On the other side, Sendoh had already charged like a gale to the front of Mingpeng Industrial's three-point line, the basketball bouncing rhythmically beneath his fingertips as he looked ready to break into the paint.
But just then, a massive figure suddenly blocked the basket—it was Mori Zhongkuan.
Sendoh abruptly stopped, his eyelid twitching as he thought, That was a quick return visit.
He had thought Mori Zhongkuan would be distracted for a moment after getting stripped, but he hadn't expected him to react so quickly and block the basket in advance, cutting off his plan to drive straight in for a layup.
The others from Ryonan also stared at Sun Zhongkuan in astonishment.
This big guy looked slow and clumsy, and his running form wasn't particularly agile, but once he got moving, he was shockingly fast. He had none of the lumbering sluggishness one would expect from a center over two meters tall.
Sento and Mori Zhongkuan faced off once more. Sento bent his knees slightly, dribbling the ball between his hands as his gaze locked tightly onto Mori Zhongkuan. There was a hint of scrutiny in his eyes, as though he could launch an attack at any moment.
The sound of the basketball striking the ground between his palm and the court seemed to count down to the coming clash.
Morishige Hiroshi spread his arms wide, blocking the basket like a thick wall. His taut muscles stood out in sharp lines as he stared intently at Sendoh.
Sendoh had scored the previous two times with shots that looked like pure luck. This time, he would not give him another chance. He would personally stop this ball and make up for the humiliation of being stripped earlier.
Yet just as their standoff seemed to freeze the air itself, Sendoh's