Much of the fire Ryota Miyagi had brought onto the court had been worn away by Dai Moroboshi's unstoppable offense. He braced his hands on his knees and gulped for air.
Takenori Akagi stood with his hands on his hips, his brows knotted as he stared gravely at the scoreboard.
The ten-point deficit weighed on everyone's hearts like a boulder.
"Whew..." Ryota Kudo drew a deep breath, then slowly let it out.
He could clearly feel his heart pounding powerfully in his chest, the rush of blood roaring in his ears.
Sweat slid down his temples, leaving a faint itch, but he had no time to spare for it.
As though drawn by a magnet, his gaze remained fixed on the figure surrounded by teammates at the other end of the court-Dai Moroboshi.
That pull-up three, which had swished through despite Kaede Rukawa's all-out attempt to block it, replayed over and over in his mind like slow-motion footage.
The speed of the jump, the extension of his body, the composed softness of his wrist as he released the ball, and that lethal, precise arc after the basketball left his hand... every detail struck hard, searing itself into Kudo's nerve endings.
There was no doubt that Dai Moroboshi possessed tremendous offensive ability, and his technique had reached a level of complete mastery.
If he still had any shortcomings, they lay in his physical gifts. It was plain to see that his ceiling was not that high.
His athleticism and defense fell somewhat short. Ultimately, Dai Moroboshi could not become a superstar.
But for Ryota Kudo, that was hardly a bad thing.
Dai Moroboshi's stop-and-pop jumper was formidable, an ability worth copying.
Kaede Rukawa was no weak defender. His perimeter defense was better than that of anyone at Aiwa Academy.
If Rukawa