chapter 93/94

After Sannoh made their substitution, the game resumed, with Sannoh in possession of the ball and quickly on the offensive.

Fukatsu Kazunari brought the ball up the court at a steady pace.

As Taoka Mao had anticipated, he didn't pass to Sawakita for a one-on-one play. Instead, after testing Uekusa's defense, he passed the ball to Kawata, who had just entered the game.

Fukuda, seeing the giant before him, felt a surge of nervousness, but still attempted to defend.

As soon as they made contact, Kawata pushed Fukuda back, knocking him off balance.

It was a stronger impact than when he had defended Mori Shigehiro for Yuzumi earlier.

After pushing Fukuda back, Kawata didn't attempt a shot. Instead, he continued dribbling toward the basket and finished with a two-handed dunk. The basket shook as he landed. "Wow, Kawata's strength is incredible! I think the rim might collapse!"

"Yeah! He's even stronger than his brother!"

"I don't know where Sannoh found such a powerhouse!"

Among the Kainan crowd

Amu commented, watching the smaller Kawata play,

"Sannoh has two towering Kawata brothers in the paint. Ryonan is going to have a hard time inside."

"Why not let Uesugi Kenichi go up? Isn't he strong? He dunked over Mori Shigehiro before!

"He's facing Sawakita, the number one in the country. He can't dominate the paint against him!"

Everyone could see that Sannoh's strength wasn't just about Sawakita Eiji, known as the country's top high school player. They also had an abundance of exceptional players, around twenty of them.

In other words, even without Sawakita, Sannoh would still be the strongest team in the national competition! Their three consecutive championships would stand firm.

But Ryonan only had Uesugi Kenichi.

Could he defeat both Kainan and Sannoh by himself?

That would be incredibly difficult—perhaps even impossible.

On the court,

Uekusa advanced with the ball.

This time, he didn't pass to Uesugi Kenichi to continue his battle with Sawakita. He knew that the intense physical strain of that matchup was taking its toll.

Sannoh had adjusted its strategy, and if Ryonan continued to rely on Uesugi Kenichi alone, they wouldn't get far in the second half.

To help conserve Uesugi's energy, Uekusa passed the ball to Sendoh on the far side.

As another ace player, Uekusa had confidence in Sendoh's abilities.

Sendoh received the pass and quickly pushed forward.

Satoshi Ichinokura, the Sannoh defender assigned to him, was a known defensive expert. He didn't take Sendoh seriously.

In his mind, only Sawakita could easily break through his defense, and perhaps Uesugi Kenichi, who had been battling him fiercely.

But he didn't think anyone else could manage it.

Sendoh, however, wasn't thinking that way.

He dribbled past Ichinokura on the right side, quickly forcing him to react. Ichinokura moved to intercept Sendoh's drive.

Sendoh then performed a step back to create space and launched a jump shot. Ichinokura, with his extensive defensive experience, was quick to close in but didn't attempt to block.

He thought it was a fake, expecting Sendoh to drive instead of shoot.

He didn't believe Sendoh would settle for such a simple move.

But in the next moment, Ichinokura regretted that judgment.

Sendoh jumped, releasing the ball on his way up.

Ichinokura lunged too late to block it.

"DRU!"

Sendoh's shot swished through the net!

"Nice shot, Sendoh!"

"Keep it up, Sendoh! Show them your skills!"

The Ryonan bench erupted in cheers.

Meanwhile, in the front row of the audience, Kainan's A-shen remarked,

"Sendoh's really finding his rhythm now. Does this mean Ryonan might be able to push back?"

"Not necessarily. Sannoh is a different beast. Once they realize Satoshi Ichinokura can't handle Sendoh, they'll adjust."

Back on the court, Sannoh attacked again.

Fukatsu Kazunari quickly passed the ball to Kawata in the frontcourt. Fukuda moved to defend but was once again overpowered by Kawata.

When Kawata reached the basket, Uozumi stepped in to help but was ignored as Kawata dunked right over his head.

The crowd gasped, impressed by Kawata's power.

On the other end, Ryonan tried again. This time, Uekusa passed to Sendoh.

Satoshi Ichinokura, now fully focused, was ready.

Sendoh quickly accelerated to the right, aiming for another breakthrough. Ichinokura moved to block his path, but Sendoh responded with another step back and a shooting gesture.

Ichinokura, growing frustrated, thought, "So, he's trying the same move again?"

He rushed forward to block, but it was another fake move.

Sendoh crossed him over, driving toward the basket.

At that moment, Fukatsu Kazunari appeared, stealing the ball from Sendoh with lightning speed.

He quickly transitioned to a fast break, aiming for a layup, while Uekusa followed in pursuit.

But when Fukatsu reached the basket, he passed to Kawata, now positioned at the three-point line.

Without hesitation, Kawata launched a shot.

"Swish!"

Kawata had just made a three-pointer, shocking everyone. "A center hitting a three?!"

"Remember, he used to be a guard. He probably has solid shooting skills from there.

"That's still incredible! This guy does it all!"

On the back row of the stands, Tsuchiya Jun commented,

"Sannoh's starting to target Sendoh. It looks like Ryonan's in trouble."

"There's not much they can do. Sannoh has too many skilled players. Ryonan can't keep up."

As the game progressed, Ryonan's attacks were frequently stymied, and Sendoh became the focal point of Sannoh's defense. Yuzumi and Fukuda were thoroughly dominated by the Kawata brothers inside, and couldn't even get shots off.

As the first half ended, the scoreboard showed a lopsided 37-55, with Ryonan trailing by nearly 20 points.

Taoka Moichi stood silently, gazing at the score. This was their biggest halftime deficit of the season.

In previous games, they were often ahead at halftime, sometimes by a significant margin. Even when they had trailed, the deficit had been manageable—no more than 10 points against Hakata University of Commerce. And in that game, Uesugi Kenichi had turned things around in the second half.

But Sannoh was different. Could Ryonan rely on Uesugi to pull off a miracle? Even Taoka wasn't sure.

And Sannoh still had Sawakita, their ace, who hadn't yet fully unleashed his power.

It was clear that Ryonan was facing a desperate challenge with few answers.

The crowd shared similar sentiments, commenting on the growing gap in the game. "It seemed like it might be close earlier, but now the lead has widened!"

"It's clear that Ryonan's strong, especially with Kenichi Uesugi, but Sannoh's just too much!"

"At this point, it feels like the game's already decided."

"Ryonan might not get another chance, and Sannoh hasn't even used their full-court press yet."

Even the Kainan crowd felt sympathy for Ryonan, realizing the steep hill they were trying to climb.

In the stands, Kiyota Nobunaga, watching the scoreboard, said, "Is there no hope left?"

Riki Takato responded, "It'll be tough. Sannoh's just too strong."

Amu, who had been quiet, watched Kenichi Uesugi with intent. He knew that if Uesugi could tap into his transcendent state, there was still a possibility—though slim—of a turnaround.

In Ryonan's locker room, the mood was grim. They had never faced an opponent this powerful before, leaving little room for hope.

Taoka Moichi knew he needed to inspire the team but struggled to find the right words. It was clear he had no immediate solutions to their predicament.

Then, Uesugi Kenichi stood up. "Seniors, is the game over?"

Everyone fell silent as he continued, "The game's not over yet. Why are we giving up?"

"Besides, I'm still here!"

Uesugi's confidence sparked a shift in the players. They looked at his determined eyes and remembered how he had led them to victory in countless matches.

Gradually, their spirits lifted. Uesugi's next words fired them up. "I've never lost a game since joining Ryonan. I've never lost, and I won't lose today!"

Sendoh immediately stood, extending his fist toward Uesugi.

The rest of the team followed, raising their fists in solidarity.

In that moment, Taoka could feel the morale of the team soar, their hope reignited!

The second half of the game was about to begin.