Steadying the Ship

Tokyo, Yoyogi Gymnasium, Court One—the Winter Cup semifinals between Miuradai and Ryonan.

After Ryonan Basketball Team unleashed a devastating 21:9 comeback over the first five minutes of the second half, Miuradai's seemingly massive 24-point lead had been whittled down to just 12.

That directly made it impossible for Coach Harada to remain composed. He decisively called a timeout, gave his players a stern dressing-down, and immediately sent Wu Yufei back onto the court.

Wu Yufei replaced Kimura Takuya, forming a two-point-guard lineup with Nishitani Futa. Wu Yufei also intended to teach Nishitani another lesson: when the team found itself at a disadvantage, how should he organize everyone and quickly steady the ship?

Beep—!!

The timeout ended. As soon as both sides swiftly returned to the court, the referee blew the whistle again, signaling for play to resume.

Miuradai had possession.

"Alright, settle down. No need to rush. We still have the advantage!"

After receiving the inbound pass, Wu Yufei did not immediately push for a fast break. Instead, he organized the team to slow the tempo further and advance steadily into the frontcourt.

Over on Ryonan's side, in order to conserve as much energy as possible for the final battle, they allowed Wu Yufei to slow the pace without pressing him and forcing Miuradai to speed up. Wu Yufei was able to bring the ball safely into the frontcourt.

Once there, Wu Yufei still did not rush into a drive. He calmly directed his teammates' movements, patiently tearing at Ryonan's defense.

At 5:48 of the second half, after an intense stretch of cutting and running, Miuradai finally broke through Ryonan's defense.

Bang!!

The next instant, Wu Yufei did not hesitate in the slightest. He decisively changed direction and accelerated, taking one huge step past Nishiki Junichi before charging straight into