Ryonan Battle (5)

Beep—!

"Ryonan requests a substitution!!"

Less than a minute into the second half, Ryonan immediately requested a substitution.

Defensive ace Ikegami Ryoji had finished warming up and stood at the sidelines.

"..."

Fukuda Kiccho lowered his head and silently walked off the court. He quietly high-fived Ikegami and returned to the bench.

"Don't lose heart, Fukuda. You'll have your chance to get back on the court. Trust your teammates."

Coach Taoka offered a few words of comfort before turning his gaze back to the court.

Ikegami Ryoji's arrival undoubtedly raised Ryonan's defense by more than a level.

After all, Fukuda Kiccho, Miuradai's biggest opening, had been taken off. That meant Wu Yufei's most effective pick-and-roll attack was no longer as sharp as before.

That said, Fukuda's departure also cut Ryonan's offensive momentum by more than half. For a while, the entire team's offensive burden fell onto Sendoh's shoulders.

Under Wu Yufei's deliberate planning and direction, Miuradai continued using a defense that packed the paint.

After all, on Ryonan's side, Sendoh was the only one with a reliable outside shot. Everyone else, including shooting guard Koshino Hiroaki, was terrible from three-point range.

Wu Yufei personally guarded Sendoh one-on-one, while Ishiyama Jun took Koshino Hiroaki.

As for Ikegami Ryoji and Uekusa Tomoyuki, they could shoot from outside all they wanted!

Oh, right, and there was Uozumi, that ape king. If he wanted to drift outside and shoot some threes, that was fine too. Miuradai would love that. With Ohno Kazuki and Naito Tetsuya double-teaming him, Uozumi could barely even establish position under the basket, much less receive Sendoh's passes.

Uozumi was tightly contained and couldn't receive the ball comfortably. Ikegami Ryoji's offensive ability was as negligible as Fukuda's defense.

Uekusa Tomoyuki's small frame had no chance of forcing his way into a paint crowded with players over 190 centimeters tall, and his mid-to-long-range shooting was very ordinary.

Koshino Hiroaki did have a decent mid-range shot, but Ishiyama Jun stuck to him like glue.

Left with no choice, Ryonan's entire offense fell onto Sendoh's shoulders. Sendoh had no choice but to expend enormous amounts of energy and stamina trading scoring bursts with Wu Yufei again and again.

And that was exactly what Wu Yufei wanted to see.

He wanted to turn Ryonan from a team that played team basketball into a one-man team dependent solely on Sendoh, then engage Sendoh in a scoring duel!

At this point, the outcome would be decided by the two aces' stamina!

Whichever one collapsed first, that team would lose!

Sendoh also understood Wu Yufei's intentions and decisively accepted the challenge.

He naturally knew this style of play was extremely risky, but under the current circumstances, it was the only approach that still offered even a sliver of hope.

Thus, over the next full ten minutes, the spectators were treated to one breathtaking individual performance after another.

Sendoh had just used a crossover to beat Wu Yufei, charged into the paint, and scored on a floater. Wu Yufei immediately answered, using Butterfly Through Flowers in transition to shake off Sendoh before driving straight to the rim for a thunderous dunk.

Sendoh powered past Wu Yufei and hit a step-back jumper after a sudden stop. Wu Yufei immediately turned around, created separation, and drained a pull-up from mid-range.

The two went back and forth, turning a five-on-five basketball game into a one-on-one streetball duel.

In the first few possessions, Sendoh or Wu Yufei still had to gesture for their teammates to clear out. Later on, their teammates did not even need a signal; they simply spaced the floor and let the two go one-on-one.

Although the game had become a dull end-to-end sprint for the other eight players, none of them complained in the slightest. Instead, they all took on the role of spectators, watching the two aces show off their skills with great focus.

Sendoh worked incredibly hard. He gave everything he had, hoping to win this battle between aces and use it as the signal for Ryonan's counterattack.

However, the ten-point gap was simply too large. Though Sendoh fought with everything he had to score on every possession, the results were minimal.

By the time the individual showcase had continued for a full ten minutes and the game reached the twelfth minute of the second half, the score was Miuradai 75, Ryonan 67. Miuradai still held an eight-point lead.

"Put me in, Coach."

At the sidelines, Fukuda Kiccho of Ryonan's bench volunteered himself.

There are only eight minutes left. Maybe it really is time to make a last stand...

Taoka Moichi stared at Fukuda for two seconds, then finally made up his mind.

"Get in there, Fukuda! Take some of the offensive pressure off Sendoh!"

"Understood!"

Beep—!!

"Ryonan requests a substitution!!"

"Ooh! That unassuming scoring machine is back on the court!!"

"Honestly, aside from Sendoh and Wu Yufei, he's the best scorer in the entire game!"

"But his defense is awful! Ryonan is still behind—aren't they just courting death by putting him back in?"

"Maybe Ryonan has already decided to go all in."

Fukuda's return immediately sparked a heated discussion in the stands.

With Fukuda back on the court, the one-on-one showdown between Wu Yufei and Sendoh officially came to an end. The two had fought to a draw, with neither gaining the upper hand.

But if one had to choose, Wu Yufei, who had been defending his lead, had done slightly better. After all, he had thwarted Sendoh's plan to lead a comeback and achieved his intended objective.

Fukuda returned to the court and replaced Ikegami Ryoji, allowing Ryonan to return to the offensive style it excelled at most.

After resting for a full ten minutes, Fukuda had recovered quite well. The moment he entered, he ran himself ragged, constantly moving to find opportunities.

With Fukuda's support, Sendoh could finally calm down from his frenzied scoring mode for the moment and think through the team's overall play.

At 12 minutes and 20 seconds into the second half, Fukuda found an opening, slipped around Ohno Kazuki, spun, and rushed into the paint. Sendoh immediately tossed the ball toward the basket. Fukuda caught it in midair and gently flicked it up in one motion.

Swish!

The ball dropped cleanly through the net.

"Yes!! As expected of Fukuda-senpai, he's so dependable!!"

Aida Hikoichi shouted excitedly.

But before Aida Hikoichi's excitement could fade, Wu Yufei drove into Ryonan's paint against Sendoh on the next possession. After throwing Ryonan's restricted area into chaos, he successfully passed the ball to the unguarded Naito Tetsuya under the basket. Naito rose and slammed it home, stretching the two points Ryonan had just clawed back right back out.

At 14 minutes and 20 seconds, Sendoh lobbed the ball to Uozumi, who had his hand up in the paint. Uozumi, having gone six full minutes without scoring, anxiously spun for a layup and knocked Naito to the floor.

Beep—!!

"White number four, charging! Black team ball!"

The referee made the call without mercy. It was Uozumi's fourth foul.

"Captain, you can't foul again. If you get sent off, we really won't have any chance left."

Sendoh immediately stepped forward to calm the slightly agitated Uozumi.

Hearing Sendoh's words, Uozumi, who had been worked up and ready to confront the referee, immediately calmed down.

That's right, I only have one chance left. If I go argue with the referee now, I might immediately...

No! The team still needs me!

Tch, what a shame. Why wasn't he getting worked up like he did in the original story at a time like this?

Wu Yufei inwardly lamented from the side.

If Uozumi had gone looking for trouble with the referee just now and been ejected outright, Miuradai could have considered this game securely won.

But this was not bad either. With four fouls already, Uozumi would have to hold back in every aspect.

For Miuradai, as less and less time remained in the game, things would only become easier!