With both giants of Japan and the Philippines leaping into the air for the tip in, Murasakibara was able to tap the ball out of midair, just barely passing Pangalangan's outstretched right arm by some few millimeters. The ball went straight into Aomine's waiting hands and this left a stunned Pangalangan.

"Yosh! He got the ball!" Okamura cheered from the bench as everyone, except for Hikigaya, began to stomp their feet as they are cheering for Japan's first possession.

Not even thinking twice, Aomine began to dash towards the goal of the Philippines as the Filipinos began to scramble into defense. But due to his speed, he was able to outrun his counterpart from the Philippine team.

"This is…" Yukinoshita didn't expect them to go full-speed at an early game like this.

"…A coast-to-coast fast break!" Hayama finished her thoughts as their eyes are all glued in the match.

As the first Filipino to eventually seal the shaded area, number 4 Capinpin of the Philippines planted himself under the net as he already anticipated the tanned Touou ace dashing towards him.

"Pare, huwag mong hayaan sumalaksak siya. (Bruh! Don't let him penetrate your defense!)," Villacorta called out.

Aomine slowed down and floated in the air, just in time to see Capinpin jump in front of him to block his tomahawk dunk. Immediately sensing his long arms, Aomine then hang on the air as he let the taller Filipino collide crash to him. It happened just like that and as Capinpin's body smashed against Aomine, the latter's outstretched arms finally released the ball as he falls back into the ground. The ball flew in a perfect arc toward the rim and rattled in before it eventually sinks into the net and onto the hard wood.

"Pushing foul, blue, number 4! One throw!" The referee blew his whistle as Aomine was helped to get back to his feet by Murasakibara, who mumbled, "Good job, Mine-chin…"

"I supposed it wasn't luck," Akashi sighed as it seemed that their gamble to steal the momentum of the game the moment the clock starts ticking paid off, "Aomine, you're lucky that it went in or else, everything that we have planned would have gone to waste.

"Ah, yeah, yeah, Akashi but it went in so it's fine," Aomine didn't even have the thought of pissing their captain of as he valued his life too much, "All you had to do is ride behind my back and I'll carry you all to victory…"

Midorima pushes up his glasses as he wipes the grin off Aomine's face, "That is the most ridiculous thing you can say in this court, nanodayo. We won't put the game at risk through your miniscule tactic.

"Yeah, Aominecchi," Kise complained, "I needed to score as well…"

"Shaddap! I get it," Aomine grumbled as he goes to the line.

Meanwhile, Villacorta just huffed a sigh as he tapped the shoulders of Capinpin, who held his temper. "Huwag mo na lang isipin. I-i-score tayo kapag na sa sa atin ang possession. (Don't think about it too much. We'll score back when it's our possession)."

"One shot!" The referee called as he bounces the ball to Aomine, who dribbled three times before he entered his free throw shooting motion, which is a bit weird since he actually uses only one hand in shooting his charities. Nevertheless, he successfully completes the three-point play and the Akatsuki Five returns to defend their goal.

Villacorta let his teammates run ahead first but he then sends a nod to Torres, their shooting guard, "Alam mo na. (You know what to do)," The guard sent the signal to their two-guard, who gets the signal and immediately ran towards where Midorima is standing. He then runs pass the green-haired gunner and makes a headway towards the shaded area. By instinct alone, Midorima also followed Torred but as soon as he did that, he suddenly found himself nearly crashing into the ground as he ran into the pick set by number 8 Mac Cuan.

Immediately, Torres found himself free as he was three feet behind the three point line. "Not so fast!" Kise suddenly switched his defense as he raised up his hands immediately as he saw the ball flew towards his mark's hands but the moment Torres got the ball, he immediately jumped up.

"Quick release?" Ogiwara was surprised to see the Filipino shooting guard not even think twice about his motion as he quickly let's go of the ball even before Kise can block it.

"Seems like it," Hikigaya nodded, "As much as it's annoying, a quick release jump shot is a very effective weapon in a sense that it doesn't give the defense enough time to block or even prevent the opposing team from scoring. But the downside of that is that it's very difficult to master as the shooter should really have a good sense of depth perception as well as the confidence to make that shot even under pressure."

"Not to mention that the guy himself is as tall as Midorima," Nijimura observed that Torres is of the same height is their former Teiko shooting guard, "It's going to be a long game…"

The bench then refocused their attentions back on the court as Akashi was seen handling the ball. Villacorta smirked as he stretched his arms, "That was quite a nice greeting by your power forward so we just thought that we must be also kind enough to pay it back."

"I see…" Akashi's smile became sadistic as his Emperor Eyes blazed, "Then perhaps, you won't mind if I also reply with a move on my own?" He said as he then tried to cross his counterpart with a simple behind-the-back crossover but to his shock, Villacorta instead retreated back a foot away, an apparent countermeasure to avoid suffering an ankle-breaker.

Akashi, for the split-second, was stumped as this was just the third time that someone had been able to escape his famed Ankle Break crossover. Prior to this, Kagami and Nash Gold Jr. had already escaped his dribble as well but the redhead ace power forward of Seirin was able to read his movements only after he got crossed many times while the point guard and the ace and magician of the Jabberwocks team had his Belial Eye to rely on.

But for someone like Villacorta, whom Akashi haven't directly faced yet even from the past, to avoid falling into his butt is something that must have sent a shock to the redhead's spine. He's got sharp reflexes. As much as he hated to admit it, Akashi knew that whatever he's about to do now could have a fifty percent chance of failing. Not wanting to risk that possibility, he was forced to passed it to Midorima, who just had enough space to make his normal three point shot. Quickly shaking off Torres, he then sank a booming triple and the Japanese team went back to defense.

"Seriously, did Akashi just almost let his guard down for a second?" Himuro was surprised to see the usually calm and composed captain suddenly had an expression of annoyance.

"Well, Villacorta isn't some kind of a low-caliber player like the one from Kaihin Sougou though I supposed I would be lying if I said that it didn't surprise me even just a bit," Hikigaya snorted, "That five seconds alone just show the high-level tactical simulation happening between them and in this three seconds, Villacorta was able to elicit a response that was favorable for him in the long run despite Midorima scoring the triple…"

"I'm sorry but I don't get what you're saying," Ogiwara sheepishly smiled as he scratches his head.

"What Hikigaya-kun means is that Villacorta-san made Akashi-kun pass the ball instead of trying to penetrate to his right. Vilacorta-san being able to avoid the ankle break forced Akashi-kun to reassess his opponent's strength," Kuroko explained to their best friend, "With that in mind, Akashi-kun determined that it would be much safer to keep the ball moving instead of stalling their offense in a fast-paced game."

"Furthermore…" Okamura wanted to chip in to their conversation, "A one-on-one like that during the game is influenced not only by individual skill but also by the situation surrounding them. With all those facts, Akashi had quickly come to the conclusion that even he had the fifty percent chance of actually losing."

"I see…I see…" Ogiwara felt enlightened, "So he stopped it before he losses the ball to Villacorta and instead, he opts for a three pointer…"

Up in the bleachers, Hiratsuka can only smile at what she just saw.

"Sometimes, having the composure to accept an unfavorable outcome can be more important than the game itself," She said with her eyes closed, catching the attention of Yukino, who merely nods, "I know Akashi is a brute among the Generation of Miracles but even he knows when to give it up…"

Haruno sighed, "I didn't expect such act coming from the heir of the feared Akashi clan," She then looks at Hikigaya, who was too much focused on the game, "But I guess that's the reason why he was the captain of the old Teiko team."

They then turned to see Villacorta dribbling the ball against Akashi, whose Emperor Eyes were blazing. I cannot allow him to dictate me anymore. I'll show him right now. He thought as he noticed his counterpart now puts the ball on the floor as his foot was not motioned to his right. That won't work, Villacorta. I know you're aiming for the crossover to the left and a quick alley-oop to your center. His Emperor Eyes saw a space between the two of them and the two big men, who were bot jostling for better position under the net.

As he predicted, Villacorta then dribbled to the right but the moment he done so, he pedals back to the left and as he was about to penetrate in, he noticed Akashi getting lower in his defensive stance as the redhead moves to the block of Villacorta's pathway.

"Alam mo pala gagawin ko…di bale…(So you know what I will do…doesn't matter…)." The Filipino guard smirked as all of the sudden, he backtracked and aimed instead for a fadeaway shot but Akashi also saw this and lunged for the ball, almost completely stealing it away if it wasn't for Villacorta passing it between Akashi's legs.

Crap! He got me! The redhead's movements stiffened up when he goes for the steal that he didn't immediately realize that he was still aiming for the pass underneath the goal. Quickly grabbing the ball the bounced to him once, Pangalangan then used his two hands to pound the ball once while he pushes the younger Murasakibara with his frame. So annoying! The Yosen bigman was irritated as he held his ground but the moment he uses his whole body frame to shut down the lane, Pangalangan suddenly twisted to his right as he then used his left hand to shoot scoop the ball upwards while he used his body to block any defense coming.

"A skyhook?" Even Yukino had heard this term from his male clubmate as they watched the ball gradually hit its mark and goes down under the floor.

"A what, Yukinon?" Yuigahama felt the word just roll in her tongue without making any sense.

"Hikigaya-kun told me that kind of shot is called a skyhook," The Ice Queen explained, "It's like some kind of a weird layup but instead, an offensive player gently throws the ball with a sweeping motion of the arm farther from the basket in an upward arc with a follow-through which ends over his head."

Back in the bench, Shirogane was somewhat impressed that his Filipino counterpart had trained his best big man all the tools of a typical NBA center, "That's a very good shot. It's just bad that it was against us. But then, it's also very fun to watch and see blue chips from other countries."

"Goddamn skyhook. It shouldn't be that hard to block it except that it was designed to be used by bulkier or lanky centers," Hikigaya muttered, mostly to himself.

"I want to play now…" Kagami groaned as not being able to play immediately felt like it was already killing him at the moment.

The game continued, with Akashi continuing to face off against Villacorta. That skyhook was unexpected but then, it won't be fun if it there won't be any unknown factors. The redhead then managed to clear some space for a clean fifteen-foot jump shot as Hikigaya failed to block it due to wrong timing. Grunting, Cuan picked up the ball and inbounded it back to their captain, who slowly brought up the leather ball. Seeing at least three of their tall players fighting for position under the net with Aomine, Kise, and Murasakibara, the point guard with the crew-cut hair decided to keep the formation as is as he signals Torres to come near him. Seeing the signal, Midorima deduced that it would be another three point shot and he decided to trail his Filipino equivalent but instead of actually passing it to Torres, Villacorta suddenly turned right, opposite to where both the shooting guards are coming and as Akashi followed through, he got stalled by an incoming Midorima, who didn't realize that it was actually a decoy as Villacorta himself made the three-pointed.

"Midorima…"

The greenhead froze as he turned to face Akashi, who was a bit livid at what happened.

"Didn't you realize that it his signal was nothing but to keep away your focus?" Akashi didn't mince words, "Had I not been able to see you coming with my Emperor Eyes, we would have both collided."

"You don't need to tell me that, Akashi," The left shooting guard wanted to curse himself for falling for that tactic of the Filipinos, "But I guess it can't be help. Basketball, after all, is a sport of both skill and a weaved fusion of tactics and mismatches."

"I see. Then let's start to score one," Akashi began to dribble as the four other Japanese players were running to their spots. Seeing Villacorta sealing off his path, Akashi then blitz to the right but the Filipino reacted too fast and was able to completely stop him. Unfazed, Akashi then went for the spin move but Villacorta read this too and quickly went to seal the left side too. His senses are sharp for someone whom I don't know if he has special eyes. The redhead was impressed as he then dribbled between the legs as he goes back instead to the right as Villacorta froze to his spot. So slick! The Filipino can only watch as Akashi then drew a double team from Cuan and Pangalangan, who both jumped to stopped the Rakuzan captain's jump shot. Seeing that the defense in the shaded area was already softened up, Akashi proceeded to pass the ball midair to Aomine, who got it in his best rhythm and before anyone can stop him, he made a tomahawk dunk and slams the ball with ferocity.

"Yosh!" Akashi let out a shout of victory as he and Aomine exchanged high-fives and they made their way back to defense.

"Ayos ah (That was nice)," Villacorta complimented Akashi's decision to set up the double team against himself so that he can decrease the pressure underneath the basket. He then jogs as everyone else had run first pass him. When he was ten feet from the three-point line, he then dribbles it behind his back as Akashi began to apply defensive pressure. He then passes it to Torres before suddenly, he ran pass Akashi, who decided to follow in pursuit. But as they both are engaged in a cat-and-mouse chase leading under the net, Akashi realized what Villacorta is aiming for as he shouted at Midorima, "Midorima! The ball!"

Snapping out of his trance, the Shutoku ace managed to intercept the ball before it swiftly goes into the hands of Villacorta, who was already planted to in the corner. As he gets the ball, Midorima decided that it was his time to be shining and thus, he broke out with his dreaded whole-court shot. The Filipinos who were running back to defend can only watch in total horror as the ball went airborne and in a perfect arch before it crashes down straight to the basket, without any sign of grazing in.

"Coach, tatawag ba tayo ng timeout? (Coach, should we call a timeout?)," A benched Filipino players worriedly asked as he saw the Japanese five celebrating.

"Hindi na kailangan. Alam niya anong gagawin. (No need. He already knows what to do)," Coach Luisito only shook his head as he crosses his arms. He had placed extreme faith on his boys, who looked as if they expected this despite their earlier reaction to the long shot of the greenhead shooting guard.

In the Japanese bench, some of the players were puzzled as to why the Filipino bench tactician hasn't even called a timeout yet. "That's strange. They should be calling a timeout now or at least sub in a player right after Midorima's long ass shot," Kotaro gaped as he saw the reaction of the Philippine team, "They're acting as if Midorima's shot has no effect on them!"

They probably scouted us already for sometime. Either way, it's not a good time to call a timeout at this point since the time is winding down anyway and it's just the first quarter. Hikigaya thought as he puts his white blanket over his head.

"At this duration, calling a timeout would only disrupt the momentum they have," Himuro had a similar idea to Hikigaya, "And besides, they shouldn't use up all the timeouts left. Perhaps, the fact that most of the players in their team are already professionals is also a factor as to why they kept running."

When the Philippine team were on the offense, Villacorta regrouped with everyone first.

"Iikot lang natin ang bola. Saka natin sila gugulatin pagdating sa 4th. (We'll just keep moving the ball. We'll shock them in the fourth quarter)," He started in terse Filipino. Pangalangan nodded. "Torres, sa tres ka lang. Janus, sa ilalim kalang. Ikaw lang ang pwedeng sumabay doon sa sentro nila. Ibaba mo pa yung katawan mo nang konti at magsusunod na iyan. (Torres, just stay in the three-point line. Janus, stay under the net. You're the only one who can match up to him by this time. Just lower your center of gravity and everything will flow from there)," Their big man just nodded to his understanding.

Villacorta dribbled the ball down court and while everyone else had gone on ahead. Once everyone saw Pangalangan in the paint area, everyone then thought the possibility of either attacking from the outside or dashing in the inside.

Villacorta decided not to deal with Akashi now so he ran up to the point guard and the moment he reached him, he bounced the ball in his left side. Capinpin then snatches it and then he passed it to Torres. Without hitch, the number 10 shooting guard turned and jumped for a shot. Midorimasensed this and was quick for the block but all of the sudden, Torres decided to go for a fake instead and before Midorima can even land, the shooting guard was already dribbling away from him as he goes for the iron hoop.

Midorima was beyond shocked. Is he capable of playing swingman as well?!

"A swingman…" Hikigaya blinked.

"What's a swingman?" Kuroko asked.

"Number ten must be one of those players than," Ogiwara remarked. "A player who can play both the small forward spot and shooting guard. They call those players a swingman."

By the time Midorima reached back to the ground, Torres was already getting ready to make a layup as surprisingly, Aomine was being kept in check while Capinpin was busy dealing with Kise. The pressure's crazy! The blonde Kaijo small forward thought as he was nearly grounded in his butt.

When Torres had made the uncontested shot, Villacorta unintentionally looked over in Akashi's direction, which somehow startled the Rakuzan captain. The Filipino point guard then made a finger heart gesture, which almost made Hikigaya snicker as it was aimed at Akashi, who nearly took offense at the subtle jab at them. Even though they met only met a few times, Akashi knows that Villacorta has an eye for not only for him but for Sobu's resident loner and somehow, he was a bit irritated by it. After all, they have already faced off before and he had a feeling that when Hikigaya is going to enter the game later on, Villacorta's going to eventually mark him and it would be a battle of the two point guards.

"I'm actually excited and at the same time, afraid, to see onii-chan face off against that Villacorta-guy." Komachi held her heart as the match was still progressing.

"What do you mean, Komachi-san?" The younger Yukinoshita asked in great curiosity. "Is it because Hikigaya-kun wants to play already or is it that he had some unsettled business with Villacorta-san?"

"A little bit of both," Komachi replied honestly, "Onii-chan had his own share of list of fears and terrors he once wrote. You know, onii-chan is really strong in basketball but even he admit that when it comes to one-on-one, he's actually afraid to take on Villacorta…"

"What? He didn't want to face that guy?" Yuigahama started. "But I don't see it in his face..."

"That was because he wasn't the starter for this game. Back then, the reason why he was able to score against his team was because someone else was screening out Villacorta-san for him. When it comes to one-on-ones, I had to admit that even onii-chan is actually lacking in strength against the Filipino guy…" Komachi replied, shaking his head "But with that being said, onii-chan is much stronger now than before. I'm sure he wanted to settle things with Villacorta-san right now when he enters the court."

"That's right, Komachi," Hiratsuka chirped, "He's much more robust today. I doubt he would run away from the number five guy."

The match progressed, and nothing special happened. For a final match between two Asian powerhouses, the match was eerily normal. Both teams' shooting guards made threes as much as they got the ball while both Akashi and Villacorta made good plays for the other players. The two centers both defended their basket with impunity and provided good screens for those shooting.

Villacorta had fun as well in dancing with Akashi on the court as the latter blocked him many times but with his speed, even the wielder of the Emperor Eye can't help but found it actually hard to keep up with him. The Filipino floor general changes his pace ever so often that sometimes, he even allows Akashi to catch him up and sometimes, he leaves him in his dust. However, it didn't result in a one-sided match. Akashi himself did managed to steal the ball a lot of times from Villacorta as well as block his pathway but over all, it was an evenly-matched competition.

When Yukino watched the match, even she had to admit that Akashi never ceases to amaze her, albeit secretly. So far, things are looking good in their way, but what he was worried about is the second quarter. She then glanced at the clock and noticed the last possession was basically a Hail Mary attempt to add to the tally. It was just fifteen seconds remaining in this quarter and he looked to where Hikigaya, Kuroko, Kagami, and Ogiwara were sitting and she found them basically sitting like they weren't even worried about the second quarter.

She sighed quietly and wondered if they're just going to be alright. I'm pretty sure Hachiman's just going to be more than crazy enough to hog the ball.

The buzzer then sounded, the referee's voice sounding, "End of the first quarter. Two minute interval!"

The teams quickly made their way to their benches, and without any ado, Akashi started.

"Hikigaya, Kuroko, are you both ready?" The redhead sipped his Gatorade as he sat down calmly.

"You don't need to tell me about that," Hikigaya frowned as he removed his sweater while putting in his basketball hog gloves. "I have prepared calmly for this. Settling things with Villacorta should be much easier now." And this time, there's no room for screwing up.

"I see. Kagami, since I see that you're very much fidgety since the first quarter, then I guess I should let you play for this second part," Akashi sighed as he watched the redhead from Seirin cry in celebration as he excitedly removes his sweater and tosses it unintentionally towards Aomine, who was about to punch him for it if it wasn't for Kise holding him back.

"Ogiwara, since this is your first time playing international teams, I should send you out as well for exposure and experience," Akashi calmly noted, "You too, Kiyoshi-senpai. Your Vice Claw should catch them off-guard as well as your ability to play point guard to back up Hikigaya."

Ogiwara gave off a smirk as he slung his arm around Hikigaya while Kiyoshi merely smiled goofily as he wears his shoes.

"Just don't deviate from what we discussed. If you stick to the plan, you should be just fine." Shirogane began to speak, "As much as I like to counter their three tallest players, a scoring run though speed and fastbreaks should do us well for this quarter. Give your best shot!"

"Yeah!" They all nodded. Midorima and Kise then took a seat on the bench while Ogiwara and Midorima took off their shirts and get ready to head out onto the court. Even though he was a bit nervous, Ogiwara was actually eager to go on. Despite being a starter at Jinsei Auxiliary, this was his first game against a foreign team and hadn't played in any matches for a while since the last Kanto Cup qualifiers. For Kiyoshi, the closest he got to playing against any international player was against Papa Mbye Siki back when he was still playing for Seirin in his last high school year and honestly, he wondered if he would even last at this point. In his eyes, the Philippines was more vicious and scarier than even the Rakuzan baskeball club. And what more if we faced teams like Spain or Aregntina?

"Go knock him out, Hikki!" Yuigahama shouted from the bleachers like an idiot.

"Shut up, Yuigahama…"

"Do your best, Hikigaya," Hiratsuka encouraged. "Put that damned Villacorta in his place…"

"Sensei, this is basketball, not wrestling…" He replied shakily.

"Senpai! Let's go!"

I know that voice! Hikigaya screeched as he saw from afar a certain sly fox suddenly enter the scene and came running to where the group is located.

"Isshiki-san, what are you doing here?" Yukinoshita raised her eyebrows at the presence of the student council president, who came running and was sweating heavily.

"Mou! No one told me about this event and I have to hear it from Hayama-senpai!" Isshiki Iroha annoyingly replied as she nearly pushed out Yuigahama from her own chair, "I have to see this with my own eyes!"

"Break's over!" The referee announced, "The second quarter is about tho start!"

Sneak Peak: It came down to a one-on-one game between Hikigaya Hachiman and Calixto Villacorta, the former wanting to properly settle things with the Filipino and the latter wanting to finally beat the old Teiko core. It was in this game that Sobu students finally saw what Hikigaya could do as the latter proved to be hell-bent to go and drag the Filipino floor general into a game of attrition. "Amazing…" Yukinoshita can only utter as she watched the two began to pound each other.