Just as the basketball was about to hit the floor, he jumped again, his right hand snatching the falling ball with precision.
Morishige Hiroshi's heart jolted, and his pupils contracted. He instinctively tried to stop him, but his momentum left him no time to adjust. All he could do was watch Sendoh finish the move behind him.
Sento held the ball in midair, leaning back slightly. With a gentle flick of his wrist, he placed it neatly into the basket.
The basketball slipped softly through the net.
Ryonan 7, Mingpeng Industrial 16. For a moment, the entire arena fell silent.
"What happened?"
"What just happened?"
"He actually jumped again and put it in! Unbelievable!"
"Wow, that was amazing!"
"He did all that in the blink of an eye."
The spectators courtside were utterly stunned. That putback had shocked plenty of them into freezing with their arms still raised in celebration, their eyes fixed on the basket and their cheers caught in their throats.
The noisy stands fell into two seconds of dead silence, then erupted into an even louder buzz than before.
After all, in an ordinary game, few players could react so quickly after missing a shot, grab the rebound, and score on a putback.
Most players either got frustrated over the miss or let an opponent beat them to the rebound. A move as crisp and decisive as Sendoh's was exceedingly rare. Even longtime basketball fans nodded in admiration.
Sun Zhongkuan remained rooted to the spot, staring at the basketball that had already stopped rolling on the floor.
His usually good-natured face now bore a slight frown, a shallow crease forming between his brows. His lips pressed into a tight line, and an anger he had never shown before appeared on his face.
Several seconds passed before he