Fujima's three-pointer completely ignited Gu Jin's competitive spirit!
Gu Jin had already bent down to pick up the basketball that rolled to his feet. His fingertips tapped the ball twice, and his gaze swept across the frontcourt. Shoyo's players were quickly retreating on defense, and Hasegawa's eyes were locked on him like a hunter stalking prey—in the zone defense Takao Gi had just set up, it was made clear that Hasegawa should stick to him like glue.
Gu Jin inbounded the ball from the baseline, and the basketball landed steadily in Sendo's hands.
After crossing half-court, Gu Jin ran to receive the basketball!
Hasegawa immediately pressed up, his arms spread like an iron gate.
"Gu Jin, bring it on." Hasegawa lowered his center of gravity, his fingertips turning white from exertion. Fujima's words, "You are no worse than anyone," echoed clearly in his ears, "I will never let you score easily."
Gu Jin raised an eyebrow at his words, his dribbling hand paused for half a second, his eyes holding a hint of casual sharpness: "Not let me score easily?" He chuckled lightly, his fingertips spinning the ball rapidly in his palm, "Do you take me for a half-health Mitsui? Boasting shamelessly!"
Although Hasegawa was confused, he dared not relax in the slightest!
Before Gu Jin's words had even finished, he suddenly accelerated and broke through, the basketball almost spinning against his wrist. Hasegawa only felt a blur before his eyes.
His defensive center of gravity had been completely disrupted—those light words just now were like a fine needle, precisely piercing his taut nerves.
But this time, Gu Jin didn't give others a chance to help defend. With a simple crossover dribble followed by a cross-step change of direction, his body spun like a top for half a step, squeezing past Hasegawa's right side.
"So fast!" someone exclaimed in the stands.
After breaking through, Gu Jin drove straight into the restricted area. Takano and Nagano immediately double-teamed him from both sides, and Hanagata also abandoned Uozumi, collapsing towards the basket.
The defensive wall formed by the three was about to close in, but Gu Jin suddenly collected the ball in mid-air, leaning his body slightly backward—it wasn't a shot, but rather using that momentum to flick the ball from under his arm to the left!
Fukuda cut in like a phantom, with no one in front of him when he received the ball. He jumped, slammed it down, and the hoop let out a dull roar.
6:5.
All the Ryonan substitutes stood up, and Taoka Moichi slapped the clipboard, laughing, "That's it! Tear apart their zone defense!"
On Shoyo's offensive possession, Fujima still wanted to use Takano's screen to find an opportunity, but this time Sendo's speed in getting around the screen was half a beat faster, directly blocking his shooting lane.
Fujima was forced to pass the ball to Hasegawa, but Gu Jin had already anticipated the passing route and leaped to intercept the ball midway!
The moment he stole the ball, Gu Jin charged towards the frontcourt like an arrow released from a bowstring.
Shoyo's players' defensive steps were in disarray. Hasegawa stumbled as he chased, but could only watch as Gu Jin stopped short a step before the three-point line, even glancing back at his pursuers as he jumped—
"Swish!"
A three-pointer, nothing but net.
9:5.
The cheers in the gymnasium almost blew the roof off, and Eri's hands, raised in encouragement, were trembling.
"Gu Jin, amazing!"
In Shoyo's bench area, Takao Gi's face was as dark as if it were about to rain. He stared intently at the figure in the Ryonan No. 17 jersey on the court, feeling a sense of powerlessness for the first time—like facing a beast that had broken free from all restraints.
In the next possession, Shoyo's pass was intercepted by Gu Jin;
Gu Jin forced a layup amidst a four-man blockade and scored, also drawing a foul from Hanagata, making the free throw.
12:5.
In just a few minutes, Gu Jin single-handedly accounted for Ryonan's steals, fast breaks, three-pointers, layups... He was like a tireless demon king, tearing open one gap after another in Shoyo's defense.
Fujima's organization was disrupted, Hasegawa's defense was useless, and even Hanagata's deterrence under the basket became a mere decoration.
When Gu Jin sank another three-pointer from beyond the arc, contested by Fujima's help defense, Takao Gi called another timeout.
15:5.
The last timeout of the first half was used at this point, but if Gu Jin wasn't contained, Shoyo would be completely crushed.
This time, he didn't draw on the clipboard, but just stared at his players: "Don't try to shut him down completely... Just make him work harder for every point he scores. Exhaust his sharpness and stamina."
When the timeout ended, Gu Jin stood on the court, sweat dripping down his jawline, but his eyes were astonishingly bright.
He looked at the Shoyo players who had reset on the opposite side, a faint curve on his lips—"You, Shoyo, think you can stop Ryonan's progress? Dream on!"
The referee handed the ball to a Shoyo player, signaling for them to restart their offense.
Fujima took the ball, the grip of his fingertips a few degrees stronger than before. As his gaze swept over his teammates, it carried an undeniable firmness: "Stay steady, play as a team."
Shoyo's players moved in tacit agreement, Takano and Hanagata set off-ball screens on both sides of the restricted area, Nagano cut to the baseline using a screen, and Hasegawa stretched the floor beyond the three-point line.
Fujima dribbled at the top of the arc, his peripheral vision constantly tracking Gu Jin's position—this time, he didn't pass rashly. Instead, he waited until Hanagata's second screen momentarily blocked Uozumi before threading the ball through the gap to Takano under the basket.
When Takano received the ball, Sakuragi had already pounced. In a hurry, he passed the ball back to the trailing Fujima, who then dished it to Nagano on the weak side. The moment Nagano jumped to shoot, Sendo's block was already upon him.
The basketball bounced off the edge of the backboard, Hanagata fought hard to grab the offensive rebound, twisting his body in mid-air to tip the ball into the basket.
"Swish!"
7:15.
Shoyo's bench finally let out a relieved cheer, and Takao Gi's tight lips also relaxed slightly.
It was a messy play, but it finally broke their scoring drought.
On Ryonan's offensive possession, Gu Jin no longer charged in aggressively after receiving the ball, but instead set a screen and roll with Sendo.
Sendo drew Fujima's defense, and Gu Jin seized the opportunity to cut into the restricted area. Facing Hanagata's help defense, he didn't get greedy. With a flick of his wrist, he passed the ball to Fukuda on the baseline.
Fukuda received the ball and jumped, forcing a layup over Nagano's defense and scoring.
17:7.
In the stands, the Ryokufu High School section was silent.
Fujisawa Eri clenched her fists, her fingernails almost digging into her palms, watching the No. 17 player on the court who moved as if no one was there, her teeth grinding audibly.
A nearby player couldn't help but whisper, "Miss Fujisawa, this Gu Jin... is getting more and more terrifying. Hasegawa and Fujima defending him together, and he can still pass or score so easily."
"It's not just scoring," another player gasped, "Look at his fast break speed after a steal, and the timing of that screen and roll just now. He doesn't act like a scorer who only cares about his own points at all."
Fujisawa Eri's gaze was fixed on Gu Jin as if drawn by a magnet, her eyelashes trembling slightly from the intensity.
Although she was incredibly familiar with Gu Jin's playing style, the impact at this moment still hit her hard—the figure in the Ryonan No. 17 jersey on the court was as fluid as a leopard poised to strike, every breakthrough carrying an unstoppable momentum, every pass as precise as if calculated.
The player next to her murmured, "He's even more well-rounded than we estimated; no weaknesses on either offense or defense."
Fujisawa Eri didn't respond, but her knuckles were digging red marks into her knees.
How could she not know? To recruit Gu Jin to Ryokufu, she personally visited Ryonan three times, even presenting Ryokufu's scholarship plan to him. She even gave him her heart, but he still refused.
On the court, Gu Jin was high-fiving Fukuda, sweat dripping down his jawline, his profile glowing with a rebellious brightness under the lights.
Fujisawa Eri gazed at that figure, her throat tight, her heart feeling blocked by something—what she couldn't have was not just a top player, but also this kind of unrestrained brilliance on the court, a light that others simply couldn't reach.
"He is indeed formidable," she finally spoke, her voice lower than usual, "But we might not be without a chance." Yet, as she said these words, even she felt a hint of bitterness in her confidence, a bitterness she couldn't even deceive herself about.
The rhythm on the court was still controlled by Ryonan.
Gu Jin was like a tireless engine, sometimes driving with the ball to draw a double team before passing to Fukuda, assisting him in a powerful dunk;
Other times, he would catch and shoot from beyond the three-point line, the basketball swishing through the net again and again. Although Shoyo managed to score a few more points through tenacious teamwork, they could never close the gap.
23:11.
When Gu Jin completed another one-handed slam dunk over Hasegawa on a fast break, the Ryokufu players in the stands fell completely silent.
Fujisawa Eri took a deep breath, her voice carrying a barely perceptible tremor: "Remember his rhythm... In the next game, this is the kind of opponent we will face."
First half, ended!
52:21, Ryonan "temporarily" leads!
Sunlight streamed through the gymnasium windows, illuminating Gu Jin's sweat-drenched back. In the eyes of the Ryokufu players, that figure gradually became an insurmountable wall.
