Attack and Defense Transition
The ball, knocked loose from the block, landed in Akagi Takenori's hands.
Qing Junce raised his hand. "Ball."
Akagi hesitated for a moment… but passed it.
The moment the ball touched Qing Junce's hands—he exploded forward.
"Damn…" Sendoh narrowed his eyes and bolted after him.
But the more he ran, the more stunned he became.
He couldn't catch up.
"No way. Sendoh can't close the distance?!" Ikegami Ryoji exclaimed.
"I won't let you score that easy!" Uozumi dropped into a defensive stance near the rim.
"Don't get cocky, freshman." Koshino stepped in front, boxing Junce in with Uozumi.
But—
As soon as Qing Junce reached the paint, he stopped on a dime and launched upward.
At the same time, Uozumi and Koshino both jumped with him, arms stretched wide.
Blocked—?
Everyone on Ryonan breathed a sigh of relief.
But something felt… off.
Sendoh's pupils contracted.
From the bench, Coach Taoka shot to his feet. "A… fadeaway?!"
Shohoku's side
Ayako gasped. "He stopped at that speed and pulled off a fadeaway?!"
Anzai chuckled softly, eyes twinkling. "Exceptional talent. His agility… I've never seen anything like it."
Kogure nodded enthusiastically. "Even Sendoh couldn't keep up!"
Anzai corrected him gently. "Speed and agility are different. Junce isn't just fast—he can accelerate from zero to max and brake from max to zero with absolute control. That's agility."
Back on the Court
Qing Junce's body tilted back midair. The ball left his fingertips.
A hand swiped overhead—but missed.
The shot arced high, just clearing Uozumi and Koshino's outstretched hands.
Swish—
The net rippled.
Shohoku: 37Ryonan: 45
Qing Junce landed softly, glanced over his shoulder at Sendoh, and cracked a subtle smile—not cocky, but casual.
Then he jogged back to defense.
Koshino gritted his teeth. "That smug bastard…"
Uozumi growled in frustration.
Neither of them could stop him.
Sendoh wiped his brow, breath unsteady. "This is bad…"
He couldn't even close the gap on Junce while chasing him without the ball. That shouldn't have been possible.
And Coach Taoka had noticed it too.
His knees bounced anxiously under the bench.
Then—
Everything unraveled.
Ryonan's Offense Collapses
Every attack began to stall.
Wherever they passed the ball, Junce appeared—intercepting, contesting, blocking.
Shohoku took control.
Every fast break ended the same way: the ball in Qing Junce's hands.
Now, under the basket, only Uozumi stood guard.
Determined, Uozumi summoned all his strength and leapt higher than ever before.
His arms cut off every possible angle.
Coach Taoka shouted from the sideline, "Nice, Uozumi!"
But then—
Junce's body tilted backward.
Farther. Farther.
Until he was nearly horizontal.
"What?!" Uozumi's eyes went wide.
Even Sendoh looked like he'd seen a ghost.
Aida Hikoichi pointed with trembling fingers, mouth open but no words coming.
Everyone on Shohoku's bench—except Kanon—froze in disbelief.
Ayako covered her mouth. Anzai and Taoka both stood up.
The entire gym held its breath.
Junce released the ball mid-fall.
It soared.
Cleared Uozumi's fingertips.
And—
Swish.
Right through the net.
Shohoku: 39Ryonan: 45
BOOM.
The gym erupted.
"Wooooah!! That was insane!!"
"I've never seen a shot like that in my life!!"
"He's a monster!!"
In the Stands
Haruko jumped and waved her arms. "That was amazing!! Incredible!!"
At this moment, even Kaede Rukawa was temporarily forgotten.
Fujii blushed. "Ugh, too bad he already has a girlfriend…"
Matsui stared blankly. "Two girls completely lost to a pretty face…"
Momentum Shifts
With each passing minute, the tide turned.
Ryonan cracked under pressure.
And that pressure had one name—Qing Junce.
Mistakes piled up on Ryonan's end.
Meanwhile, Shohoku kept scoring.
Because they couldn't stop Junce.
Single defense? Didn't work.Double team? Didn't matter.Triple coverage? Useless.
Junce always found a gap.
The scoreboard climbed:
Shohoku: 60Ryonan: 50
They had flipped a 10-point deficit into a 10-point lead.
And the man behind it all—Qing Junce.
Timeout – Ryonan Bench
Beep—
Coach Taoka called timeout.
The Ryonan players collapsed onto the bench, gasping for air.
Taoka's expression darkened.
This was supposed to be the year.The year they reached Nationals.
But Shohoku… had snuffed that hope out.
And at the center of it all—that monster in the No. 9 jersey.
Taoka turned to his players.
"We're not done. The game's not over. There's still a chance."
He pointed to Yuzumi and Koshino.
"You two double-team No. 9. Do everything you can to slow him down."
"Yes, Coach!"
Then he looked at Sendoh.
"You're on your own now. Akagi. Rukawa. You take them both."
Because in Taoka's eyes, Qing Junce was more dangerous than both of them combined.
Sendoh nodded. "Understood."
Beep!
Game resumed.
And then—
HA HA HA HA!
Wild laughter burst from Shohoku's side.
Everyone looked over.
A new redhead had stepped onto the court.
Sakuragi Hanamichi had been subbed in.
"HAHAHA! Finally, it's my turn! Try not to slow me down, okay?"
BANG!
Akagi smacked him on the head. "Shut up and don't screw it up."
"Gorilla bastard…" Sakuragi muttered, rubbing his head.
Ironically—
Sakuragi broke Taoka's plan.
Even if he didn't help on offense, he completely threw off Ryonan's rhythm on defense.
Yuzumi and Koshino stuck to Junce like glue.
Sendoh now had to deal with Akagi, Rukawa, and the unpredictable Sakuragi.
He could no longer focus.
The Scoreboard Rolled Forward
65–5274–5480–57
Time ticked down.
13 seconds left.
The scoreboard read:
Shohoku: 98Ryonan: 68
It was over.
Coach Taoka had stopped shouting. There was nothing more to say.
But Ryonan, to their credit, fought to the final second.
Final Possession – Shohoku
The last play was left to—of all people—Sakuragi Hanamichi.
He charged forward, declaring: "Behold, my genius slam dunk!"
He jumped.Too far.Too hard.
CLANG.
The ball hit the rim and bounced.
BANG!
He smacked straight into the backboard and dropped like a rock.
Nobody moved.
Nobody went for the rebound.
"…Seriously?" Qing Junce muttered.
Then—out of nowhere—he leapt up, snatched the ball one-handed midair, and, without looking, tossed it over his shoulder as he fell back to the ground.
Swish.
Clean.
Shohoku: 100Ryonan: 68
Beep—
Game over.