In the following stretch of the game, Kirisaki Daiichi handed almost all of their offensive possessions to Atsushi Murasakibara.
Atsushi Murasakibara kept overpowering Kosuke Wakamatsu in the paint.
He nearly knocked Kosuke Wakamatsu apart.
Kosuke Wakamatsu was suffering, but the rest of Tōō High were doing slightly better.
They began playing through combinations, but the defensive gates formed by Atsushi Murasakibara and Dicky Anthony were simply too terrifying.
Atsushi Murasakibara could already handle basic defense inside the three point line on his own, and now Dicky Anthony had been added to the mix.
The two helped each other defend, each covering half the court, forcibly creating full defensive coverage inside the three point line.
No matter who you were, as long as you dared to shoot inside the three point line, either Atsushi Murasakibara or Dicky Anthony would serve you a massive block.
That forced Tōō High to use other methods.
For example, they had Ryo Sakurai shoot long range threes.
Or they had Daiki Aomine enter the paint, draw the defensive pressure from Atsushi Murasakibara and Dicky Anthony, then pass back out to the perimeter for a shot.
Fortunately, Ryo Sakurai's long range three point accuracy was decent enough to keep the score from getting too far apart.
By the end of the first quarter, the score had reached 38 to 27, with Kirisaki Daiichi leading by eleven points.
The reason they were only ahead by eleven was mainly because Kirisaki Daiichi had basically let Atsushi Murasakibara handle all the scoring in the first quarter.
And Atsushi Murasakibara's scoring area was almost entirely under the basket.
Shooting?
None!
Absolutely none!
Tōō High's scoring methods were a little different.
Either Daiki Aomine scored inside with his [Formless shot], or they relied on Ryo Sakurai's long range threes.
After all, a three pointer was still worth one more point than a two pointer.
Throughout the first quarter, both sides seemed to be probing each other.
Even though Atsushi Murasakibara had all the possessions in the first quarter, he still did not activate Animal Instinct or Zone.
Daiki Aomine was the same. He did not activate Animal Instinct or Zone at all in the first quarter, only attacking with his normal speed.
After both sides returned to the bench, the coaches immediately began making simple adjustments.
Katsunori Harasawa picked up the tactics board and explained the strategy to everyone.
What he talked about the most was still how to deal with the wide defensive range of Atsushi Murasakibara and Dicky Anthony.
Off the court.
Kazunari Takao rubbed his forehead and sighed.
"It hasn't even been that long, but those guys have already grown to this level."
"That foreigner and Murasakibara's defensive coordination is actually that good. They've completely covered everything inside the three point line."
Shintaro Midorima pushed up his glasses, his expression still unchanged, almost like a mask.
He looked toward the court and said calmly, "Their defensive range is indeed terrifying. However, they cannot stop me."
"Do what must be done, observe fate, and await what comes next."
Kazunari Takao looked at Shintaro Midorima in surprise and said, "Shin-chan, you really have changed a lot."
Indeed, ever since Shintaro Midorima activated Zone that one time, he had changed significantly.
The most obvious change was his confidence.
The current Shintaro Midorima had absolute confidence in his three pointers.
His way of acting had also changed.
Of course, he still brought his lucky item, and he still listened to his horoscope.
But the change was precisely there.
If the horoscope said Cancer had the lowest fortune that day, Shintaro Midorima would say this:
[Today's fate has changed. It must not be obeyed.]
That was right. Shintaro Midorima had gone from doing what must be done and accepting fate, to doing what must be done and observing fate.
To put it simply, if fate was on his side, then good.
If fate was not on his side? Then sorry, your fate is inaccurate. I choose not to look.
It was a massive change.
On Seirin's side.
Riko Aida and Alex Garcia sat together, their eyes fixed firmly on the court.
Riko Aida was watching the court while thinking about how they might deal with this kind of wide range defense in the future.
Alex Garcia, on the other hand, was looking at one specific person on the court.
Miyamoto Tokima.
As she watched Miyamoto Tokima, she kept feeling an odd sense of familiarity. She tried again and again to remember, but she still could not recall it.
Her beautiful eyes remained locked on Miyamoto Tokima on the court as she thought to herself:
'Where exactly have I seen you before?...'
On the court.
"Beep! The second quarter begins! Both teams, take the court!"
The referee blew the whistle and shouted.
Katsunori Harasawa put down the tactics board in his hand and encouraged everyone with a serious expression.
"Everyone, give it your all!"
Shoichi Imayoshi and the others nodded heavily and shouted, "Yes!"
On Kirisaki Daiichi's side.
Satsuki Momoi put down the Delicious Stick she had taken and said, "Everyone, it's time to go on."
Shuzo Nijimura and the others shouted in unison, "Yes!"
Atsushi Murasakibara, meanwhile, looked pitifully at the Delicious Stick in Satsuki Momoi's hand, then counted the Delicious Sticks remaining in his own bag and fell into depression.
Miyamoto Tokima helplessly patted Atsushi Murasakibara on the shoulder and whispered, "It's okay, Murasakibara. I'll buy you more after this."
Atsushi Murasakibara asked, looking deeply wronged, "Really?"
Miyamoto Tokima nodded.
Atsushi Murasakibara instantly smiled, and his mood recovered.
"Thanks, Tokima."
As soon as he finished speaking, Satsuki Momoi's voice rang out.
"Since Miyamoto is going to buy you more later, I'll take a few more."
Satsuki Momoi suddenly popped up with a smile and took a few more Delicious Sticks from Atsushi Murasakibara's bag.
Atsushi Murasakibara froze, then looked at Miyamoto Tokima with a worried expression.
Miyamoto Tokima smiled awkwardly and said, "I'll buy them. I'll buy enough..."
Only then did Atsushi Murasakibara smile again. Then he picked up his backpack and handed it to Satsuki Momoi.
"Here, Satsuki. You can eat all of it."
Atsushi Murasakibara had his own little scheme.
A few Delicious Sticks had gone missing, and Miyamoto Tokima said he would buy enough to replace them.
Then if he gave everything to Satsuki Momoi, didn't that mean Miyamoto Tokima would buy enough of everything else too?!
I, Atsushi Murasakibara, really am a genius.
Satsuki Momoi smiled as she took the backpack full of snacks and started eating.
Miyamoto Tokima smiled helplessly, then walked onto the court.
At that moment, Shogo Haizaki ran over and looked at Miyamoto Tokima excitedly.
"Tokima-san, I did it! I did it!"
Miyamoto Tokima was a little confused and asked, "Did what?"
Shogo Haizaki's face was full of excitement as he said in delight, "That skill you told me about last time, Tokima-san! I learned it!!!"
"I think I can enter that state now!!!"
Miyamoto Tokima froze for a moment, then looked at Shogo Haizaki in complete bewilderment.
No way, man! You actually learned it?!
The corner of Miyamoto Tokima's mouth twitched. He decided he would see how Shogo Haizaki used that skill later, so he said, "Alright. Then use it later and let me see."
Shogo Haizaki nodded heavily and smiled.
"Yes, Tokima-san!" ...
...
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