Amami-san and Umi began their play, it seemed like they wanted to settle the previous one-on-one match properly this time.
"Ugh… Not bad, Yuu."
"You too, Umi."
If class 11 were to score even a single point here, it would seal class 10's fate, so they had to play carefully. They sent Amami-san to mark Umi and Arae-san to mark Nakamura-san.
"We still have time Amami, so don't get impatient. If they try to take a three, just let them be."
"Got it!"
The success rate of class 11's perimeter shooting wasn't that high, so Arae-san seemed to think about gambling on it. They were likely to miss and she could pick up the ball and start her counterattack.
"…Now, what to do?"
Umi took her eyes off Amami-san for a second to take a look at her teammates. Everyone was guarded closely, so she couldn't just pass the ball to anyone. Back in the first half, they could move around freely and exploit their opponent's mistakes, but ever since Arae-san started playing seriously, they hadn't been able to do that.
There was only one thing she could do. She held the ball in her right hand and was about to take a shot.
"There!"
"?!"
At that moment, Amami-san reached out and swiped the ball away.
The ball rolled to an empty spot on the court.
"Amami, go!"
"Yes!"
"Ugh…"
Both Amami-san and Umi started running toward the ball at the same time, but the former had slightly better physical capabilities and got the ball first.
The place where she snatched the ball was right outside the three-point line.
"Do it, Amami!"
"I won't let you–!"
She read that Amami-san would immediately take a shot, so Umi leapt and reached out to block the shot.
Thanks to this, she managed to hit the ball slightly.
"I got it! Nakamura-san, rebound!"
"Roger!"
Everyone thought that the shot would surely miss and rushed to the bottom of the ring, but…
Woosh!
"Huh??"
"W-Wha–"
The ball sucked into the hoop.
The score was now 35 to 38.
'Oh!!'
'There we go!'
'3 points left!'
Sensing the excitement, the crowd, who had been focusing on the volleyball match at the next court, started to pay more attention to this side.
The gym was filled with excitement at the prospect of a huge comeback.
"Class 11, offensive foul."
"Ah…"
Then, class 11 got impatient and got their fifth foul.
According to the rule, for every foul after the fifth one, two free throws would be given.
In addition to that, the fouled player would become the shooter. Since it was neither Amami-san nor Arae-san, the girl missed the first shot, but successfully scored the second one.
"Two…"
"Points difference…"
Such murmurs could be heard.
The current score was 36 to 38.
A normal shot would result in a tie and a three-pointer will turn the game around.
The remaining time was twenty seconds, enough for a shot. Class 11 could try to run the clock out, but their opponent still had some tricks up their sleeves.
"Everyone, try to get the ball with any means possible. Don't worry about fouls, we have two more to give, it's time to use them all."
Class 11 had already reached their fifth foul, meanwhile class 10 only had their second. They could make use of it in this kind of situation.
Following Arae-san's instructions, class 10 ran a full court defense. They would be trying to steal the ball as quickly as possible and immediately go on to counterattack after that. It was a risky strategy, but this was the only way for them to win.
"Asanagi Umi, stop resisting and just give me the ball."
"I refuse."
"Then, I'll take it by force."
After receiving the ball from her teammate, Umi tried to keep the ball to stall for time, but Arae-san lunged at her and tried to forcibly steal the ball and that resulted in a foul.
It was only their third foul so it only resulted in a throw-in. (T/N: I don't understand what's going on anymore)
After that, class 10 moved to cut off the ball.
"Nakamura-san!"
Umi could only pass the ball to Nakamura-san since the rest of their teammates were marked by the energetic class 10's members. They didn't move around much during the first half, so they had plenty of stamina compared to class 11.
Nakamura-san received the ball, but was immediately double-teamed by Amami-san and Arae-san.
"…C'mon, I'm just an amateur, why are you guys doing this to me?"
"We're trying to win here, so suck it."
"Sorry, Nakamura-san."
No matter how much taller Nakamura-san was compared to those two, there was nothing she could do.
"Ugh… Shit… Someone, please!"
The five second rule was in effect so Nakamura-san couldn't just hold on to the ball. She hurriedly threw the ball somewhere, but it wasn't someone from her team who caught it, it was the opponent.
Then…
"Alright, all done."
Arae-san made a beautiful lay-up and the score was finally tied.
'Seriously?'
'They really caught up…'
'How much time left?'
'Ten seconds…'
'That means…'
Comeback victory. Those words flashed in front of the audience's eyes.
If the game ended in a tie, the winner would be decided by rock-paper-scissors, but of course neither the audience nor the players wanted it to end that way.
"Ugh… Not bad, Yuu, Arae Nagisa…"
"Sorry, Asanagi-chan, they got me."
"No, I'm also at fault here, I failed to pick up the ball. Anyway, we can't let this end in a tie, let's go."
"…Right."
"Shichino-san, Kaga-san, Hayasaka-san, are you guys still okay? We'll finish it in one go!"
"""Roger!"""
Class 11 entrusted the ball to Umi and ran with all their strength.
This was the last possession.
"Let's finish this, Umi."
"I'll crush you to pieces, Asanagi Umi!"
"Ugh, of course…"
Both Amami-san and Arae-san disregarded the other players and double-teamed Umi.
If she could get past their defenses, class 11 would win this, but if she failed to, then they would be at the mercy of Amami-san and Arae-san.
Umi skillfully manipulated the ball and tried to keep it from being stolen while the other two tried to snatch it from her.
'Eight, seven…'
'Six, five…'
The crowd's countdown echoed through the air.
Would everything end in a tie, or would one of them eventually triumph over the other?
Umi made her move.
"…!"
"Ah… No!"
Umi made a big move and that made Arae-san and Amami-san bumped into each other. Exploiting this lack of coordination between them, Umi switched the ball over to her left hand as a feint and made another move.
She dribbled the ball through Amami-san's legs and she slipped through the gap between the two girls. It almost resulted in a foul, but the referee didn't blow the whistle.
"I won't let you!"
Just as everyone thought that Umi made it through, Arae-san stretched her arm out and managed to pry the ball out of Umi's hands.
Then the ball rolled in my direction.
Umi jumped to the ball with a desperate expression on her face.
"I won't lose! Not in front of Maki! …I…"
"Umi, watch out!"
She threw her body out, caught the ball right before it crossed the sideline and threw it toward Nakamura-san's direction.
"I'll leave it to you, everyone!"
After saying that, she let the momentum take control of her body and lunged toward the scoreboard, but I rushed in so she could safely land in my embrace.
I immediately gave her a tight hug.
It hit me hard, but I wasn't a weak boy anymore, I could handle this much without falling down at least.
"Phew, made it in time…"
"Thank you, Maki. I knew you would catch me~"
"I'm happy that you have faith in me, but please don't do this kind of thing again, okay?"
"Okay… Hehe~"
After that, she rubbed her face against my chest like a spoiled kid. The game was still ongoing, but there was no time left for her to get back into the game, so I let her do whatever she wanted.
Besides, everyone should be focusing on the match right now, so no one would notice us.
"You did a good job, Umi."
"Mm… I feel so sluggish… Can I sleep here?"
"Later, okay? You still have to hustle after the match ends, no?"
"Then, I'll hold you to that~ By the way, what about the match?"
"The match…"
The match ended, everyone from both sides gave it their all.
The final score was 38 to 38.
Umi gave her last pass but her teammate who took a shot missed.
In the end, everything would be settled in rock-paper-scissors.