Only eight seconds remained on the shot clock, and a fierce glint flashed in Dai Moroboshi's eyes.
He suddenly made a wide crossover in front of his body, forcing half a step of space between himself and Kaede Rukawa.
Then, without any hesitation, he rose from a step beyond the three-point line and forced up a pull-up three. This was the ace's final gamble!
Rukawa roared, wringing the last ounce of potential from his body as he leaped desperately to block the shot. His fingertips almost touched the basketball.
Bang!
The basketball slammed into the front of the rim and bounced high.
"Rebound!" Both teams' inside players roared at once. This was the crucial rebound that would decide the game.
The area beneath the basket instantly became a battlefield. Hanamichi Sakuragi, Satoru Kakuta, Jun Koizumi, and Tsuguhito Nakajima, four burly men like four raging bulls, shoved frantically, fought for position, and jumped, their bodies colliding with heavy thuds.
Sakuragi had eyes only for that orange basketball. He forgot his fatigue, forgot his pain. Only one voice roared in his mind:
The rebound! Mine! Shohoku's!
Using every ounce of his strength, Sakuragi pinned Koizumi behind him as though his feet had taken root.
The instant the basketball fell, he roared and shot skyward like a rocket, reaching a height that surpassed even his limit at full strength.
Sakuragi's fingers touched the basketball first. Amid the grasping hands, he relied on sheer, unreasonable strength and will to wrest the ball into his arms.
"Mine!" Sakuragi landed, clutching the basketball tightly in both hands. A collision sent him staggering, but he planted himself firmly, protected the ball against his chest, and let out a deafening roar.
"Sakuragi! The rebound king!" Shohoku's bench went completely wild!
Only one minute and ten seconds remained! Shohoku