Chapter Fifty-Eight: The Third Offensive Option
"Listen up!" Coach Takato said with serious expression to Kainan's players.
"You've faced numerous challenges from teams wanting to defeat you. And you've beaten them all one by one!"
"Because you've never slacked on defense—today is no different!"
"Though people around call you champions, regard you as Kanagawa's strongest team, you haven't grown complacent from these praises. Instead, you've constantly craved victory!"
"Offense! Offense! Relentless offense!" Coach Takato snapped his fan shut forcefully. "This is how Kainan reached today!"
"This time, Ryonan added a forward of unknown origin, added a genius recruit. Their strength increased considerably over previous years."
"But they remain challengers—merely opponents evenly matched with us!"
"Victory's scales forever tip toward the side craving it more! Today, we'll also use offense to prove who the true champions are!"
"YEAH!!" Kainan players' fighting spirits blazed even more fiercely.
In the stands, Shohoku's group.
"I don't believe Ryonan will win this game so easily." Akagi Takenori said.
"Oh?" Sakuragi turned to look at him.
"Whether Sendoh or that first-year, they're both underestimating Maki too much." Akagi looked seriously at Maki on court.
"Huh? That old man is that amazing?" Sakuragi looked toward the court, full of doubt.
"You can tell from how he's limiting both Sendoh and that Yagami, idiot." Miyagi Ryota said from the side. "If just an ordinary guard, probably even controlling the ball would be difficult before him."
As a fellow point guard, Miyagi understood Maki's terror better than anyone.
Though Fujima was always compared with Maki, in their four direct confrontations, Maki never gave Fujima any chances—every time was overwhelming victory.
Maki was Kanagawa's undisputed number one guard.
"Tweet!"
The whistle sounded. Both teams' players returned to court.
Puzzlingly, Kainan made absolutely no adjustments.
"Despite trailing 9 points, surely they're not still underestimating opponents." Kise folded his arms watching the court.
Kainan's ball.
"Your defensive stance has almost no flaws. Shaking you off really isn't easy." Maki said facing Sendoh's defense, tone seemingly praising.
Sendoh didn't respond. His current situation wasn't relaxed.
"Takasago!"
Maki's low shout was like attacking bugles. His body's center of gravity suddenly sank, feinting a strong right-side drive.
Sendoh reacted quickly, feet nimbly sliding right to block, but his entire nervous system remained tense, guarding against possible direction changes.
However, Maki's response was more direct—forcibly blowing past Sendoh's side with absolute explosiveness.
The right side!
Sendoh's pupils contracted. Uozumi also hadn't expected Sendoh to get beaten in one step—didn't even react to help.
Maki rose smoothly, hitting a light floater.
Ryonan 33 - Kainan 26
Offensive transition. Ryonan's offense.
Jin and Kiyota directly double-teamed Yagami!
"Swoosh!"
Open Ikegami caught the ball for a mid-range attempt—good touch!
"Nice!"
The basketball traced a clean arc, swishing through.
Ryonan 35 - Kainan 26
Ryonan's momentum didn't stop either!
Kainan's offense.
After observing the defense, Maki delivered a precise through ball to wing-cutting Kiyota's hands.
Ikegami stayed tight on his opponent but crashed into a "wall."
Muto had established position early, setting a solid screen for Kiyota, perfectly blocking Ikegami's movement path.
"Fukuda!"
Ikegami reminded Fukuda to switch, but his opponent clearly reacted a beat slow.
Kiyota seized the gap, swiftly accelerating past him, charging straight to the basket.
Seeing this, Uozumi immediately collapsed, jumping toward Kiyota for the block.
"Boom!"
Facing Uozumi's absolute height, Kiyota didn't force it. He cleverly turned sideways to dodge, single-handedly hammering the ball through the rim!
Ryonan 35 - Kainan 28
"Uozumi got posterized by a first-year!"
"WOOO!"
"How about that! Don't underestimate Kainan!" Kiyota shouted loudly.
"With his height, truly unbelievable..." Taoka thought ominously from the sideline. This ball absolutely couldn't affect Ryonan's momentum.
"Uozumi-senpai..." Aida looked worriedly at the court. "For him, this is genuine humiliation."
"Uozumi!" Ikegami shouted with concern.
"I'm fine." Uozumi's expression darkened as he picked up the basketball, squeezing through gritted teeth: "That stinky brat... next time I'll swat him out of bounds!"
He quickly walked to the baseline, finding Yagami's position and passing out.
"Watch out!"
Almost simultaneously, a figure cut into the passing lane—Maki!
"Smack!"
He was there?!!
The basketball was cleanly stolen. Maki didn't pause at all, charging alone toward the basket, instantly forming a fast-break one-versus-many situation.
Yagami chased from behind. Uozumi and Ikegami both guarded under the basket.
"Boom!"
Maki suddenly jumped one step inside the free throw line, powerful momentum carrying him toward the rim.
"Don't foul, Uozumi-senpai!" Sendoh's shout came from behind.
But Uozumi had already jumped toward Maki.
Under violent body contact, Maki's core strength displayed completely. He maintained excellent balance, flicking his wrist gently during contact, using a high-arc floater to send the ball toward the basket.
Two points, good!
"Whistle! Ryonan number 4, defensive foul! One free throw!"
"Such ridiculous body control—this makes Uozumi's foul completely meaningless." Miyagi said with grave expression.
Maki hit the free throw.
Ryonan 35 - Kainan 31
Kainan instantly cut the gap to 4 points!
"Yeah!"
"Beautifully done! Maki!!!"
Kainan's bench players jumped up excitedly.
"Let's go! Don't let your feet slow down!" Coach Takato shouted loudly from the sideline.
"KAINAN! COUNTERATTACK!"
"KAINAN! COUNTERATTACK!"
"Uozumi-senpai, calm down." Sendoh also returned to Ryonan's basket to console.
Uozumi remained angry, not speaking.
"Uozumi-senpai, remember what you said before the top-four match?" Yagami said calmly. "Against Kainan in this showdown, you don't want to sit on the bench watching us finish either, right?"
"Yagami..." Uozumi took a deep breath. "I understand."
"Don't worry. I've got the interior!"
"HYAH!"
Yagami rolled his eyes. Would be better without that final weird shout.
"Alright, let's continue!" Sendoh said peacefully. "We're the ones leading right now. Absolutely no need to panic."
"Yes!"
"Uozumi calmed down?" Coach Taoka, who'd walked to the scorer's table, stopped. "The players' emotions also seem stable."
"Call timeout?" The technical staff asked.
"No need." Coach Taoka smiled, returning to Ryonan's rest area. "These two guys really put my mind at ease."
"Tch, Sendoh goes without saying. That brat also acts so calm." Maki looked at both with interest. "As expected, this year's Ryonan isn't easily handled."
Offensive transition. Ryonan's offense.
The instant Yagami crossed centerline, he faced a double-team.
Though wing Ikegami was in open position, Takasago imperceptibly positioned between his and Yagami's passing lane. Kainan clearly had early arrangements for open players.
"Honestly, space your positioning out more... looks like positioning still needs practice."
Yagami mentally complained about Ikegami. Helplessly, he could only first pass to Sendoh.
From the second quarter's start, Maki's defensive movements showed obviously greater aggression, arms constantly disrupting, leaving almost no shooting space.
"Foul! Isn't that a foul?" Coach Taoka protested excitedly toward the referee, but the official remained unmoved.
However.
After temporarily escaping without the ball, Yagami stepped up to receive from Sendoh. A simple handoff—after catching, Yagami didn't hesitate, quickly lobbing toward the interior.
Kainan couldn't stop Ryonan's third offensive option!
Fukuda charged into the paint.
However, Kainan was also prepared. Muto and Takasago both collapsed, defending.
"Correct—as a facilitating point, he only has finishing ability." Coach Takato nodded. "Then no need to worry about his passing."
Though individual defensive ability was insufficient, Kainan's solid help defense foundation ranked first in Kanagawa!
Fukuda indeed chose forcing the attack. Facing two defenders, he floated up a shot.
"Bang!"
The basketball traced a brief arc, banking precisely through the rim!
"What?!" Coach Takato gripped his fan tightly in shock.
"FUKUDA! FUKUDA! Well done!"
"FUKUDA! FUKUDA! Great shot!"
Fukuda showed no surprise, enjoying the sideline cheers with relish.
Ryonan 37 - Kainan 31
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