The crowd went wild when the Shohoku captain made another jumper from beyond the arc, three in a row now, giving his team a one-point lead in the last two minutes of the second half. As he did the previous shots, he hit this one with deadly accuracy resulting to a perfect, high arching lob that nailed through the basket. His performance left everyone in awe, including the opposing squad, which was forced to call a timeout.
"Charged timeout, Kainan!" the official called out and the game was paused for sixty seconds.
Riki Takato didn't expect this level of play from Shohoku. In less than two minutes, the opposing team's point guard managed to score three consecutive three pointers, each resulting from a turnover forced by the same player. It was a careless move to leave him unguarded in the last half. Perhaps there is still time to make up for that mistake. Holding out his fan, he called his team out and motioned them to huddle. "Listen!" He shouted angrily. "You have to be extra careful with the ball! We can't afford to lose every possession and give them the opportunity to score! If we continue to be careless, then we're going to lose this game! Understand?!"
"Yes, coach!" the Kainan players replied with energy and confidence.
Good. Takato thought to himself, grinning mischievously. They seem unaffected by Shohoku's lead. This is a good thing for us.
"Alright!" The anger in his voice was replaced with a tone of confidence. "Shohoku may have the lead now, but we are going to take it back from them. Once we get ahead, we have to make a scoring run and shut them out offensively. Kiyota, from here on, you will be the focus of our offense. They can't stop you from making those points in the paint. Make us proud!"
"Don't worry! Your number one starter will get it done!" Third year Nobunaga Kiyota has improved greatly as an inside scorer since he joined Kainan. Although he remained cocky as he was in his freshmen year, he has become a valuable player for Kainan – valuable enough to be named team captain, as a matter of fact.
"As for the rest, I want you to guard Shohoku's number four tightly. Double-team him. He's been free to do what he wants for the past minutes and he's the reason why their back in the game. Contest his shots and don't let him shoot again from the three point line. Remember, we are Kainan, a team of constant victory! Today we will again prove this and destroy Shohoku!"
Meanwhile, on the other side of the court, the Shohoku players are enjoying the lead they have just earned. Two minutes before the timeout, they were down by eight points. Now, with two minutes left in the game, they lead by one, courtesy of their captain's marvelous display of athleticism. His extraordinary feat, which finally turned the game around in their favor, was acknowledged by his teammates.
Haruko Akagi, the team manager, checked up on the captain, as he had recently exerted much effort. She noticed that he was breathing quite heavily, which may be a sign of exhaustion. "Captain, are you alright?"
"I'm fine, Akagi-san. You better see if Rukawa and Sakuragi need anything."
"Hai, captain. Take it easy, okay?"
The Shohoku team captain just nodded to the cheerful manager, who was already checking on the two thirds years, Kaede Rukawa and Hanamichi Sakuragi. The point guard then covered his head with a towel and leaned both his arms on his knees. He closed his eyes and listened to the deafening cheers of the Shohoku supporters – they were calling out his name. He had dreamt of this moment since he joined the basketball club in his first year at Shohoku. The sound was encouraging; this boosted his confidence, both in himself and in his team. As he listened to the crowd, he heard a faint and familiar laugh from nearby. He opened his eyes and the image of their coach, Mitsuyoshi Anzai, greeted him.
"Ho ho ho! You played a great game today, but the real match has just begun. Kainan will be fighting hard offensively to regain the lead. Rukawa-kun, Sakuragi-kun, to win this game, the two of you must work together. Defend Kiyota-kun at all costs!"
"Yeah."
"Leave it to this genius, old man!"
Taking the towel off his head, the team captain addressed his teammates. "Rukawa, Sakuragi, we're counting on you to lead us to victory. Only you two can stop Kiyota."
"Ho ho ho! Well said, Kuwata-kun! You worked hard getting us those points. I'm sure Rukawa-kun and Sakuragi-kun will be working equally hard to protect the lead. Everyone, give your best in the last two minutes and we can defeat Kainan. Remember, Shohoku is strong. If you trust in the abilities of yourself and your teammates, then you will not be denied victory."
Hearing the words of Anzai, Shohoku point guard and team captain, Toki Kuwata, stood up from the bench and led his team to the court. He glanced at each of his teammates confidently. Somehow, he knew, that today, the great Kainan will be at the mercy of Shohoku.
With two minutes remaining in the game, the Kainan inbounder threw a bounce pass to Kiyota, who was already dashing towards the front court. When he got hold of the ball, the captain was met with resistance by the Shohoku defense with one red shirt blocking his path. In the blink of an eye, he slightly posted up his defender, held the ball with his two hands and made a graceful spin move to the right, leaving the poor marker helpless as he reached the half-court line.
"What the-?!"
"Hey! Get back on D!" Kuwata called out to his teammate, his junior, who was now nowhere near his marking assignment. The Shohoku captain thought of charging towards the ball, but decided against it when he saw Sakuragi and Rukawa already closing in on Kiyota.
Kiyota caught sight of the red towering figures of Shohoku's center and forward, now zeroing in on him. He thought of cutting through them but found it was too late since the two defenders were already in position. Damn it! A double-team!
The Kainan captain was being guarded tightly by the two tall players, given very little room to slice down their defense. Shit! He cursed in his head as he stole a glance at the clock. This isn't good! We're running out of time! He had around twelve seconds left to get a shot in; if he failed to do so, he'll get called for a shot clock violation. Weighing his options, Kiyota decided he needed to pass a teammate. Desperately protecting the ball with his two hands, he surveyed the front court for an open man.
There! In the midst of the red and white shirts, he saw a tall, muscled and unguarded Kainan player. Acting on reflex, Kiyota tightly held the ball close to his body. He then bent his knees, gathered strength in his legs for a jump that would lift him three feet in midair. Without a word, he made a high-speed jump pass to the Kainan center – a move that surprised Rukawa and Sakuragi.
The crowd marveled at such a display of athleticism. They were amazed at how swiftly he moved, and at how he defied gravity for a powerful pass. They waited for the pass to come to fruition, expecting a fancy finish which, unfortunately for Kainan, would never happen.
As the ball left the hands of Kiyota and soared across the front court, Kainan's center was surprised by a red blur that dashed to the passing lane, successfully intercepting the possession.
"Fast break!" Kuwata shouted with all his might as he darted swiftly to the other end of the court dribbling his stolen prize.
Confusion swept through the Kainan offense as Rukawa and Sakuragi ran to the back court. Kuwata crossed the half-court line, with the other Shohoku players also running at full speed. Kiyota, who had just recovered from his jump, managed to keep up with the Shohoku offense and keep Kuwata at bay, who was a mere few feet away from the three-point line. Being the taller player, Kiyota lifted his long arms over Kuwata's head, to block his view of the basket and his teammates. "I'm not gonna let you score again, Kuwata!"
Kuwata ignored Kiyota's taunt and made a tight bounce pass between his defender's legs to a waiting Rukawa, who then passed high to Sakuragi for a single-handed mid-air dunk that left the Kainan bench in stunned silence.
Deafening cheers filled the air in the Kanagawa Basketball Arena as the Shohoku supporters celebrated the three-point lead that resulted from the magnificent fast break play. The past minute proved to be a defining moment for Shohoku. They succeeded in preventing Kiyota from scoring as well as in widening the score gap. Another minute and they would be assured the top spot in Kanagawa.
The last minute of the game had come; Kainan proceeded to inbound the ball and Shohoku went back on defense. Kuwata was standing in the middle of the court, waiting for Kainan's point guard to bring the ball to the front court. As he stood there, he heard a vague but familiar noise – a soft, repetitive beeping sound. As it grew louder, it practically replaced the ambient sounds of the arena. Suddenly, his vision became hazy, and then everything went black.
When Kuwata opened his eyes, he realized he was just in his bedroom. The loud arena was replaced with a four-cornered room pestered by the noisy bursts coming from a digital alarm clock; no court, no basket, no glory. "Damn alarm clock…" He cursed at the sight of the device that read 5:30 AM.
A slight pang of misery hit him. He understood he was back to his less-than-exciting reality. The lifelike dream of playing great basketball was over. At the moment, first year Toki Kuwata is a benchwarmer, nothing more, nothing less.