Mamoru Aoki craned his neck to look down, and after hearing this, he immediately said, "You and Ryo wait here, I'm going down!"
As soon as Yo Aoki returned to the bench, his teammates surrounded him. Coach Akai spoke first, his tone urgent. " Aoki, where are you hurt?" Yo Aoki forced a smile, "It's nothing, Coach, I just grazed my finger."
Coach Akai panicked. "Give me your hand!" Yo Aoki had no choice but to hand over his still trembling right hand.
"Ah!" Oriyuki Iwasaki covered her mouth, crying out in shock. Only then did everyone realize that Yo Aoki's ring finger was deformed!
Coach Akai's face darkened. "You call this nothing?! Get to the hospital right away!" Yo Aoki shook his head. "No need! A bandage will do!"
"Nonsense!" Coach Akai scolded him, " Aoki, this injury might be a joint or bone injury. Playing with an injury will only make things worse!" Yo Aoki still forced a smile, "Coach, it's really okay, I can go on the court right away."
Just then, Mamoru Aoki came over. " Yo, what's wrong?" "Why did you come down? I'm fine, I'll be right there!"
Coach Akai snorted, "It's nothing! His fingers are deformed, he needs to go to the hospital now!" Then Coach Akai said to Mamoru Aoki, "You're Yo's dad, right? Quickly talk some sense into him."
" Yo, let me see!" "It's this serious!" Mamoru Aoki gasped, turned around and left. "I'll get the car! To the hospital!"
Coach Akai's tone left no room for negotiation. " Shirota, Iwasaki, you two go with Aoki to the locker room to change, then go to the hospital together." He patted Yo Aoki on the shoulder. "Leave this to us!"
Coach Akai was in such a hurry because Yo Aoki was Takezato's hope, and he absolutely couldn't let anything happen to Yo Aoki. Seeing this, Yo Aoki could only nod in agreement and take it one step at a time.
As Yo Aoki and his group walked towards the players' tunnel, Shirota suddenly slapped his forehead: "Oh no! I forgot to bring the first aid kit!" "I'll go get it!" Oriyuki Iwasaki turned around and ran back.
Once inside the locker room, Yo Aoki said, " Shirota, wrap my finger tightly with the bandage!" Shirota looked at his swollen finger and said, " Aoki, you need to go to the hospital." Yo Aoki smiled, "I understand this kind of injury, don't worry."
Shirota shouted urgently, " Aoki, we definitely won't make it to the national tournament. There's absolutely no need to force ourselves to win this match!"
Aoki glared at Shirota: "Today is Mizuki's final match, not some insignificant game!"
Aoki continued, " Shirota, no one understands better than me what it's like to be sidelined. It's like torture every day, but God has given me a chance to fix things up, and I absolutely can't let it go!"
" Aoki..."
"I'll help you!"
Just then, Oriyuki Iwasaki, carrying a first-aid kit, burst into the locker room.
Shirota immediately bristled. " Iwasaki, don't make things worse!"
Iwasaki completely ignored him, squatted down next to Aoki, and quickly unpacked the box and started wrapping bandages.
Aoki asked curiously, " Iwasaki, you've also learned how to bandage?"
Iwasaki held his chin high, giving me a knowing look. "Of course, I have that much common sense!"
Aoki stared at his wrapped fingers and nodded, a smug look on his face.
He held his finger up to Shirota's face and waved it. "How about it, Shirota? Not bad, right?"
Shirota looked at him and said with a helpless, bitter smile, " Aoki, why are you doing this to yourself?"
Aoki grinned. "How many times are you going to ask? Because I like playing basketball!"
After Aoki was substituted, Coach Akai quickly adjusted the lineup, sending all the key players onto the field.
The current lineup for Takezato is Imamura, Mizuki, Sanada, Shindo, and Hojo.
Mitsui sighed from the sidelines, "Without Aoki Takezato the field, Takezato is definitely doomed."
Miyagi nodded. "That's right, this round is in the bag. Sigh, Takezato has just fallen behind."
Sakuragi yelled at the top of his lungs, "Damn it! Aoki will definitely come back!"
Miyagi asked with a smile, "Why are you so sure?"
Sakuragi retorted, "I just know!"
He didn't say why, but I inexplicably felt that Aoki would definitely come back.
On the field, the Takezato team fought with all their might, but without Aoki, the gap between them and the Kainan Team was enormous.
Kainan Team seized the opportunity to press forward, launching a fast break with Shinichi Maki and Soichiro Jin taking turns firing, quickly overtaking the score and extending their lead to 10 points.
"Thud!" Shindo passed the ball, but Kiyota intercepted it immediately.
Kiyota then scored on a fast break and dunk, bringing the score to 73-61!
Kiyota beamed with pride, practically snot bubbles coming out of his nose as he laughed, "Great! Let's pull the lead to 20 points in one go!"
But before he could finish floating, a deafening cheer suddenly erupted from outside the arena.
Kiyota turned his head and saw that his face, which had just been floating in the sky, instantly froze into a meme.
The group from Takezato jumped up excitedly and shouted, " Aoki?!"
It turns out it was Yo Aoki who came back!
" Aoki, why didn't you go to the hospital!" Coach Akai shouted at the top of his lungs.
Yo Aoki replied with a smile, "I've already taken care of it, you're ready to go on stage!"
But before Coach Akai could speak, Yo Aoki interrupted him. He stared at Coach Akai and asked, "Coach, are you satisfied? We've given it our all."
Coach Akai shook his head. " Aoki, I'm more worried about your injury getting worse than that."
Yo Aoki asked with a smile, "Teacher, what does the Takezato Team need most right now?"
"Huh?" Coach Akai was stunned. This was a question Yo Aoki had asked him during the warm-up match Takezato and Shoyo. At that time, he was thinking of making Yo Aoki the core of the team.
Yo Aoki said seriously, "It's my responsibility to step onto the field now!"
He grinned again. "Teacher, I've made up my mind! Trust me!"
Coach Akai stared at Yo Aoki's smile, his body trembling involuntarily. He suddenly turned around and shouted at the top of his lungs, "I'm watching you! If you dare to worsen your injury, I'll have you strapped to the hospital!"
"Okay!" Yo Aoki replied. He signaled to the referee to request a substitution, glanced at the time on the scoreboard, and turned to Coach Akai, saying, "Coach, you were right, there are exactly five minutes left!"
"Beep! Red team makes a substitution! Number 7 goes off, number 10 comes on!" The referee's whistle blew.
"That's awesome, Aoki! We've been waiting for you for ages!" his teammates shouted.
"Down with Kainan! Down with Kainan!" the spectators chanted in unison.
"Mom, my brother's on the field! Looks like he's alright!" Ryo Aoki said, patting Ryoko Aoki's arm.
Ryoko Aoki breathed a sigh of relief, "That's good!" She then asked, "Where did your dad go?"
At this moment, Mamoru Aoki was standing by the car, waiting for Yo Aoki to arrive. He muttered, "Why is he taking so long?"
Yo Aoki appeared, his teammates immediately surrounded him.
Mizuki reached out and touched his arm. " Aoki, can you play ball with your hand?"
Yo Aoki laughed, "My hand is fine, but aren't you guys tired? Can you still run? To beat Kainan, we have to keep running!"
Shindo patted his chest confidently. " Aoki, don't underestimate us. Do you think our seniors are lacking in physical strength?"
Imamura clenched his fist and said firmly, " Aoki, I can run even if there's only one second left!"
Hojo shouted, "Me too!"
Mizuki laughed, "That's definitely no problem. I can rest every day after this match!"
Yo Aoki chimed in, "Alright, let's go crazy then!"
" Takezato Team-- " the teammates shouted in unison.
"Come on!!!"
Kiyota snorted and muttered, "Even if you go on the field, you can't turn the tide!"
Shinichi Maki shouted, " Kiyota! Don't underestimate them! Focus on the fight!"
The game resumed, Hojo passed the ball to Yo Aoki from the baseline.
Yo Aoki dribbled the ball with his left hand to the frontcourt to organize an attack. Shinichi Maki immediately noticed something was wrong and adjusted his defensive position, no longer sticking close to Aoki, and took a few steps back.
Yo Aoki glanced at the gap between the two and immediately understood— Maki was preventing him from breaking through.
He snorted, stopped the ball, and jumped to shoot. But just as he released the ball, his right ring finger suddenly throbbed with pain. Although he was prepared, he still couldn't defend against it.
With a "whoosh," it wasn't the ball going in; it just grazed the outside of the rim and scraped the net. Shinichi Maki turned around and saw that Aoki had airballed the ball!
Takasago steals the ball under the basket and immediately passes it to Kiyota for a fast break. Shindo immediately pounces on him, and Kiyota tries to use his speed to shake him off, but after a couple of steps, he realizes that Shindo is just as fast as him!
"Damn it!" Kiyota couldn't shake off the ball and could only pass it to Soichiro Jin beside him. But suddenly a figure cut in and intercepted the ball—it was Yo Aoki!
Shinichi Maki immediately rushed towards him, and Yo Aoki threw the ball forward with his left hand. The ball went right through Muto's legs, bounced off the ground, and landed precisely in Muto's hands behind Mizuki. Mizuki made a layup and scored! 73 to 63!
Yayoi Aida clapped her hands and praised, "Beautiful pass!" She added, "Even with Yo Aoki's right hand injury, his presence on the court is a threat to Kainan!"
The roles reversed, Kainan attacked. Shinichi Maki faced Yo Aoki, immediately lowering his center of gravity and forcefully breaking through with his right foot. By the time Yo Aoki reacted, Maki had already passed him by more than half his body!
The spectators gasped in surprise, and Yo Aoki couldn't help but marvel that even with the match nearing its end, Maki's offensive quality remained so high, with no decrease in power or speed!
As Shinichi Maki jumped for a layup under the basket, Yo Aoki shouted from behind, "Don't foul!"
These words reminded Imamura, who immediately abandoned his attempt to jump and block, instead standing still with his hands outstretched to interfere. But this defense was completely ineffective against Maki, who easily made the layup! 75 to 63!
Nakamura exclaimed, " Maki, he's really too strong!"
Yayoi Aida stared at the court and spoke again, "If Aoki could still shoot threes, Takezato might still have a chance! Takezato's offensive success rate is okay right now, but their defense simply can't stop Kainan!"
With 3 minutes and 5 seconds remaining in the game, the score was 12 points apart. Takezato reorganized his attack.
When Yo Aoki dribbled, Hojo and Shindo started moving at the same time, and Kiyota and Soichiro Jin, who were guarding them, could only run after them, which immediately created offensive space for Yo Aoki.
Mizuki, near the baseline, suddenly started moving, Yo Aoki immediately passed the ball to him. After passing the ball, Yo Aoki suddenly lowered his center of gravity and ran to the right, which immediately pulled Shinichi Maki's defensive center of gravity to him.
Seizing the moment Maki Shinichi Maki shifted his weight, Yo Aoki accelerated and darted to the left, using his speed to shake off Shinichi Maki and drive to the basket. Mizuki immediately shouted, "170!"
Mizuki an opportunity, Yo Aoki immediately passed the ball to Aoki. Yo Aoki received the ball, leaned his back against Takasago, and flicked the ball behind him from the side, passing it directly to Imamura under the basket.
Imamura received the ball and immediately slammed it down with a dunk, making the score 75-65. Miyagi slapped the floor and shouted, " Takezato's movement has definitely improved!"
Akagi frowned and replied, "But that still can't break Kainan's offensive rhythm!"
Mitsui wiped his sweat and added, "And there are still 3 minutes left in the game, with a 10-point difference between the two sides. If Takezato can't defend this shot, they basically have no chance of winning!"