Halftime
47:32 – Shutoku is in the lead
Seirin Locker Room
Hyuga was leaning back against the locker, supporting himself with both hands on the floor, exhausted.
"Man... I'm dead tired. Who even thought playing two games in one day was a good idea? And now we've gotta deal with that three-point maniac..."
Kuroko glanced at Hyuga, his tone as calm as ever.
"It's okay. Even if we're down by 15 points, there's always a chance that a meteor suddenly falls and hits them in the head."
...Silence.
The whole team broke out in cold sweat. Only Izuki's eyes lit up.
"Yeah, a meteor's unlikely... but food poisoning and explosive diarrhea? Now that's possible."
Riko's eye twitched.
"What kind of lunatics am I even coaching..."
Despite trailing by 15, the mood in Seirin's locker room wasn't bad at all. That massive poster dunk by Kagami had completely reignited the team's fighting spirit.
Hyuga chuckled, scanning his teammates.
"Compared to a meteor or mass food poisoning, beating Shutoku in the second half actually sounds pretty reasonable."
Izuki chimed in, confidently pounding his chest.
"No problem. Leave the second half to me. If the eagle's out, the vulture takes over the battlefield."
Kagami grinned, fired up.
"Count me in! I swear I'm sending that green-haired sniper's shots flying into orbit!"
Meanwhile, in Shutoku's locker room...
Unlike Seirin's lively atmosphere, Shutoku was dead quiet.
Everyone was doing their own thing. No one seemed in the mood to talk.
Nakatani was sweating bullets.
"Wait... aren't we the ones in the lead? Why does it feel like we're the ones about to lose?!"
Takao pursed his lips
"Yeah... must be because of that dunk. The air in here's colder than a freezer."
Just as the coach was about to explode from the stress and Takao was scrambling to think of something to lift the mood...
Midorima finally spoke.
"Pass me the ball. Every possession."
Same deadpan voice, as if nothing could faze him. Even with Kagami's hops increasing by the second, Midorima's confidence didn't waver one bit.
Some of the team looked annoyed. Others silently nodded. But one thing was clear—nobody dared to argue with Midorima.
Takao sighed.
"Welp... can't say anything either when Kuroko's locked me up like a tax fraud case."
With both teams in completely opposite states of mind, the second half began.
As the players stepped back on court, Seirin was laughing and chatting. On the other side, even from the stands you could tell Shutoku was falling apart mentally.
Kise frowned.
"Uhh... why does Shutoku look like they're losing... when they're winning?"
Kota rubbed his chin.
"Yeah... they've got a 15-point lead... but don't tell me... the 'Generation of Miracles Syndrome' is kicking in."
Hearing Kota's words, Momoi stiffened a little, obviously thinking of Aomine.
Kota glanced at her but said nothing. He turned his eyes back to Midorima.
As the third quarter started... Kota and Kise's suspicions turned out dead right.
Shutoku completely abandoned their team play. Kota could actually understand—Takao was neutralized by Kuroko, so Shutoku's playmaking was practically dead. Giving the ball to Midorima made sense. He's the ace; he's supposed to step up.
But...
"Does EVERY SINGLE possession have to go to him?! Isn't this just bullying at this point?"
Kota's mouth twitched. He was finally witnessing Midorima at full firepower—standing inside his own three-point line, shooting towards the opposite basket. True ultra-long-range threes.
The entire stadium went silent in shock. Kise couldn't help but scream.
"Wait, wait, wait! He used to shoot from half court at most! Now he's chucking full-court threes like it's nothing?!"
It wasn't just Kise. Seirin's players were equally shook.
"Is this dude even human?!"
Hyuga stared in disbelief.
"How strong do your arms have to be to make that shot?!"
Kagami snapped out of his brain freeze and rushed to guard Midorima again.
But Midorima stayed ice-cold, ignoring Kagami's defense. In his mind, Kagami's previous block was just a fluke.
Until...
BANG!
The third shot. Kagami finally reached it. Midorima's shot got spiked straight into the stands.
Kagami had indeed been improving—each jump higher than the last.
Landing, Kagami stared at his hand in disbelief before throwing his head back and letting out a primal roar. Seirin's bench exploded, rushing over to celebrate with him.
After spending the entire first half getting shredded by Midorima—especially after Kuroko had shut down Takao—the pressure on Kagami had been massive.
If he couldn't stop Midorima, what kind of ace would he be? A joke?
No way. As Kuroko's current "light," there was no chance he'd lose to one of Kuroko's ex-lights.
Unlike Seirin's wild celebrations, over in Shutoku...
Midorima stood frozen, disbelief written all over his face.Blocked... I... I actually got blocked...
His brain practically blue-screened.
The coach reacted fast and called a timeout, noticing Midorima's condition. But no amount of motivational speeches could fix this bug.
Back on the court, Midorima kept demanding the ball and firing threes. But Kagami was now swatting them out of existence like flies.
The third quarter was completely Seirin's show. Izuki smoothly took over control of the pace, and with his sharp passes, Kagami and Hyuga tore through Shutoku's defense like it was Swiss cheese.
BEEP—
End of third quarter
63:65 – Seirin takes the lead!
Kota shook his head from the stands, clicking his tongue.
"Bro... what is Shutoku even doing? That's not how a top school plays..."
Kise was stunned.
"Man... I've never seen Midorimacchi like this."
Momoi looked at Midorima's back, her eyes filled with concern.
"Is he okay...? I've never seen him get blocked before."
"Yeah... anyone would be crushed after getting blocked that many times." Kise added, genuinely worried.
Unlike the two of them, Kota furrowed his brows on the outside... but inside, he was cackling.
"Ha! I KNEW it! You're not Steph Curry... you're Klay Thompson with GPS range!"
Based on Midorima's performance this game, Kota unceremoniously slapped a label on him:
"3&D Player."
(Translation: A player who excels at three-pointers and defense... but can't create plays off the dribble to save his life.)
Kota was already mentally simulating how Kaijo would crush Shutoku in the future.
Kise locks down Midorima. I clamp Takao. EZ win, baby.
While Kota was busy daydreaming about free wins, Kise and Momoi were still desperately cheering for the teams on the court.
In the end, reality smacked Kise right in the face.
Game Over
91:86 – Seirin Wins!