The final buzzer echoed like thunder.
Seiryō High – 110. Easton Technical High– 109.
For a few seconds, the world stood still. The court felt suspended between silence and roar the air thick with disbelief, pride, exhaustion, and awe.
Silence — then chaos.
The stands erupted. Fans screamed. Banners waved.
And from the bench, Arisa shot up before the sound had even faded.
"They did it!" she cried, her voice cracking with joy.
Beside her, Coach Aoyama exhaled for the first time in what felt like hours. Her lips curved into the faintest smile proud, controlled, yet full of warmth.
"Go," she said softly to Arisa. "They earned that."
Cheers shook the gym walls. The echo of sneakers, the hum of the scoreboard, the sight of both teams drenched in sweat, gasping for breath, yet smiling through the fatigue created a picture that would live forever in memory.
Marcus dropped to his knees, chest heaving. His vision blurred from tears and sweat.
