Kotaro Hayama gave a bitter laugh, glanced at his trembling legs and his hands that were still twitching, and said:
"I got carried away. I just couldn't stop myself."
Eikichi Nebuya frowned, stepped forward, and asked:
"Can you still play?"
Kotaro Hayama moved his twitching wrist a little and said:
"I'll be fine after a short rest. It's not that bad."
Seeing that, Eikichi Nebuya turned to look at Seijuro Akashi, as if asking for his opinion.
Seijuro Akashi gave the two of them a faint glance and said coldly:
"Continue."
Then he turned and went back on defense on his own.
Since Seijuro Akashi had said so, the two of them also turned and went back on defense.
Eiji Shirogane, watching from the sidelines, saw that Seijuro Akashi had no intention of calling a timeout, so he no longer intervened.
On the other side.
Teppei Kiyoshi walked over to Taiga Kagami and said:
"That should be enough, right?"
Taiga Kagami nodded and said:
"Yeah. For the rest of the game, he probably won't dare use [Lightning Dribble] so recklessly anymore."
That was right. Seirin's strategy was to force Kotaro Hayama to use [Lightning Dribble] under a heavy load and wear his body down.
That way, Kotaro Hayama would not dare keep using [Lightning Dribble] later on, and Seirin's pressure would ease a little.
Over the next few possessions, Kotaro Hayama really did stop using [Lightning Dribble] so recklessly.
He started playing with obvious hesitation.
As a result, Rakuzan High School's scoring focus shifted to Reo Mibuchi and Eikichi Nebuya.
Since Kotaro Hayama had become hesitant, Taiga Kagami went straight to defending Reo Mibuchi.
In the face of Taiga Kagami's monstrous jumping ability, Reo Mibuchi's [Heaven] could only back off for the time being.
The ball once again began leaning more toward Eikichi Nebuya.
But Teppei Kiyoshi was no pushover either.
Eikichi Nebuya could score, but every basket came the hard way!
At the same time, Seirin seized their chances over those possessions, letting Taiga Kagami, who had entered the Zone, score freely.
This situation lasted all the way until the end of the second quarter.
The score settled at 56 to 44.
Seirin High School had taken the lead. By the end of the second quarter, they were actually ahead of Rakuzan High School by 12 points!
Both teams then entered halftime.
On Rakuzan's side.
Seijuro Akashi slowly walked toward the players' tunnel, his face as cold as ice.
Seeing Seijuro Akashi like that, the Rakuzan High School players could not help feeling a little nervous.
Off the court.
Over at Kirisaki Daiichi.
Shogo Haizaki looked at the situation on the court and murmured:
"Whoa. Going all out in the second quarter to take the lead. That takes guts."
Makoto Hanamiya showed a disdainful smile and said:
"It does take guts. The question is whether they still have the stamina."
Over at Tōō High.
Ryo Sakurai said shakily:
"Aomine, is Seirin in danger in the second half?"
Daiki Aomine nodded and said:
"Akashi hasn't really made his move yet. To put it bluntly, Rakuzan hasn't used their trump card."
"But Seirin is different. They've already used theirs, and they went all out with it."
"The Zone greatly increases your strength, but everything comes with a price. The Zone is no exception."
"Once you enter the Zone, it drains the user's stamina at a tremendous rate."
"If you compare the Zone to a bathtub full of water, then entering the Zone is like opening the drain."
"Running out of stamina is only a matter of time."
Over at Shūtoku.
Kazunari Takao said in confusion:
"But the thing is, Shin-chan, you and Aomine didn't look that drained when you entered the Zone!"
Shintaro Midorima pushed up his glasses and said calmly:
"Everyone's constitution is different. I simply did what I had to do and saw fate clearly."
The corner of Kazunari Takao's mouth twitched. He had no idea what to say.
...
Seirin's locker room.
Taiga Kagami sat on the bench, gulping down air, sweat streaming off him as if it cost nothing.
Seeing that, Riko Aida thought to herself:
'Was it still too much? His stamina is still a major weakness.'
There was no helping it. Taiga Kagami's talent was incredible, but it had not truly been developed yet.
On top of that, his training in the United States had not been as brutal as Daiki Aomine's and Shintaro Midorima's.
Because of that, Taiga Kagami's stamina was not particularly strong.
Right now, he could only maintain the Zone for one quarter.
Riko Aida could not help shaking her head.
With Taiga Kagami's stamina running low, they could only have the others hold on first in the third quarter.
So Riko Aida began making arrangements for the second half.
Over in Rakuzan's locker room.
The atmosphere in Rakuzan's locker room was extremely oppressive.
Seijuro Akashi sat on the bench, his expression icy, his whole body seeming to give off waves of cold air.
The others only dared to sit on their benches. None of them dared to speak.
Because there really had been major problems with how they played in the second quarter.
In that kind of atmosphere, even Coach Eiji Shirogane did not dare speak casually.
A moment later, Seijuro Akashi spoke.
"Mayuzumi-senpai, one quarter should be enough, right?"
Chihiro Mayuzumi nodded without any emotion. After a quiet quarter, he had once again returned to his best state as a shadow.
Seeing that, Seijuro Akashi said coldly:
"Good. In the third quarter, Mayuzumi-senpai will handle all the connections."
"If you still play like that in the third quarter, then I will personally take over in the fourth. And all of you should go back and train properly."
Hearing this, the Rakuzan players immediately felt a chill run through them.
Kotaro Hayama and the others nodded repeatedly, indicating that they definitely would not drop the ball.
Seijuro Akashi gave them an icy glance and said indifferently:
"I hope so."
...
When the third quarter was about to begin.
Both teams returned to the court.
Reo Mibuchi looked at Kotaro Hayama and asked:
"Kotaro, feeling better?"
Kotaro Hayama nodded and said:
"Better. At least I can use [Lightning Dribble] now!"
Reo Mibuchi sighed and warned him:
"Hold back a little. Don't do what you did in the last quarter again."
Kotaro Hayama scratched his head sheepishly and said:
"Don't worry, Reo. I definitely won't get carried away again. And you too. It's about time you used that move!"
Reo Mibuchi smiled, his gaze shifting toward a certain figure in the stands.
"Yeah. It's about time I showed Master what I've learned."
...
...
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