Chapter Ninety: Kanagawa's Defeat
"Everyone, don't look so serious!"
"Our strength is formidable, isn't it? Don't worry about so many problems—loudly cheer for our senpai!" Masahou's bench players encouraged each other.
No matter what, they'd defeated opponent after opponent to become one of the prefecture's top four and reach this point. Masahou's strength was genuine!
Ryonan's possession.
Yagami Sorato pushed the ball past halfcourt. Tsugawa Tomoki immediately defended up on him.
"No need to be so tense. This possession, I won't pass."
Yagami Sorato lowered his center of gravity. The basketball flipped back and forth at his hands.
Tsugawa Tomoki couldn't help rolling his eyes. He wouldn't believe a single word this guy said.
"Defense is indeed quite good..." Yagami Sorato discovered Tsugawa Tomoki's distance control was excellent, and he wouldn't be easily disrupted by fake direction changes.
Each time Yagami Sorato wanted to accelerate for a drive, Tsugawa Tomoki could keenly detect it and press forward with body position in advance, even reaching for steals without losing defensive position.
"That was close!"
Yagami Sorato created distance, protecting the ball. He realized he was another step farther from the three-point line.
"Sorato, you're holding the ball too long." Sendoh Akira reminded from the side.
"Mm, understood."
"Hahaha, turns out you're not as impressive as I imagined!" Discovering Yagami Sorato truly seemed intent on not passing, Tsugawa Tomoki couldn't help laughing. "Hehe, I'll treat you real well. The good show's just starting now!"
"Oh, is that so?" Yagami Sorato looked at Tsugawa Tomoki.
In that instant, Tsugawa Tomoki rapidly pressed forward.
He understood this pressure timing too well. Since Yagami Sorato's dribbling rhythm was difficult to break, he'd actively force him to reveal weaknesses.
Take advantage of the instant his attention scattered—press forward applying pressure. After disrupting rhythm, the ball could be easily stripped.
"BANG!"
Yagami Sorato's wrist suddenly pressed down, hooking the ball back. He still looked at Tsugawa Tomoki. "Nice timing. Matches my expectations."
The next second, Yagami Sorato's left hand naturally caught the ball. With one acceleration, he charged straight into Masahou's paint.
"It was deliberate?!" Tsugawa Tomoki turned to chase.
Yagami Sorato pulled up for a jumper from the left side of the free-throw line.
"Swish!"
Two points good.
Ryonan 10 - Masahou 2
"How? Tsugawa actually couldn't stop that first-year?"
"This is the first time I've seen Tsugawa get beaten so cleanly..."
"Next time, I won't let you through!" Tsugawa Tomoki stared at Yagami Sorato's retreating figure. "I won't fall for it again."
"But I'm not interested in constant one-on-one with you." Yagami Sorato showed a mischievous smile with his back turned.
Possession changed. Masahou's offense.
Kasuga Ryuhei held the ball at the top of the arc, expression grave.
Masahou's perimeter's two most threatening offensive points were him and Tsugawa Tomoki.
However, Tsugawa Tomoki's isolation had just ended with Yagami Sorato cleanly stripping him. And as for himself—though he'd successfully driven past Sendoh Akira's defense the first time using explosiveness, when he tried again, he discovered the opponent could completely stay with him.
"So at first, he hadn't entered his rhythm yet?"
Kasuga Ryuhei couldn't help showing a bitter smile. Helplessly, he passed out. The basketball flowed rapidly through Masahou's hands, trying to tear open gaps in Ryonan's zone defense.
"BANG!"
Iwamura Tsutomu received a bounce pass on the left low block. His body immediately tensed. He no longer thought about competing with Uozumi Jun in strength. Instead, he channeled his full body's power into his lower half, firmly locking down position.
"Damn!" Feeling the force from behind, Iwamura Tsutomu understood he completely couldn't make any more moves.
Kasuga Ryuhei cut in at the right time. Iwamura Tsutomu passed back.
Sakamoto Kenjiro screened the pursuing Sendoh Akira for him.
Kasuga Ryuhei jumped for a floater.
Two points good.
Ryonan 10 - Masahou 4
"They're keeping it close!" Nakamura Heisuke said with surprise. Masahou's coordination was far more spectacular than he'd imagined.
Ryonan's counter.
Sendoh Akira actively requested the ball. After consecutive direction changes beating Kasuga Ryuhei, he took a mid-range jumper.
"CLANG!"
"BANG!"
The basketball just bounced before a big hand slammed it through the rim!
Uozumi Jun's putback dunk!
Ryonan 12 - Masahou 4
"Still not enough." Aida Yayoi shook her head. "The difficulty level of both teams scoring differs too greatly..."
As if proving Aida Yayoi's judgment, as time passed, the gap between the two teams inevitably widened.
First quarter ended.
Ryonan 32 - Masahou 18
"This match already has no suspense. Prepare to go to Court B!" Aida Yayoi decisively packed up her equipment.
"Ah, only watching one quarter?" Nakamura Heisuke showed slight shock. Earlier, senpai had told him not to draw conclusions about games too early.
"One quarter is enough." Aida Yayoi's tone was certain, her gaze sweeping Masahou's bench. "Their rotation depth is insufficient. Tactical adjustment space is very limited. Very difficult to have breakthrough changes."
"Looking at Ryonan, on offense, Fukuda Kicchou hasn't even entered yet. For them, claiming this victory is effortless."
Moreover, Aida Yayoi noticed that on Ryonan's bench, Uekusa Tomoyuki and her brother Aida Hikoichi had already begun warming up. Coach Taoka clearly intended using this game for live combat training.
Though somewhat regrettable—perhaps unable to witness her brother's first official game performance—as a reporter, her job was covering the most critical matches.
Sure enough, Court B's Shohoku match was far from as comfortable as Ryonan's.
Urayasu Commercial, worthy of being a nationals-level team, engaged in a suffocating back-and-forth with Shohoku.
Both teams' scores rose alternately, but Urayasu Commercial held a 6-point lead. Each time Shohoku drew close through Rukawa Kaede's drives or Mitsui Hisashi's threes, Urayasu could immediately respond with more composed team coordination.
Aida Yayoi and Nakamura Heisuke watched a full half from the sideline. Not until the third quarter ended did Shohoku finally achieve their first lead reversal after a long chase!
Shohoku 71 - Urayasu Commercial 69
"Unfortunately, still need to follow Kaijo's match. Hope Shohoku can maintain advantage and ultimately win."
Carrying new reporting inspiration, Aida Yayoi rushed to the next venue. However, when she arrived at Court C and saw the electronic scoreboard clearly, her steps suddenly halted.
5 minutes remaining in the game.
Kaijo 93 - Touou 114
A 21-point gap?!
You must know that although Kaijo wasn't Kanagawa's top two, in that match they'd only been reversed by Shohoku at the very end—a narrow defeat. Their strength absolutely couldn't be underestimated.
Yet this disparity before her eyes could only explain one thing: at least in this match, Kaijo was completely not Touou's opponent!
Aida Yayoi watched the final few minutes of the game.
Kaijo 104 - Touou 129
Kaijo's offense had no problems. The reason they lost the game was singular—Touou's ace:
Aomine Daiki!
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