The game raged on.
After receiving the ball from Alex, Kazuki Kishino dribbled past half court, eyes locked on Uekusa—the same defender who'd shut him down earlier.
But something inside Kazuki flared.
He wanted another shot.
A rematch.
Just as he was about to make his move, a thunderous shout exploded in his ears.
"Stop right there, you idiot! PASS THE BALL!"
The voice came from Yuzumi, face twisted in fury.
Kazuki nearly collapsed where he stood.
For a split second, he genuinely feared that if he didn't obey, Yuzumi might just break his legs. That glare... it wasn't human.
Swallowing his pride—and his fear—Kazuki passed the ball back to Alex on the right wing, reluctantly giving up the challenge.
As Alex caught the ball, his eyes met Ikegami Ryoji's, who immediately tensed up.
Not again.He knew what Alex could do.
And he couldn't afford to get humiliated a third time by a rookie.
"This time," Ikegami told himself, "I'm blocking that damn shot."
He braced himself, feet ready, eyes locked on Alex's every twitch.
Alex moved.
Ikegami reacted.
But their movements were nothing alike.
While Alex drove hard to the right, Ikegami jumped—completely mistiming the play.
Two very different voices echoed at the same time:
"Damn it!""Huh?"
The first was Ikegami's cry of frustration.He'd jumped early, expecting another lightning-fast shot. But Alex had switched it up and gone for a drive instead.
Caught in mid-air, Ikegami could only curse in horror.
The second voice—Alex's—was one of pure confusion.
He had expected a fight.
A tough defensive stand from Ikegami. He had even planned a series of fakes to break through.
But the guy jumped… for nothing.
Alex hesitated for a split second, stunned by how easily the lane opened up.
"Wow… Ikegami's so scared now, he jumps at anything."
As Alex neared the paint, a towering presence rose up to meet him.
Sugahira, the blue team's center, stood firm with both arms raised high, intent on denying him.
But Alex had other plans.
Until now, he had scored every single point for the red team.It was starting to feel… too much.
He wasn't here to hog the spotlight. Building trust with the team mattered too.
Time to share the stage.
Alex rose, held the ball with both hands—and lobbed a clean arc over Sugahira's head toward the basket.
From the sideline, Uekusa's eyes widened.
"Wait… is he trying to—?"
Before he could finish the thought, a shadow soared over Sugahira.
Yuzumi.
Timing it perfectly, Yuzumi caught Alex's lob with both hands mid-air—and slammed it down with authority.
The gym shook.
The rim rattled.
Even the backboard trembled in the wake of that monstrous dunk.
Landing with thunder in his steps, Yuzumi turned, walked straight to Alex, and gave him a powerful high-five.
He liked this rookie. A lot.
The sound of the rim still echoing, a few of the red team's newer players—like Masaru Narii and Hikoichi Aida—stood speechless.
But none looked more terrified than Kazuki Kishino.
He exhaled in relief.
Thank god he'd passed the ball.If he hadn't… he didn't even want to imagine what Yuzumi might've done to him.
On the other side, Uekusa let out a wry laugh.
"Of course… That alley-oop was copied from the one I did earlier with Sendoh."
He muttered under his breath, "Is this guy here to play basketball, or is he starring in some kind of imitation show?"
Despite the frustration, Uekusa couldn't deny it:
Alex was strong. Really strong.
Alex, hearing Uekusa's complaint, gave an awkward smile.
He didn't do it on purpose. Really.
But ever since he got the system, he found himself subconsciously imitating everything.
Maybe it was a side effect.
Or maybe he just absorbed talent too easily.
Either way, the results spoke for themselves.
With that dazzling alley-oop play between Alex and Yuzumi, the red team widened the gap:
7–2.
They had taken a strong early lead.
But the blue team, packed with seasoned starters, wasn't about to go down easy.
Especially not with Sendoh, their ace.
From that point on, the blue team mounted a fierce comeback—Sendoh at the center of it all.
His elegance, timing, and unmatched ball control made Makoto Masaru, his defender, look like a lost child.
One by one, Sendoh scored, slipped past defenders, and orchestrated flawless plays.
The red team, with Alex and Yuzumi as their pillars, fought back hard.
But Sugahira and Ikegami's inside presence kept the pressure high.
Back and forth they went, exchanging blows like heavyweights.
Until finally, the buzzer marked the end of the first half.
Score: 39–37.
Alex's red team held the lead—but just barely.
During halftime, Sendoh spotted Ikegami sitting alone, head down, clearly shaken.
He walked over and placed a hand on his teammate's shoulder.
"You alright?"
Ikegami looked up with a frustrated expression.
"I tried everything... and I still couldn't stop him."
Sendoh blinked. He hadn't expected that.
Ikegami wasn't the type to sulk. He always gave his all on defense—no matter how tough the matchup.
But this time... he'd been beaten by a rookie.
Even Sendoh was surprised.
After a moment, he smiled and said:
"In that case, I'll take over in the second half.""I want to see for myself what this Alex guy is really made of."
He gave Ikegami a reassuring pat and walked off.