Restlessness

Beep—!

With fifteen minutes gone in the second half, Ryonan called its final timeout.

There were only five minutes left in the game, and this was also Taoka's last chance as coach to influence the outcome.

All the Ryonan players gathered around Coach Taoka, waiting for his final instructions.

Meanwhile, the atmosphere on Miuradai's side was relatively more relaxed.

There were only five minutes left, and they still held an eight-point lead.

Those eight points were like an insurmountable chasm, firmly blocking Ryonan's path and leaving them helpless.

"There are only five minutes left. I'll slow the pace down even further. Don't fall for Ryonan's tricks. They're the ones who should be anxious right now. We just need to make every defensive possession count."

Although Miuradai's nominal captain was still Murasame Kengo, everyone knew that aside from Coach Harada, Wu Yufei held the most authority on the team.

So every word Wu Yufei said was listened to seriously by everyone, including Captain Murasame and Coach Harada.

"Defeat Ryonan—our first stop on the road to conquering the nation!!"

"Roar!!!"

The entire Miuradai team cast fatigue aside and stepped onto the court, ready to face Ryonan's final—and fiercest—counterattack!

"Go, go, Miuradai!! Defense, defense, Miuradai!!"

"Ryonan, charge, charge, charge!! Ryonan, charge, charge, charge!!"

The spectators squeezed out every last bit of strength they had, cheering for the teams and players they supported on the court.

At 15:08, Wu Yufei forced his way through with the ball, drawing the Ryonan players back into the paint before decisively passing to Ishiyama Jun, who had cut in to receive it. The instant Ishiyama caught the ball, he rose and shot, not giving the Ryonan players even a moment to react. They could only watch helplessly as the basketball dropped obediently through the hoop.

At 15:26, Ryonan copied the move. Sendoh launched a hard drive from the perimeter, drawing most of Miuradai's attention onto himself before dishing the ball behind his back with a bounce pass to Fukuda, who had cut in from the side. Fukuda drove to the basket and finished the layup.

At 15:44, a sham god move let Wu Yufei successfully break into Ryonan's interior. He drove straight into the restricted area and feinted a layup right in front of Uozumi.

Uozumi had originally wanted to swat Wu Yufei's shot away, but just as he prepared to jump, an alarm went off in his mind: You already have four fouls!!

That moment of hesitation cost Uozumi his best chance at a block. In the end, he could only watch as Wu Yufei made the layup right in front of him.

At 15:59, Sendoh tried to lob the ball to Uozumi in the post to help his captain regain confidence. However, Wu Yufei intercepted it out of the air, and Miuradai immediately launched a fast break.

"No way?! Sendoh got picked off again?!"

"No! Stop him! Please!!"

As they watched Wu Yufei sprint toward their half after intercepting the ball, desperate wails immediately rang out from the Ryonan bench.

Wu Yufei put his foot to the floor and reached Ryonan's half in just a few long strides. The instant he crossed the free-throw line, he leaped into the air, raising the basketball high in his right hand as he glided toward the hoop ahead.

Bang!!

Just as Wu Yufei confidently prepared to slam the ball home, a tremendous force came from behind and smacked the basketball out of his hand.

"Hmm?"

Wu Yufei turned back in confusion, only to see an unprecedentedly serious expression on Sendoh's face.

"Like you said before, at least give me a chance to make up for my mistake."

A basket that had seemed certain was mercilessly swatted away by Sendoh.

"Nice one!! Sendoh!!!"

"What a block, Sendoh!!"

"We're still in this! As long as Sendoh is here, we're definitely still in this!!"

Everyone on Ryonan's bench, including the coach, wore expressions of relief as though they had survived a disaster.

Because Sendoh had put too much force into the block and knocked the ball directly out of bounds, possession remained with Miuradai.

"That was a really merciless block. I'm starting to get a little traumatized, Sendoh."

Wu Yufei accepted the inbound pass, dribbling while keeping an eye on everything around him and chatting with Sendoh at the same time.

"Stop lying. You don't look scared at all."

The stern expression Sendoh had worn during the block was gone, replaced by his trademark smile. At the same time, he continued searching for an opportunity to steal the ball.

However, Wu Yufei protected the ball well, and Sendoh never found such an opportunity.

A few seconds later, Wu Yufei had already observed his teammates' positions and mapped out the attack route. He began his drive.

After a series of between-the-legs dribbles and a crossover successfully threw Sendoh off balance, Wu Yufei charged into Ryonan's restricted area again. This time, he went straight at Uozumi Jun, who had four fouls and was playing cautiously!

"Damn it!!"

Faced with such blatant provocation from Wu Yufei, Uozumi was both furious and anxious.

In the end, his temper overcame his reason. Uozumi decisively jumped to meet Wu Yufei, ready to risk fouling out if it meant teaching this brat a lesson!

The two clashed directly in midair. In the end, Uozumi, a humanoid beast, had the upper hand. He directly bodied Wu Yufei in the air and blocked his view of the basket.

However, Wu Yufei was not so easily shut down. Relying on his exceptional hang time, he forcibly tossed the ball out after Uozumi began to descend.

Under everyone's gaze, the basketball first struck the rim before finally falling in.

Beep—!!

Damn it!

When they heard the referee's whistle, the entire Ryonan team felt as if the sky had collapsed.

So that guy finally got his way...

Coach Taoka closed his eyes in despair.

The basket counted, and the whistle had sounded.

At such a crucial moment, Uozumi had been called for a foul. This was practically an early death sentence for Ryonan.

Although Sendoh was still on the court, Ryonan's interior without Uozumi would never be able to contend with the Naito-Ohno combination. And with Wu Yufei there as well, he would definitely attack Ryonan's interior relentlessly over the final minutes.

However, the referee's next call made every player and spectator in the arena widen their eyes.

"Black number ten, charging!"

The referee did not point at the pale-faced Uozumi. Instead, he pointed at Wu Yufei, who had fallen to the floor and was about to be helped up by his teammates, then loudly announced the call.

Wu Yufei had committed an offensive foul, and the basket was no good?!

"What?!"

Seeing the referee's charging signal, Wu Yufei froze on the spot.

"Yes!!!"

Even Ryonan's bench and their supporters in the stands were stunned at first. Two seconds later, they erupted in deafening cheers.

"Great! Great!! Captain Uozumi didn't foul! That's wonderful!!"

"Nice one, Captain Uozumi!! Keep it up!!"

So that's how it is...

Although Wu Yufei was extremely unhappy with the referee's call after getting back up, he still honestly raised his hand and accepted it.

Two consecutive attacks that had seemed capable of completely sealing the victory had been stopped by Ryonan, and the entire Miuradai team grew somewhat restless.

And that restlessness gave Sendoh an opening.

At 16:25, Sendoh successfully blew past Wu Yufei and drove straight into Miuradai's paint. He powered through Ohno Kazuki's help defense for a layup, drew the foul as well, and successfully completed a 2+1.

"Hey, Ref, what are you doing?! My defense was no different from their number four's just now! Why did you call an offensive foul on them earlier, but a defensive foul on me now?!"

Ohno Kazuki stepped forward indignantly to argue with the referee.

In truth, if not for what had happened to Wu Yufei just now, Ohno would not have reacted so strongly to receiving that defensive foul.

"Hmm?"

The referee frowned at Ohno Kazuki's disrespectful questioning and, in the next moment, prepared to put the whistle he had lowered back into his mouth.

"Enough, Kazuki! We have the lead. Don't lose your head!"

Wu Yufei hurried forward and pulled Ohno Kazuki out of the referee's sight, then apologized to the referee. Only then did he stop the referee's next action and allow the game to continue.

Then Wu Yufei looked toward Miuradai's bench at the sideline and gave Coach Harada a meaningful look.

Swish!

There was naturally no need to question Sendoh's free-throw ability. With their excellent play over the last two minutes, Ryonan had cut Miuradai's lead down to only five points.

Beep—!!

"Miuradai requests a timeout!!"

Coach Harada immediately called a timeout, giving his players a chance to calm down a little.

"Kazuki, you were very irrational just now. No matter how unreasonable you think the referee's calls are, he is still the person with absolute authority on the court. Don't get yourself ejected over a few angry words that cannot change anything. That would be irresponsible to both yourself and the team."

Coach Harada gave Ohno Kazuki a stern reprimand.

"Good thing Wu Yufei stopped you just now. Otherwise, do you know what would have happened to you?"

"Yes... I'm sorry. I was irrational just now."

Having calmed down, Ohno Kazuki readily admitted his mistake.

"Sigh, forget it. Maybe you're just too tired. After all, it's your first time playing such an intense game. From now until the end of the match, make sure you stay calm. Understood?!"

"Yes!!"

Wu Yufei then said a few more words, finally soothing everyone's restless emotions.

"There are three and a half minutes left. Protect our lead and defeat Ryonan!!"

"Roar!!"

"Let them see Ryonan's perseverance!! Tell them the final four isn't so easy to play in!"

"Haah!!"