Xiandao! Full Firepower!

The Wanderers were on offense.

Otake dribbled the ball to Xiandao. From the change in his eyes, it was clear that Xiandao was getting serious!

Although Rukawa Kaede had been beaten on defense earlier, he showed no sign of backing down. He still guarded Xiandao tightly, giving him no room at all.

Xiandao did not dribble. Instead, he used his eyes to send signals to his teammates. It seemed that this time, Xiandao was preparing to play through teamwork!

Seeing this, Rukawa Kaede anticipated a screen and roll, so he glanced behind him to avoid getting caught by a sudden screen!

"Shoot!!"

The instant Rukawa Kaede turned his head to look back, Xiandao pulled up from beyond the three-point line. His release was incredibly quick; by the time Rukawa Kaede turned around, the ball was already spinning through the air.

"Tap, swish!"

"Hahaha, it was actually a banked three! Looks like Xiandao got his luck back after being blocked! What a lucky shot! The Wanderers were on the board!"

Whether Xiandao had deliberately aimed for that angle or it had happened as the commentator said, the ball had gone in. At least it salvaged some of the dignity he had lost from being blocked earlier.

"Defense! Get back!"

"It's rare to see Xiandao organizing everyone to get back on defense! Looks like Sakuragi Hanamichi's block really got under his skin. Maybe that's a good thing!"

Even Coach Shoji rarely got to see Xiandao going all out.

Now the Jaguars were on offense. Miyagi dribbled to the free-throw line and was double-teamed. He had a hard time getting the ball out, and just as he was about to travel, he fired a long pass to Sakuragi.

"It's mine!"

Xiandao had not joined the double team. He had stayed nearby, waiting for a chance to steal the ball. Sure enough, he read Miyagi's passing direction correctly and picked the ball off in midair.

Xiandao sped up his dribble to start a fast break, while Sakuragi desperately chased after him. Once again, it became a showdown between the two of them.

"What?!"

Sakuragi exclaimed when he saw Xiandao, who had been accelerating the whole way, suddenly slam on the brakes.

Xiandao was much more cautious this time. Knowing there was someone chasing him from behind, he understood that whoever it was could threaten his fast break. Or perhaps he simply thought an uncontested dunk was too boring. His sudden stop caught Sakuragi completely off guard!

"Tweet! Number 6, pushing foul! Number 7 gets two free throws. Basket counts, one additional free throw!"

The referee's whistle ended the fast break.

"That's Xiandao's ability. He knew there was a defender chasing him, so he deliberately slowed down and initiated body contact. That way, he could draw the foul! And Sakuragi Hanamichi obviously lacked experience on this play. After running into Xiandao, he stopped defending, allowing Xiandao to score easily and draw the and-one!"

Coach Shoji practically recreated the entire sequence that had just happened. This time, Xiandao had gained the upper hand again!

"I gave you one back, plus a free throw. I came out ahead!"

Xiandao quietly said to Sakuragi.

"You sneaky bastard! If you've got the guts, face me head-on! Every time you come at me, I'll block you!" Sakuragi was clearly unconvinced by that play!

"Haha, you still think the same way you always did!" Xiandao said as he prepared to shoot the free throw.

"Swish!" The extra free throw went in, and Xiandao had scored six straight points.

The Jaguars needed an answer. Since the opening, aside from Rukawa Kaede's fast-break dunk, their half-court offense had yet to get going!

"Settle down. Let's answer them with a basket!"

Miyagi signaled everyone to get into position and run the offense according to the play.

Sakuragi stepped up to receive the ball. It was unclear what kind of offense he would start from this spot!

Sakuragi did not dribble. He looked around for someone to pass to, apparently only serving as a relay point.

"Why are you still as irritating to look at as ever, you bastard?!"

Fukuda's tenacious defense made Sakuragi extremely uncomfortable, and he snapped at him.

Fukuda was never provoked by words like that. He continued to stick tightly to Sakuragi, making it difficult for him to do anything!

"Slap!"

Just as Sakuragi hesitated, Xiandao came over to help on defense again. Spotting the ball's position, he chopped down with one hand.

"Steal! Xiandao gets another steal! The Jaguars have had their last two possessions picked off by Xiandao!"

After stealing the ball, Xiandao launched another fast break.

Mitsui ran alongside him, while Miyagi quickly got back into the paint. Their speedy retreat prevented Xiandao from getting a clean fast break this time.

"You really look down on people, don't you!"

Mitsui had already caught up to Xiandao, but Xiandao was still charging ahead on the fast break without looking back. That irritated Mitsui greatly!

Xiandao leaned into Mitsui and drove toward the paint. Mitsui was afraid of making the same mistake Sakuragi had made earlier, so he did not dare make too many movements. He could only stay close to Xiandao.

Yet Xiandao's driving direction did not seem to be toward the basket. He kept driving toward the baseline instead.

"Not bad defense, but..."

Xiandao suddenly said that, then jumped straight up! Seeing both of Xiandao's feet leave the floor, Mitsui knew it could not be a fake, so he jumped as well and tried to block the shot.

Xiandao's sudden pull-up jumper without slowing down was nothing new, but it was truly a headache for defenders. They feared it was a fake, so they did not dare contest immediately. But if they hesitated even a step, they could end up like Mitsui and let Xiandao shoot with ease!

"Swish!" It was practically a drifting pull-up jumper! Xiandao scored again!

After Sakuragi had emphatically blocked him at the opening, Xiandao had clearly found his fire. He had made three straight baskets, accounting for all eight of the Wanderers' opening points.

"This is Xiandao! No wonder he's the number one player in the league. He can attack and defend, and his individual ability is simply astonishing. We have to make some adjustments and stop Xiandao's momentum!"

Coach Omoki promptly called a timeout. The team needed to adjust now!

"Xiandao, aren't you going too hard too early? The game has only just started. If you play like this, your stamina in the second half might..."

Coach Shoji remained relatively calm. He did not forget his duties as a coach just because of Xiandao's incredible performance.

"Don't worry, Coach. There won't be any suspense left in the second half, so stamina won't matter!"

"This... all right."

Faced with Xiandao's confident answer, Coach Shoji said nothing more.

After the timeout, could the Jaguars break their scoring drought?

"Good! Everyone, we have to score on this possession!!"

Miyagi clearly meant business on this possession.

There was no screen and roll, nor any off-ball screen. Miyagi moved along the three-point line and passed to Akagi, who had just established position. At last, Akagi had received the ball after the opening. It seemed this was a post-up play for Akagi arranged by Coach Omoki.

Akagi held an absolute physical advantage. Qianli fought desperately for position, unwilling to let Akagi get near the basket. But Akagi was extremely determined this time. When the moment was right, he spun and hit a hook shot off the glass!

The Jaguars finally found an opportunity in their half-court offense and broke their scoring drought.

"Although Rukawa Kaede's individual ability is outstanding, he is still a rookie and lacks experience in many areas. Mitsui's three-point shooting is the focus of every team's defense, so it is difficult for him to find easy looks. Under those circumstances, only Akagi in the paint can serve as the team's regular offensive option. Once the interior offense opens up, it can free up Mitsui, Rukawa Kaede, Miyagi, and the others on the perimeter!"

Coach Omoki had always trusted Akagi deeply.

Before the Jaguars could catch their breath, the Wanderers pushed the ball quickly. Xiandao dribbled into Jaguars territory once more!

"Stay on Xiandao! Don't let him score again!"

Mitsui was the fastest Jaguar to get back on defense, calling for his teammates to quickly focus their defense on Xiandao!

"What a lightning pass!"

As soon as the commentator spoke, Xiandao quickly passed the ball to Mito Yohei, who had quietly sprinted ahead. With all of the Jaguars' defensive attention focused on Xiandao and the ball in his hands, they had no idea when Yohei had gotten ahead of them. By the time the pass was made, they finally noticed—but it was too late. Yohei caught the ball, adjusted without dribbling, and casually laid it in!

"Beautiful! Xiandao, this is exactly the kind of performance we need from you—linking up the entire team! No matter how capable a player is, if he has no teammates in his heart, he can only be a lone hero! But if he can create opportunities for his teammates and drive the entire team to score, then he is a true superstar. If Xiandao keeps supplying ammunition to his teammates like this, there really is no need to worry about his stamina!!"

It seemed Coach Shoji's concerns had been unnecessary!

"Keep your heads up, everyone. It's all right. There's still a long way to go, and we still have a chance!"

Miyagi continued encouraging everyone, but judging from the players' body language, they still seemed dejected over that defensive lapse.

Still, the Jaguars executed their tactics reasonably well. After Rukawa Kaede asked for the ball, he again fed it to Akagi inside, where Akagi faced Qianli one-on-one once more.

Qianli truly could not withstand the aggressive young Akagi. After backing him down twice, Akagi found another chance for a hook shot.

"I got careless, Akagi!"

The moment Akagi released the ball, he regretted his hasty choice, because Xiandao had come flying over again.

"Slap!"

Xiandao leaped high and swatted Akagi's newly released shot out of bounds!

"Wow, Xiandao again! Xiandao, who came up as a guard, actually blocked Akagi's shot. It's unbelievable! And he has also delivered lightning passes on offense. This is practically Xiandao's show now! Xiandao can do anything right now. Xiandao is unstoppable right now. Xiandao is the number one player in the league!"

The commentator lavished praise on Xiandao! Indeed, Xiandao was contributing to the team in every aspect.

Jaguars ball on the sideline. Only seconds remained on the shot clock!

Rukawa Kaede came out to receive the ball. Seeing there was little time left, Akagi hurried over to set a screen, hoping Rukawa Kaede could quickly find an opening.

Just as Akagi had hoped, the screen was excellent, and Rukawa Kaede found a chance to shoot!

"Clang!"

But he put too much force into the shot, and the ball struck the front of the rim.

"The rebounding king hasn't grabbed many rebounds, has he?"

Fukuda grabbed the rebound again and teased him. Perhaps because he knew Sakuragi so well, Fukuda's excellent box-out gave Sakuragi no chance at all—not even a chance to contest the rebound!

"Damn it!"

Sakuragi was having an extremely frustrating game as well.

Fukuda moved the ball out quickly, and the Wanderers started another fast break!

The ball went to Xiandao again. Xiandao did not accelerate as he dribbled, instead observing the situation ahead.

"He's passing!"

Mitsui was alert this time. He noticed Xiandao's pass and warned his teammates.

Sure enough, Xiandao passed to Yohei again!

"Come on, rookie. I won't let you get a shot off this time!"

Mitsui set up in a fierce defensive stance, determined to stop this possession.