Chapter 04: Seagull Middle School's No. 12, 5 minutes and 28 seconds
Hoshiumi Mì shot it!
A super long-range three...
It's good!!!
The ball had just left his hand when he coolly turned his back to the basket, raised his right hand high, and the three-pointer, no longer a soft swish, was powerful and heavy. Like a cannonball fired from its chamber, it whistled across half-court!
Bang!
It slammed hard into the rim!
At the same time... it also slammed heavily into the hearts of all the Kamomedai students who had never witnessed a super long-range three, as this was the beginning of his second year, a feat Shintaro Midorima had not yet demonstrated on the court.
Boom~!
The entire gym erupted in an instant, the decibels soaring!
After all, a super long-range three was shocking enough, but to confidently turn and celebrate before the ball even went in?
That was simply...
So cool!
At the same moment, the Kamomedai bench collectively jumped to their feet!
Several substitute players waved their towels frantically. The starters were also shocked into jumping up and down, high-fiving and cheering, their eyes filled with disbelief.
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On the court.
After hitting six straight threes, Hoshiumi Mì felt utterly exhilarated.
Especially with the deficit cut to just 17 points, it made him feel that a comeback in the remaining time wasn't impossible. After all, he had just scored a crazy 18 points in a little over two minutes!
On the other side.
Seiei's bald guard, watching the basketball hit the rim and bounce on the floor, looked like his eyes were about to pop out of their sockets. He looked as if he had seen a ghost, unable to utter a sound for a long time.
Hoshiumi Mì glanced at him and shrugged again.
"Keep it up~"
The bald guard finally snapped out of it. Just as he opened his mouth, Hoshiumi Mì had already turned and sprinted back to play defense.
On the next possession, Seiei's offense was stopped by Kamomedai's defense.
The Kamomedai point guard dribbled past half-court and passed directly to Hoshiumi Mì. At the same time, he quickly moved up to set a screen for Hoshiumi Mì, making it easier for him to shoot another three.
But at this moment, Hoshiumi Mì was a little carried away.
He waved his hand and said decisively, "No need!"
He gestured for the point guard to move away.
The point guard shrugged helplessly and created space.
Facing the bald guard, Hoshiumi Mì raised his eyebrows provocatively. His opponent was clearly fired up, taking a large stride towards Hoshiumi, legs spread, adopting a 'I'll die trying to stop you' stance.
A smirk formed on Hoshiumi Mì's lips.
His right foot suddenly feinted to the right!
The bald guard quickly shifted his center of gravity.
However, Hoshiumi Mì had already retracted his right foot like lightning.
And at the same time, he leaped from the ground!
Knowing he had been tricked, the bald guard cursed inwardly and hurriedly lunged to block.
There was only a split-second opening.
But it was enough!
Hoshiumi Mì's three-pointer was already released!
On the sidelines, all of Kamomedai's players stood up in unison.
The entire audience's gaze was locked on that basketball.
Swish!
The ball went through the net with a crisp, pleasant sound!
At the same time, the little bald guard responsible for defending Hoshiumi Mì, because he had lunged too hard, knocked Hoshiumi to the ground.
Tweet~!
The whistle blew as the ball went in!
Defensive foul!
Whoa~!
The venue exploded once again!
"The seventh one!!"
"Twenty-one points in two and a half minutes, what an offensive explosion!"
"All three-pointers!"
On the court, Hoshiumi Mì looked at his opponent.
Shooting over his head, leaving him helpless.
The feeling was awesome!
The little bald guard's face was now as black as the bottom of a pot.
The opponent he was supposed to guard had just rained down so many points on his head in a little over two minutes. The last shot, in particular, was devastating in damage and maxed out in humiliation!
When Hoshiumi Mì steadily made the and-one free throw.
The deficit was only 13 points!
From 30 to 13, it felt like it had happened in the blink of an eye.
Although being down 13 with two and a half minutes left still made a comeback difficult, with Hoshiumi Mì's insane three-point performance, who could say for sure?
If he hit two more threes, the deficit would be in the single digits!
The startled Seiei coach quickly called another timeout.
During the timeout, he roared with some annoyance: "Double-team! Double-team him! The moment he gets the ball, trap him! Force him to pass! Absolutely do not let him shoot another three!"
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After play resumed, Seiei indeed unleashed a frantic double-team on Hoshiumi Mì.
Facing the double-team defense, the remaining 20% miss rate from the 'Almost Never Misses' 80% three-point accuracy finally began to show.
Therefore, after missing a shot, in the following possessions, he tried to pass the ball quickly, hoping his open teammates could seize the opportunity. Unfortunately, his teammates' shots were mostly bricks. But even so, Hoshiumi Mì kept running relentlessly, using screens, searching for even the slightest opening. In the final minute and a bit, he managed to find a few more chances, taking three shots and making two more threes!
With every made basket, the crowd erupted like a tsunami!
Finally, the final whistle blew.
The score was settled at an 8-point difference.
After all... you couldn't expect the opponent's bench to not score a single point, could you?
During the earlier chaotic period with both benches on the floor, Kamomedai's ability to get consecutive stops was partly because Hoshiumi's threes had stunned the opponent, but there was also an element of luck involved.
However, despite losing the game, the Kamomedai students showed no signs of dejection. Many who didn't know Hoshiumi Mì's name at first were shouting his jersey number. Later, as his name spread, the entire crowd began chanting his name in unison.
"Number 12!"
"Number 12!"
"Hoshiumi Mì!!"
"Hoshiumi Mì!!"
Although they lost the game, they seemed more excited than if they had won. The players on the court were the same, rushing to high-five and celebrate with Hoshiumi Mì.
"Hoshiumi... you monster...!"
"In five minutes..."
"You scored 28 points!"
From the looks of it... Kamomedai, despite losing, seemed like they had won the championship. In contrast, Seiei, despite winning, had solemn and dejected expressions.
The Seiei coach, in particular, broke out in a cold sweat.
A 30-point lead five minutes ago, a surefire victory, had almost been turned around. Fortunately, both sides had tacitly agreed not to put their starters back in. Kamomedai's starting lineup was known for its tough defense but weak offense. If they had gotten a few more stops...
If the number of possessions increased, and that number 12 got to shoot a few more threes...
The outcome would have been truly uncertain