For the rest of the second quarter, the two teams continued trading blows, but in the end, it was mostly a contest between the supporting players.
Miyamoto Tokima was tied up by Shintaro Midorima, while Shintaro Midorima was equally occupied by Miyamoto Tokima.
The same was true for Seijuro Akashi and Shuzo Nijimura.
That meant the ones truly competing against each other were the remaining six players.
Seijuro Akashi did lend a hand from time to time, but it didn't change much. Whenever Kirisaki Daiichi was on offense, Miyamoto Tokima would also step in when necessary.
In the end, the second quarter came to a close with the unbelievable score of 66 to 66!
That's right, four sixes!
Whether it was pure coincidence or something Miyamoto Tokima and Seijuro Akashi had deliberately arranged, no one could say.
Either way, the score was strangely fitting.
With the first two quarters over, both teams returned to their locker rooms to replenish their energy and nutrition.
Thanks to Satsuki Momoi, Kirisaki Daiichi's nutritionist was practically their savior!
For Shogo Haizaki and the others, calling the nutritionist a second parent wouldn't even be an exaggeration!
All because Satsuki Momoi's cooking skills were... difficult to describe.
As everyone ate and recovered, they also discussed the game.
Makoto Hanamiya smiled as he straightened Tatsuya Himuro's jersey.
"Good work."
"Oh?" Tatsuya Himuro teased with a smile. "I'm really not used to seeing you act like this."
"What, do I have to insult you instead?" Makoto Hanamiya gave Tatsuya Himuro an odd look. "You really are an idiot."
Tatsuya Himuro laughed.
Now that felt right!
Elsewhere in the locker room, Miyamoto Tokima also spoke to Eikichi Nebuya and Reo Mibuchi.
"Good work."
Eikichi Nebuya and Reo Mibuchi hurriedly shook their heads.
"It wasn't that hard," Eikichi Nebuya said. "If anything, I feel like I messed up quite a few times."
Reo Mibuchi nodded. "There were plenty of times I couldn't stop them either."
"That's not on you," Miyamoto Tokima said with a smile. "They're strong too. But it's fine. Leave the second half to us."
Eikichi Nebuya and Reo Mibuchi nodded together.
"Yes!"
While everyone was talking, Satsuki Momoi turned to Atsushi Murasakibara and asked,
"Murasakibara, are you feeling any better?"
Atsushi Murasakibara tried lifting one leg, only to discover that he couldn't raise it at all.
Then he tried moving his hands, but both of them were still trembling nonstop!
After checking his condition, Atsushi Murasakibara looked at Satsuki Momoi and said blankly,
"I'm fine."
"Alright, then rest a little longer." Satsuki Momoi rubbed her forehead helplessly.
At least pretend before you say you're fine!
Looking like that, I'd believe you if you told me you were about to collapse!
Still, there was no helping it. Atsushi Murasakibara had used his trump card far too early.
He needed more time to recover.
Satsuki Momoi quickly thought things through and adjusted the lineup.
"In the second half, Kentaro Seto will replace Eikichi Nebuya at center."
During the first half, Eikichi Nebuya had gotten the worst of his matchup against Teppei Kiyoshi.
Although Eikichi Nebuya had started learning post skills after joining Kirisaki Daiichi, he still looked extremely raw against Teppei Kiyoshi, whose footwork around the basket was exceptionally refined.
On offense, Eikichi Nebuya basically relied on brute force!
He could force his way inside, but it was inconsistent and severely limited what he could do.
On defense, his weaknesses were exposed even more clearly.
Teppei Kiyoshi barely needed to use any strength at all. His footwork alone was enough to leave Eikichi Nebuya completely lost.
To put it simply, if Teppei Kiyoshi's strength was 70, then his post skills were 99!
If Eikichi Nebuya's strength was 99, then his post skills... were 20.
He was the definition of a specialist with one absurdly strong stat.
(P.S.: Atsushi Murasakibara and Jason Silver aren't included in this comparison. Those two are in a tier of their own, so don't complain!)
That was why Satsuki Momoi planned to have Kentaro Seto, whose technique was also highly refined, guard Teppei Kiyoshi!
After all, Kentaro Seto hadn't neglected his training during his time at Kirisaki Daiichi!
And more importantly, Kentaro Seto was a genuine genius!
"Senpai Nijimura will play power forward."
"Haizaki will replace Reo Mibuchi at small forward."
"Tokima, you'll stay at shooting guard."
"Hanamiya will replace Tatsuya Himuro at point guard."
"That will be our lineup for the second half."
Everyone nodded after hearing the arrangement.
Given their current situation, this was already an excellent lineup.
There really wasn't much to object to.
Miyamoto Tokima, Shogo Haizaki, and Shuzo Nijimura's abilities obviously went without saying.
Makoto Hanamiya's trash-talking ability didn't need any explanation either. No one could out-talk him.
But trash talk wasn't all Makoto Hanamiya had.
His actual basketball ability was excellent too!
Anyone capable of activating Animal Instinct was no ordinary player!
Except for that guy from Seirin. His Animal Instinct was a cat, which was honestly a little ridiculous.
There was no issue with Kentaro Seto either. Even if he had been sent out solely to contain Teppei Kiyoshi, the decision would still have made perfect sense.
But he wasn't going out there alone!
He would be playing alongside Makoto Hanamiya!
After all, [Spider Web] was the signature technique that had made the two of them famous in the original manga!
So for the current situation, this was the most reasonable lineup Kirisaki Daiichi could field.
...
On the other side, Kōzō Shirogane was also considering Teikō Middle School's lineup for the second half.
Taiga Kagami still hadn't recovered his stamina, while Daiki Aomine was already almost fully recovered.
Even Kōzō Shirogane had to admire Daiki Aomine's monstrous stamina and equally monstrous recovery rate.
But when he thought about it, it made perfect sense.
How could someone who never slacked off in training, who would even skip games just to stay behind and train, possibly have poor stamina?!
After thinking it over, Kōzō Shirogane finally made his decision and addressed the players who were still replenishing their energy.
"Everyone, I'm going to announce the lineup for the second half."
"Their lineup will most likely be Kentaro Seto, Shuzo Nijimura, Shogo Haizaki, Miyamoto Tokima, and Makoto Hanamiya."
Seijuro Akashi nodded when he heard that.
He had reached the same conclusion.
He didn't believe Atsushi Murasakibara could recover this quickly.
That had been a triple activation of Selfless, the Zone, and Animal Instinct!
If he could recover from that in a single quarter, how was anyone supposed to compete with him?
"So," Kōzō Shirogane continued, "in the second half, Kiyoshi will play center, Aomine power forward, Kuroko small forward, Midorima shooting guard, and Akashi point guard."
"Everyone, try to coordinate as much as possible in the second half. Don't waste more stamina than necessary."
"Coach." Ryota Kise suddenly raised his hand. "What about me?"
Kōzō Shirogane didn't answer him directly.
Instead, he asked,
"Ryota Kise, can you still activate the Zone and [Perfect Copy]?"
...