This pass was timed to perfection, avoiding Uozumi's blocking range while landing right in Zhu Xingda's path.
Zhu Xingda did not slow his charge in the slightest. Using only his peripheral vision, he anticipated where the ball would fall, extended his right hand, and cleanly received Long Zeduo's pass.
Immediately afterward, Zhu Xingda used his momentum to take a huge step straight into Ryonan's paint. With a light push off the floor, he sprang up like a coiled spring, aiming at Ryonan's basket as he prepared to shoot.
Yu Zhu grew anxious at the sight and immediately lunged hard to his left, trying to reach out and stop Zhu Xingda's shot.
But at that moment, Xiao Quanquan, whom Yu Zhu had abandoned, suddenly moved. He quickly ran behind Uozumi and shifted sideways to screen him off, wedging himself between Uozumi and Zhu Xingda and completely cutting off Uozumi's block.
With that, Zhu Xingda's shot faced no further obstruction. He made a slight adjustment in midair, flicked his wrist, and sent the basketball toward the hoop.
The ball spun lightly as it traced a smooth arc through the air, dropping steadily toward Ryonan's basket.
A crisp swish rang out as the basketball passed cleanly through the hoop.
Ryonan 73 - Aiwa Academy 57
Nice shot!
Nice shot!
The Aiwa Academy players gathered together, excitedly high-fiving one another. At last, long-missing smiles appeared on their faces.
Zhu Xingda stood at the center of the group, his eyes especially bright.
He looked up at the basket, unable to stop the corners of his mouth from rising. The frustration that had built up inside him for so long was washed away considerably by that score.
The frustration of being suppressed by Chi Tong again and again, the anxiety of being unable to