Watching the elegant arc of the ball thrown from Akashi Asuka's hands…
The Tōō Academy players were stunned.
The Seirin players were stunned.
The Shutoku players were stunned as well.
Among these three teams, the only person who didn't seem surprised at all was probably Midorima Shintaro.
"So that shot of yours wasn't just luck!"
Midorima recalled the previous practice match between Shutoku and Seiho, when Akashi Asuka had seemingly miraculously hit a three-pointer to overturn the score.
At the time, everyone at Shutoku had thought it was just a lucky shot.
But only Midorima had a persistent feeling that it wasn't luck… though he had never found proof, until now.
For the current shot, Midorima didn't even need to watch where it would land. From the moment the ball left Asuka's fingertips, he knew it would go in.
Swish!
A perfect, nothing-but-net shot fell through the hoop.
At that moment, Satsuki Momoi in Tōō Academy's bench jumped up in shock.
"How is this possible?"
Her eyes widened. After the preliminaries, she had already noticed something unusual about Asuka's performance and spent a lot of time gathering intel.
Though information on Asuka was scarce, she eventually confirmed that he had hidden his true strength, something he had already shown in middle school tournaments.
Even the best scout couldn't have predicted that a center over two meters tall could shoot threes.
"What kind of joke is this? This monster is terrifying in the paint, and now he can score from the outside too? How are we supposed to play?"
Shoichi Imayoshi, despite his high intellect, was stunned by this opening strike.
Asuka's single three-pointer had already shattered Tōō Academy's initial defense formation.
Tōō Academy launched a counterattack.
But as soon as Imayoshi received the ball, his face changed again.
The defensive player in front of him wasn't Kasuga Ryuhei, it was Tsugawa Tomoki.
"Tsugawa guarding Imayoshi?"
The Seirin spectators were stunned.
Tōō Academy was an ultra-offensive, uncoordinated team. Every player could score, but the efficiency varied.
Their strongest scorer was naturally Aomine Daiki.
The second most dangerous was a timid-looking first-year sharpshooter, Ryo Sakurai, who had excellent release speed and accuracy.
Everyone expected Tsugawa to guard Sakurai, but Seiho had him on Imayoshi instead.
Aida Riko thought for a while, puzzled.
Meanwhile, Shutoku's coach stroked his chin, speaking deliberately to guide Riko, "I see… that's actually a very reasonable strategy."
"Shoichi Imayoshi is Tōō Academy's point guard. His scoring rank in the team isn't high, but he's the only real playmaker in this individualistic team. Assigning Tsugawa, a 'Generation of Miracles'-level defender, to guard him… Imayoshi's scoring and passing will be severely limited, and the team's already weak cohesion will be further strained."
"Hmm… in other words, Seiho has hit Tōō Academy right in their weak spot."
The coach's words were deliberate, meant for Aida to hear, with no effort to hide them.
The Seirin spectators gradually began to understand, though some details still confused them.
"But then… who's going to guard Sakurai?"
Hyuga Junpei's question was cut off before he could finish.
On the court, Imayoshi struggled against Tsugawa's defense. Being a cerebral player, Imayoshi could outwit someone like Kasuga, but against Tsugawa, a brawny and highly skilled opponent, he was completely outmatched.
He had no choice but to pass the ball to Sakurai.
"I'm sorry!"
Sakurai was timid but skilled. The moment he received the ball, he immediately shot, apologizing as he did.
His quick-release shot was almost comically fast compared to his nervous personality.
Yet this time, as soon as the ball left his hands, a massive hand swatted it away mercilessly.
Smack!
The ball flew through the air, caught by Kasuga Ryuhei waiting behind. Seiho launched a counterattack.
Sakurai froze, still in shock, until Akashi Asuka patted his shoulder with a smile:
"No need to apologize, Sakurai-kun. You probably won't have a chance to apologize in this match anyway."
Asuka then stepped toward Tōō Academy's side of the court.
That's right, Seiho had assigned him to guard Sakurai.
A swingman guarding a scoring shooting guard made perfect sense.
Tōō Academy's defenders closed in quickly. As Kasuga approached the three-point line, the nearest opponent rushed up.
Without hesitation, Kasuga passed to the arriving Asuka.
Standing about half a meter behind the three-point line, Asuka caught the ball, halted, and shot…
Swish!
The second three-pointer sank cleanly.
6:0.
Seiho's cheering squad erupted in ecstatic applause, the band blasting the school anthem.
On the other side, the Seirin and Shutoku spectators were left nearly dumbfounded.
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