his forehead.
He gritted his teeth and fought desperately against Atsushi Murasakibara's strength.
Daiki Aomine watched the scene, torn over what to do.
If the player who had checked in were Eikichi Nebuya, just as Kōzō Shirogane had expected, Daiki Aomine would have gone to help Taiga Kagami without hesitation.
But things hadn't gone according to Kōzō Shirogane's prediction.
Instead of Eikichi Nebuya, Kirisaki Daiichi had unexpectedly sent in Reo Mibuchi.
That completely ruined the plan to double-team Atsushi Murasakibara.
BANG!
Atsushi Murasakibara suddenly slammed backward.
"Ugh!"
Taiga Kagami let out a muffled grunt and was forced back a step.
BANG!
Another impact.
This time, Taiga Kagami's breathing became noticeably uneven, and he was driven back another step.
BANG!
A third collision.
Now Taiga Kagami's breathing was completely disrupted, and even his defensive posture began to break down.
Seeing that, Daiki Aomine gritted his teeth.
Forget it!
If this kept going, Taiga Kagami definitely wouldn't hold out.
Daiki Aomine abandoned Reo Mibuchi and rushed toward Atsushi Murasakibara.
On the sideline, Satsuki Momoi saw this and the corners of her lips curled upward.
On the opposite bench, Kōzō Shirogane could only shake his head helplessly.
He had lost the first round of their tactical battle.
In fact, you could say he had already lost the moment Reo Mibuchi stepped onto the court.
Daiki Aomine reached Atsushi Murasakibara and stretched out a hand, trying to knock the ball away.
"Hm?"
Atsushi Murasakibara noticed the attempt and shifted slightly, avoiding the steal.
Then, without hesitation, he fired the ball to Reo Mibuchi.
The pass was quick and smooth, clearly something he had practiced specifically for this situation.
Daiki Aomine, however, knew nothing about that.
"What?!"
His eyes widened.
He never expected Atsushi Murasakibara to make such an accurate pass at a moment like this.
But there was no time to think.
He had to recover immediately.
A dark blue glow flickered around Daiki Aomine's body, and a sleek black panther appeared behind him.
Daiki Aomine spun around, ready to sprint toward Reo Mibuchi.
But before he could take off, someone stepped directly into his path.
Daiki Aomine's pupils contracted.
"Haizaki!"
A faint gray-white glow surrounded Shogo Haizaki, while a gray lone wolf stood behind him, staring Daiki Aomine down.
Shogo Haizaki planted himself in front of Daiki Aomine and set a screen, a smug grin appearing on his face.
"Aomine, you really think I'm just going to let you through?"
By the time he finished speaking, Reo Mibuchi had already released the ball.
Daiki Aomine stared silently at the basketball flying through the air.
Swish!
The three-pointer dropped cleanly through the hoop.
After Reo Mibuchi scored, Kōzō Shirogane initially wanted to call a timeout and put Teppei Kiyoshi back into the game.
Right now, Teppei Kiyoshi was the best player on their roster for dealing with Atsushi Murasakibara.
Taiga Kagami's greatest strength wasn't defense.
It was offense.
If Taiga Kagami burned too much energy trying to defend Atsushi Murasakibara, Teikō Middle School would lose one of its major offensive weapons later in the game.
Against Kirisaki Daiichi, losing even a single scoring threat could be disastrous.
But Kōzō Shirogane quickly abandoned the idea of calling a timeout.
Teppei Kiyoshi still hadn't recovered enough.
Even if he sent him back in now, it probably wouldn't change much.
With no better option, Kōzō Shirogane could only trust Taiga Kagami.
He could only hope Kagami would withstand the pressure.
...
Possession changed.
Teikō Middle School's ball.
Seijuro Akashi had barely crossed half court when Daiki Aomine ran toward him, raised a hand, and called out.
"Akashi!"
On the other side, Shintaro Midorima had also raised his hand.
When he saw Daiki Aomine, however, he slowly lowered it.
There was no avoiding it.
Ball distribution was always something a team had to manage.
On a team with only one undisputed star, it was hardly an issue.
There was only one primary scoring option.
Once that player got hot, you simply gave him the ball and let him shoot as much as he wanted.
Naturally, there was little reason to argue over possessions.
But on a team with several star players, ball distribution became something that had to be carefully managed.
Fortunately, it wasn't a serious problem for Teikō Middle School right now.
With Kōzō Shirogane and Seijuro Akashi controlling the flow of the offense, they could keep everyone's touches balanced.
On the court, Seijuro Akashi thought for a moment before finally passing the ball to Daiki Aomine.
The instant Daiki Aomine caught it, Reo Mibuchi stepped up to guard him cautiously.
He didn't get too close.
If he did, Daiki Aomine might blow past him in a single step.
But he didn't stay too far away either.
Otherwise, Daiki Aomine could simply rise and shoot.
So Reo Mibuchi maintained a standard defensive distance, neither too close nor too far.
Daiki Aomine held the ball and glanced to the side.
Then, under Reo Mibuchi's puzzled gaze, he passed it to his left.
Reo Mibuchi instinctively turned his head.
Tetsuya Kuroko was there.
Kuroko's gaze moved from player to player while his right hand made a dribbling motion.
Thud, thud, thud...
A rapid burst of footsteps suddenly rang out.
Reo Mibuchi turned back around.
Daiki Aomine was gone.
His heart jolted.
He had fallen for it!
Tetsuya Kuroko hadn't been looking around at the other players at all.
He had been using [Misdirection] to deliberately draw Reo Mibuchi's attention onto himself, turning himself into the "Light."
The light might have been faint, but if it shone directly into your eyes for long enough, it would still blind you.
And while Reo Mibuchi's attention was locked onto that faint 'Light,' the other 'Light' disappeared from his awareness completely.
In that instant, Daiki Aomine had effectively become the "Shadow."
...
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