There was nothing Ryota Kise could do. Even though he sprinted back at full speed, it was already too late.
Tatsuya Himuro and Taiga Kagami charged ahead, one in front and one behind.
Tatsuya Himuro also, intentionally or not, blocked Ryota Kise's route.
Of course, there was no physical contact. He was simply standing slightly in the way.
You want to rush past?
Sure. Take a little detour yourself.
And that little detour was already enough for Taiga Kagami to complete a full offensive play.
Helpless, Ryota Kise knew he couldn't catch up, so he chose to give up the chase and conserve his stamina.
Facing an empty basket, Taiga Kagami naturally wasn't going to finish it casually.
Taiga Kagami took off from his right foot, spun half a turn in the air, then folded his body and threw down a thunderous dunk!
The spectacle was maxed out!
Nothing fired people up more than a dunk!
The audience was ignited by that dunk as well, and cheers erupted from the stands.
Taiga Kagami pumped his fist excitedly, then started heading back on defense.
Ryota Kise turned his head and glanced at the score.
84 to 89.
His side was leading Seirin by five points.
It was still extremely close.
Five points was the kind of gap that could be erased with one mistake.
In fact, if Ryota Kise hadn't tried to show off just now, the lead might have been stretched to double digits.
But there was nothing he could do about it. People had to pay the price for the showboating they chose to do.
Showboating only had two outcomes.
Either you pulled it off and felt amazing, or you failed and became the clown.
Obviously, Ryota Kise had been the former earlier, but that last play was definitely the latter.
Yukio Kasamatsu walked over and patted Ryota Kise on the head, comforting him.
"I know you wanted to look cool, but this is a crucial moment. Play it steady."
Ryota Kise nodded and said:
"I know."
Possession changed.
Kaijō's ball.
On this possession, Ryota Kise completely stopped showing off and switched to a safer approach.
First, he used Daiki Aomine's ability to keep lowering his center of gravity, probing and pretending to drive inside.
That made Taiga Kagami and Tatsuya Himuro subconsciously think Ryota Kise was going to attack the paint.
Then, Ryota Kise used [Pseudo-Emperor Eye], making Taiga Kagami and Tatsuya Himuro fully believe that he was going to drive inside.
After that, Ryota Kise suddenly jabbed forward, forcing Taiga Kagami and Tatsuya Himuro to take a step back. Then he gathered the ball and jumped.
This time, he jumped very high.
His release point was also extremely high.
Taiga Kagami and Tatsuya Himuro realized what was happening and tried to recover.
But it was already too late.
Ryota Kise had already released the basketball.
What Ryota Kise used was none other than Shintaro Midorima's high-arcing shot!
Swish!
The three-pointer counted!
Off the court.
Kazunari Takao saw the familiar motion and turned his head in shock.
"Shin-chan, that's your..."
Shintaro Midorima pushed up his glasses, his expression completely calm.
"If Kise can even [Copy] Miyamoto's movements, [Copying] mine is nothing worth mentioning."
"Besides, Haizaki [Copied] my movements before too."
After saying that, Shintaro Midorima felt his head start to ache a little.
No, seriously, what is wrong with you guys? Why do all of you love stealing my moves?!
Daiki Aomine: So?
On Kirisaki Daiichi's side.
Satsuki Momoi watched what had just happened on the court and slowly said:
"Looks like Kise-kun has reached his limit."
Hearing that, Shogo Haizaki asked in confusion:
"Momoi, that brat Kise has reached his limit?!"
Satsuki Momoi nodded and said:
"Yes, but not in terms of stamina."
"After all, Miyamoto's shot requires full-body coordination and power."
"If Kise-kun wants to shoot as fast as Miyamoto, he needs coordinated movement and explosive power throughout his entire body at the same time."
"For him right now, an instant full-body burst is still a little too much."
That was right. A large part of Miyamoto's extremely fast shooting speed came from instant full-body coordination and explosive power.
The force generated by his body quickly linked into one smooth line, fully transferring into his hands.
That was what made Miyamoto's shots both fast and accurate.
A shot like that required incredible physical ability. I recommend... sorry.
In any case, Ryota Kise's current physical condition wasn't enough for him to use that kind of shot for long periods of time.
And in order to make it through the entire game, Ryota Kise also had to manage his stamina properly.
So he decisively gave up on Miyamoto's shooting form.
On the court.
As Ryota Kise was heading back on defense, he felt discomfort in his thighs and waist, making him shake his head.
"Sure enough, that kind of shot is still too much for me."
Ryota Kise gave a bitter laugh, his heart filled with mixed feelings.
Just [Copying] someone else's ordinary shot had already left him this uncomfortable.
So how was he supposed to defeat that person?
At that moment, Ryota Kise felt a deep sense of powerlessness.
Miyamoto was like a mountain pressing down on him, making it hard to breathe.
Especially after learning more about Miyamoto and [Copying] his skills, Ryota Kise felt even worse.
He couldn't see even the slightest hope of winning against Miyamoto.
In the end, Ryota Kise sighed softly and muttered to himself with a bitter smile:
"What am I thinking so much for? I need to finish this game first."
Possession changed.
Seirin High School's ball.
Tatsuya Himuro had just caught the ball when Tetsuya Kuroko appeared behind him and said:
"Himuro-kun."
Tatsuya Himuro was startled for a moment, then turned to look at Tetsuya Kuroko.
After meeting Tetsuya Kuroko's eyes, Tatsuya Himuro understood what he meant.
"It's fine, Tetsuya. I'm not that fragile. If my mentality shattered just because someone else used my move, then why would I still be playing basketball?"
Tatsuya Himuro smiled gently as he spoke.
Seeing this, Tetsuya Kuroko nodded and said nothing more.
Watching Tetsuya Kuroko leave, Tatsuya Himuro smiled faintly.
To be honest, he actually liked this feeling quite a lot.
In the following possessions.
Seirin kept relying on Tetsuya Kuroko's sudden passes and Taiga Kagami's desperate efforts to chase points, clinging tightly to the score.
But because of that, Taiga Kagami's stamina began to drop steadily.
On Kaijō's side, Ryota Kise's stamina was also starting to decline, and the initiative on offense gradually shifted to Yukio Kasamatsu and the others.
Both teams kept attacking in their own ways, refusing to let the score open up.
They were fighting with everything they had, going head-to-head with Seirin to the very end.
Kōji Kobori even gritted his teeth and forced out a completely unexpected block on Teppei Kiyoshi!
Things weren't too ideal for Tatsuya Himuro either. Because of Tetsuya Kuroko, Kaijō had a hard time noticing him, so they simply assigned two people to defend him directly.
...
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