As Akira called a timeout after Matsumoto scored from the spike through Hirano and Ogawa, his heart sank at the sight of his players slumped on the court, their faces clouded with despair. Each one had cast away the spark that had once ignited their teamwork and tenacity; instead, they wore expressions of defeat, shoulders heavy beneath the weight of a relentless ten-point deficit that had left them reeling.
He could feel the tension in the air, thick and suffocating, as he glanced from one dejected face to another. The echoes of the crowd faded into a distant murmur, leaving only the deafening silence of their self-doubt.
