Meanwhile, Kaijō High School relied on Ryota Kise's [Perfect Copy] to keep scoring.
It could be said that over these few possessions, Ryota Kise was fighting a shootout against the entire Seirin team all by himself!
And he had actually held on!
With only thirteen seconds left in the game, the score reached 120 to 120.
The score was tied!
But this possession belonged to Seirin!!!
Although Genta Takeuchi was anxious, he had no intention of calling a timeout.
Because the players on the court had already given him their answer!
No timeout needed!
So Genta Takeuchi decided to leave the final moments to them. This, too, was a kind of trust!
If they won, the whole team would advance together!
If they lost, the whole team would go fishing together!
Ryota Kise was gasping heavily for breath, and his right hand kept trembling.
Using Shintaro Midorima's shot over and over had already pushed his wrist close to its limit!
Not only that, keeping [Emperor Eye] active continuously had also started to blur Ryota Kise's vision.
His sight was becoming hazy.
One had to remember that he had not turned [Emperor Eye] off at all!
In the original story, even he only dared to turn [Emperor Eye] on briefly before shutting it off again. How could he possibly keep it active the entire time?
[Copying] was not without a price. Using something beyond what one's body could withstand meant paying the corresponding cost.
That was also why, in the original story, Ryota Kise did not dare keep [Copying] other people's movements nonstop.
Seirin was not doing much better.
Taiga Kagami's stamina was once again running dangerously low, and his Zone state kept flickering, as if he could drop out of it at any moment.
Tatsuya Himuro had also left his Animal Instinct state long ago. After playing almost the entire game, his stamina was nearly gone as well.
Junpei Hyuga was not much better. Those final shots under intense pressure had drained a huge amount of his strength.
On the sidelines, Riko Aida hurriedly shouted, "Let's go!!!"
Kaijō immediately began pressing full court.
Seirin's inbounder was Tetsuya Kuroko, because apart from Shun Izuki, Tetsuya Kuroko was the best at inbounding the ball.
Holding the basketball, Tetsuya Kuroko swept his blue eyes across everyone, calmly analyzing the situation on the court as he searched for the best passing route.
Ryota Kise stuck tightly to Taiga Kagami, not daring to relax in the slightest.
Seeing this, Tatsuya Himuro stepped forward. He used a shoulder fake to test Mitsuhiro Hayakawa, shaking him just enough to create an opening.
Tatsuya Himuro seized the chance and quickly rushed out.
Seeing that, Tetsuya Kuroko immediately passed the ball to Tatsuya Himuro.
The moment Tatsuya Himuro got the ball, Mitsuhiro Hayakawa and Yukio Kasamatsu immediately pressed up on him.
Tatsuya Himuro kept using fakes, trying to shake them off.
But Yukio Kasamatsu and Mitsuhiro Hayakawa seemed fired up beyond reason.
Whenever one of them was shaken off, the other immediately stepped in to cover.
Seeing Tatsuya Himuro trapped, Shun Izuki quickly ran out.
Tatsuya Himuro saw him and hurriedly passed the ball.
But because he was too rushed, Yukio Kasamatsu managed to graze the pass.
Fortunately, Tetsuya Kuroko rushed out and tapped the ball to Shun Izuki, resolving the crisis.
After Shun Izuki got the ball, Yukio Kasamatsu and Mitsuhiro Hayakawa immediately charged at him.
Seeing this, Shun Izuki quickly handed the ball off to Taiga Kagami, who had run over to receive it.
The moment Taiga Kagami got the ball, crimson lightning appeared in his eyes again.
Seven seconds left!
This was his final burst of Zone!!
Taiga Kagami attacked fiercely with the ball, and Ryota Kise quickly stepped up to defend.
Five seconds!
Four seconds!
Taiga Kagami kept dribbling and turning, but he still could not break through Ryota Kise!
"Kagami!!!"
Junpei Hyuga suddenly shouted.
Only then did Taiga Kagami notice him. Junpei Hyuga had both hands raised high, and there was no one in front of him!!!
Seeing that, Taiga Kagami quickly passed the ball over.
Yukio Kasamatsu and the others panicked at once and immediately rushed to cover him.
Yukio Kasamatsu, Mitsuhiro Hayakawa, and Kōji Kobori all threw themselves toward Junpei Hyuga!
Three seconds!
Junpei Hyuga caught the ball and looked at the basket. His entire body seemed to enter a profound state.
In his eyes, there was no Yukio Kasamatsu or anyone else.
Only the basket!
He began his shooting motion. Then the whole sequence flowed together in one smooth movement.
Crouch, jump, shoot!
Two seconds!
Yukio Kasamatsu and the others jumped together, stretching their arms with all their strength, trying to block it.
But the ball seemed to play a joke on them, flying right past their fingertips!
One second!
Swish!!!
The ball went in!
Three points counted!
The score was 123 to 120!!!
After Yukio Kasamatsu and the others landed, they all stood frozen in place.
Yukio Kasamatsu's lips kept trembling as he murmured, "In the end, it still..."
Junpei Hyuga let out a roar and waved his arms excitedly.
Seirin's side erupted completely!
Everyone rushed toward Junpei Hyuga and lifted him up.
Sure enough, when things got desperate, you could count on Junpei Hyuga!!!
Riko Aida also revealed a faint smile.
"Finally... we won..."
Ryota Kise was a little stunned. He turned his head and glanced at the clock.
Through his blurred vision, he saw that there was still one second left. Then he lowered his head, looked at his trembling right hand, and made a decision!
He walked over to Yukio Kasamatsu and patted him on the shoulder.
Yukio Kasamatsu was already crying. He turned to look at Ryota Kise and could not help hugging him.
"Kise, I'm sorry... I..."
Mitsuhiro Hayakawa and Kōji Kobori also looked crushed, their tears flowing uncontrollably.
Ryota Kise smiled and patted Yukio Kasamatsu on the shoulder.
"Senpai, the game isn't over yet. Do you... want to gamble with me?"
Yukio Kasamatsu let go of Ryota Kise and looked up to meet his eyes. Shocked, he glanced again at the single second remaining and asked, "You..."
Ryota Kise smiled and explained his plan to Yukio Kasamatsu. Finally, he asked, "Senpai, can I trust you?"
Yukio Kasamatsu laughed.
He laughed while crying, then punched Ryota Kise lightly on the shoulder and said, "You little brat! Don't underestimate me!"
Seirin also knew there was still one second left, so after celebrating, they immediately prepared to defend this possession.
Taiga Kagami had already exited the Zone by now.
One reason was that he did not have enough stamina left. The other was that he had gotten too excited and dropped out of it.
Junpei Hyuga said coldly to everyone, "Stop this shot!"
Everyone shouted together, "Yeah!"
That was what they said, but they did not really take it too seriously.
After all, one second left and a three point shot?
What kind of joke was that?
All they had to do was stop the player who crossed the halfway line!
And so, the final attack...
Began!
...