Nangou Koichiro was completely dumbfounded. He stared blankly at the scene before him, utterly unable to believe his eyes.
He stood there like a statue, his mind a complete blank.
Seeing this, the spectators clicked their tongues in amazement. They even silently mourned Tsukitake's Number 15 for a few seconds. They were astounded by Qing Junce's astonishing performance, yet felt some sympathy for Nangou Koichiro's plight.
The two landed one after the other. Without even glancing at Nangou Koichiro, Qing Junce turned around and ran back on defense without hesitation.
Nangou Koichiro, meanwhile, continued standing blankly beneath the basket, his eyes fixed on his own palm as though wondering whether everything that had just happened had been a hallucination.
The Tsukitake players also fell silent, their faces filled with unwillingness and disappointment.
And so, the first half gradually drew to a close.
In the end, Shohoku led Tsukitake by 36 points, 68–32.
A 36-point gap had opened up by halftime.
This result shocked the members of the high school basketball teams who had come to watch the game.
That was outrageous. They were last year's Top 8 team in the Prefectural Tournament!
Everyone discussed it animatedly, their hearts filled with shock.
Maki Shinichi, Fujima Kenji, Hanagata Toru, and the Hainan players were all silent as well.
They had been deeply shaken.
Shohoku's strength had exceeded their expectations, especially Qing Junce. His ability was truly fearsome.
Now, even Maki Shinichi, who had always been brimming with confidence, had begun to wonder whether Hainan could withstand Qing Junce's fierce attacks if the two teams met.
Fujima Kenji's thoughts had already changed. He was no longer thinking about how to defeat Hainan, but had begun considering how to hold on to second place in the Prefectural Tournament.
Qing Junce had placed enormous pressure on him. Although he had not taken Tsukitake seriously before, he now had no choice but to reassess Shohoku's strength.
He stood up, turned to Hanagata Toru, and said, "Let's go, Hanagata."
Hanagata Toru looked at him in confusion. "We're not going to keep watching?"
Fujima Kenji's gaze was resolute, and his expression serious. "There's no need. Tsukitake has no chance of winning anymore."
Hanagata Toru glanced at the score on the scoreboard and nodded helplessly, agreeing with him.
With a massive 36-point deficit, coming back in the second half was practically impossible.
And that was exactly what happened.
Once the second half began, Tsukitake's momentum was completely different from the first half, as though their souls had been drained away.
They had not given up on the game, but they were merely making one last struggle.
Qing Junce continued displaying his extraordinary instincts on both offense and defense, frequently stealing the ball from his opponents.
When he faced Godai Tomokazu, Godai Tomokazu stared at Qing Junce with a look of resolute desperation, as if he were prepared to die together with him.
Qing Junce looked at him without the slightest intention of holding back.
He drove off fiercely with both feet, launching himself like a red bolt of lightning. His speed was astonishing.
The basketball spun rapidly beneath his fingertips, bouncing as though it had been given a life of its own.
His dribbling rhythm was dazzlingly fast. Godai Tomokazu quickly moved in to stop him, his legs tense and his entire focus fixed on the basketball in Qing Junce's hands as he tried to find a chance to steal it. But Qing Junce's movements changed unpredictably, leaving him no opening at all.
The next moment.
Qing Junce suddenly changed direction. His body twisted like a spring, while the basketball switched rapidly between the floor and his fingertips, stirring up a rush of wind.
Godai Tomokazu hurried to keep up, but Qing Junce was simply too fast. The moment he shifted his feet, Qing Junce's ghostlike dribbling rhythm threw him completely off balance.
Qing Junce seized the opportunity and accelerated again. The basketball shot up and fell back down like a cannonball fired from its barrel, all under his control.
A trace of panic flashed through Godai Tomokazu's eyes. He desperately tried to steady himself, but Qing Junce's ultrafast dribbling was like a whirlwind, completely disrupting his defense.
With a thud, Godai Tomokazu's feet seemed to be tripped by an invisible force. He lost his balance and crashed heavily to the floor.
Qing Junce did not pause for even a moment. Like a red bolt of lightning, he sped past Godai Tomokazu.
Godai Tomokazu clenched his teeth, his heart filled with unwillingness, while a trace of despair showed in his eyes.
After dribbling to the front of Tsukitake's three-point line, Natsume Hiroshi and Mine Kenta quickly moved in front of him, attempting to stop Qing Junce's attack.
The corners of Qing Junce's lips curled slightly. Without slowing down at all, he charged straight toward them.
As Qing Junce rushed closer, Natsume Hiroshi and Mine Kenta felt a little intimidated. They involuntarily swallowed in unison, cold sweat constantly beading on their foreheads.
Even so, the two gritted their teeth and waited for Qing Junce to reach them.
"You've got some guts." Qing Junce grinned, revealing a mouthful of white teeth.
The moment he finished speaking, he had already reached them.
Natsume Hiroshi and Mine Kenta immediately spread their arms, trying to trap Qing Junce between them.
However, Qing Junce's figure flashed. He changed direction and spun, leaning his body toward their side.
Seeing this, Natsume Hiroshi and Mine Kenta abruptly halted their attempted double-team. Once they realized what had happened, they hurriedly prepared to turn and chase after him.
Natsume Hiroshi's heart jolted. So fast. I can't even react!
Mine Kenta was horrified. We clearly prepared in advance, yet we still can't keep up with his speed?
Just as the two were about to turn, a figure suddenly flashed between them. At the same time, a fierce gust of wind swept across their bodies.
Natsume Hiroshi and Mine Kenta's movements froze abruptly as they tried to turn, their faces filled with utter astonishment.
They turned their heads in disbelief, only to see Qing Junce already leaping high into the air and shooting the basketball from his hands.
The two could not understand how Qing Junce had passed between them.
But the spectators outside the court had seen it clearly.
As it turned out, just as Qing Junce lowered his body and slipped to their side, he quickly switched hands and changed direction, returning to the space between them.
At that moment, Natsume Hiroshi and Mine Kenta had both assumed Qing Junce would break through from the side. Most of their attention was focused there, and they had never expected him to suddenly turn back and pass through the middle.
Huff... gasp... huff... gasp... huff... gasp...
As the game neared its end, the Tsukitake players were all panting heavily, as if they had just endured a brutal battle.
Their mental state was utterly terrible. They were listless and dispirited, while the enormous point gap pressed down on their hearts like a heavy boulder, leaving them unable to breathe.
Qing Junce's dominance on the court had brought them unprecedented physical and mental exhaustion. Every time they defended against his attacks, it felt like fighting a ferocious beast.
However, Qing Junce was not the only one placing enormous pressure on them.
In the second half, Shohoku's other players had also completely exploded into action.
Akagi Takenori was like a towering mountain in the paint.
He scored repeatedly, successfully suppressing Nangou Koichiro. With his powerful physique and excellent rebounding instincts, he grabbed most of the rebounds.
Rukawa Kaede performed equally well, scoring just behind Qing Junce.
Relying on his exquisite skills and astonishing individual ability, he repeatedly broke through the opposition's defense to score.
Mitsui Hisashi was no less impressive. His three-pointers were like perfectly aimed shells, repeatedly finding the mark and posing an enormous threat to the opposing defense.
Several times, he even successfully blocked Godai Tomokazu's shots, displaying his all-around defensive ability.
His outstanding performance made Shohoku's offense even more varied.
Miyagi Ryota recorded the most assists in the game.
He was not only adept at finding chances to steal the ball and disrupting the opponent's offensive rhythm, but also took on the vital task of linking the team together.
Whenever there was no chance to pass to Qing Junce, he always promptly passed the ball to Akagi Takenori, Rukawa Kaede, or Mitsui Hisashi, keeping Shohoku's offense smooth and fluid.
With everyone contributing and attacking both inside and outside, Shohoku completely crushed Tsukitake.
Finally, the whistle signaling the end of the game sounded.
With the overwhelming score of 155–59, Shohoku utterly steamrolled last year's Top 8 team, Tsukitake, winning by a nearly hundred-point margin.
Shohoku successfully advanced to the Top 8.
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