Reo Mibuchi took one final look at Junpei Hyuga, then jumped and went into a shooting motion.
Junpei Hyuga felt a trace of confusion when he saw it.
'A normal shot?'
The Seirin bench also grew excited.
"A normal shot! The captain can definitely handle that!"
"Great! This is our chance!"
On the court.
Although Junpei Hyuga was confused, he had no intention of letting this perfect chance slip by.
He immediately prepared to jump.
But in the next second, he froze.
His expression shifted from surprise to horror, and shock filled his heart.
'I... I can't jump?!'
Junpei Hyuga, his face pale with shock, reached out with his right hand and watched helplessly as Reo Mibuchi released the ball.
The basketball traced an arc through the air and dropped cleanly into the basket.
After landing, Reo Mibuchi smiled at Junpei Hyuga's stunned expression, then turned and went back on defense.
Junpei Hyuga still had not recovered. He stared in shock at Reo Mibuchi's retreating figure.
Teppei Kiyoshi noticed something was wrong with Junpei Hyuga and asked:
"What's wrong, Hyuga? Why are you spacing out?"
Junpei Hyuga stiffly turned his head and muttered:
"I... I couldn't jump..."
Teppei Kiyoshi paused.
"You couldn't jump?"
In that instant, Teppei Kiyoshi remembered.
He remembered what had happened back in middle school.
"[Void]."
Teppei Kiyoshi murmured.
Junpei Hyuga froze for a moment and asked:
"[Void]?"
At that moment, Tetsuya Kuroko walked over and explained:
"Yes. It really is [Void]."
"Back in middle school, Miyamoto-kun used this move, and he taught it to Mibuchi-senpai."
"The principle is that when the shooter goes into the shot, they crouch even lower, then shift their center of gravity slightly upward as they shoot, fully drawing the defender's center of gravity with them."
"Because the shooter crouched low enough, they still have strength left to jump. But the defender no longer does."
After hearing this, Junpei Hyuga unconsciously nodded and murmured:
"I see. The principle is simple, but actually pulling it off is still incredibly hard!"
Teppei Kiyoshi nodded and said:
"Yeah, it really is. All right, let's keep playing!"
...
On the next possession.
Tatsuya Himuro did not try the same trick again, because he knew Chihiro Mayuzumi and the others had definitely found a way to deal with it.
So he chose to have Teppei Kiyoshi come up for a pick-and-roll.
But then he realized that Teppei Kiyoshi could not screen Seijuro Akashi off at all.
Seijuro Akashi's face was icy cold, like a volcano on the verge of eruption.
He stared coldly at Tatsuya Himuro without saying a word.
That gaze made Tatsuya Himuro feel a little uneasy, so he still passed the ball to Junpei Hyuga.
The moment Junpei Hyuga caught it, Reo Mibuchi immediately pressed up on him.
At the same time, he put heavy pressure on Junpei Hyuga.
Junpei Hyuga was startled.
'Damn it. They've raised the intensity on defense?'
Junpei Hyuga hurriedly dribbled away to create space, but Reo Mibuchi had no intention of giving him any room and immediately stuck close again.
Seeing this, Rinnosuke Mitobe ran out, preparing to receive the ball.
When Junpei Hyuga noticed him, he immediately passed the ball over.
In the next second, an ominous feeling exploded in his heart.
"Roar!"
A leopard's roar rang out at that moment.
Kotaro Hayama suddenly darted out and stole Junpei Hyuga's pass.
The yellow leopard behind him also lifted its head and let out a long roar, then broke into a rapid sprint.
Kotaro Hayama himself sprinted toward the frontcourt at high speed.
He was incredibly fast.
Tatsuya Himuro reacted in time and chased after him.
But how could a fox outrun a leopard?
Tatsuya Himuro could only watch as Kotaro Hayama pulled farther and farther away from him.
Then he watched Kotaro Hayama dunk the basketball into the hoop.
Bang!!!
After scoring, Kotaro Hayama slowly landed, showing his sharp canines.
The yellow leopard behind him also bared its fierce fangs at that moment!
Junpei Hyuga's eyes changed.
'So it still came...'
Over the next few possessions, Seirin's offensive efficiency began to drop.
First was Tetsuya Kuroko.
Because Chihiro Mayuzumi had also raised the pressure, sticking closely to Tetsuya Kuroko.
That made Tetsuya Kuroko's prized Misdirection impossible to use.
Then Junpei Hyuga was also tightly locked down by Reo Mibuchi.
Teppei Kiyoshi did not gain much of an advantage against Eikichi Nebuya in the paint either.
Rinnosuke Mitobe was likewise unable to break through Kotaro Hayama's defense after he had activated his Animal Instinct.
As for Tatsuya Himuro, there was even less to say. Against Seijuro Akashi's defense, he had no way to start an attack at all.
Rakuzan High School, on the other hand.
With Kotaro Hayama activating his Animal Instinct and breaking out, Rakuzan High School had more options on offense again.
Reo Mibuchi and Kotaro Hayama both began to exert themselves, scoring from both the inside and the outside.
For a while, Rakuzan went on a small run and forced Seirin High School to call a timeout.
After that run, Seijuro Akashi's expression improved slightly. Though his face was still cold, at least he no longer looked like he was about to erupt.
On Seirin's side.
After the players came off the court, all of them wore grim expressions.
Riko Aida looked serious as she said to everyone:
"The situation has become very unfavorable for us. Rakuzan's scoring options have fully come alive."
"But ours have been suppressed."
"So right now, we need another scorer to step up."
At that moment, Taiga Kagami said:
"Let me go in."
Riko Aida immediately refused.
"No. Kagami, you can't go in yet. You have to save your stamina for the fourth quarter."
"But..."
Taiga Kagami still wanted to say something, but Tatsuya Himuro cut him off.
"Taiga, rest properly."
Since his big brother had spoken, Taiga Kagami said nothing more.
Tatsuya Himuro smiled, looked at Riko Aida, and said:
"Let me do it."
Riko Aida glanced at Tatsuya Himuro, then nodded and said:
"All right, Himuro-kun. I'm counting on you."
Tatsuya Himuro nodded seriously and said:
"I'm actually a little excited to face Akashi head-on."
Riko Aida immediately cut him off.
"No. I don't plan on having you face Akashi."
Tatsuya Himuro froze for a moment, and Riko Aida continued:
"Izuki, you sub in for Mitobe and take over as point guard."
"Himuro, you'll fill in at power forward and face Kotaro. That shouldn't be a problem, right?"
Tatsuya Himuro looked toward Kotaro Hayama on Rakuzan's side and smiled.
"At least it's easier than facing Akashi, isn't it?"
Everyone smiled, then placed their hands together, raised them high, and shouted:
"Let's go!!!"
...
...
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