Despite the many impressive performances by Sakuragi Hanamichi, a basketball novice, in this game, no one would have expected, or dared to imagine, that he would actually receive a huge block from Sendoh Akira!
Moreover, after Sakuragi Hanamichi's defense was broken through by Sendoh Akira, he came from behind again and, with an incredible jump, reached out from behind Sendoh Akira and slapped the basketball away.
This scene is absolutely shocking!
At this moment, everyone's eyes were focused on Sakuragi Hanamichi!
No one could believe what they were seeing!
This man is so unfathomable!
Is he really a basketball novice?
Even Coach Anzai's eyes flashed with an extremely dazzling light, and he couldn't help but say, "Sakuragi-kun, you really surprise me..."
While everyone was stunned by Sakuragi Hanamichi's astonishing performance...
The basketball did not fly out of bounds.
The competition is still ongoing!
At that moment, Tomoyuki Uekusa, Akira Sendoh, Kaede Rukawa, and Hanamichi Sakuragi all rushed towards the flying basketball.
This basketball was absolutely crucial!
With only 40 seconds left in the game, and Shohoku trailing by 4 points, if Ryonan were to steal the ball and score, the score difference would become 6 points.
It would be too difficult to catch up by 6 points and win in less than 40 seconds.
Therefore, Shohoku must now seize possession of the ball and launch an attack in order to have any chance of turning the tide and winning.
Although all four ran towards the basketball at the same time, Tomoyuki Uekusa was clearly further forward and had a better chance of grabbing the ball.
"Plant grass! Keep it up!"
"Senior Uekusa, you absolutely have to get that basketball!"
"Plant grass, charge!"
The Ryonan players roared their support for Tomoyuki Uekusa.
There's no way around it; the competition has reached a fever pitch, and everyone's emotions have become extremely agitated.
Tomoyuki Uekusa sprinted towards the basketball with all his might, under immense pressure, but thankfully he still managed to catch up.
Basketball is right here.
Uekusa Tomoyuki hurriedly reached out to grab the basketball that was right in front of him.
But just then!
A figure suddenly rushed over!
It's Sakuragi Hanamichi!
Sakuragi Hanamichi quickly thrust one arm in front of Uekusa Tomoyuki!
To Tomoyuki Uekusa's astonished gaze, Sakuragi Hanamichi grabbed the basketball and then held it firmly in his hand.
"You?!" Tomoyuki Uekusa's face was filled with shock and disbelief.
This Sakuragi Hanamichi is simply a monster!
How did he manage to snatch that?
Immediately afterwards, Tomoyuki Uekusa witnessed an even more shocking scene.
Sendoh Akira actually rushed over too!
It turns out that when Sakuragi Hanamichi rushed over, Sendoh Akira never stopped. Even though he could see that Sakuragi Hanamichi was going faster, Sendoh Akira still chased closely behind Sakuragi Hanamichi!
The moment Sakuragi Hanamichi snatched the basketball from Uekusa Tomoyuki, Sendoh Akira had already rushed up behind Sakuragi Hanamichi.
Sendoh Akira made a swift move!
He wanted to snatch the basketball from Sakuragi Hanamichi's hands!
"Hmm?" Sakuragi Hanamichi frowned. "Sendoh! You actually tried to steal the basketball from my hand? Come on! Try it! I'll let you experience what it felt like for Koshino Hiroaki to fly out like that!"
With a "smack"!
Sendoh Akira slammed one of his hands onto the basketball!
It turns out that Sendoh Akira didn't use both hands to grab the basketball like Koshino Hiroaki did before, but instead slapped the basketball with one hand, trying to make it slip from Sakuragi Hanamichi's hands.
To Sendoh Akira's astonishment, the basketball seemed to be permanently attached to Sakuragi Hanamichi's hand; despite his fierce slapping, the basketball didn't budge an inch.
Instead, it made Sendoh Akira feel pain in his hand!
Sakuragi Hanamichi grinned wildly and laughed, "Hahaha, Sendoh! I'll show you the true strength of the Shohoku team!"
Sendoh Akira's expression changed drastically! He realized something and quickly followed Sakuragi Hanamichi's gaze.
Rukawa Kaede! Rukawa Kaede was missed in the defense!
Under Sendoh Akira's shocked gaze, Sakuragi Hanamichi roared, "Rukawa Kaede! Catch the ball!"
This time it's for real!
Throughout the game, Sakuragi Hanamichi shouted "Rukawa Kaede catch the ball!" countless times, but it was all a lie. This time, however, it was for real!
With a "whoosh"!
Sakuragi Hanamichi suddenly threw the basketball at Rukawa Kaede, who was unguarded.
Rukawa Kaede, standing just outside the three-point line, caught the basketball steadily.
At this moment, Tomoyuki Uekusa rushed over to defend Rukawa Kaede.
But it was too late!
Standing outside the three-point line, Rukawa Kaede didn't make any unnecessary movements the moment he got the basketball; he jumped and shot immediately!
With a "whoosh"!
The basketball was thrown from Rukawa Kaede's hands!
Rukawa's shooting form was very standard, and his release was perfect, producing a beautiful parabola.
Uekusa Tomoyuki, who came to interfere, was completely powerless to stop Rukawa Kaede, who had already made his move.
The moment the basketball was released, Rukawa felt that everything around him was quiet. He could clearly hear his own breathing and the beating of his heart, but he could not hear the noise around him.
The moment he jumped to shoot, it seemed as if all his movements were driven by inertia, natural and seamless.
He looked at the basketball flying in the air and felt incredibly at ease.
At this moment, the entire audience held their breath, staring intently at the basketball that flew from Rukawa's hands.
With a "whoosh"!
The basketball went into the hoop and into the net!
Goal!
Three-pointer!
Rukawa Kaede sinks a three-pointer!
Shobei, 84 points!
Lingnan, 85 points!
Because of this three-pointer, Shohoku is now only one point behind Ryonan!
With a "boom"!
The entire basketball court erupted!
"ah!!!"
"Rukawa Kaede! Rukawa Kaede! Rukawa Kaede!"
"Go Shohoku! Go Shohoku!"
"Shobei! Shobei!"
"Oh my god! Rukawa Kaede actually hit a three-pointer at this moment! This shot is crucial!"
"Yes! This match was absolutely thrilling! I never expected the last few seconds to be so exciting!"
Rukawa's cheerleaders wished they could rush onto the basketball court and kiss him passionately!
Yohei Mito and his Sakuragi Army brothers shouted and cheered for Kaede Rukawa. In their eyes, anyone who was Sakuragi Hanamichi's teammate was one of their own.
The players on the Shohoku team's bench were shouting "Go Shohoku!" with all their might.
At that moment, Aya shouted loudly, "Everyone, pay attention! There are only 40 seconds left!"
Takenori Akagi shouted, "Everyone, hold your ground! Hold off Ryonan's attack!"
Sakuragi Hanamichi, the best assist provider, and Rukawa Kaede, who made the three-pointer, were not blinded by their previous goal and quickly switched to defensive mode.
Sakuragi Hanamichi took the lead in responding to Akagi Takenori's words, "Defense!"
Kogure Kiminobu and Yasuda Yasuharu shouted in unison, "Defense!"
Rukawa didn't shout along with his teammates this time because his eyes were fixed on Sendoh Akira.
He knew that whether he could hold onto the ball depended on whether he could hold onto Sendoh Akira.
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