Night of Collapse

The game between the Kobe Jaguars and Sado Island Brilliance entered the second quarter. The Jaguars had played smoothly in the first, leading all the way, but the situation changed dramatically in the second. Takenori Akagi was substituted out because of too many fouls, causing repeated defensive mistakes that allowed the Glories to go on a scoring run.

Just as Glories head coach Toyama Jiro had said, the Perfectly Balanced Lineup made it difficult for the Jaguars to find a breakthrough.

Could the scales of victory really be tipping toward the Glories??

"Tweet!" The Jaguars called a timeout.

Coach Omoki could no longer sit still and finally called a timeout to ease the team's current predicament.

"Don't forget what we practiced these past few days! Share the ball! Don't go one-on-one against them! Forget the first quarter, forget the points we were leading by! We still have plenty of time—we can get our rhythm back!!"

Coach Omoki was rarely this emotional. The team truly looked like a completely different side on both offense and defense from the first quarter.

After the timeout, the Jaguars had possession. Could they break the deadlock on the court?

Sakuragi held the ball at the high post and acted as the pivot. With Akagi off the court, he was indeed struggling. Battling in the paint already drained his stamina, and he had constantly found himself in one-on-two situations. After the timeout, the team changed its positioning. It seemed they had a prepared play.

Holding the ball, Sakuragi looked around, unsure whom to pass to. The Glories' defense remained airtight, and the Jaguars' players struggled to get free for a pass.

"Go, Miyagi!!"

Sakuragi, who had still been surveying the court, suddenly hurled the ball out. Just like Flying Waves' Fujiwara Takuhe, he threw it toward the stands beside the basket. From Sakuragi's shout, the pass was intended for Miyagi.

"You actually passed it, Sakuragi!!" Miyagi had not expected Sakuragi to truly execute the play they had practiced. Though Miyagi was technically unguarded, the paint was packed with towering players. Even an alley-oop would be hard to finish without interference. But since the ball had already been sent his way, he could only grit his teeth and go for it.

"I'm going for it!" Miyagi shouted as he leaped for the ball.

Fortunately, Sakuragi's pass had obvious backspin, and Miyagi caught it comfortably.

The instant he caught the ball, Miyagi lacked the height to do anything but shoot it off the backboard. Yet he felt as though he were surrounded by countless people, and he timidly tossed the ball up.

"Clang!"

Sakuragi and Miyagi's alley-oop ended in failure with that resounding miss.

"Ohhh~~~"

The crowd let out disappointed cries as well. From their angle, Miyagi had been completely unguarded on the alley-oop. It was truly a shame to miss such a good opportunity.

"Miyagi was definitely rattled. That shot would have been effortless in practice, and he might have made it in the first quarter as well. But the defensive pressure brought by the Glories had made him hesitant. Even though no one had actually interfered with him, his mindset had changed. That may be something young players often experience. What a great opportunity—and I'm shocked Sakuragi was able to make a pass like that!!"

From the looks of it now, Coach Omoki's timeout had not done much. At the very least, Miyagi's form was still far from satisfactory.

"Get back, everyone! Get back on defense! It's okay, Miyagi—believe in yourself!!"

Sakuragi, who had just delivered that pinpoint pass, seemed remarkably calm. Seeing the opposing center Shirai secure the rebound, he quickly organized his teammates' retreat while encouraging Miyagi.

Prompted by Sakuragi, the Jaguars got back quickly. Seeing no chance for a fast break, the Glories slowed down into a set offense. It was time to test the Jaguars' defense again.

The Glories had repeatedly changed their offensive patterns since the second quarter began. This time, Miura and Eguchi ran a pick-and-roll.

"Swish!!"

Before Miyagi could even get around the screen, the crisp sound of the net already rang out. Miura had fired a three immediately while Miyagi was caught on the screen and before Sakuragi could rotate over. He was still two steps beyond the three-point line, yet it went in cleanly again.

As he ran back on defense, Miura blew on the tip of his right index finger and mimed a gunslinger blowing smoke from his barrel, looking utterly cocky.

"Miura has started hitting long-range shots too. The fourteen-point gap has vanished without a trace. What is wrong with the Jaguars' players????" Even the commentator could not understand what had happened to the Jaguars in the second quarter.

The second quarter looked like a reversal of the first for both teams. The Jaguars could not get their offense going, repeatedly clanking their outside shots, while their defense was practically nonexistent. The Glories had truly beaten them into a daze! The players' confidence had taken a severe hit. Meanwhile, the Glories were scoring from everywhere—outside jumpers and interior isolation plays worked again and again. In the second quarter, they answered the Jaguars with a 1: scoring run.

At halftime, the Glories had come back to lead 57:49. The second-quarter score was 8:16, with the Glories outscoring them by 8 points.

"This really is a strange game. Both sides played one good quarter, but judging from the score, the Glories were clearly more efficient in the second. Hopefully the Jaguars can recover their earlier form. An eight-point gap is not much."

Just as the commentator had analyzed, the Glories had clearly taught the Jaguars a lesson in the first half.

"Everyone, calm down. Think about how we beat the Flying Waves. We absolutely cannot play like we did in the second quarter again. We have the ability, and the Glories do not possess overwhelming strength like the Deer Horns. Let's focus on ourselves first and play with confidence!"

No matter when it was, Omoki kept encouraging his players.

The second half was about to begin.

Glories ball.

It was still the ball movement between Miura, Abe, and Kuroki in the frontcourt. The Jaguars' players still could not break up the trio's connection and could only run themselves ragged, pulled back and forth by the passes. After a sequence of quick exchanges, Abe made the final drive and prepared to lay it in.

"Watch me!!!"

"Smack!"

Akagi finally stepped up, destroying Abe's layup with a thunderous block.

Akagi had not completely blocked the ball away, but it had already begun to fall in midair and grazed the backboard. The ball was still near the rim.

"Ah!!"

Shirai Kyodan had been waiting nearby for a long time. Locking onto the ball in the air, he shouted and prepared to slam it home on the follow-up.

"It's not over yet!!"

After landing, Akagi jumped again for a second block. But Shirai already had the ball in both hands and was incredibly close to the basket. Trying this could easily end like the first half—not only failing to stop the score but also giving up another foul. But Akagi could no longer worry about that. He had only one thought in his mind: I can't let the Glories score again!!

The two collided fiercely in midair. This time, Akagi had the last laugh, forcefully stuffing Shirai's sure dunk down. Shirai lost his balance and fell to the floor, while Akagi finally secured the rebound, avenging the and-one from the first half! Akagi once again displayed the dominance of an interior defensive anchor!

"What are you all standing around for!! Fast break!!"

The other Jaguars players had been stunned by Akagi's reverse block. Even after getting the rebound, they did not move!

"Smack!"

Just as Sakuragi looked toward the frontcourt, unsure whom to pass to, Miura reacted quickly and leaped high from behind to strip the ball from Akagi's hands!

The ball remained in the air. Eguchi jumped first to fight for it, and Akagi, unwilling to yield, leaped again to contest it.

"Tweet! Number 4, pushing foul!"

The referee's whistle rang out again. The call was once more against Akagi. Eguchi had grabbed the ball but was knocked down by Akagi's still-rising body—or rather, Eguchi had pressed himself into Akagi to draw the foul!

Akagi already had four fouls!

Omoki could only substitute Akagi out once more. Akagi was clearly dissatisfied with his teammates' performance, viciously slapping a towel against his seat to vent his fury.

Just after the second half began, the Jaguars had fallen into a disadvantage again.

"You despicable bastard, I'm going to crush you!!" Sakuragi glared furiously at Eguchi's arrogant expression.

But anger was only anger. Without Akagi, the team's interior became extremely weak, and their shooting touch on offense remained ice-cold. Mitsui was only one for seven from three, while Rukawa Kaede had made just one shot. The Glories slowly widened the gap!

At the end of the third quarter, it was 85:67, and the Glories continued expanding their lead.

In the fourth quarter, the Jaguars tried hard to pull the game back, but Akagi fouling out early with six fouls left them unable to contend at either end of the court. The Glories' shooting percentage also remained sky-high as they kept increasing the margin.

In the end, Sado Island Brilliance crushed the Kobe Jaguars 111:89 on the road, springing a considerable upset in this round.

The moment the game ended, Sakuragi and the others left the court listlessly. They had now lost two straight at home. If their previous narrow defeat to the Kagoshima Antlers had been honorable despite the loss, then this defeat—a heavy loss to a Glories team that was not especially strong—could only mean that the team had major problems.

The locker room after the game was silent. Just as on the court, no one communicated with anyone else.

Perhaps everyone wanted this night to end as quickly as possible. The feeling of such a crushing defeat was far too heavy.

"Nothing special. Still, I'm looking forward to it, old friends."

In a bedroom, the wall-mounted television was playing the postgame interview from the match that had just ended. The man lying on the bed spoke contemptuously. With deep-set eyes, a handsome face, and a David Beckham-style mohawk, this man was Xiandao. The real show was about to begin.