Shohoku's offensive turn.
Kawamoto received the ball at the top of the arc, holding it with one hand, looking at Fujima in front of him.
There was no need for testing.
He stomped out with his left foot, tilting his body to the left at an extreme angle, and charged straight ahead.
Fujima's pupils contracted sharply.
Wow, so fast!
His feet instinctively shifted to the right, trying to block Kawamoto's position.
However, Kawamoto was too fast; he had already broken through his body's distance by the time Kawamoto took his first step.
Fujima's shoulder involuntarily bumped into Kawamoto's side.
"Bang!"
A violent, unreasonable force came from his shoulder, Fujima staggered backward uncontrollably.
His steps became completely erratic, and he eventually collapsed to the ground.
Kawamoto immediately threw the basketball away at the moment of impact.
The basketball arced high and went straight into the net.
"Beep--!"
The referee's whistle blew almost simultaneously, pointing at Fujima, who was sitting on the ground looking somewhat bewildered.
Defensive foul.
Kawamoto up to the free-throw line and made the free throw.
6:2.
It's Shoyo's turn to attack.
Kawamoto spread his arms wide, facing Fujima, and assumed a defensive stance.
Fujima made a subtle hand gesture with his left hand.
Upon receiving the signal, Nagano immediately positioned Kaede Rukawa to provide cover.
Takano also cut from the weak side towards the free-throw line, while Sakuragi, who was defending him, was still in a daze.
Fujima dribbled between his legs for a series of times, then suddenly lowered his center of gravity and executed a very quick crossover, his right shoulder gesturing as if to squeeze past Kawamoto.
Kawamoto followed suit, blocking his path of breakthrough immediately.
In that instant, Fujima seized the opportunity and pushed the ball with one hand.
It was a bounce pass through the legs.
At the same time, Fujima strode towards the penalty area.
Kawamoto followed closely, but was blocked by Nagano who had been lifted up.
The basketball passed between Kawamoto's legs and bounced precisely into the Takano.
Takano received the ball and feigned an attack on the basket, but Sakuragi, realizing what was happening, jumped up and blocked it.
Takano didn't shoot; instead, he flicked his wrist and passed the ball to Fujima, who had run to the free-throw line.
Fujima caught the ball and shot without adjusting.
"Whoosh--!"
6:4.
It's Shohoku's turn to attack.
Kawamoto continued his rapid advance.
Fujima immediately set up a defense, but the defensive distance was half a step further than before.
His eyes were also filled with vigilance.
Kawamoto suddenly stomped his right foot heavily on the ground, preparing to break through to the right with all his might.
Fujima's center of gravity was instantly shifted to the right.
However, Kawamoto did not break through, but instead came to an abrupt stop.
He dribbled the ball between his legs and pulled it back, catching it with his left hand as he adjusted his feet and jumped.
A powerful pull-up move.
"Whoosh--!"
Hollow entry into the net.
9:4.
Shoyo launches another attack.
Fujima, holding the ball, faced Kawamoto; the pressure on him was unprecedented.
Watching the game from the stands simply doesn't give you that direct, intense feeling of pressure.
After only a brief encounter with Kawamoto, he had already begun to admire Tsukubu's team.
I really don't know how they managed to fight this monster for the entire time without their Dao hearts collapsing.
He took a series of crossover steps, changing his rhythm and feinting with his shoulders, trying to find a way to break through.
However, Kawamoto's defense was flawless, his every move was precisely anticipated, and his long arms always covered Fujima's shooting and passing routes.
Fujima's forehead was covered in sweat when he suddenly performed a wide crossover.
This movement was even somewhat difficult for him.
He almost twisted his body into a pretzel to barely squeeze half a body length past Kawamoto's defense.
However, the price of the breakthrough was unstable ball control, and the basketball almost slipped from his grasp.
As Fujima staggered, he caught sight of Hanagata positioning himself under the basket, and with his last ounce of strength, he hurled the ball at him.
Hanagata received the pass with Akagi back to Akagi.
"Bring it on, Hanagata!"
Akagi said in a deep voice.
The Hanagata was slightly tilted, so it didn't get squeezed.
He immediately flipped over, leaned back as far as he could, and jumped up to shoot.
Akagi followed up with a jump block.
The basketball arced high over Akagi's massive hand, bounced twice, and landed in the net.
9:6.
Shohoku launches an attack.
Kawamoto immediately called for the ball in the backcourt and dribbled it up the court himself.
After the halfway point, Fujima faced off again.
Kawamoto still didn't make any feints.
Lower your center of gravity, explode the ball, and unleash pure speed.
It struck Fujima's right side like a white lightning bolt.
Fujima quickly shifted his feet to the side, but subconsciously held back his strength, not daring to exert full force to resist.
The previous collision left him with lingering fear.
With just that slight hesitation, the defenses were breached.
Kawamoto blew past Fujima and drove straight into the paint.
Shoyo's power forward Shoichi Takano, shook off Sakuragi and came to help defend.
He spread his arms and roared as he charged forward, trying to block Kawamoto's path of attack.
Kawamoto didn't slow down; instead, he took a step forward with the ball.
Before Takano could even land, their bodies collided.
Upon contact, Takano was thrown to the side.
Kawamoto, relying on his terrifying core strength, remained motionless after the confrontation and leaped up with a roar just inside the free-throw line.
Toru Hanagata had just turned around when he saw a white figure leap into the air.
He instinctively jumped up to block the shot, stretching his arms out into the air with all his might.
It's too late!
Kawamoto's body stretched out completely in the air.
He raised the ball high above his head with his left hand, like a fully drawn bow, exuding explosive power.
He slammed the basketball into the basket with the force of a mountain crashing down over the Hanagata who had jumped hastily and lacked height!
"Boom--!!!"
A deafening explosion!
It's a tomahawk dunk!
The basketball hoop trembled violently, emitting a creaking scream.
The entire basketball hoop was shaking violently.
The immense impact caused the Hanagata to lose its balance and fall awkwardly to the ground.
He stared in horror at Kawamoto was hanging expressionlessly from the basketball hoop with one hand.
The entire process was silent, violent, and devoid of any frills; it consisted only of the purest power and overwhelming force.
Kawamoto's body swayed slightly from the vibration of the basket before he let go and landed.
"Beep--!"
The referee blew his whistle, pointing at Takano, who was still not fully recovered from the previous collision.
"Defensive foul, goal stands, one penalty awarded."
The entire stadium fell into a deathly silence.
The sea of green from the Shoyo cheerleading squad seemed to freeze in time.
Shinichi Maki from Kainan stood up abruptly.
Akira Sendoh of Ryonan stopped smiling.
On the Shohoku bench Koichiro Nango forgot to breathe.
Haruko Akagi covered her mouth in the stands.
The legend also stopped Liukawa's frantic shouts.
Taoka and Takato, the two middle-aged men, were dumbfounded.
Only one thought was growing wildly in my mind.
To reach for the stars, one need not climb a ladder; to gain control of the land is to gain control of the entire country.
Get him!
I'll get him at all costs!
Kenji Fujima stood there, watching the silent figure of number 15 walking towards the free-throw line, and felt a chill once again.
That power, that unreasonable breakthrough, that dunk that ignored the defense...
Is this really a high school student?
Kawamoto is already standing at the free-throw line.
He dribbled the ball twice, then raised his hand and shot.
Swish.
The penalty was made.
12:6.
Less than two minutes into the game, Shohoku's number 15 scored 12 points in a row.
Two plus-ones, two three-pointers.
He knocked several players away and even dunked over the star center in Hanagata.