Buzzer-Beater That Shocks Everyone

As Qing Junce retreated, he brushed past Miyagi Ryota.

Qing Junce glanced at Miyagi Ryota, his meaning clear without a word.

"You jerk," Miyagi Ryota's face flushed slightly. He wanted to say something, but for a moment, he didn't know how to start. He could only accept Qing Junce's mocking gaze with a mix of anger and helplessness.

On the second floor of the arena.

Aida Yayoi's face no longer held the excitement of spotting something new.

Her eyes were filled with nothing but shock and horror.

She looked at Qing Junce on the court, unsure what words she could use to describe her current feelings.

After a long pause, she finally managed to utter, "Kanagawa is about to change."

There were only 17 seconds left until the end of the first half.

Because of Qing Junce, the psychological pressure on the Miuradai players was growing exponentially.

With only a little over ten seconds left, they decided not to attack and planned to stall until halftime.

They needed to adjust their mindset first.

Qing Junce, however, paid no mind to their mental state.

As Miuradai passed the ball, perhaps due to the immense psychological pressure, Araki Kazuo made a mistake when receiving it, fumbling the ball.

Upon seeing this, Miyagi Ryota immediately moved to steal the ball.

However, Araki Kazuo's recovery was swift.

Their hands touched the ball almost simultaneously, and then the ball bounced away uncontrollably.

Furthermore, the direction it bounced was out of bounds.

Only 5 seconds remained until the end of the game.

Miyagi Ryota and Araki Kazuo instinctively made no move to save it.

Miyagi Ryota felt it was unnecessary.

Araki Kazuo thought it was a perfect way to run out the clock.

But what neither of them expected was that, just as the ball was about to go out of bounds.

A white streak of light flashed before their eyes and then vanished.

After the white light disappeared, the basketball vanished along with it.

This sight made both Miyagi Ryota and Araki Kazuo's pupils contract.

Both of them instinctively thought of the same person.

However, their internal thoughts were completely different.

Miyagi Ryota's thoughts were: Holy crap, the ball's gone. It's gotta be that guy again, he's too awesome!

Araki Kazuo's thoughts were: Holy crap, the ball's gone. It's gotta be that guy again, we're screwed!

Bang...

Bang...

Bang...

The sound of the basketball hitting the floor echoed continuously, each bounce seeming to strike the hearts of the Miuradai players.

Time ticked by, second by second.

Although the Miuradai players were slow to react, they immediately scrambled back on defense.

Murasame Kengo's face was filled with anxiety and dread as he yelled at his teammates, "Hurry back, we absolutely cannot let him score this!"

Fortunately, Miuradai's Kawasaki Akio and Takatsu Hiroshi were closer to their own basket and managed to get back before Qing Junce could reach them.

The two focused intently, spreading their arms wide, their eyes fixed on Qing Junce, who was approaching at high speed.

With 3 seconds left in the first half, Qing Junce had already reached the two of them.

Qing Junce looked at the two in front of him, a slight smile playing on his lips.

He suddenly stopped abruptly, decelerating from his maximum speed to zero.

This scene, to Kawasaki Akio and Takatsu Hiroshi, was like a skipped frame, making it feel unreal.

Qing Junce made a sharp change of direction, switching the ball from his right hand to his left, then executed a 180-degree spin counter-clockwise, breaking past them to their right.

A flicker of panic crossed Kawasaki Akio and Takatsu Hiroshi's eyes as their bodies reacted instinctively, trying to block Qing Junce at the last moment.

Takatsu Hiroshi chased directly after Qing Junce's back.

Kawasaki Akio chose to intercept him head-on.

In an instant, Qing Junce was caught in a pincer movement between the two, one in front and one behind.

At this point, there were only 2 seconds left until the end of the first half.

Qing Junce's face showed no sign of panic whatsoever.

He leaped up right in the middle of the double-team, bold as brass.

Kawasaki Akio and Takatsu Hiroshi also jumped, one in front and one behind, sandwiching Qing Junce tightly in the middle.

Everyone watching the scene was utterly bewildered.

"Is he crazy? Passing would have been the safest option in that situation! There was no need to force a shot!" Koshino Hiroaki asked, confused.

Uekusa Tomoyuki frowned and said, "Is he really that confident he can make the shot?"

Ikegami Ryoji, on the other hand, commented, "If that ball had been passed to Mitsui Hisashi, there's a high chance they could have tied the score."

"That guy probably wouldn't do anything he wasn't sure about," Sendoh analyzed calmly.

His thoughts differed from everyone else's.

But he could somewhat understand that someone as skilled as Qing Junce wouldn't do something pointless.

This was something he himself felt as well.

This was the inherent pride and confidence of a skilled player.

On the other side.

Aida Yayoi also analyzed, "That was too reckless, getting double-teamed in mid-air. If he had passed the ball before being trapped, Shohoku might have scored another basket before the game ended."

There was only 1 second left until the end of the first half.

Qing Junce, suspended in mid-air, made a shooting motion.

Kawasaki Akio and Takatsu Hiroshi quickly extended their arms, blocking all possible shooting lanes.

Just then, Qing Junce's arm collided with Kawasaki Akio's arm.

The next moment, Qing Junce retracted the basketball, his body contorting as he leaned to the right.

Then, he cradled the ball with one hand and extended it from the right side, avoiding the area blocked by Kawasaki Akio and Takatsu Hiroshi.

Qing Junce swung his arm, tossing the ball towards the basket, which was obscured by Kawasaki Akio.

He threw the ball in an extremely unbalanced, highly unnatural posture.

At that exact moment, the game clock hit zero.

Beep...

The referee's whistle also sounded.

However, at this point, no one's attention was on that.

Their eyes were glued to the basketball flying through the air.

Witnessed by all, the basketball hit the Miuradai backboard, bounced off it, hit the rim, then skipped once on the edge of the rim, and finally dropped into the basket.

Swish...

Shohoku 43, Miuradai 44.

Everyone was stunned into silence by the sight.

Beep...

Before the spectators could cheer, A whistle temporarily calmed their surging emotions.

The referee then pointed at Kawasaki Akio and announced loudly, "Miuradai number 8, foul on the shot. Basket counts, and-one."

Boom...

For a moment, everyone in the stadium felt as if they had been struck by lightning.

Foul on the shot, and-one.

Qing Junce had actually hit a 2+1 at the buzzer-beater.

And he did it while being double-teamed.

After a brief silence, the entire stadium erupted once more in a thunderous wave of cheers and shouts.

"Wow! It's a 2+1!"

"So strong, so exciting."

"How did he manage to make that shot in that situation?"

"He must have lost his balance, right?"

"It was luck! He just threw it casually just now."

"Regardless, that was an amazing shot."

The Ryonan members, who had previously felt Qing Junce's handling of the situation was questionable, now had their mouths slightly agape, lost in thought.

They never could have imagined that this play would result in a 2+1.

Aida Kenichi was practically going mad at this moment.

He widened his eyes, his entire being brimming with excitement. "That last shot was absolutely incredible, to pull off a move like that while being double-teamed."

Sendoh also hadn't expected this outcome.

It was truly beyond his expectations.

He had already thought highly of Qing Junce.

He hadn't imagined he had underestimated him.

The opponent simply couldn't be judged by conventional means.

"That last shot, was it luck, or..." A sense of unease suddenly welled up in Sendoh's heart.

Qing Junce always gave him a strange, inexplicable feeling of dissonance.

But he could never quite figure out what it was.

He wasn't the only one feeling this way.

Anyone sensitive to basketball felt the same.

For example, Aida Yayoi, whose camera shutter was clicking non-stop.

As well as the players from both teams on the court, the people on the benches, and in a corner on the second floor, Maki Shinichi, who was silently watching the game.

Maki Shinichi's gaze was fixed on Qing Junce.

He felt an inexplicable pressure emanating from Qing Junce.

After a long moment, he finally withdrew his gaze.

"Shohoku's number 9," Maki Shinichi muttered, then turned and disappeared into the tunnel entrance.

Swish...

The sound of a basketball grazing the net.

Qing Junce calmly sank the free throw.

Shohoku gained another point.

Shohoku 44, Miuradai 44.

Shohoku VS Miuradai ended the first half in a tie.