“Beep—”

The whistle on the sidelines suddenly blew; Goro Domoto had raised his hand to call a timeout.

As Sannoh Industrial’s players quickly walked off the court, their faces still held the tension from Gu Jin’s steal and dunk just moments ago. Coach Domoto stood in front of the tactics board, his chalk tapping “thud, thud” against it, his gaze sweeping over everyone without an ounce of relaxation.

“Ryonan’s tempo is too aggressive right now; we need to rein them in,” Domoto’s voice was not loud, but it carried an undeniable authority. “Zawa Kita, you guard Gu Jin. Don’t worry about other players’ movements; just stick to him—when he gets the ball, get right on him. Don’t give him any space, understand?”

Zawa Kita pursed his lips and nodded, the lingering frustration from the stolen ball still heavy in his heart, his fingertips twisting the towel into wrinkles.

“On offense,” Domoto’s chalk turned to the paint area, the tip pointing next to Masashi Kawata’s name. “All balls go to Masashi Kawata. Let Ryonan see what a center’s dominance looks like.”

Masashi Kawata acknowledged, glancing towards Ryonan’s half—Uozumi was breathing heavily, hands on his hips, sweat dripping down his cheeks. He subtly curved his lips for a moment before quickly straightening them.

The timeout ended, and the game resumed.

After Sannoh’s tip-off, Kazunari Fukatsu advanced the ball steadily. Just past half-court, he raised his hand to signal, and Masahiro Nobe and Minoru Matsumoto immediately spread to the sides, leaving the paint entirely open for Kawata.

Fukatsu flicked his wrist, and as the basketball rolled along the floor into Kawata’s hands, Kawata had already established position with his back to Uozumi.

This time, Uozumi didn’t dare to push hard like before, only spreading his arms to stick tightly to Kawata’s side, his fingertips even probing at the hand holding the ball.

But Kawata seemed oblivious, flipping his wrist to switch the ball to his left hand, then suddenly driving his back with force inward—Uozumi stumbled back two steps, watching helplessly as Kawata turned, lightly flicking his wrist, and the basketball swished into the hoop after brushing the backboard.

6:4. As Kawata landed, his elbow lightly brushed Uozumi’s shoulder, his eyes holding a faint, mist-like challenge.

Ryonan attacked, Sendo dribbled past Fukatsu’s tight defense, but Minoru Matsumoto’s diagonal cut disrupted his rhythm, forcing him to hastily throw the ball towards Gu Jin near the free-throw line.

Zawa Kita immediately stuck to him like a shadow, his arm almost wrapped around Gu Jin’s waist, not even giving him a chance to raise his hand to check his teammates’ positions.

Gu Jin didn’t panic, tapping the ball with his fingertips for a fake to the left, then suddenly changing direction the moment Zawa Kita’s weight shifted, but Zawa Kita stuck to him relentlessly—this time, Sannoh’s ace was truly determined, his footwork airtight.

Gu Jin had no choice but to pass the ball into the paint. As Uozumi reached out to receive it, Masashi Kawata suddenly charged from diagonally behind, tipping the ball away with a flick of his fingertips!

“Nobe!” Kawata shouted.

Masahiro Nobe was already waiting on the sideline, scooping up the ball and passing it to Fukatsu.

Sannoh fast-breaked. Fukatsu didn’t hesitate this time, directly throwing the ball to Zawa Kita, who was leading the charge.

Zawa Kita dribbled to the basket, and seeing Sakuragi Hanamichi about to jump for a block, he simply leaped up, gripping the ball with his right hand and slamming it into the hoop—

“Boom!”

Dunk successful, 6:6.

As Zawa Kita landed, he deliberately glanced at Gu Jin, the competitive fire in his eyes clear.

Ryonan’s offense.

Uozumi received the ball with his back to Kawata. This time, he didn’t push hard, but suddenly turned and drove towards the basket. Kawata reacted quickly and chased him, but Uozumi used the momentum of his turn to throw a floater—the ball grazed Kawata’s fingertips and flew into the hoop! 8:6.

Uozumi landed, breathing heavily, and lifted his chin towards Kawata.

Sannoh attacked, Fukatsu still giving the ball to Kawata.

Kawata received the ball in the paint, a turn shaking Uozumi off balance, then a hook shot went in—8:8.

The scores remained incredibly tight!

The audience cheered enthusiastically!

As Sannoh changed its defensive strategy, Ryonan began to play a half-court offense. Gu Jin held the ball outside the three-point line, with Zawa Kita sticking to him like glue.

Gu Jin suddenly accelerated to drive, Zawa Kita slid to keep up, but Gu Jin abruptly stopped and passed the ball to Fukuda cutting in. Fukuda made the layup—10:8.

On Sannoh’s side, Kawata still started with a strong post-up in the paint.

He backed Uozumi away, and as he went up for a layup, the ball was touched by Uozumi’s fingertips, but it still grazed the rim and rolled in—10:10.

Uozumi slammed his palm in frustration. Gu Jin ran over and patted his arm.

In the next two possessions, Kawata scored twice in the paint: one turn-around hook shot and one bank shot over Uozumi’s block;

And Ryonan also scored a basket each from Fukuda and Sendo!

14:14.

Taoka was pacing anxiously on the sidelines: “Uozumi! Hold your position!”

Ryonan attacked, Gu Jin actively called for the ball.

When Zawa Kita came to guard, he was almost on top of him. Gu Jin suddenly changed direction with a crossover dribble, using Zawa Kita’s moment of hesitation to drive to the basket. After drawing Nobe’s help defense, he passed the ball to Sakuragi.

Sakuragi shouted, “The genius is here!”, jumped, and dunked—16:14.

In the stands, Karazawa Kazuo’s folding fan snapped shut with a “clack,” then he smiled and reopened it, fanning himself twice before slowly speaking: “What a magnificent match. Ryonan and Sannoh, neither side is willing to give an inch.”

Shanshan Shouta beside him nodded in agreement, his gaze still fixed on the court—Sakuragi was striking a pose with his hands on his hips after the dunk, but Uozumi was already bent over, hands on his knees, breathing heavily. Masashi Kawata stood under the basket, wiping sweat, his gaze subtly sweeping towards Uozumi.

He couldn’t help but turn to ask Karazawa Kazuo: “Coach, what about Uozumi’s performance? That floater just now was quite clever, but compared to Kawata…”

Karazawa Kazuo didn’t answer immediately, tapping the handle of his folding fan, his eyes on Uozumi with a hint of something thought-provoking: “In terms of current skill, Uozumi is naturally still not as good as Masashi Kawata.” He paused, then suddenly emphasized, “But I’m set on having this center.”

Shanshan Shouta was stunned, his eyes full of doubt: “Are you serious? He was dominated by Kawata for several plays, Kawata made almost every shot, and he even had two turnovers…”

“You only see the ball, not the person’s spirit,” Karazawa Kazuo interrupted him, pointing his fan towards Uozumi on the court. “From the start of the game until now, Uozumi has lost possessions, but he hasn’t lost his spirit. How many centers has Kawata brought despair to? Previous opponents would have long since become timid by now, not daring to go head-to-head with Kawata. But look at him—”

On the court, it was Sannoh’s offense. Kawata received the ball with his back to the basket, then forcefully drove his back into Uozumi.

Uozumi was pushed back half a step, but he gritted his teeth and pushed back, his arms tightly wrapped around Kawata’s waist. Even though Kawata eventually scored with a turn-around hook shot, Uozumi still glared at Kawata with his neck stiff as he landed.

“See,” Karazawa Kazuo smiled, “he still won’t give up at this point, daring to fight and daring to glare. I just like that about him.”

Shanshan Shouta followed his gaze. Uozumi was being patted on the back by Gu Jin, who was saying something. Although his face was covered in sweat, his back was held perfectly straight.

He paused, then slowly nodded, saying no more.