Kaijō had possession.
One second left in the game.
Yukio Kasamatsu stood out of bounds to inbound the ball, his eyes sweeping over everyone.
Seirin was defending full court, but it was obvious they were all wary of the backcourt.
After the referee handed the ball to Yukio Kasamatsu, Mitsuhiro Hayakawa, Kōji Kobori, and Yoshitaka Moriyama immediately rushed toward the frontcourt.
Junpei Hyuga and the others seemed prepared for this and quickly chased after them.
But they had overlooked one person!
Ryota Kise!!!
At Kaijō's own baseline, Ryota Kise had taken a shooting stance.
Seeing this, Taiga Kagami seemed to remember something, and his pupils contracted sharply!
After taking his stance, Ryota Kise leaped up. His eyes were already overloaded.
His view of the basket had started to blur.
But he knew it.
Right now, all their hope!
Was on him!!!
Taiga Kagami wanted to jump and block him, but he could not get off the ground.
Taiga Kagami angrily pounded his legs and roared, "Move!!!"
Junpei Hyuga and the others also noticed Ryota Kise's movement and froze on the spot.
Junpei Hyuga muttered in disbelief, "No way..."
Yukio Kasamatsu took a deep breath, as if trying to draw all the oxygen around him into his lungs. His eyes widened, his gaze blazing as he locked onto Ryota Kise in front of him.
At that moment, he knew exactly how heavy the responsibility on his shoulders was. If he made even the slightest mistake, the entire team would fall into defeat!
Finally, Yukio Kasamatsu moved!
Using every bit of strength in his body, he passed the basketball, the symbol of victory and hope, out of his hands.
This pass could be called the most painstaking pass Yukio Kasamatsu had ever made.
Its meaning was far beyond that of an ordinary pass. It carried not only the hopes of every member of Kaijō, but also Yukio Kasamatsu's own deep, burning desire to win!!!
In that instant, the basketball seemed to come alive, drawing a beautiful arc through the air and landing perfectly in Ryota Kise's hands.
Ryota Kise gritted his teeth. Veins stood out on his forehead, and sweat slid down his cheeks, but his eyes remained firmly fixed on the basket ahead, even though it had already become somewhat blurry.
Without the slightest hesitation, he unleashed his strength, raised his arm high, and sent the ball flying toward the rim with everything he had!
At that moment, time seemed to freeze. Every eye in the arena gathered on the basketball as it shot through the air.
Everyone held their breath. Their hearts raced, as if they could hear one another's nervous heartbeats. The entire arena fell silent, and the pressure in the air was almost suffocating.
Then, in that suffocating silence, two sharp sounds suddenly rang out.
Beep!!!
The final buzzer sounded, announcing the passing of the last second of the game.
Immediately after that.
Swish!!!
A crisp, beautiful sound of the net rang out, echoing through the arena like music from heaven!
Three points!
The basket counted!!!
In an instant, cheers, shouts, and thunderous applause surged through the arena like a tidal wave.
The final score stopped at 123 to 123.
The two teams were tied!!!
Because this year's National Tournament had changed its rules, there was no overtime.
If both sides tied, they would advance together!
In other words, in this match, Kaijō and Seirin would both advance!!!
[Plot reasons, don't flame me!]
Yukio Kasamatsu and the others froze for a moment. Then they roared in excitement and rushed toward Ryota Kise as fast as they could, toward their hero!!!
After the shot went in, Ryota Kise smiled in relief, then helplessly collapsed to the floor.
That one shot had completely wrung out every last bit of his strength.
Right now, he could not even stand.
And looking closely, one could see that Ryota Kise's right hand was trembling violently.
Even so, Ryota Kise let Yukio Kasamatsu and the others toss him into the air.
Because he was happy too.
As everyone threw him up again and again, his mood finally lifted.
'Finally... we advanced...'
On Seirin's side.
Taiga Kagami stood frozen in place, not knowing what to say.
Junpei Hyuga also stood there, his expression stiff.
Only Tatsuya Himuro and Tetsuya Kuroko had already started packing up their things.
In the end, Riko Aida walked over and said with a smile, "Why are you all making those faces? Don't forget, we advanced too!"
Everyone froze for a moment, then finally reacted.
That was right. They had advanced too!
Then everyone began cheering as well!
"Oh yeah! We advanced!!!"
Junpei Hyuga also showed a faint smile and said, "That's great. Still, what a shame."
Tatsuya Himuro walked over to Junpei Hyuga, patted him on the shoulder, and said with a smile, "Don't dwell on it. After all, none of us reacted to that shot either."
"But we got through it safely."
Junpei Hyuga nodded and smiled, finally letting it go.
While everyone was celebrating, Tetsuya Kuroko and Tatsuya Himuro had already finished packing.
Tetsuya Kuroko turned and glanced at Tatsuya Himuro. Seeing that he was helping Taiga Kagami pack his things, he did not disturb him.
Instead, he turned and walked toward Ryota Kise.
On Kaijō's side.
After tossing Ryota Kise into the air a few more times, everyone finally let him down.
Tetsuya Kuroko walked up beside Ryota Kise and said, "Kise-kun."
Ryota Kise paused, then turned his head. When he saw Tetsuya Kuroko, he immediately smiled.
"Oh, it's Kurokocchi. What brings you over?"
Tetsuya Kuroko looked at Ryota Kise and held out his hand.
"I came to congratulate you on advancing, Kise-kun."
Ryota Kise also held out his hand and shook Tetsuya Kuroko's.
"Congratulations to you guys too."
Just then, Taiga Kagami suddenly appeared behind Tetsuya Kuroko and said to Ryota Kise, "Hey, Kise, want to grab a meal together later?"
Because the two teams had already gotten familiar with each other during the summer training camp, inviting them out to eat after the game was perfectly normal.
Not to mention, both teams had advanced together.
Ryota Kise smiled and pointed at Yukio Kasamatsu.
"That depends on what our captain says."
Taiga Kagami grinned, shifted slightly to the side, and revealed Riko Aida standing behind him. Then he pointed at her and said, "Our coach is the one inviting you. Do you think he'll refuse?"
Ryota Kise looked at Riko Aida and instantly felt a chill run down his spine.
The feeling of being dominated during summer break came rushing back!
And he knew very well that Yukio Kasamatsu could never refuse Riko Aida's invitation!
Because during summer break, Yukio Kasamatsu had practically been driven insane by Riko Aida's training plan!
...
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