A Reasonable Explanation

Tokyo Yoyogi Gymnasium, Court One, the Miuradai vs. Shohoku final.

The twists and turns of the game had far exceeded the audience's expectations.

At the very start, Miuradai had ridden the momentum from the opening tip. When they once stretched the gap to eight points, many spectators felt the game was already showing signs of becoming a blowout, and Shohoku's collapse seemed inevitable.

After all, Miuradai was the kind of team that, once they got a run going, would follow it up with an unbroken barrage of combinations to finish their opponents off without giving them the slightest chance.

Yet Shohoku quickly slapped everyone who thought that way in the face with their performance. A 5-0 counterattack cut the deficit back down to just three points.

And what Wu Yufei found even harder to accept was that Rukawa Kaede had scored all five points in that run.

His goal today was to limit Rukawa Kaede's scoring as much as possible, but his opponent had repeatedly found chances to score. That added a great deal of uncertainty to Wu Yufei's chances of completing his task this game.

No! I have to think of something!

After receiving the inbound again, Wu Yufei did not immediately accelerate to launch a fast break this time. Instead, he deliberately slowed things down, giving both himself and his teammates a chance to catch their breath.

With the effects of the [Commander] badge activated, no matter what instructions Wu Yufei gave as captain, his teammates could respond and carry them out at the fastest speed.

So on this possession, the entire Miuradai team slowed down and began advancing toward the frontcourt step by step, playing steadily and cautiously.

Though Shohoku was impressed by their opponents' excellent execution, they were happy to take the opportunity to calmly set