47 Chapter 46

While the game was on pause, Ichigo scouted the teams to see if there were any changes that he wasn't aware of based on the anime. So far, the only thing he noticed was still that Ogiwara was on Seirin High team.

Ichigo already knew that Ogiwara would join Seirin High because he had already told him that he would be teaming up with his childhood friend. Although he didn't specify which team he would be joining, Ichigo already had the idea that he would join Seirin, unless Kuroko changed his mind and joined somewhere else.

However, it was highly unlikely, since Kuroko's goal was to defeat the Generation of Miracles. As far as Ichigo knew, Seirin was the only team with a competitive roster that didn't have members of the Generation of Miracles. Ichigo wasn't sure if it was a coincidence that Kagami was also going to Seirin High, or if Kuroko had already scouted him before he joined the team.

Not to say that other teams were bad per se, but Seirin High has what it takes to compete against the members of the Generation of Miracles and their respective teams. Especially with Kiyoshi Teppei on the team, he embodies a 'never say die' mentality.

Last year, he even led a newly created Seirin High team to the final league of preliminaries, which was a testament to his skill. Although his team was dominated by the other teams in the final league of preliminaries, it was because he was injured in their last game.

Adding to that, the low morale of the team explained why they were being blown out by a hundred points by the Three Kings of Tokyo. Without Kiyoshi Teppei, Seirin High simply didn't have that inside presence that he brings to the team. Nonetheless, it was still a great season for them, especially considering it was their first-ever tournament as a basketball club.

A few more minutes passed as the teams got back on the court to resume the game. The third quarter commenced with Kaijo High in possession at the start. Their starting lineup for the third quarter remained the same as Ichigo remembered from the anime.

On the other hand, Seirin High had a different starting lineup than in the anime, with Ogiwara making an appearance. It wasn't surprising to see him in the starting lineup considering his skills. However, the surprising thing was that Kuroko wasn't part of the starting lineup.

Ichigo wondered if Kuroko was only benched for the third quarter or if he hadn't been a starter since the beginning of the game. One thing was certain: Kuroko was not starting in the third quarter. Ichigo even scrutinized him to see if he was injured, like in the anime where Kise accidentally elbowed him in the head.

However, from his observation, Kuroko didn't have any bandages on his head, indicating that he hadn't been elbowed by Kise. It was also difficult to tell if he was experiencing physical pain because his face always wore a monotone expression. Ichigo couldn't gauge whether he was in pain or not. Nevertheless, Kuroko was still in his full basketball gear, suggesting that he wasn't injured. If he were, his coach wouldn't have let him play.

Since Kuroko didn't have an apparent injury, Ichigo concluded that he was simply coming off the bench for his team. This wasn't necessarily a bad thing, especially considering his limited stamina at the time. It would be beneficial for him to contribute in a limited time off the bench, allowing him to conserve his energy.

As the game resumed, it became evident that it was a fast-paced match, primarily a battle between Ryota Kise and Kagami Taiga. While their teammates were still contributing to the game, most of the attention was on Kise and Kagami as they exchanged baskets.

In this exchange, Kise clearly had the upper hand in terms of skills. No matter how hard Kagami tried to stop him, it seemed futile as Kise easily bypassed his defense. On the contrary, although Kagami managed to score, it took his best efforts to do so against Kise's solid defense.

So it was even more surprising why Seirin had the lead at the end of the first half. From Ichigo's observations of the ongoing game, Kise was still superior to Kagami in terms of skill and physical abilities. The only advantage Kagami had over Kise was his leaping ability, which wasn't very prominent since Kise was also a high leaper, although not at the level of Kagami. Kise's leaping ability was still high enough to nullify Kagami's advantage.

The turning point in the game occurred when Kuroko entered the court halfway through the quarter. He substituted Seirin's non-talkative center, Mitobe Rinnosuke. With Mitobe out of the game, Kagami moved into the center position, which made the fast-paced game between Kaijo and Seirin even faster.

With Kuroko on the court, Seirin's defense weakened slightly, but their offense skyrocketed. Surprisingly, the one who benefited the most from Kuroko's presence was not Kagami, although he still benefitted greatly from having Kuroko on the court. Kuroko's presence allowed Kagami to bypass Kise's defense and avoid isolation, which benefited him greatly.

But the one who truly thrived with Kuroko was unexpectedly Ogiwara. While Ogiwara may not have been as skilled as Kagami and Kise, he was the type of player who could effectively do everything. Although he wasn't the best in offense, he was still an elite offensive player. Additionally, his exceptional hustle on defense and good basketball instincts made him the perfect teammate to complement Kuroko.

While Ogiwara may not score like a star player, he excelled at all the little things a team needs. He was the type of player every coach desires. Pairing him with Kuroko created an effective run-and-gun team.

Seirin's defense may have suffered slightly with Kuroko on the court, but Kagami's physical abilities combined with Ogiwara's hustle compensated for all of Kuroko's weaknesses. With Kuroko in the game, Seirin's passing became seamless.

Just like that, the third quarter ends with a score of 90-81 in favor of Seirin High. While Seirin's offense was blazing hot in the third quarter, the same cannot be said for their defense. Although they were still leading the game and had a higher chance of winning, it was only by a 9-point margin. Many things could happen in this last quarter, and that lead could be overcome quite easily, especially with a member of the Generation of Miracles.

Despite being down, no one in Kaijo High was panicking or dejected because they knew that just one wrong move from Seirin could easily allow them to take the lead. They had full confidence in themselves, particularly Kise, who maintained a smile even when they were behind. Ichigo was unsure if they had any hidden strategies up their sleeve, but both Kise and Kaijo remained confident in their ability to win the game, despite the 9-point deficit.

Even if they didn't possess a trump card, their chance of victory was still high since Seirin couldn't effectively stop Kise's offense. The only thing Kaijo needed to do to win was to force turnovers from Seirin. If they achieved that, winning wouldn't be impossible.

The possibility of winning the game seemed within reach, especially with Ryota Kise on their team. While Ichigo had defeated Kise in middle school, he still believed that Kise was the most dangerous and talented player from the Generation of Miracles. This was largely due to Kise's incredible ability to copy the skills of his teammates from Teiko, as demonstrated in the anime. Ichigo wouldn't be surprised if Kise used one of the Generation of Miracles' abilities during this game.

As the buzzer sounded, signaling the start of the fourth and final quarter, Seirin had Kuroko in their starting lineup. On the other hand, Kaijo maintained the same lineup throughout.

The pace of the game in the last quarter mirrored that of the third quarter. Both teams continued to trade baskets, but this time, it wasn't dominated by Kise and Kagami. In this crucial quarter, the two teams focused their defenses on shutting down the opposing team's ace players. This put pressure on the teammates of Kise and Kagami to step up and contribute since they were heavily guarded.

Due to the tight defense on the aces, it was an opportunity for their respective teammates to shine. Ogiwara, in particular, stood out as no one from Kaijo could defend him one-on-one. With the defense focused on Kagami, they couldn't afford to double-team him, giving Ogiwara more room to maneuver. Moreover, Kuroko's exceptional passing ability allowed them to exploit gaps in Kaijo's defense easily.

It became apparent in this quarter that Kaijo was unable to slow down Seirin's offensive plays. However, Seirin faced their own challenges in defending against Kaijo's strong offense. But unlike Seirin, Kaijo lacked a player like Kuroko who could easily create scoring opportunities for the team. As a result, there were several possessions where Kaijo force to take some tough shots causing most of them to missed.

With both teams engaging in a back-and-forth battle, Seirin gradually increased their lead. With two minutes left in the game the score was 112-98, Seirin leading by 14 points. If you are not familiar with the opposing team, you can even say that Seirin already got this game in the bag. However, the critical moment of the game occurred in the last two minutes.