Hiroshi Morishige looked at the scoreboard, then at Wang Zhizhi stepping up to the free-throw line, and stood with his hands on his hips, dejected and breathing hard.
He discovered that the strength he took such pride in left him surprisingly helpless against truly elite technique combined with considerable strength.
Wang Zhizhi made the extra free throw. 30-30! The score was tied!
The tension instantly mounted.
Ryota Kudo walked over to Hiroshi Morishige and gave him a hard pat on the backside. "Hey, big guy, keep your head up!
There's more than one way to play basketball! It's normal not to be able to stop him. He's Wang Zhizhi!
But we're a team! Grab rebounds and finish the feeds, and we can still win!"
Looking into Ryota Kudo's resolute eyes, Hiroshi Morishige nodded firmly and rallied.
Ryota Kudo received the inbound pass, his gaze becoming intensely focused.
He knew he had to answer.
He dribbled into the frontcourt and faced that power forward again.
This time, he chose not to drive. After a series of between-the-legs dribbles, he suddenly rose for a pull-up three!
His movement was lightning-fast, his release utterly decisive!
Swish!
The three went in! 33-30! An emphatic answer!
"Nice shot, Kudo!" Eiji Sawakita shouted excitedly as well.
The game that followed reached fever pitch.
Ryota Kudo switched into individual scoring mode in the second half. His drives were incisive, his midrange jumper reliable, and his surprise threes were almost impossible to guard.
Whenever he drew a double-team, he promptly passed to an open teammate.
Eiji Sawakita was equally unstoppable. His isolation game was virtually unanswerable, and he made all manner of difficult shots with ease, becoming their most reliable scoring option besides Ryota Kudo.
Li Nan, meanwhile, became a truly lethal perimeter threat.
He no longer needed