A swift figure suddenly darted out from near the sideline, moving so fast he was little more than an afterimage.
He stretched out his arm, his fingertips precisely hooking the basketball just before it landed out of bounds, forcibly salvaging possession that had been about to slip away.
Before anyone in the gymnasium could recover from the sudden loose ball, the figure did not pause in the slightest.
He gripped the basketball firmly, pushed off hard with his feet, and drove straight into Sannoh Industrial High School's interior.
The entire sequence flowed seamlessly. From recovering the loose ball to launching the counterattack, it took only a second or two—too fast for anyone to react.
After stepping into the heart of the paint, he did not hesitate and immediately raised the ball into a shooting stance.
Only then did the Sannoh Industrial High School players finally see the face of the figure who had suddenly charged out. It was Ryonan's Chi Tong!
They had been so caught up in battling Sendoh that they had forgotten about this guy.
Sawakita Eiji's pupils abruptly contracted, and his heart trembled.
Sento only rushed over from the backcourt at that moment.
But he was already several steps behind Chi Tong.
By then, Chi Tong had already released the basketball. It traced a clear arc through the air, and it was far too late to step up and block it. He could only watch helplessly as the ball flew toward his own basket, his feet instinctively stopping where they were.
Under the gaze of everyone in the arena, the basketball flew steadily toward Sannoh Industrial High School's hoop.
Time seemed to slow at that instant, every pair of eyes locked tightly onto the orange basketball.
The crisp sound of the ball swishing through the net rang