Conquest!

Swish!!

As the basketball once again cleanly pierced the Blue Team's hoop, the number on the sideline scoreboard changed to Red Team 40-27.

The Blue Team players had spent the entire second quarter desperately clawing their way back, finally cutting the deficit to single digits. But with Wu Yufei's return to the court, the gap had mercilessly widened to thirteen points again.

Possession returned to the Blue Team once more.

If the Blue Team still failed to score on this possession, then the entire third quarter would be no different from the first. The Red Team would still be riding roughshod over them, doing whatever they pleased.

1 minute 22 seconds into the third quarter.

After an extremely cautious series of passes and cuts in the Red Team's half, the Blue Team finally got the ball to Takahashi Takeshi, who had shaken off Kishimoto Kazuki on the right side and successfully cut under the basket.

"Roaargh!!"

This time, Takahashi Takeshi finally displayed the strength of a former Tokyo Thunder starting center. He overpowered the Red Team's backup center for a poster dunk, drew a defensive foul, and earned a free throw.

"Whew..."

After briefly celebrating with his teammates, Takahashi Takeshi immediately stepped to the free-throw line. He took the ball from the referee, aimed for a moment, and decisively made a Quick Release.

Clang!!

"Damn it!!"

The instant he saw the ball hit the rim, Takahashi Takeshi cursed bitterly.

This was actually one of the reasons Sugiyama Shota had replaced him before he had even made it through half of last season: Takahashi Takeshi's free throws were simply atrocious.

After all, Takahashi Takeshi had been a veteran in the Japan Professional Basketball League for a full five years, yet free throws had always remained a weakness he could never improve.