By the time the whistle blew for the second half, Akita's fighting spirit had long been crushed.
"He... in the first half... scored 50 points by himself? He's unbelievably strong." Hua Xi's hand, gripping the cheer stick, trembled, her eyes wide.
Fujisawa Eri nodded repeatedly, an unconcealable pride in her voice: "I told you he was super amazing!"
At the other end of the stands, Mikio Kawata paused in the act of stuffing potato chips into his mouth, mumbling indistinctly: "This guy is practically a scoring machine."
Sawakita Eiji unconsciously rubbed his knee with his fingertips, his brows furrowed: "He's tough to deal with. Just on offense, his firepower right now is much stronger than mine."
Kazunari Fukatsu turned his head to look at him, his tone steady: "I think you two should be evenly matched."
But Zawa Kita shook his head, his Adam's apple bobbing: "Honestly, many of the offensive capabilities and methods he's shown, I don't possess! There's nothing wrong with admitting someone is stronger than you!"
Masashi Kawata gave Sawakita Eiji a deep look. This guy actually admitted someone was stronger than him?
Rare!
Ryonan's offense became even more ferocious in the second half, quickly launching another wave of attacks.
The numbers on the scoreboard widened: 84:51.
On Akita's bench, someone slammed their seat with red eyes: "What kind of monster is this?"
Another substitute's voice trembled as he turned to the coach: "Didn't you say... a one-man team doesn't go far? But he alone is almost breaking us..." His voice ended in a whimper.
The Akita coach looked at Gu Jin, who was moving through the court as if no one else was there, his Adam's apple bobbing, his voice hoarse as if covered in sand: "Basketball is never a one-man sport. Perhaps... we are too weak."
After saying this, he seemed to have all his strength drained, his back slightly hunched.
The game had long entered garbage time, but Gu Jin was still relentlessly attacking—his personal single-game scoring record was constantly being broken.
62 points... 65 points... 68 points... 70 points... By the time the final whistle pierced the gymnasium, he had already scored 74 points.
"74 points in a single game, simply incredible!"
The microphone in the host's hand on the sidelines shook, his voice wavering: "This... this is too incredible..."
133:74.
Ryonan crushed Akita Tsukikan by a 59-point margin.
The first match of the Left Half Zone's Elite Eight concluded!
30 minutes later, in Hall B of the same gymnasium, the Sannoh Industrial versus Aiwa Academy match was about to begin!
The Ryonan Team had just packed their things and were rushing to Hall B.
Sendoh Akira walked in the middle, spinning a ball in his hand. Fukuda Kiccho was the most eager, constantly urging Sakuragi to "hurry up, hurry up." Uozumi Jun followed behind Taoka Moichi, still listening to the coach's nagging, "Later, observe Kawata's post-play more."
The Ryonan Team hurried along, quickly arriving at Hall B.
The stadium was bustling with noise, the atmosphere as fiery as a burning flame.
On the Sannoh Industrial side, Kazunari Fukatsu was calmly dribbling, doing his final warm-up for the upcoming game. His eyes were calm and sharp, as if he could see through everything on the court;
Masashi Kawata stood under the basket, conversing with Mikio Kawata, his tall stature like an unshakeable mountain;
Sawakita Eiji was continuously shooting jump shots from beyond the three-point line, each shot drawing gasps from the audience.
On the Aiwa Academy side, Morohoshi Dai, as the ace player, was the center of attention.
He was slightly hunched, dribbling the ball quickly with alternating hands, his fringe gently swaying with his movements.
His eyes showed determination and confidence, always ready to show his skills on the court.
Point guard Fukumori Suzuki stood by, his gaze intently fixed on the basketball in his hands. His dribbling rhythm was quick and steady, the ball seeming to come alive under his fingertips.
From time to time, he would look up to observe the positions of his teammates and opponents, exchanging glances with Morohoshi Dai, seemingly communicating tactics.
Center Toyotomi Takayuki was stretching his shoulders. He jumped in place, forcefully grabbing the rim with both hands, showcasing his strength. Although he was only 191 centimeters tall, his jumping ability was very strong.
Power forward Nakata Sakuyoshi and small forward Jun Norisachi were also actively warming up. Nakata Sakuyoshi was constantly simulating low-post moves, while Jun Norisachi repeatedly shot from beyond the three-point line, adjusting his touch.
With a whistle from the referee, the players of Sannoh Industrial and Aiwa Academy all took their positions, and a fierce basketball battle was about to begin.
In the stands, the Ryonan Team watched the court intently, anticipating a thrilling game from this clash of titans.
The referee walked to center court with the ball. Sannoh and Aiwa's starters took their positions—Masashi Kawata and Toyotomi Takayuki stood face to face under the center circle, both slightly hunched, their eyes fixed on the ball in the referee's hand.
"Beep—" The whistle blew, and the basketball was tossed into the air. Masashi Kawata's jump was half a beat faster than Toyotomi Takayuki's. With a gentle flick of his fingertips, he tipped the ball in Kazunari Fukatsu's direction.
Fukatsu caught the ball steadily, not rushing to advance, but just dribbling twice with his head down, his gaze sweeping across the court.
Aiwa's Fukumori Suzuki had already closed in, his center of gravity very low.
Just then, Sawakita Eiji suddenly accelerated and cut in from the right. The moment Fukumori Suzuki instinctively glanced over, Fukatsu flicked his wrist, and the ball passed through the gap between the two of them.
Zawa Kita received the ball almost running along the sideline. Aiwa's small forward, Jun Norisachi, immediately chased after him, reaching out to try and steal the ball.
But Zawa Kita gave him no chance—he suddenly stopped short, leaning back, and Jun Norisachi's center of gravity carried him forward.
Just when everyone thought Zawa Kita was going to shoot a jump shot, he suddenly turned, slipping past Jun Norisachi like an eel, heading straight for the basket!
"Stop him!" Aiwa's center, Toyotomi Takayuki, had just rushed out from under the basket, spreading his arms to block.
But Zawa Kita sharply pulled back his waist in mid-air, pulling the ball to his left with his right hand, dodging Toyotomi Takayuki's long arm, then gently flicked his fingertips—the basketball grazed the backboard and dropped steadily into the hoop.
2:0. Sannoh scored first.
Fukuda Kiccho in the stands couldn't help but shout, "Good shot!" But Taoka Moichi frowned: "Zawa Kita's breakthrough was too fragmented. Aiwa's defense was still half a beat too slow."
After Aiwa inbounded the ball, Fukumori Suzuki dribbled it up.
This time Sannoh gave no quarter. Kazunari Fukatsu stuck to him, inch by inch, his arm occasionally reaching forward, disrupting the dribbling rhythm. As they neared the front court, Morohoshi Dai suddenly came around the baseline, reaching out for the ball.
Fukumori Suzuki immediately passed the ball over.
The moment Morohoshi Dai received the ball, Zawa Kita had already closed in—after Zawa Kita scored, he hadn't retreated to defense, but had simply waited for him at half-court.
"Just in time," Morohoshi Dai murmured, suddenly changing direction, dribbling with his left hand to Zawa Kita's right side.
Zawa Kita reacted extremely quickly, immediately shifting sideways to block the path.
But Morohoshi Dai didn't stop at all. With a flick of his wrist, he switched the ball to his right hand, simultaneously leaning back and using Zawa Kita's momentum to suddenly spin around!
The turn was both quick and sudden, causing Zawa Kita's center of gravity to wobble.
Morohoshi Dai took the opportunity to rush to the basket. Masashi Kawata was just about to come over for help defense when Aiwa's Nakata Sakuyoshi suddenly ran over and screened him.
In that half-second gap, Morohoshi Dai was already under the basket. Facing Mikio Kawata's block, he twisted his body in mid-air and executed a right-handed reverse hook—the basketball grazed the inside of the rim and rolled in.
2:2.
Zawa Kita stood in place, watching the corner of Morohoshi Dai's mouth lift as he landed, his eyes darkening.
That spin just now was indeed fast enough.
Sendoh Akira in the stands lightly tapped his knee, murmuring: "This is getting interesting."