Tatsuya Himuro had basically played the entire game, so his stamina had taken a hit as well.
Against the desperate defense of two players at once, even he was starting to struggle.
Taiga Kagami kept gasping for breath. His stamina was clearly running dangerously low.
Ryota Kise was not doing much better, either. He was breathing hard, taking one deep breath after another.
"Beep! The third quarter is over. Both teams, off the court!"
The referee blew the whistle to end the third quarter, and the players from Kaijō and Seirin High School headed off the court one after another, preparing for the decisive battle of the fourth quarter.
After the third quarter, the score was...
91 to 98. Seirin High School trailed Kaijō High School by 7 points.
As both teams left the court, the spectators on the sidelines started talking.
"That was incredible! This year's National Tournament is amazing!"
"Yeah! And this is only the first game of the Nationals! If the first game is already this exciting, I can't even imagine what the rest will be like!"
"Exactly. But I'm still looking forward to [Magic Cube]'s game. His matches are just too fun to watch!"
"Of course! Kirisaki Daiichi will probably win the championship again this time. I honestly can't think of any reason they would lose!"
Over at Kirisaki Daiichi.
Shuzo Nijimura looked at the two teams on the court, stretched, and said, "The fourth quarter is going to be all out. Still, the final result will probably be decided in the last five or six minutes."
Makoto Hanamiya nodded. Looking at the players from both teams sitting down, he said, "True. After all, both of their aces are in pretty rough shape right now."
On the court.
Taiga Kagami dropped heavily onto the bench, gulping down air, his breathing as rough as a bull's.
At that moment, he felt as if his lungs were about to burst.
He had been trading blows with Ryota Kise almost nonstop, and his stamina had already been drained close to nothing.
"Damn it. Is my stamina still not enough?!"
Taiga Kagami gritted his teeth and cursed himself in frustration.
As he saw it, his lack of stamina was now dragging down the rhythm of the entire team.
Just as Taiga Kagami was still stewing in frustration, a pair of hands landed on his shoulders.
Taiga Kagami looked up and realized they were Tatsuya Himuro's hands.
His chest tightened, and he murmured, "Brother..."
Tatsuya Himuro smiled gently and said, "Taiga, you don't need to put that much pressure on yourself."
"After all, you still have us."
After saying that, Junpei Hyuga stepped forward, wiped the sweat from his face with a towel, and said, "Hey, Kagami. Hey, Kagami. Are you looking down on us or what?"
Teppei Kiyoshi scratched the back of his head and smiled faintly. "Kagami, you've already done more than enough. There's no need to blame yourself. Besides, we're not weak either."
Tetsuya Kuroko appeared at that moment, his eyes fixed on Taiga Kagami as he said, "Kagami, please rest properly."
Taiga Kagami's eyes trembled, and emotion showed on his face. He clenched his teeth and murmured, "Everyone..."
Junpei Hyuga cut him off, looking a little impatient. "Enough. You just focus on resting. Leave the start of the fourth quarter to us."
Tatsuya Himuro patted Taiga Kagami on the shoulder again and said, "Taiga..."
As he spoke, Tatsuya Himuro seemed to think back to the past, and his tone grew emotional.
"Taiga, back then, I cared too much about saving face. I was stubborn and made a lot of wrong choices. I hope you don't blame me."
Taiga Kagami shook his head again and again. "I've never blamed you!"
Tatsuya Himuro smiled when he heard that and said, "Is that so? Then I'm truly honored. But, Taiga, there's something I want to tell you."
At that point, Tatsuya Himuro's gaze grew serious, and his expression became solemn.
"The person I used to be is already gone. I've changed."
"So, Taiga, don't worry."
Taiga Kagami felt his eyes grow slightly damp. He nodded firmly and said, "I understand, brother. I believe in you."
Tatsuya Himuro smiled affectionately, patted Taiga Kagami on the head, and said, "All right. Leave it to me. After all... I'm the older brother here!"
When Taiga Kagami heard that, he broke into a bright smile, and Tatsuya Himuro did the same.
In that moment, the two of them seemed to have returned to the time when they had first met.
Off the court, a blonde woman slowly walked into the venue. Watching the match, she muttered to herself in English, frustrated, "Oh my god, is the game almost over already? Damn flight, of all times to be delayed."
The blonde woman cursed under her breath a couple more times, then saw the interaction between Taiga Kagami and Tatsuya Himuro on the court.
At that moment, a smile appeared on her face.
"Looks like these two still get along pretty well..."
Then, the blonde woman glanced at the score and murmured, "But the situation doesn't look good."
Over on Kaijō's side.
After sitting down, Ryota Kise was also gasping for breath, taking one heavy breath after another.
Seeing this, Genta Takeuchi said to everyone, "The situation is very tense right now. Kise, you rest for the time being. Kasamatsu, we'll leave the first half of the fourth quarter to you guys."
Yukio Kasamatsu and the others nodded firmly and shouted, "Yes!"
Seeing that, Ryota Kise said nothing more. He nodded to Yukio Kasamatsu and said, "Guys, I'm counting on you."
When Ryota Kise had first arrived at Kaijō, he had still been rather willful, and teammates like Yukio Kasamatsu had not really been in his eyes.
He had only believed in himself.
But now, after spending so much time with them, Ryota Kise had developed a different feeling toward Yukio Kasamatsu and the others.
It was not bromance. It was trust.
Ryota Kise trusted them, and he was willing to put his faith in them.
So, faced with the coach's arrangement, he did not say anything more.
Yukio Kasamatsu ruffled Ryota Kise's hair and scolded him with a laugh. "You brat! Don't worry, we'll help you keep the score within reach!"
Ryota Kise smiled and nodded.
"Mm!"
"Beep! The fourth quarter begins. Both teams, take the court!"
The referee blew the whistle to start the fourth quarter.
Yukio Kasamatsu's expression instantly turned serious. He waved his hand and shouted, "Everyone! Let's go!"
"Yes!"
Over on Seirin's side.
Junpei Hyuga stood up with an extremely serious expression. He also shouted loudly, "Everyone, pull yourselves together and let's go!"
The others shouted in unison, "Yes!"
Tatsuya Himuro did not shout. Instead, he turned to look at Taiga Kagami and murmured, "Leave it to me, little brother..."
...