On the coaching bench of Fukuda Sogo, Coach Ichiro Kudo—who was secretly a die-hard fan of Araki Masako—had been training his team relentlessly all week just for one goal: to defeat Yosen High, the school where Araki Masako coached.
Haizaki Shogo and the others had simply assumed that Kudo was just overly eager to win. None of them had imagined that behind it all… there was such a cliché, almost soap-opera-like personal motivation.
The first quarter ended with Fukuda Sogo leading 23–20. In the final ten seconds, Kimura Tosho finally contributed a three-pointer, stretching the lead by one more point.
Back at the bench, teammates returned to the rest area. Haizaki personally handed out water and towels, offering words of encouragement.
"Tosho, just shoot your threes freely. Don't hesitate. You've got Karasu backing you up, right? Isn't that right, Karasu?"
"Yeah," Haizaki added casually. "The captain's right. Go ahead and shoot. I'll cover for you."
Under the teasing gazes of Haizaki and Suzuran Karasu, Kimura Tosho finally snapped.
Faced with the most energetic and airheaded member of the team, Kimura Tosho could only fight back by giving him yet another ridiculous nickname in return.
The rhythm of the first quarter satisfied both Fukuda Sogo and Yosen High.
Three minutes was far too short—it ended almost instantly. The second quarter was about to begin.
Once again, the battle turned into a fierce struggle inside the paint and under the boards. The intensity was brutal. Through this kind of grind, both teams' inside players were clearly growing.
Fortunately, Fukuda Sogo occasionally received long-range support from Kimura Tosho's three-pointers, allowing them to maintain a slight edge.
Their inside game, however, was almost completely shut down. Most of their points came from rare second-chance opportunities.
On the court, Yosen had possession. Fukui Kensuke passed the ball out, and Liu Wei soared above the rim to finish with an alley-oop dunk.
Fukuda Sogo answered immediately with Harano Shinichi's soft floater. Neither side gave an inch as the score see-sawed two points at a time in an intense back-and-forth battle.
This continued until the end of the second quarter, when Fukuda Sogo finally saw a shift in momentum.
Back at the bench, the Fukuda Sogo players returned with expectant expressions—though their attention was not on their coach, but on Shimizu Rena sitting beside Haizaki.
After two exhausting quarters of physical battle, they were all desperate for a "soft target" to vent their frustration on. All of them looked at her with hopeful anticipation.
And she did not disappoint.
Shimizu Rena gently tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, and under the admiring gaze of the assistant manager, she began her analysis.
"Number 5, Fukui Kensuke—their point guard. Average ability. You should be able to take him down easily, Harano-kun. It should be a straightforward matchup."
"Number 4, Okamura Kenichi. He's strong, but his stamina should already be dropping. Karasu, you need to keep wearing him down. That way, we can finish them easily in the fourth quarter."
"Number 11, Liu Wei. He's their tallest player and gets the most touches. He's likely already the most exhausted. Keep targeting him, Taiga-kun."
"As for Yosen's numbers 6 and 7—based on what we've seen, their skills aren't very refined. The fact that we can score so easily from the perimeter proves that. They, along with number 5, are the main weak points."
Listening to her breakdown, the Fukuda Sogo players' eyes lit up. Everyone clearly understood their roles now.
Even Coach Ichiro Kudo said nothing. He simply led the team to the locker room for their short break.
During halftime, Haizaki, uninterested in sitting around, left the bench area and walked off to watch another ongoing match.
It was Shutoku High in a quarterfinal game.
But the moment he saw the scoreboard after the second quarter, his interest immediately faded.
58–23. A crushing gap.
It was obvious—Fukuda Sogo's semifinal opponent would most likely be Shutoku High, led by Midorima Shintaro.
Haizaki suddenly felt his blood heat up.
So the next opponent is Midorima Shintaro… I wonder what surprises he'll bring me.
He was certain of one thing: Midorima was now stronger than Kise Ryouta. Strong enough that even Haizaki had to take him seriously.
Turning away, he returned to his team's bench just as the players were coming out of the locker room. The third quarter was about to begin.
After the players stepped onto the court, Haizaki quietly shared what he had seen and the likely tournament outcome with Coach Kudo and Shimizu Rena.
Coach Kudo probably had only a vague impression of Midorima from their middle school match.
But Shimizu Rena was different. She had watched multiple games alongside Haizaki and knew exactly how dangerous Midorima Shintaro had become. She also understood that he had previously been holding back.
However, this was not the time to think about the next opponent. All three of them focused their attention back on the court.
After ten minutes of rest, both teams had recovered slightly. The exhaustion from the second quarter had eased.
But the intensity remained brutal. Suzuran Karasu and Okawa Sawano had clearly taken Shimizu Rena's words to heart. Their mission was simple—drain the opponent's stamina completely so the final quarter would be easier.
On the perimeter, Harano Shinichi, Ishida Hideki, and Mochizuki Kazuhiro began to shine.
Mochizuki and Harano repeatedly scored floaters, while Harano also used sudden bursts of speed to create steals and disrupt Yosen's offense. The score slowly began to widen like a tug-of-war.
Because of the overwhelming height in the paint and constant physical contact, the match was far from the flashy dunk festival spectators might have expected.
The entertainment value dropped significantly, and many spectators lost interest.
Instead, attention shifted to the ongoing Shutoku match, where Midorima Shintaro was sinking perfect three-point shots one after another, drawing massive attention from the crowd.
For Fukuda Sogo, the third quarter felt like torture—not only for Yosen, but for themselves as well.
Yet that was exactly what Coach Kudo wanted. True steel must be forged through hardship.
The third quarter slowly came to an end. Suzuran Karasu and Okawa Sawano were drenched in sweat, completely exhausted.
As captain, Haizaki stepped up to rally the team.
"Last quarter. The chance to crush soft targets is finally here. Little Tenten, don't miss your opportunity."
He specifically addressed Kimura Tosho because he was the only one still with enough stamina left. Karasu and Okawa had exhausted themselves in their attempts to pressure Yosen.
So in the fourth quarter, the key figures would be Okawa Sawano and Harano Shinichi—one to organize, one to finish.