Twists and Turns

Kanagawa Prefectural General Gymnasium, the Winter Cup qualifier final between Ryonan and Kainan.

As the Kainan Basketball Team players gradually found their best form, they slowly cut the gap from the original eight to ten points down to three to five.

But Ryonan clearly had no intention of letting the advantage they had maintained for so long slip away. Thanks to the outstanding play of their ace, Kazama Yuto, Ryonan quickly steadied itself and denied Kainan the chance to ride the momentum into an outright lead.

If Kainan's surge had lasted from the fifth to the ninth minute of the second half, with Tsuchiya Kenichi and the others playing brilliantly to cut the deficit to around two baskets—

Then from the ninth minute onward, the game entered another deadlock, with neither side willing to give an inch.

Ryonan's Kazama Yuto and Kainan's Tsuchiya Kenichi both took on the responsibility of being their teams' aces, delivering one spectacular play after another.

At 9:22 in the second half, Kazama Yuto made a quick cut in the opposite direction, instantly shaking off Tsuchiya Kenichi's defense and slicing into Kainan's paint.

Bang!!

The next moment, Nishiki Junichi decisively delivered the pass. Kazama Yuto caught it securely, then drove hard at the basket, scoring a layup through Shimazu Kazuto's defense and drawing a defensive foul as well.

Swish!!

As the free throw dropped cleanly, Kazama Yuto completed another brilliant three-point play, helping his team maintain its advantage.

At 9:45, Tsuchiya Kenichi chose to trust his shooting touch.

After once again using his excellent rhythm to shake off Kazama Yuto, Tsuchiya Kenichi hesitated no longer and decisively launched another three-pointer.

Swish!!

This time, the basketball finally answered Tsuchiya Kenichi's call, cleanly piercing Ryonan's hoop.

And just like that, it erased the hard-earned three-point play Kazama Yuto