After the basketball hit the backboard, Kōji Kobori finally showed some grit for once.
He boxed Tatsuya Himuro out and grabbed the rebound.
Seeing this, Teppei Kiyoshi immediately came over to help defend.
Kōji Kobori did not dare waste any time and quickly passed the ball to Yoshitaka Moriyama.
Facing Shun Izuki's defense, Yoshitaka Moriyama did not panic.
He dribbled sideways by one step, then shot the basketball with his strange shooting form.
As the basketball flew through the air, it had no spin at all.
Yet somehow, that spinless shot actually went in!
Over the next few possessions, Taiga Kagami and Ryota Kise seemed to be in no hurry to make their moves.
Instead, both sides relied on their teammates to score.
On Seirin's side, Junpei Hyuga seemed to have gone completely cold for some unknown reason.
He attempted four three pointers, and all four missed.
That surprised the Seirin players somewhat.
Junpei Hyuga, who had always been so reliable, was actually the first one to go cold in this match.
However, even with Junpei Hyuga misfiring, Seirin still had other scoring options.
Tatsuya Himuro and Teppei Kiyoshi.
It had to be said that Tatsuya Himuro's addition and Teppei Kiyoshi's return had truly strengthened Seirin's depth by quite a lot.
And Tatsuya Himuro's strength was also extremely impressive.
After all, he had trained with Kirisaki Daiichi.
Whenever Tatsuya Himuro attacked, Yoshitaka Moriyama simply could not stop him.
There were far too many fakes!
Yoshitaka Moriyama even felt that if this kept going, Tatsuya Himuro might trick him into giving away his bank card PIN.
Seirin's other offensive option was also very steady.
Kōji Kobori's inside skills were no match for Teppei Kiyoshi's at all.
In the paint, he was completely overwhelmed by Teppei Kiyoshi.
For a while, Kaijō High School was actually the first to fall into a disadvantage.
The first quarter slowly came to an end.
"The first quarter is over. Both teams, leave the court."
After both teams came off the court, Genta Takeuchi immediately began giving Kaijō's players tactical instructions.
It was the same on Seirin's side.
When Junpei Hyuga sat down, he still seemed bothered by those four missed three pointers and kept silently cursing himself.
Riko Aida saw Junpei Hyuga's condition and sighed softly.
Off the court.
"You're saying he's too nervous?"
Kazunari Takao asked in confusion.
Shintaro Midorima nodded, his tone very calm.
"It is his first time facing a match like this, so nervousness is inevitable."
"That is probably why his shooting form has become slightly distorted."
"To put it simply, his mind is unsettled."
On the sideline.
Riko Aida also knew the reason, but for now, it was still something they could fix.
"Second quarter. Kuroko in, Junpei Hyuga out."
Junpei Hyuga looked at Riko Aida in confusion, but he did not say anything.
Riko Aida explained,
"Junpei, you're too nervous right now. Calm yourself down first."
Junpei Hyuga clenched his fist, but in the end, he still nodded and agreed.
Taiga Kagami said from the side,
"Coach, if Kuroko is going in, does that mean..."
Riko Aida nodded.
"Yes. You can start attacking!"
Taiga Kagami clenched his fist excitedly.
"Great! I've been holding back for ages!"
Over at Kaijō.
After Genta Takeuchi finished explaining the tactics, his gaze turned to Ryota Kise.
"Ryota."
Ryota Kise looked at the coach, anticipation showing on his face.
Seeing Ryota Kise's expression, Genta Takeuchi could not help laughing.
"Alright, stop making that face. Once you go back on court, it's time for you to start putting in effort!"
"But save your stamina. I don't want to see you collapse before the first half is even over!"
Genta Takeuchi emphasized every word, because he was genuinely afraid Ryota Kise would drain himself dry again!
By now, the news of Ryota Kise's poor stamina had practically spread throughout the entire high school basketball world!
Ryota Kise smiled brightly and said,
"Don't worry, Coach. I'm not the same as before!"
As he said this, Ryota Kise's gaze sharpened.
"And besides, I've been dying to face Kagamicchi and the others!"
Seeing this, the Kaijō players all smiled.
...
"Beep! The second quarter begins. Both teams, take the court!"
The referee blew the whistle to continue the match.
The players from both teams stood up and slowly walked onto the court.
Tetsuya Kuroko also began adjusting his jersey.
After stepping onto the court, Ryota Kise noticed Tetsuya Kuroko and thought to himself,
'Looks like you guys can't hold back anymore either!'
Ryota Kise seemed to understand very clearly that the reason Taiga Kagami had not made a move earlier was entirely because he had been waiting for Tetsuya Kuroko to enter the game!
However, Ryota Kise was now a little confused.
If Taiga Kagami had not acted earlier, that meant the light had not begun to shine yet.
Then how was the shadow supposed to make its move?
With that doubt in mind, Ryota Kise started the match.
Seirin's ball.
The instant Tetsuya Kuroko stepped onto the court and stood beside Yoshitaka Moriyama, Yoshitaka Moriyama froze.
"So... so clear..."
The referee handed the basketball to Teppei Kiyoshi, and Teppei Kiyoshi inbounded it to Shun Izuki.
As Shun Izuki slowly dribbled forward, Ryota Kise's gaze remained fixed on one person.
Tetsuya Kuroko!
"Why... why can I see Kuroko so clearly?"
Ryota Kise was extremely confused. Logically speaking, Tetsuya Kuroko was a shadow, and a shadow's presence should be extremely faint.
But the current Tetsuya Kuroko was different. Although his presence was still low, Ryota Kise could notice him clearly.
That had never happened before.
Tetsuya Kuroko seemed to notice Ryota Kise's gaze and turned his head to meet his eyes.
Ryota Kise's expression changed at once.
When something is this abnormal, there has to be a reason!
'Kuroko, what exactly are you planning?'
"Don't lose focus! It's coming!"
Just as Ryota Kise was still thinking, Yukio Kasamatsu shouted loudly, pulling Ryota Kise's attention back.
But even though Yukio Kasamatsu had shouted to snap Ryota Kise out of it, he also had doubts in his own heart.
Because he could also see Tetsuya Kuroko very clearly.
Shun Izuki dribbled to the three point line. He did not choose to force any unnecessary one on one play and instead passed directly to Tatsuya Himuro.
And the person defending Tatsuya Himuro was none other than Ryota Kise!
Tatsuya Himuro looked at Ryota Kise with a smile and said,
"Actually, I've wanted to face you guys for a long time, but I never had the chance."
Ryota Kise spread his arms and said in a low voice,
"You have that chance now!"
Tatsuya Himuro smiled faintly.
"That's right. So... I'll treasure it."
...