Kogure Kiminobu clenched his fist, filled with excitement.
After Takenori Akagi was injured and had to leave the court, only Kiminobu Kogure, a third-year student and vice-captain, is left on the court. He must take responsibility as soon as possible, make the shots, and lead everyone to victory!
That goal was so inspiring!
Shohoku has 63 points and Ryonan has 68 points, narrowing the score gap to 5 points.
Kogure Kiminobu ran up to Sakuragi Hanamichi and patted him on the back, saying, "Sakuragi, you passed very well!"
Sakuragi Hanamichi laughed heartily and said, "Glasses-kun, your shot was pretty steady too!"
Glasses guy?
Kogure Kiminobu was a little confused; this was the first time he had heard Sakuragi Hanamichi address him like that. However, he didn't mind and smiled, saying, "Keep it up, keep it up."
Just then, Rukawa Kaede ran past Sakuragi Hanamichi, who noticed that Rukawa seemed a bit tired.
"Rukawa Kaede, are you alright?" Sakuragi Hanamichi asked with concern.
Rukawa Kaede silently shook his head and said, "It's nothing."
Sendoh Akira and Ikegami Ryoji were defending Rukawa Kaede, which put a lot of pressure on Rukawa. In the process of constantly running and fighting, Rukawa's physical strength was also greatly depleted.
Moreover, although Rukawa Kaede is a super rookie, his competition experience is not as rich as that of Sendoh Akira and Ikegami Ryoji, who are already second-year students.
So it seems that Rukawa Kaede is starting to struggle.
Sakuragi Hanamichi hesitated for a moment, then whispered to Rukawa Kaede, "You should have noticed by now that you've become Ryonan's primary defensive target. Currently, Sendoh Akira and Ikegami Ryoji are guarding you, making it difficult for me to pass the ball to you."
Rukawa Kaede nodded and said, "It's okay, you played very well just now."
Sakuragi Hanamichi continued in a low voice, "Although you're currently tied down, Kogure-senpai's defense is weaker. So you'll have to work a bit harder from now on. You need to move around a lot, pretending to create opportunities to receive the ball from me, but ultimately I'll pass the ball to Kogure-senpai. What do you think of this tactic?"
Without hesitation, Rukawa Kaede replied, "No problem, I'll cooperate with you."
Sakuragi Hanamichi exclaimed, "As expected of Rukawa Kaede!"
However, Sakuragi Hanamichi then said with a hint of reluctance, "But this will take a huge toll on your stamina. Can you handle it?"
Rukawa Kaede's eyes were firm as he said seriously, "I'm fine. We'll proceed with the tactics you suggested."
After saying that, Rukawa Kaede ran to the side.
Sakuragi Hanamichi watched Rukawa Kaede's retreating figure and murmured, "I never expected that communicating with you would be so smooth."
At this moment, Tomoyuki Uekusa of the Ryonan team is in control of the basketball.
Yasuharu Yasuda immediately rushed forward to try to steal the basketball from Tomoyuki Uekusa's hands, but he was unsuccessful.
Just then, a figure appeared beside Yasuda Yasuharu and Uekusa Tomoyuki.
It's Sakuragi Hanamichi!
Just as Uekusa Tomoyuki was dodging Yasuda Yasuharu's steal, Sakuragi Hanamichi rushed in from the other side, precisely in the direction Uekusa Tomoyuki hadn't anticipated.
With a "whoosh"!
Sakuragi Hanamichi snatched the basketball from Uekusa Tomoyuki's hands!
"My God! Is Sakuragi Hanamichi going to defy the heavens? It feels like he's everywhere!"
"Indeed! How come his stamina is so good? It seems like he's running the whole time, and he doesn't even get tired!"
"He's a monster! Even a basketball novice like him would give his opponents a headache!"
Shohoku immediately switched from defense to offense!
Rukawa made active runs and made a gesture to ask for the ball.
Sendoh Akira and Ikegami Ryoji relentlessly defended Rukawa Kaede, giving Sakuragi Hanamichi no chance to pass the ball.
Coach Taoka, watching from the sidelines, was convinced that Sakuragi Hanamichi had actually intended to pass to Rukawa Kaede, but because he didn't have a chance to shoot, he passed to Kogure Kiminobu instead. Kogure Kiminobu was just lucky to make that shot.
Sakuragi Hanamichi will definitely find an opportunity to pass the skill to Rukawa Kaede.
As for Kiminobu Kogure? This vice-captain, who has almost no presence, does he really think he's a sharpshooter?
But the next moment, Coach Taoka felt a sharp pain in his face!
Sakuragi Hanamichi was exactly the same as before; he seemed to be looking for an opportunity to pass the basketball to Rukawa Kaede, and even as he passed the ball, he was still calling out Rukawa Kaede's name.
However, the basketball still ended up in Kogure Kiminobu's hands!
Coach Taoka was furious!
how so?
Why send it to Kiminobu Kogure?
That opportunity could have been passed to Rukawa!
That opportunity was created when Sendoh Akira and Ikegami Ryoji deliberately revealed a flaw to Sakuragi Hanamichi!
The goal was to get Sakuragi Hanamichi to pass the ball.
But why doesn't Sakuragi Hanamichi pass the torch?
Coach Taoka clenched his fist and said defiantly, "I don't believe you, Kogure Kiminobu, can make a shot this time. You try and make one!"
With a "whoosh" sound!
The basketball flew out of Kogure Kiminobu's hands.
Goal!
Coach Taoka was completely dumbfounded!
Should we go in again?
This is not the Kogure Kiminobu I know!
After shooting the basketball, Kogure Kiminobu took a deep breath and confidently glanced at the basketball hoop.
He's practiced this mid-range shot countless times, and his accuracy is still very high when no one is guarding him.
Ryoji Ikegami's two missed shots allowed him to take more shots, thus significantly increasing his hit rate.
With Kogure Kiminobu's second shot, Shohoku's score became 65 points, while Ryonan's score remained at 68, leaving only a 3-point gap.
At this moment, the players of Shohoku were all very excited and full of fighting spirit.
On the other hand, the Ryonan players seemed to experience some psychological fluctuations.
During a match, if one side initially has a significant lead but is later caught up by the other, the latter's morale will definitely be stronger than the former's at the moment the score catches up.
At this moment, Tomoyuki Uekusa of the Ryonan team regained control of the ball.
Clearly, Tomoyuki Uekusa's mindset was a bit unstable, his movements began to stiffen, and his pace gradually slowed down.
Seeing this, Jun Uozumi, who was under the basket, shouted: "Everyone, stay calm and don't panic. As long as we step up our offensive, we'll be fine. Don't worry, the situation hasn't been reversed by Shohoku."
Sendoh Akira remained silent, calmly observing the positions and condition of the players from both teams on the field.
Sudden!
Akira Sendoh has moved!
With a burst of speed, Sendoh Akira shook off Rukawa Kaede's defense and caught Uekusa Tomoyuki's pass.
Rukawa Kaede quickly adjusted his position to defend against Sendoh Akira.
However, Sendoh Akira immediately sped up!
"Bang!"
Sendoh Akira skillfully slammed the basketball behind Rukawa Kaede, and at the same time, he used his speed advantage to get past Rukawa Kaede's defense and regain the ball.
During this process, Rukawa Kaede, unable to keep up with Sendoh Akira's speed, stumbled and fell down.
boom!
Rukawa Kaede fell backward to the ground!
At that moment, Sendoh Akira had already jumped with the ball and made a layup!
Goal!
Sendoh Akira scored a layup with fluid, effortless grace!
Just as Shohoku was about to catch up, Sendoh Akira widened the gap again.
Ryonan scored 70 points, Shohoku 65 points, and the score difference became 5 points again.
In crucial moments, you can always trust Akira Sendoh!
The Ryonan players, who had just been a little unsteady on their feet, suddenly erupted in an exhilarating cheer!
"The Way of Immortality! The Way of Immortality!"
"Senior Sendoh is amazing!"
"That was an amazing shot! It actually managed to fake out Rukawa and knock him to the ground!"
But the cheers soon stopped.
Everyone looked at Rukawa Kaede, who was sitting on the ground.
Rukawa Kaede still hadn't gotten up from the ground!
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