More than a minute later, the referee blew the whistle, and Dragon Slayer Sword made another substitution adjustment.
Kise had reached his limit. After receiving another pass from Tendou and scoring, he directly fell to one knee upon landing.
"If only I could have held on a little longer." He looked at the scoreboard. Dragon Slayer Sword was temporarily leading by 10 points.
Although they had broken into double digits, this gap still wasn't safe enough. As Midorima would say, three three-pointers could make up the difference.
And in his heart, he still hoped to continue staying on the court.
"Well done, mushroom head." Tendou walked over and personally pulled him up, personally helping him off the court. Kise's legs were so weak now that he could barely walk.
"My goal was to expand the lead to 15 points." What a pity - Nash was really too strong! The opponent could always respond, making shot after shot.
"Be really careful, little Tendou."
"I know." Tendou nodded to show he understood.
The game quickly continued. Dragon Slayer Sword substituted out Kise, Kuroko, and Kagami, with Murasakibara, Akashi, and Midorima returning to the court.
Kagami had been playing for a while and it was time for him to rest. Teiko's starting five appeared again, and the arena erupted in applause.
"Does that useless old man have anything to say?"
"No, you continue to control the ball - I'll assist you."
Akashi conveyed Aida Kagetora's words. Although he was back on court, it was more in a supporting role.
"That's good." Tendou had exactly this intention. His purpose in participating in this game wasn't to save Aida Kagetora's life, but to test what level he was currently at.
"Let's begin, Nash." Tendou stood near the free-throw line and beckoned to Nash.
Faced with Tendou's provocation, Nash's response was extremely aggressive. He dribbled across half court and stepped into the Six Eyes' domain without hesitation.
"Don't get too carried away, kid." Smack~ Almost simultaneously, Nash made an explosive breakthrough move.
Having been selected by UC, his physical stats were naturally unquestionable. Even Kise in the Zone domain could be caught up to by him.
His outstanding ball feel also gave his dribbling extremely high stability, making his speed naturally fast as lightning when beating opponents.
With one turn, Nash got past half of Tendou's body. By the time Tendou reacted, he had already stepped back outside the three-point line.
Gather, jump, lean back, shoot! Swish! The ball went in - Nash had made a crucial three-pointer.
His movements were no longer flashy, but rather basic basketball moves that would make fans think "I could do that too" after watching the replay.
However, the reality was that even with such simple offensive moves, Tendou couldn't stop them. This was basketball's truth - the most utilitarian, closest to victory, simplifying complexity.
On the next possession, after Tendou dribbled across half court, he similarly stepped into the Demon Eye's domain without hesitation.
He was too aggressive, showing no intention of backing down against Nash, who was several grades above him.
"Bang!"
The basketball rapidly switched in his hands, and with each switch, Nash felt as if someone was quickly slashing at him.
Sharp, deadly, swift! Their clash was extremely intense, like Mars colliding with Earth, making people's scalps tingle.
"This is a duel between world-class geniuses!" Seeing this scene, many people had their worldviews shattered.
For example, Aomine suddenly had an impulse to visit America. He urgently wanted to see higher mountains and challenge more geniuses!
"Lightning Speed!"
"Triple!"
Tendou let out a light shout, performing three high-speed direction changes and putting his full power into the final one.
Then, without giving Nash any chance to chase and defend, Tendou pulled up for a mid-range jumper.
"So fast!"
"Dad..."
Aida Riko's gaze shifted to her father, but she didn't express her thoughts.
When she said "fast," she wasn't referring to Tendou or Nash's movements improving again, but rather that their offensive and defensive rhythm was too fast.
She had seen plenty of ace one-on-ones on court. Over these two years, when Seirin faced Generation of Miracles teams, Kagami would have such one-on-ones with the opposing core every game, even Zone domain collisions.
But their kind of one-on-ones were fundamentally different from what Tendou and Nash were doing now.
Kagami and the others' one-on-ones were actually quite fast too, especially after entering the Zone, but they were still not as fast as Tendou and Nash.
Yet Aida Riko just felt that Kagami and the others' one-on-ones had a slower rhythm than Tendou and Nash's, seeming somewhat sluggish in comparison.
"This is the difference between us and them." Aida Kagetora sighed silently.
This "us" referred to Japanese and even Asian basketball. "Them" naturally referred to Japan's godfather, America.
Where was the difference? For instance, in Kagami and the others' one-on-one duels, each shooting choice fell into one of two categories: excellent opportunities, or being forced to shoot.
What about Tendou and Nash? They would unhesitatingly throw the ball out the moment they gained even the slightest shooting opportunity.
Why did this difference exist?
First, player confidence. Without sufficient confidence and courage, who would dare play such superstar ball? Missing would be a bad shot that you'd get blamed for.
Second, individual ability. Without relative personal ability, having all the confidence in the world won't let you make shots - basketball is ultimately a sport about who scores more.
To play superstar ball, both confidence and ability are indispensable.
Third, and most crucially, the gap in tactical literacy!
The reason Kagami and others could take time to consider optimal shooting opportunities was that the opposing teams didn't provide enough defensive pressure.
Even against Generation of Miracles teams, he only needed to consider defeating Aomine, Midorima, Kise, Akashi, and Murasakibara. The other players couldn't threaten him, so Kagami could naturally choose safe shots.
But America was different. American teams created defensive threats for offensive players, especially core players, that were unimaginable.
The most extreme tactics were naturally things like the "Jordan Rules" and "Hack-a-Shaq."
So when playing there, if you hesitated even slightly, the opponent's defense would immediately be in position. At that point, forget optimal shooting opportunities - you wouldn't even have a chance to shoot.
Therefore, Aida Riko felt the rhythm between Tendou and Nash's battle was faster. Even though everyone's speed seemed similar, there was such a huge difference in perception.
Nash was used to playing in America, accustomed to shooting whenever there was an opportunity, never missing any chance.
And he had the ability to do so. As for Tendou...
"He's adapting to and learning Nash's playing style!"
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