Kazuma dribbled the ball down the court passing it to Keiji. Kazuma ran across the three-point arc. Keiji passed back to Kazuma. Kazuma caught the ball, jumping and shooting a three-pointer. #18 jumped in front of Kazuma obstructing his view with his hand.
"Shit... I couldn't see...!" Kazuma internalized. The ball would bounce off the rim as Keiji rebounded it with a layup. The ball fell through the hoop, adding two more points for Kakeru High School. Kakeru ran back to Sendai Daiichi's basket, preparing their defense. (25 - 29, KU, 9:48.) Teruo dribbled down the court, dodging past Kakeru's defense. Yoshinori ran over to Teruo. Teruo jumped, preparing to dunk the ball Yoshinori jumped up with him, blocking his view. Teruo then threw the ball to his left. Hachimura caught the ball shooting from inside the three-point zone. Sendai Daiichi ran backward to prepare their defense. (27-29, KU, 9:37.) Kazuma grabbed the ball, passing it to Yoshinori. Yoshinori dribbled the ball down the court. Yoshinori scanned the court as if he were specifically looking for someone. #18 then ran toward Yoshinori quickly. As #18 attempted to steal the ball, Yoshinori passed to it Kazuma. Yoshinori then sprinted toward the three-point line as he was left wide open. Yoshinori grinned, approaching the three-point line. Teruo saw this as his eyes became wide.
"That damn first year...!!" Teruo internalized. Teruo tried running over toward Yoshinori but was blocked by Juro. Kazuma dribbled down the court as #18 nearly caught up to him. Kazuma grinned, looking into #18's eyes.
"I got him!!" Kazuma thought to himself. Kazuma chucked the ball at Yoshinori. Yoshinori caught the ball, shooting it toward the hoop. The ball flew in the air as #18 ran toward Yoshinori in slow motion. Yoshinori looked into #18's eyes.
"He's too late..." Yoshinori internalized. The ball slightly hit the backboard, falling through the basket, scoring three more points for Kakeru. (25 - 32, KU, 9:25.) Teruo clenched his fist, walking over to #18.
"They caught you in their damn trap... Hamamoto... That shorty for Kakeru adapted to you..." Teruo said. Hamamoto nodded, having a nervous look on his face.
"Sorry... I'll do better..." Hamamoto said. Teruo shook his head,
"... If you're sorry... You'll go sub out of Sugimoto..." Teruo said. The ref blew his whistle, switching the subs. Yusuke and Ryuzaki subbed in for Ohashi and Yoshinori. Hamamoto got subbed out for Hachiro Sugimoto. The ref blew this whistle, signaling the continuation of the game. Teruo passed the ball to Hachiro. Hachiro dribbled it down the court, passing it back to Teruo. Teruo dribbled down the court when he was faced by Yusuke. Yusuke stole the ball, dribbling down the court. Teruo had an angry look on his face, as he chased Yusuke. Yusuke went to shoot the ball but Teruo hit his arm, causing the referee to call a foul on Ikehara. Yusuke tossed the ball to the referee, glaring at Teruo. Yusuke scored both of his free throws, scoring Kakeru two extra points. (25 - 34, KU, 8:58.) Hachiro grabbed the ball, passing it to Teruo. Teruo dribbled down the court with angered eyes.
"... Cocky first year... They're too full of themselves..." Teruo internalized. He dribbled down the court, passing the ball to Hachiro. Hachiro approached the three-point arc but was stopped by Hidē. Hachiro scoffed, passing the ball to Masayuki. Masayuki ran toward the hoop attempting to shoot a lay-up but was blocked. Ikehara rebounded the ball, passing it to Hachiro. Hachiro attempted to shoot again, making the shot this time around. (28 - 34, KU, 8:42.) Yusuke grabbed the ball, dribbling down the court. Yusuke passed the ball to Nobuyuki. Noboyuki dribbled down the court, running through the three-point arc. Nobuyuki then passed the ball to Ryuzaki who shot for three points. (28 - 37, KU, 8:28.) Masayuki grabbed the ball, passing it to Nagata. Nagata dribbled the ball down the court, passing it to Teruo. Teruo dribbled the ball down the court. Yusuke stood in front of him, guarding him. Teruo stepped to the side, dodging Yusuke. Teruo ran forward down the lane, shooting a lay-up. Yusuke shook his head. Ryuzaki caught the ball, passing it to Nobuyuki. Nobuyuki dribbled down the field before passing the ball to Kazuma. Kazuma would jump to shoot a two-pointer from inside the lane. (28 - 39, KU, 7:56.) Teruo grabbed the ball, passing it to Masayuki. Masayuki dribbled down the court before passing it down to Teruo. Yusuke caught the pass, dribbling down the court. Teruo's eyes widened in shock,
"Where the hell did he come from!?" Teruo thought to himself. Yusuke ran down the lane, jumping and shooting a layup. (28 - 41, KU, 7:32.)
27 Minutes later, the game would come to an end with the final score being 72 - 76 and the win to Kakeru High School. The two teams shook hands.
"Thank you for the game!!" Said the Kakeru team in unison. The two teams then walked back to the locker rooms. They all put their team tracksuits on, walking out of the locker room. Yusuke smiled, looking around the court.
"Why you being so smiley...?" Ryuzaki asked. Yusuke shrugged,
"I dunno, it's our first win, I'm happy..." Yusuke said. Ryuzaki nodded. The two then walked out of the gymnasium into the hallway. Eiji and Jin walked over to them.
"For some first years, you two are pretty good..." Nagata said. Yusuke grinned,
"Thanks, you guys were great too!" Yusuke said. Jin smiled,
"You guys should get to practicing 'cause when qualifiers roll around, we're knocking you guys out..." Jin said. Ryuzaki smirked,
"You're the guys who just lost... You need to start practicing." Ryuzaki said. Nagata nodded,
"What're you guys doing next?" Nagata asked. Yusuke shrugged,
"We've got our school festival coming up and need to prepare for that..." Ryuzaki said. Yusuke looked at Ryuzaki in shock,
"What!? How do you know!?" Yusuke asked. Ryuzaki looked at Yusuke in confusion.
"Because... The basketball team has a stand... We're voting for what our stand will be on the bus..." Ryuzaki said. Yusuke scratched the side of his head,
"Huh... That's weird..." Yusuke said. Ryuzaki sighed,
"You're so weird..." Ryuzaki said. Yusuke sighed,
"Where's Ikehara...?" Yusuke asked. Nagata and Jin shrugged,
"Don't know... He kinda just left after the game... He's like that though..." Nagata said. Ryuzaki and Yusuke nodded. Meanwhile, Kazuma walked out of the locker room, seeing Hamamoto. Kazuma raised a brow.
"Can I help you...?" Kazuma asked. Hamamoto smiled,
"Uhm, I wanted to introduce myself to you... My name's Takahiro Hamamoto..." Takahiro said. Kazuma nodded, smiling.
"Nice to meet you, I'd love to play against you again," Kazuma said. Takahiro nodded,
"I look forward to it," Takahiro said. Kazuma walked out of the gymnasium, to the hall. The team walked out of the school, seeing that the sun was setting.
"Dang, have we been here that long...?" Yusuke asked. Ryuzaki nodded as the two walked onto the bus. Yusuke and Ryuzaki sat down next to each other as the bus started up. Yusuke put his headphones on, looking out the window. The team loaded back into the bus, closing the door.