Over the next few minutes, Rakuzan truly seemed to fall into trouble.
Seijuro Akashi could not score under Miyamoto Tokima's defense, and Kotaro Hayama was completely locked down by Shuzo Nijimura.
Dicky Anthony guarded Reo Mibuchi, leaving Reo Mibuchi afraid to shoot carelessly. After all, Dicky Anthony's height and wingspan were far too much for him.
Chihiro Mayuzumi was not doing much better. Makoto Hanamiya stuck to him like an actual tracker, following him relentlessly.
[Misdirection] was completely useless, because Makoto Hanamiya no longer cared about anyone else. He devoted all of his attention to Chihiro Mayuzumi.
And watching him was not enough. Makoto Hanamiya kept using trash talk to mess with Chihiro Mayuzumi too, making him suffer constantly.
The only scoring option Rakuzan High School had left was Eikichi Nebuya.
That was because Kentaro Seto really could not withstand Eikichi Nebuya's collisions on his own.
Miyamoto Tokima had clearly already told him he could back off Eikichi Nebuya a little, because their side was still scoring threes.
No matter how hard Eikichi Nebuya fought, he was only scoring twos.
But Kentaro Seto was a stubborn mule. He said he would back off, but in reality, he did not give an inch and kept clashing head-on with Eikichi Nebuya.
He forced himself to keep going even with his face twisted from the effort. Stubborn to the extreme.
(P.S.: It's just like when I ran into someone at Liar's Bar who played fake cards six times in a row. I was the next player after him and said I'd stop calling him out once I caught him playing real cards. In the end, all six were fake, and I called him out so hard he went flying!)
Helpless, Miyamoto Tokima had no choice but to let Kentaro Seto keep taking the hits.
...
There were six minutes left in the fourth quarter.
The score was now 112 to 87, with Kirisaki Daiichi leading Rakuzan High School by 25 points.
Six minutes and a 25-point gap. It was basically the same as declaring the game over early.
The spectators off the court thought the same. Many of them had even gotten up and left.
Daiki Aomine looked at the scene on the court, raised his head slightly, and murmured:
"Is Akashi going to lose too...?"
From Shūtoku's side.
Shintaro Midorima pushed up his glasses and murmured:
"Akashi..."
From Seirin's side.
Junpei Hyuga took off his glasses, then lifted them and gently wiped them as he said:
"Kirisaki Daiichi really is suffocating. Even with two of their starters off the court, they can still suppress Rakuzan High School."
Then Junpei Hyuga put his glasses back on and smiled bitterly.
"Looking at it this way, the gap between us and them is just way too big."
Taiga Kagami clenched his fists tightly beside him and said nothing for a long time.
Tetsuya Kuroko also fell silent, not knowing what to say.
On the court.
The players from Rakuzan High School were all gasping heavily. Their stamina and condition had already begun to decline.
By contrast, on Kirisaki Daiichi's side, Miyamoto Tokima, Dicky Anthony, and Shuzo Nijimura were still in pretty good shape.
Only Makoto Hanamiya was breathing a little heavily.
As for Kentaro Seto, his condition was starting to look off as well. After all, clashing head-on with Eikichi Nebuya so many times had drained his stamina quickly.
Satsuki Momoi was extremely decisive and immediately said:
"Kazuya Hara, get ready to go in."
Hearing that, Kazuya Hara's bubble popped the moment he blew it.
He used his tongue to pull the bubblegum stuck around his mouth back in and said:
"Got it, sis-in-law."
Then Kazuya Hara stood up and went to the sideline, waiting for a dead ball.
On the next possession.
After Chihiro Mayuzumi caught the ball, he still wanted to pass it to Eikichi Nebuya, but Makoto Hanamiya managed to barely steal it at the very limit.
However, because the steal was too close, the basketball went out of bounds.
"Beep! Out of bounds! Rakuzan High School's ball!"
After the dead ball, Kazuya Hara entered the court in place of Kentaro Seto.
The moment Kentaro Seto came off, he collapsed onto the bench and began gulping down air.
At the same time, he rubbed his chest, his expression somewhat pained.
Kojiro Furuhashi handed him a cup of water and said:
"Kentaro, you really didn't have to keep taking him head-on."
Kentaro Seto took the cup, sipped a little water, and said:
"Hah... I know. But I don't want Tokima-san to look down on me. I'm a man with guts too!"
Kojiro Furuhashi was momentarily speechless and did not know what to say.
In truth, they all knew that in the future, they would not be able to keep following Miyamoto Tokima's footsteps forever.
What they could do for Miyamoto Tokima was probably work under him.
Of course, if things went well, they might become professional players in Japan. As for anywhere else, that was probably a long shot.
They did not have many choices, but Kentaro Seto had plenty.
Putting aside the fact that Kentaro Seto's basketball talent was better than theirs, his intelligence alone was enough for him to thrive in the future.
Of course, there was also Makoto Hanamiya!
And judging by Makoto Hanamiya's current role, he might really be able to follow Miyamoto Tokima out into the wider world in the future.
...
On the court.
With Kazuya Hara entering the game, Kirisaki Daiichi's interior became a little weaker.
After all, Kazuya Hara's original position was power forward. Having him hold back a brute-force player like Eikichi Nebuya was naturally a bit difficult.
But Kazuya Hara played smart. If he could not hold him off, he could pull the chair!
Even if he could not pull away, he could still reach in a little to disrupt him or try for a steal.
Right now, Rakuzan High School's offensive firepower was all on Eikichi Nebuya. The others could not make their offense work at all.
The game was already in a desperate situation. If this continued, then there really would be no suspense left.
Chihiro Mayuzumi naturally understood that too, but he did not know how to break the situation open.
Even Seijuro Akashi could not break through this situation. What could a small shadow like him possibly do?
Just as Chihiro Mayuzumi began sinking into discouragement, he suddenly noticed Seirin High School off the court.
When Chihiro Mayuzumi saw Seirin High School, he was suddenly startled.
'Shadow... shadow!'
Chihiro Mayuzumi suddenly snapped back to his senses, and a figure appeared in his mind.
It was Tetsuya Kuroko!
After thinking of Tetsuya Kuroko, Chihiro Mayuzumi instinctively thought of the skills Tetsuya Kuroko had once used.
The [Vanishing Drive] and the [Phantom Shot]!
Those were all things done by a shadow!
This was a ray of hope in the middle of despair!
Chihiro Mayuzumi immediately began recalling the way Tetsuya Kuroko used those skills.
As a shadow himself, he naturally understood the principles behind Tetsuya Kuroko's techniques very quickly.
So Chihiro Mayuzumi walked up to Seijuro Akashi with a serious expression and said in a low voice:
"Akashi, next possession, can you pass me the ball?"
...
...
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