As both teams prepared to return to the court, Nao made an unexpected announcement.
"Sora, Momoharu—you're sitting to start the fourth."
"WHAT?!" Sora's head snapped up. "But we're only up eight! I can keep—"
"You've played the entire game so far," Nao interrupted firmly. "Twenty-four straight minutes of elite-level basketball. Even with your stamina, you need rest. We have ten minutes left. I need you fresh for the final five minutes when Kitasumi makes their push."
She looked at Momoharu. "Same for you. You've been battling Konishi in the paint all game. Rest now, finish strong later."
Sora wanted to protest, but he saw the logic. His legs were starting to feel heavy, even with his enhanced stamina. A few minutes of rest could be the difference in crunch time.
"Who runs the offense?" Kenji asked.
Nao smiled. "Chiaki. We're going back to the motion system, but with a twist."
She pulled out her clipboard, quickly sketching a formation.
"Point center offense. Chiaki plays the point-forward role from the high post and elbow. Kenji, you're the primary scorer. Yasuhara, Nabe, Chucky—you three set screens, cut, and crash the boards. Kenji gets the ball in his spots, and Chiaki makes all the reads."
Chiaki, who'd been resting for the entire third quarter, stood up looking refreshed. "I can do that."
"Kenji," Nao looked at him seriously. "This quarter is yours. Be aggressive. Attack. Show them why you're our second engine."
Kenji's eyes gleamed with competitive fire. "Finally. I've been waiting."
----
Kitasumi Bench
Coach Koga noticed the substitutions immediately.
"Kurumatani and their center are sitting?" He looked at his assistant coach. "They're resting their best players to start the fourth?"
"Their point-forward is back in though," the assistant observed. "The one who was orchestrating in the first half."
"Doesn't matter," Tarou said confidently. "Without their ace, we close this gap. Time to tie this game up."
-----
Fourth Quarter Begins - Kuzuryu Possession
Score: 65-57, Kuzuryu leading by 8
Chiaki brought the ball up slowly, his basketball IQ immediately assessing the situation. His legs felt fresh, his mind sharp after the rest.
He dribbled to the left elbow, establishing himself in the high post area—point center position.
"MOTION!" he called out.
The offense activated, but it looked different without Sora.
Yasuhara and Nabe set a staggered screen for Kenji on the right wing. Kenji used it to get free, curling to the top of the key.
Chiaki hit him with a perfect pass.
Kenji faced up his defender—one-on-one, no help because Chiaki's presence at the elbow demanded attention.
He attacked with a quick first step, crossing over left, then a devastating hesitation that froze his defender.
Kenji elevated from mid-range with that pure shooting form.
SWISH.
67-57, Kuzuryu.
"THERE WE GO!" Chiaki pumped his fist.
Kitasumi answered back. Tarou, sensing opportunity without Sora on the floor, went into full attack mode.
He isolated on Nabe, who was clearly overmatched. Two dribble moves later, Tarou had an open lane to the rim.
He finished with a smooth layup.
67-59, Kuzuryu.
Chiaki brought the ball up again, but this time he made a different read.
He saw Kenji's defender overplaying the passing lane, trying to deny the entry pass after that last bucket.
Perfect, Chiaki thought.
He faked the pass to Kenji, then immediately hit Yasuhara cutting backdoor from the weak side.
Yasuhara caught it and finished with a layup before the defense could rotate.
69-59, Kuzuryu.
"YASUHARA!" The bench erupted.
Tarou brought the ball up, clearly frustrated that Kuzuryu wasn't collapsing without Sora.
He called for a ball screen from Konishi, then attacked hard off it.
Yasuhara tried to hedge, but Tarou was too skilled. He split the hedge and attacked the rim.
Chucky rotated over to help, but Tarou made a brilliant pass to Konishi rolling to the basket.
Konishi caught it and dunked with authority.
69-61, Kuzuryu.
Eight-point game again.
Chiaki pushed the pace—not as fast as Sora, but faster than his usual methodical tempo.
He crossed half-court and immediately went into point center mode, posting up at the left elbow.
Kenji set up on the right wing. The defense was focused on him after his hot start to the quarter.
Chiaki saw it—Nabe was cutting from the weak side, his defender ball-watching.
Chiaki delivered a perfect bounce pass that hit Nabe in stride.
Nabe caught it and finished with a layup.
71-61, Kuzuryu.
"CHIAKI'S VISION!" Nao was shouting from the bench. "THAT'S BEAUTIFUL BASKETBALL!"
Over the next three minutes, the pattern continued:
Chiaki would orchestrate from the high post, making brilliant reads. Sometimes he'd hit Kenji for isolation opportunities. Sometimes he'd find cutters with perfect passes. Sometimes he'd even take the shot himself when defenders sagged off.
Meanwhile, Kenji was getting buckets in bunches:
Isolated on the wing, Kenji crossed over his defender and hit a pull-up jumper. 73-61.
Pick-and-roll with Chiaki as th screen, Kenji attacked the switch like a leopard and finished at the rim. 75-63.
Spotting-up for three Chiaki found him with a skip pass. SWISH. 78-65.
But Tarou refused to let Kitasumi fall too far behind. He was playing at an elite level:
Deep three-pointer: Matching Kenji's range. 78-68.
And-one finish: Driving through contact, finishing, and hitting the free throw. 78-71.
Iisolation jumper over Yasuhara's contest was easy money to him. 78-73.
With five minutes remaining in the game, the score was:
Kuzuryu High: 78 Kitasumi High: 73
Five-point game.
Coach Koga called timeout.
"Five minutes left," he told his team. "We're down five. One more run and we tie this game. Tarou, keep doing what you're doing. Konishi, be aggressive on the boards. Everyone else, execute!"
On the Kuzuryu bench, Nao looked at Sora and Momoharu.
"You two ready?"
Both nodded, having caught their breath during the rest.
"Good. Because we need to close this out. Sora, you're going back to primary scorer. Kenji, you stay aggressive too, let me know if you need a break. Momoharu, own the paint."
She looked at her team seriously.
"Five minutes. That's all we need. Five minutes of elite basketball and we beat a second-round Inter-High team in our first real test."
"Let's do it," Sora said, his determination burning bright.
As the timeout ended, both teams returned to the court for the final five minutes.
Sora checked back in, replacing Yasuhara.
Momoharu checked back in, replacing Chucky.
The crowd was on its feet. Even Tokiwa had moved closer to the court, unable to leave despite his music studio appointment.
This was going to be a battle to the finish.