Tatsuya Himuro's warning came in time, but it was already too late.
Junpei Hyuga had already jumped.
Reo Mibuchi held the basketball up, smiling as he watched Junpei Hyuga rise into the air.
Then, under Junpei Hyuga's shocked gaze, Reo Mibuchi deliberately crashed into him.
"Beep!!!"
At the same time, the referee's whistle sounded.
After making contact with Junpei Hyuga, Reo Mibuchi released the ball again, and it dropped cleanly through the basket.
Swish!!!
The three-pointer counted!
The referee shouted:
"Foul on Seirin number four! The three-pointer counts! One free throw!"
Junpei Hyuga was deeply frustrated after landing.
"Damn it. I fell for it!"
Reo Mibuchi smiled from the side and asked:
"So, glasses guy, how did my [Earth] shot feel?"
Junpei Hyuga gritted his teeth and ignored Reo Mibuchi, simply moving to where he was supposed to stand.
Seeing that, Reo Mibuchi spread his hands, then walked to the free-throw line.
After calmly sinking the free throw, the game resumed.
Seirin had possession.
According to Seirin's original plan, Taiga Kagami was supposed to take over in the second quarter.
But Junpei Hyuga seemed to have gotten a little worked up. Or maybe he felt that Reo Mibuchi had not completely cracked his shot.
So he wanted to handle this possession himself.
Seeing that, Tatsuya Himuro did not say anything more and passed the ball to Junpei Hyuga.
The moment Junpei Hyuga caught it, he used [Barrier Jumper], instantly stepping back beyond the three-point line.
But in the next instant, Reo Mibuchi followed right up, giving Junpei Hyuga no room to shoot at all.
Seeing this, Junpei Hyuga understood. His skill had already been seen through and countered by Reo Mibuchi.
So Junpei Hyuga passed the ball back out.
It returned to Tatsuya Himuro's hands.
After catching it, Tatsuya Himuro caught them off guard by passing the ball to Tetsuya Kuroko beside him.
Chihiro Mayuzumi saw Tatsuya Himuro suddenly pass and was just about to react when Tetsuya Kuroko had already tapped the ball away.
Taiga Kagami, who had been lying low on the baseline, immediately took off, blowing past Kotaro Hayama in an instant.
Kotaro Hayama's heart jumped.
'So fast!'
Taiga Kagami charged quickly toward the paint, then leaped up and caught the ball in midair.
Then he slammed it into the basket with overwhelming force!!!
Bang!!!
After landing heavily, Taiga Kagami slowly breathed out.
Then he raised his head.
Crackle!!!
The instant he looked up, everyone saw it.
They saw the lightning flashing in Taiga Kagami's eyes.
That was the sign that he had entered the zone!!!
...
Possession changed.
Rakuzan High School had the ball.
Kotaro Hayama had only just caught the pass when Taiga Kagami immediately rushed up, spreading his arms wide to defend.
Full-court press!
The corner of Kotaro Hayama's mouth twitched.
"Hey, hey, hey. I finally get to catch the ball in the backcourt, and you're already picking me up full-court?"
Taiga Kagami did not speak. He simply stared at him in silence, lightning flickering in his eyes.
Kotaro Hayama's expression darkened.
"Looks like I'm being underestimated!"
With that, Kotaro Hayama began dribbling hard.
Thud!!!
The moment he dribbled once, Taiga Kagami suddenly reached out to steal the ball.
Kotaro Hayama reacted at once and pulled the ball away.
At the same time, the wind-up for his [Lightning Dribble] was interrupted.
A drop of cold sweat ran down Kotaro Hayama's face.
'Damn it. So that's how he's playing this!'
With the eight-second violation about to be called, Kotaro Hayama could not afford to hesitate anymore and charged straight ahead.
Logically speaking, there was no way he should have been able to break through Taiga Kagami's defense while he was in the Zone.
But this time, he actually broke through.
To be precise, Taiga Kagami let him through.
Taiga Kagami stayed right against him, giving Kotaro Hayama room to move forward.
But in exchange, Taiga Kagami completely smothered the space Kotaro Hayama needed to drive or shoot.
If Kotaro Hayama only rushed straight ahead, then nothing would happen. But the moment he tried to shoot or break through.
Taiga Kagami would definitely stop him!
Passing was the same, because Taiga Kagami was sticking too close to him.
On top of that, Tatsuya Himuro and Junpei Hyuga were watching every opening he had like hawks.
If he passed, it would most likely be stolen.
And there was only one way to break out of this situation.
That was for Kotaro Hayama to survive until... uh, wrong series.
There was only one way to break through.
Kotaro Hayama had to use [Lightning Dribble] while sprinting at full speed!
Cold sweat kept breaking out on Kotaro Hayama's forehead as he ran. He had also figured out what Taiga Kagami was thinking.
'Damn it. He's forcing me!'
Taiga Kagami stayed glued to Kotaro Hayama's side and said:
"Can't use it anymore? Are you scared?"
Kotaro Hayama gritted his teeth and made up his mind.
'Damn it! He's pushing me too far!!!'
Thud! Thud!!! Thud!!!!!
Kotaro Hayama suddenly put even more force into his dribble, and the basketball struck the floor with a thunderous sound.
Then!
"Four Fingers!!!"
Crack!
In the next instant, Kotaro Hayama turned into a bolt of lightning and broke through from Taiga Kagami's other side.
But Taiga Kagami had been prepared from the start, and with the Zone strengthening him on top of that.
He reacted quickly, immediately turning his body and once again cutting off Kotaro Hayama's path.
Kotaro Hayama gritted his teeth and decided to go all in.
"Four Fingers!!!"
He used [Lightning Dribble] again, breaking through from Taiga Kagami's other side once more.
This time, Taiga Kagami did not react in time.
Because in his mind, Kotaro Hayama using [Lightning Dribble] once while running should already have been his limit.
But he had not expected Kotaro Hayama to dare use [Lightning Dribble] a second time!
Every time Kotaro Hayama used [Lightning Dribble], the sheer force of the dribble placed a heavy load on his wrist, making it stiffen for an instant.
Using [Lightning Dribble] twice in a row was the same as forcibly twisting his already stiff wrist all over again.
That kind of damage to the wrist was no small matter.
Using [Lightning Dribble] while running hurt his knees. Using [Lightning Dribble] twice in a row hurt both his knees and his wrist!
Sure enough.
Although Kotaro Hayama got past Taiga Kagami, the stiffness in his wrist left it too inflexible when he went for the layup.
The layup actually missed!
Seeing that, Eikichi Nebuya immediately jumped and slammed it back in.
After the basket, Eikichi Nebuya said:
"Kotaro, are you trying to get yourself killed?"
...
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