The game continued!
Fifty seconds.
Kaede Rukawa stepped up to the free throw line and sank both shots.
90-92.
Tomigaoka Middle School took the lead for the first time all game!
Yokota inbounded from the baseline.
The instant the ball came in, almost everyone in the stands gasped at once!
"Kaede Rukawa! He's gone straight to guarding number nine!"
"That number nine... is he really their secret weapon?!"
On the sidelines, Coach Takizawa looked fairly relaxed, as though he had everything under control.
In reality, his heart was pounding. This risky move was playing out step by step as he had envisioned.
Back when he told Shirasawa to warm up, Coach Takizawa had laid out the whole plan: use the mystery surrounding number nine to draw Tomigaoka's defensive attention and create opportunities for everyone else.
How much Shirasawa could grasp would be up to him.
On the court, Rukawa and Shirasawa had effectively canceled each other out, leaving a temporary four-on-four.
But Shirasawa wasn't standing idle, and he gave Coach Takizawa quite a surprise.
He suddenly took off, shaking Rukawa with a backdoor cut and driving straight into the paint.
Without stopping, he abruptly doubled back, taking Rukawa with him toward the opposite wing at a forty-five-degree angle.
His off-ball movement alone threw Tomigaoka's entire defense into disarray!
After several cuts around screens, Tomigaoka's defensive formation was visibly getting scrambled.
Never mind the opposition-even Shirasawa's own Yokota teammates were a little bewildered by his running.
Yet the opportunities on the court suddenly became clear. There was actually an opening!
Coach Takizawa had no time to think it over. He immediately shouted onto the court, "Now! Go!"
Swish!
Yokota seized the chance to feed the ball inside for an easy two-point layup.
Thirty-three seconds. The teams were tied once again!
Coach Takizawa's mind was in turmoil.
He had seen Shirasawa's off-ball movement clearly. No novice could have pulled that off. In fact, there wasn't another player in all of Yokota who could!
"Xiao Bai!!"
After the basket, Takizawa couldn't contain his excitement. He shouted and pointed his arm straight at Shirasawa.
Shirasawa turned around, his expression as calm as ever.
He raised his hand slightly and pointed back at Takizawa.
In the stands, a glimmer passed through Coach Anzai's eyes behind his reading glasses.
Thirty-three seconds.
Possession changed hands.
As Shirasawa's defender on the previous possession, Rukawa had already picked up on something.
If Shirasawa had chosen to receive the ball and attack, he would have had at least two or three good opportunities.
But he hadn't.
That left Rukawa deeply puzzled.
It also made him even more curious about Shirasawa's true ability.
Rukawa received the ball in the backcourt.
Shirasawa immediately pressed up against him, picking him up full court!
The move instantly sent the stands into an uproar.
Ace against ace!
Coach Takizawa broke into a nervous sweat too.
Perhaps everything would come down to this!
All he could count on now was Shirasawa's outstanding physical attributes and his stamina, the freshest of anyone on the court.
At the very least... he could give Rukawa some trouble.
Rukawa cautiously advanced with the ball.
Shirasawa applied some body contact but didn't rush to attempt a steal.
Once they crossed half court, Shirasawa gave him a little more room.
Rukawa controlled the tempo at the top of the arc, looking for room to attack.
Seventeen seconds.
Sixteen seconds.
Time slipped away, second by second.
Everyone's hearts rose with it.
Twelve seconds.
Rukawa suddenly changed his dribbling rhythm and exploded into motion!
One burst of speed took him past Shirasawa.
But it went so smoothly that even he was a little surprised. It had been too easy.
There was no time to dwell on it. He used a screen and charged straight into the paint!
Just as everyone's attention focused on this attack-
Coach Anzai suddenly spoke from the stands. "Kogure, watch number nine."
Puzzled, Kogure nevertheless shifted his gaze immediately.
Outside everyone's attention, Shirasawa was quietly circling toward the paint from the other side!
"What's he...?"
Coach Anzai nodded in satisfaction and smiled.
Rukawa gathered the ball, took his steps in quick succession, and leaped high. His seemingly certain finish at the rim was about to go in.
Bam!
The sudden bodily contact startled Rukawa.
"Him?!"
The airborne Rukawa had collided squarely with Shirasawa, who had already established his position!
He hadn't noticed Shirasawa appearing at all.
Whoosh!
Losing his balance in midair, Rukawa still tossed the ball up.
Clang!
Both players fell to the floor.
The entire crowd held its breath.
The ball bounced on the rim, then finally dropped through.
But at the same time!
The referee's whistle blew!
Tomigaoka Middle School's number four, offensive foul! The basket didn't count!
After a brief silence, Yokota Middle School's bench erupted in deafening cheers!
Kiminobu Kogure's eyes remained fixed on Shirasawa.
His mouth fell slightly open. He couldn't believe a middle schooler could make such a composed decision at a do-or-die moment like this.
Sound.
Almost absurdly sound!
No wonder Coach Anzai had said there was "more to him."
Elsewhere, Moichi Taoka's brow furrowed too.
Naturally, Shirasawa's sequence of actions hadn't escaped his eyes.
His impression was that this number nine's judgment on the court far exceeded his age. His game was remarkably seasoned.
With proper development, he might become a cornerstone to build a team around.
However, that wasn't the kind of player Ryonan needed most at present.
By contrast, Rukawa's overwhelming scoring ability could give Ryonan the extra strength to make a run at nationals!
Only eight seconds remained.
Tied at 92.
Shirasawa had fought to give his team the final possession!
At that moment, his teammates' inexplicable fear of him seemed to vanish.
Two teammates reached out at the same time and pulled Shirasawa up from the floor.
"Great job, Shirasawa!"
"That was all you!"
Tomigaoka Middle School called its final timeout.
They would arrange their final defense.
On Yokota's side, Takizawa hurriedly gathered his players to plan their last attack as well.
Yet Shirasawa's defensive play was still running through his mind. Now wasn't the time to ponder it. He had just taken out his tactics board when Shirasawa approached him of his own accord for the first time and planted a hand directly on it.
"Coach," Shirasawa said, "leave this possession to me."
The words stunned the players beside him, and they exchanged glances.
What? Shirasawa? Sure, that defensive play was beautiful, but this was the game-winner... They muttered inwardly, but none dared speak. They could only look anxiously at Coach Takizawa.
Takizawa raised his head and looked at Shirasawa. He saw a determination in Shirasawa's eyes that he had never seen before. Recalling his performance since entering the game, something suddenly stirred within him.
"Xiao Bai," Takizawa said, holding out the board, "tell me how you want to play it."
Shirasawa took the tactics board and spoke crisply. "Everyone just needs to keep moving. Remember, at the last moment, the ball will go to whoever has the best opportunity." He paused and swept his gaze over his teammates. "Whoever gets it had better put it in the basket!"
Both teams returned to the court.
The final eight seconds. Do or die.
Tomigaoka Middle School switched to a full-court press, sticking tight in man-to-man coverage. Yokota struggled even to inbound the ball and was on the verge of a five-second violation.
Shirasawa immediately stepped up to set a screen, briefly freeing the point guard. At last, the ball came in!
Five seconds. The point guard raced desperately across half court.
Four seconds. Shirasawa followed and raised his hand for the ball!
For the first time, the ball reached his hands.
Rukawa instantly slid into position, spreading his arms and blocking his path. Yokota's other players began running desperately, trying to create an opening.
Every spectator's heart was in their throat, their eyes locked on the two players.
In the stands, Sanae Nakagawa instead grew quiet, the corners of her mouth curving slightly. She felt an inexplicable certainty.
Three seconds.
Shirasawa moved!
On the sidelines, Coach Takizawa clenched his fists until they turned white. Every player on the bench stood up.
Shirasawa drove his left foot forward while pulling the ball down, making an explosive jab step!
Rukawa's balance shifted, and he instinctively retreated half a step.
Now!
Shirasawa gathered the ball, but not to shoot-
Two seconds!
As though it had eyes, the basketball shot low across the floor, passed precisely between the legs of a defender near the free throw line, and went straight under the basket!
Smack!
The ball struck the floor and bounced up.
Right into the hands of the center cutting backdoor from the baseline!
His passing vision seemed to encompass the entire half court. Timing, angle, force-everything was just right. The ball rose to chest height.
Even the center froze for a moment as he caught it, but before him was nothing but an unguarded basket!
"Shoot-!" Coach Takizawa shouted from the sidelines, his voice cracking.
One second! The center hurriedly jumped and tossed the ball toward the hoop.
The final whistle pierced the air.
The ball struck the front rim and bounced upward... then fell, bouncing twice along the rim.
Every player on the court froze, their eyes following the ball.
The entire crowd held its breath.
The ball hopped playfully on the rim before finally... plunging into the net.
Silence.
The referee raised two fingers high, then swung his arm firmly downward.
The scoreboard abruptly changed: 94-92.
"We won!!!"
"We won-!!!"
Coach Takizawa's roar instantly set everything alight!
They had won! A buzzer-beating game-winner!
Cheers and applause erupted. Yokota's bench players stormed onto the court like madmen with one clear target-the center who had made the winning shot. Still dazed, he was hoisted into the air by a tangle of hands.
Coach Takizawa, however, was the first to rush toward Shirasawa.
Shirasawa smiled and held out his hand. Takizawa slapped it hard, then seized his hand in a tight grip.
The man in his thirties had slightly reddened eyes, and his hand trembled a little as he held Shirasawa's. The championship mattered, of course, but it was Shirasawa who made him lose control of his emotions at that moment. In his final moments on this junior high team, the boy he had watched for three years had finally shone in all his brilliance.
"Xiao Bai!" Takizawa's voice was a little choked. "I was right about you! You really are a genius! A true genius!"
Shirasawa smiled and used his other hand to pat the coach's arm, which was trembling with excitement.
"Thank you, Coach Takizawa."
Those words of thanks were quiet, yet seemed to hold so much.
The teammates celebrating on the court finally caught on. Wait... who passed that ball? The one who deserved the most credit seemed to be...
They immediately dropped the center they had been carrying, turned around, and all swarmed toward Shirasawa.
More than a dozen of them cheered as they hoisted Shirasawa up and tossed him into the air again and again.
"Brother Bai-!"
"Champions! We're the champions-!"