YUKIO'S BREATHTAKING SLAM DUNK

"Let's win this, Tetsuo! I'm sorry I gave up back there, and thanks for waking me up," said Hayato as he fixed his headband once more. "I don't want anyone slacking off on defense, work hard, and let's stop Yokonan!!" shouted Yukio, and everyone, now pumped up, shouted, "Yes!!"

"I wonder what Kogure was talking to that guy about? He doesn't normally just walk up to anyone like that—only if he knows them and personally respects them. Who is this guy?" Aoi asked herself, her curiosity piqued.

"You can do it, Tetsuo. I believe in you," said Haruko, clenching her fist in determination. "Alright, this is it. It's time for you to show Yokonan that Toshigawa has grit. There's nothing more I can do with my strategy and planning. It's up to all of you now to fight until the sound of the final whistle," said Nanaho to herself, her eyes locked on the court.

As the game resumed, Kayano passed the basketball to Kogure, who drove to the basket, evaded the defense, and scored a quick layup. The crowd cheered as the game intensified. On the next possession, Hayato passed to Takahiro, who swiftly sank a two-pointer from the elbow. The ball swished through the net cleanly. "Nice one, Takahiro!" Yukio shouted as he immediately turned to sprint back on defense.

After receiving the ball off an inbound pass, Kayano dribbled between his legs and effortlessly bypassed Hayato's defense. He passed to Ryuu, who quickly powered his way to the basket and scored a smooth layup over Takahiro, who was late in reacting. Tetsuo dribbled the ball down the court, looking to answer.

Manabu stepped up to guard him, but Kogure immediately shouted, "Stand down, Manabu, this one's mine! Hate to break it to you, but you're no match for him now." He pushed Manabu aside to step into his own defensive stance against Tetsuo. Manabu froze, shocked. "No way… Did Kogure, of all people, just say I'm not good enough?" he thought to himself.

"Kogure looks happy. That's not a look you see from him too often. He's definitely having fun," Coach Arimoto observed, nodding with approval.

Tetsuo crossed the ball between his legs, but Kogure anticipated the move and stayed right in front of him. Tetsuo quickly spun to try to lose Kogure, but Kogure reacted in kind and stayed in front of him, not giving an inch.

Sensing the stalemate, Takahiro set a solid screen for Tetsuo, and he used it to step back for a three-pointer. Kogure, quick on his feet, evaded the screen and attempted to block the shot. But the ball was already released, and despite his best effort, Kogure couldn't get there in time. The ball swished cleanly through the net.

"I see… the release on that one was slightly faster," Kogure muttered to himself, impressed by Tetsuo's shot.

"Whoa, I can't believe it, Kogure is having a hard time guarding that number eleven. He must be really good for that to happen," said a student watching the game, astonished by the level of competition.

"Something feels weird about this match. It's like I've seen this before… It somehow feels like this isn't the first time those two have clashed. Why does this feeling seem so familiar?" Aoi wondered to herself, her hand resting on her chest, feeling an eerie sense of déjà vu.

After receiving a pass from Kayano, Kogure spun off of Yukio and soared into the air, dunking the basketball with power. "Nice one, Kogure, that was amazing!" a girl shouted, clapping in excitement.

"Noboru, catch!!" shouted Hayato as he immediately inbounded the ball to return the favor. "Right, I got it!" said Noboru as he took two quick steps and attempted a layup.

"No, you don't," Manabu thought to himself as he rushed in to block the shot. However, he misjudged his timing and ended up hitting Noboru square in the face, causing him to stumble backward.

"Gah!!" screamed Noboru as he fell to the ground, grimacing in pain.

The whistle blew, signaling a foul on Manabu. "Pushing foul, white number five," the referee called out.

"God dammit!" Manabu cursed under his breath, clearly frustrated with the mistake.

"How dare you hit me in the face, you son of a—" Noboru started, but Yukio cut him off.

"Noboru, calm down, you scored, so it's all good."

"Oh, you're right, Captain. I did score," Noboru said with a relieved grin. "Finally, I have more points than that amateur Shino!" he thought to himself with a smirk.

"Now, all you have to do is score the free throw," Yukio encouraged him.

"Free throw? But I suck at those!" Noboru replied nervously.

"Oh right, I didn't teach him how to shoot free throws... that was dumb," Nanaho thought to herself, chastising her lack of preparation.

"Don't worry. Just throw the ball right there on the rim. I'll get the rebound and score. We need to close the gap now so that it doesn't cost us in the fourth quarter," Yukio whispered, his confidence unwavering.

"Okay, I'll do just that. Let's win the game," Noboru said with renewed determination.

"Everyone, get ready to collect the rebound!" instructed Kayano, his eyes locked on the basket. "Something tells me that Yukio isn't going to settle for just one point," Kogure thought to himself as he prepared for the next play.

Noboru lined up at the free-throw line, taking a deep breath to shake off the nerves. "If we manage to pull this off, we can win this game. I can do this," he thought as he took his shot, positioning the ball like he was preparing for a baseball pitch.

"What the hell is this guy doing?" Ryuu thought to himself, bewildered by Noboru's unorthodox form.

"Is this some kind of joke?" Kayano asked, stunned by Noboru's strange approach to the free throw.

Noboru aimed with precision, his form steady, and threw the ball off the backboard. It bounced off, and both Yukio and Ryuu jumped to grab the rebound—one defending his basket, the other trying to capitalize on the miss.

"There's no way you're going to out-rebound me, number seven!!" shouted Ryuu as he leaped for the ball.

"I'm carrying all of our team's hopes and dreams on my shoulders. If you think I'll lose to you, you're surely mistaken," Yukio declared with pride, his eyes burning with determination as he leapt higher, snatching the ball from Ryuu's reach.

"And I'm returning the favor. No way I'm going to let you dunk on me and get away with it!" Yukio shouted as he soared into the air, slamming the ball through the hoop with a resounding dunk that made Ryuu fall to the ground once again.

Instead of the usual silence, the entire crowd erupted in cheers, with Toshigawa's supporters applauding in unison. "Nice one, number seven! You're truly a phenomenal player!" a Yokonan student yelled from the stands, as everyone clapped and whistled in admiration of Yukio's powerful play.

"Even though Kogure is playing, Toshigawa still seems to have a chance. They are truly something," Aoi thought to herself, impressed by their performance.

"Looks like Yukio is too much for Ryuu to handle. Maybe I should mark him, but if I do, we'll definitely lose," Kogure mused as he glanced over at Tetsuo and smiled, feeling a mix of pride and challenge.

The whistle blew, marking the end of the third quarter. Ryuu, visibly angry and upset, flung a chair across the court before slumping onto the bench.

"Toshigawa's team is quite strong, aren't they?" Eiji remarked.

"Shut your mouth, Eiji!!" Ryuu shouted angrily, glaring at him. "It's not that they're strong, it's just that they exploited our weaknesses and mistakes and scored from every one of them. Their coach isn't your average high school girl—she's a genius," Coach Arimoto said, nodding in respect to Nanaho's strategy.

"If only Keichiro were here, we wouldn't have trouble with that number seven in our post," Eiji said unintentionally bluntly.

"So you're saying I'm the problem now, huh?" Ryuu snapped, standing up, fury in his eyes.

"No, I didn't say that! They're just so good—that's why," Eiji stammered, trying to backpedal.