[Hayama Kotarō hit a mid-range shot.]
[You clicked your tongue. The main series is the main series after all. As a supporting character, Hayama Kotarō's screen time was limited, and many weapons didn't get a chance to be shown.]
[As a scorer, Hayama Kotarō possesses basic scoring methods like mid-range shooting.]
[Your defensive pressure increased.]
[Your offensive pressure also increased.]
[Overly keen sense of smell allowed Hayama Kotarō to gain insight into your actions. You used a superior model to push him away and hit a turnaround jump shot.]
[You can still score over his head, but your scoring efficiency is declining.]
[Hayama Kotarō continued to force attacks. Proud as he was, he didn't call for teammates. Your Death Coil effect was maximized.]
[He scored, but with visible difficulty. Anyone could see that Hayama Kotarō couldn't keep scoring this way; no one can be lucky forever.]
[He missed a shot (hit the iron), and you also missed a shot.]
[The game turned into a one-on-one duel between the two of you.]
[You held swords and constantly stabbed at each other, and in the end, no one took advantage.]
[You got 7 points in the single quarter, and Hayama Kotarō got 10 points.]
[You fought to a draw.]
[During halftime, in the locker room, the geezer coach didn't provide effective tactical support.]
[With the game at this stage, he believed it had entered the critical moment where stars decide the game. Giving the ball to you to handle is better than any tactic.]
[And he understands your temper, believing you won't back down at this moment.]
[He really judges people accurately!]
[The fourth quarter began. The duel between you and Hayama Kotarō continued.]
[In this quarter, you shot frantically 8 times, hitting 4, went 3 for 4 on free throws, and got 11 points. Hayama Kotarō did not yield, scoring 10 points again.]
[The game was extremely anxious.]
[Fourth quarter, only the last 10 minutes (likely meant last few minutes or clock rundown context) remained. You stopped acting; you are a modern small forward, you showed your hand.]
[You were still holding the ball, but you stopped obsessing over personal victory or defeat; you started distributing the ball.]
[The opponent obviously didn't expect you to hide thunder in your crotch (have tricks up your sleeve). Sakurai Ryō received your pass and hit a three-pointer.]
[However.]
[You hid more than one thunder in your crotch. Next possession, you called Ota to leave the paint to screen for you. Using the screen to shake off the defense, you bounce-passed to the cutting Ota, who took three steps and scored a layup.]
[Hayama Kotarō cursed; he cursed very dirtily.]
[Seeing you having no martial ethics, the opponent also started playing tactics, using a stronger overall team to crush your defense.]
[With 3 minutes left in the fourth quarter, your slight advantage had been wiped out.]
[You stood on the court with hands on hips. It wasn't that you had no martial ethics, simply that your stamina wasn't enough to support playing the full game.]
[Even for adult professional players, the time they can truly output at full power in a game is only about 30 minutes. A few gifted ones like Lebron can reach 35 minutes.]
[And you are just a kid, only 14 years old and not fully developed.]
[Your coach called a timeout; he called two timeouts to let you recover stamina!]
[Sora cheered for you in the audience. You were too tired to even speak, only waving your hand in response.]
[The game continued. You continued to hold the ball, creating opportunities through personal breakthroughs to pass to teammates.]
[Your teammates' stamina also dropped, shooting less than 50%! In your heart, you cursed this bunch of trash who only know how to play with the wind (when winning)!]
[You decided to go solo!]
[Hayama Kotarō thought you were definitely playing him again and ignored it.]
[But until the last minute of the game, you never passed again.]
[The decline in stamina made you trust your mid-to-long-range shots less. You forcefully knocked away the defender, squeezed into the paint, and scored a hook shot over the opponent's 1.9-meter center, also drawing a foul.]
[You completed a beautiful 2+1!]
[The audience cheered for you; your unyielding fighting spirit moved them.]
[The point difference was tied!]
[Your tenacity infected the whole team, and you stubbornly defended against the opponent for a 24-second violation on the defensive end.]
[You gained a chance to overtake. You took the shot yourself; your floater hit the iron.]
[You felt very tired, legs like they were filled with lead. You gritted your teeth and ran, swatting Hayama Kotarō's layup out of bounds at the hottest moment.]
[There was little time left in the game. Neither of you could score the goal that would kill the game.]
[The game went into overtime!]
[Your sweat soaked your jersey as if it had been soaked in water.]
[But self-harm-like practice allowed you to temper an iron will.]
[Benefiting from your daily pressure, your teammates miraculously didn't feel pressure because of overtime. They found that mere overtime was not as ruthless as the words from your mouth.]
[Overtime began. You came up and angrily hit an iron (missed).]
[In the counterattack, Hayama Kotarō passed to a teammate under the basket, who easily scored a layup, helping the team take the lead.]
[Your turn to attack. You couldn't break through anymore. You pushed off the defender and shot from the free-throw line; this is your winning zone.]
[You hit another iron!]
[The opponent counterattacked and added two more points. Victory seemed to be moving away from you.]
[Unwilling to admit defeat, you rushed to the paint again for a layup, only to be blocked by the opponent's power forward. You couldn't jump anymore.]
[The ball was swatted out of the paint. Sora couldn't bear to watch.]
[At the critical moment, Sakurai Ryō stepped forward. The mushroom head changed his usual soft egg style.]
[With an iron-blooded face, he squeezed away the defender, collected the ball, turned around, shot without hesitation, and made it!]
[At this moment, you felt this soft egg looked much more pleasing to the eye!]
[You came back from the edge of death!]
[You didn't allow teammates to be more awesome than you. Next possession, you frantically coiled around Hayama Kotarō, causing huge interference. He shot an airball on a layup.]
[Your coach took this opportunity to call a timeout.]
[He arranged a tactic!]
["Pass the damn ball to Yuuto!" This was his tactic. He said loudly, "Yuuto, you take this last offense! Ryō, move, move more, threaten them outside the three-point line at all times, forcing them not to contract."]
[The geezer coach only believed in you because you were tough enough.]
[You didn't disappoint him. You ran out to the three-point line to receive the ball. You started burning time.]
[When only 4 seconds remained in the game, you started!]
[He drove towards the opponent's paint with the ball. The opponent felt that nine out of ten times you would take this shot. You scanned Sakurai Ryō with your peripheral vision. The opponents, wary of his three-pointer, dared not approach, except for Hayama Kotarō.]
[Hayama Kotarō's intuition was correct. He said, "I knew it. A guy like you, no matter how many times you hit the iron, will never lack the courage to shoot!"]
[He admired you. You dared to take responsibility even after consecutive misses.]
[At such an important moment, missing 2 or 3 times is nothing. But if you dare to shoot after missing 5 times in a row, that requires immense courage.]
[You didn't listen to his nonsense. Against the opponent, you broke into the paint and then used all your strength to throw your body into mid-air. Hayama Kotarō jumped almost simultaneously. You collided in mid-air.]
[You lost balance, body crooked, but eyes locked on the basket.]
[You flicked the ball towards the basket.]
[The goddess of luck favored you. The ball went in!]
[You completed the buzzer-beater!!!]
...
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