"Help defense!" an Aiwa player shouted.
Jun Koizumi, guarding the paint, immediately abandoned Akagi and lunged forward with his arms spread, trying to cut off Kudo's drive.
Just as Kudo was about to collide head-on with Jun Koizumi, his sharp eyes caught Hisashi Mitsui quietly cutting in from the weak side!
Perfect timing!
Kudo flicked his wrist, sending the basketball like a precision-guided missile through the narrow gap beneath the charging Jun Koizumi's arm on a bounce pass!
Spinning hard, the ball bounced off the floor with a burst of speed and landed securely in Hisashi Mitsui's hands as he cut diagonally toward the left corner!
Hisashi Mitsui caught the ball with no one in front of him!
Aiwa's defense had been completely torn apart by Kudo's drive and pass. Without any adjustment, he planted both feet, bent his knees slightly, and extended smoothly upward, raising the ball, snapping his wrist, and releasing!
The motion flowed seamlessly, textbook-perfect.
The orange basketball spun toward the hoop, tracing Hisashi Mitsui's signature graceful arc.
Swish!
The crisp, pleasing sound of the ball passing through the net rang out! A three-pointer!
2-3! Shohoku took the lead.
"Nice pass!" Hisashi Mitsui landed and pointed at Ryota Kudo, a confident smile spreading across his face.
"Mitsui! Mitsui!" The Shohoku bench and their supporters in the stands erupted in enthusiastic cheers.
Eri Fujisawa excitedly grabbed the hand of the girl beside her and nearly jumped up.
"A beautiful assist from Kudo!" came the praise from the commentary desk. "A surgical pass that found the wide-open Hisashi Mitsui with pinpoint accuracy! Shohoku's ace point guard answers right back!"
Dai Moroboshi glanced at the scoreboard. His eyes remained calm, but a fiercer flame seemed to kindle deep within them.
He ran toward the frontcourt, passing Kaede Rukawa without the