Shoyo's locker room.
The atmosphere inside was so oppressive it was almost suffocating, as if all the air had been sucked away.
The players all hung their heads, their faces filled with dejection and frustration.
From the huge advantage of leading by more than twenty points at the start to being forcibly caught up and tied by Shohoku, the enormous reversal felt like a series of heavy blows hammering their hearts.
The game had originally been going smoothly, with them firmly in control. How had it turned into this?
No matter how hard they tried, they couldn't understand how the situation had changed so drastically just because their opponents had substituted one player onto the court.
At that moment, it felt as though dark clouds had shrouded the players' hearts. Everything was bleak, and they had completely lost their confidence.
Could they still defeat Shohoku in the second half?
Could they still stop that monstrous Qing Junce?
Those questions weighed heavily on everyone's hearts.
Fujima Kenji looked at his dispirited teammates, drew a deep breath, forced himself to straighten his back, and put on an utterly determined expression. Then he shouted, "What's wrong with all of you? Look at you, hanging your heads like that. What kind of appearance is this? So what if they caught up and tied the score? It only means the game has returned to the starting point. We haven't lost yet."
Hearing their captain's voice, the players seemed to be pulled by an invisible force. One after another, they raised their heads and looked toward Fujima Kenji.
Fujima Kenji's eyes shone brightly as he continued to raise their morale. "Not one of you is inferior to anyone else. Didn't we lead all the way before and put on an excellent performance? Get yourselves fired up.