Chapter 60

The third quarter continued as a fierce battle unfolded between Aomine and Kagami. Despite Kagami's scoring efforts, they weren't as efficient as Aomine's scoring.

On the other hand, no matter how hard Kagami tried to contain Aomine, he couldn't stop him from scoring. Even with Ogiwara's assistance, although they managed to slow Aomine down a bit, he still found a way to score against their defense.

Minutes passed in the third quarter, and with four minutes left in the game, Seirin High's coach, Aida Riko, was forced to call a timeout. She could see that Kagami was struggling to match up against Aomine, especially now that he was also responsible for their offense and defending Aomine. Riko called the timeout to give Kagami a chance to catch his breath.

Due to Kagami's offensive struggles, Too Academy extended their lead to 20 points, making the score 65-45. Players from both teams headed to their respective benches to cool down, rest, and rehydrate.

Seirin High's bench had a gloomy atmosphere surrounding it. Riko observed her players and noticed that most of them were in a somber mood, especially as Too Academy's lead continued to grow.

Among the players, Kagami stood out. He was gasping for breath as he drank his water, clearly affected by his matchup against Aomine. Riko could see that it had taken a toll on Kagami.

However, she felt at a loss as she didn't know what else to do. Their main problem still revolved around stopping Aomine. Even if they could improve their offense by putting Kuroko back in, their primary concern remained Aomine. They currently lacked a concrete plan to contain him.

Just as she was about to consider putting Ogiwara on Aomine to ease Kagami's burden, Riko was interrupted by the sight of Kuroko approaching her. As Kuroko drew closer, his face displayed seriousness and determination. He said, "Coach, let me in. I'm ready."

Seeing the determination in Kuroko's eyes and lacking a concrete plan at the moment, Riko could only nod. She believed that with Kuroko on the court, it would be easier for Kagami to score.

Curious about Kuroko's strategy to stop Aomine, Riko asked him. To her surprise, Kuroko nodded and replied, "I have a plan, but I'm not sure if it will be effective. We'll have to see if it's enough to stop Aomine."

Kuroko shared his plans with his teammates, explaining how they would execute them. Everyone, including the coach and the starters, listened attentively. The timeout ended, and they prepared to resume the game.

The officials announced that Kuroko would substitute in for Mitobe, and the people from Too Academy weren't surprised. They had expected Kuroko to enter the game at some point; they just didn't know when.

The game resumed after the timeout with Seirin gaining possession. They inbounded the ball to Shun, who immediately brought it down the court. As he crossed the halfcourt line, he signaled for a play that his teammates executed right away.

Shun passed the ball to Ogiwara, who was being guarded by Wakamatsu, while Aomine was still on Kagami. As Ogiwara caught the ball, he drove to the left side of Wakamatsu. Wakamatsu tried to follow him, but suddenly felt someone setting a screen on him.

As he turned around to see who it was, Wakamatsu realized it was Kuroko. Although Kuroko's screen wasn't very strong, it caught Wakamatsu off guard, making him late in chasing Ogiwara.

Seeing that Wakamatsu was out of position to chase Ogiwara, Susa was forced to switch defense, knowing that Ogiwara would have an open lane to the basket if he didn't. Susa got in front of Ogiwara, but instead of driving, Ogiwara passed the ball back to Kuroko and immediately cut to the basket for a give-and-go play.

Kuroko saw that Ogiwara had an open lane to the basket after the cut, so he tapped the ball towards Ogiwara's hands. Susa was caught off guard by the seamless teamwork between Kuroko and Ogiwara, and he was late to react. He wanted to chase after Ogiwara, but Ogiwara was already at the basket going for a layup.

Ogiwara made an easy layup, reducing Too Academy's lead to under 20 points. While Seirin still had a significant lead to overcome, you could see the impact Kuroko had on the team's offense just by being on the court. However, the question for them remained: how could they stop Aomine's offensive onslaught?

With Seirin High's score, Too Academy regained possession and inbounded the ball to Imayoshi, who brought it to the halfcourt. This time, Imayoshi still wanted to pass the ball to Aomine, but he was taken aback because Ogiwara was guarding Aomine differently than usual. Ogiwara positioned himself between Imayoshi and Aomine, making it difficult for Imayoshi to pass the ball comfortably.

Because of that, Imayoshi hesitated to pass the ball to Aomine, especially since he saw Kagami close to Aomine's position, waiting for a chance to intercept the pass. Left with no choice, Imayoshi didn't force it and called for a screen from Wakamatsu.

Seeing that he didn't receive the ball, Aomine was slightly irritated. Not because Imayoshi didn't pass him the ball, but because Seirin High's defensive strategy was to prevent him from getting the ball. While it may have been effective the first time since he didn't expect it, he was ready for it next time.

When Imayoshi didn't pass the ball to Aomine and instead called for a screen, Wakamatsu felt excited. It was the first time since the start of the game that he had the opportunity to showcase his skills. With enthusiasm, he quickly moved to set a screen for Imayoshi.

Seeing Wakamatsu going for the screen, Kagami had to step up his defense. He didn't want to leave Wakamatsu or Imayoshi wide open for a scoring opportunity. Ogiwara also adjusted his position slightly, anticipating that Imayoshi wouldn't pass the ball to Aomine. However, Ogiwara remained close to the passing lane, ready to intercept the ball if Imayoshi attempted to pass it to Aomine.

Before Wakamatsu could set his screen, Kagami immediately warned Shun to watch out for the screen in case he missed seeing it. Shun nodded in agreement, as he anticipated that Imayoshi would attempt a pick-and-roll play.

Wakamatsu set the screen for Imayoshi, who used it to move to the right where the screen was positioned. Shun tried to avoid the screen, but Wakamatsu's size made it difficult. Realizing he couldn't catch up to Imayoshi, Shun called for a defensive switch, and Kagami immediately switched positions with him.

Taking advantage of the mismatch they created, Imayoshi passed the ball to Wakamatsu, who was posting up against the smaller Shun. However, before the pass reached Wakamatsu, Kuroko sneaked in for an interception.

Seeing Kuroko intercept the ball, Kagami swiftly sprinted towards the halfcourt as Kuroko passed him the ball ahead. Aomine tried to chase after Kagami, but Ogiwara blocked him with his body, preventing him from catching up to Kagami.

With no one near him, Kagami rushed towards the paint and caught Kuroko's pass. He soared towards the basket and delivered a powerful one-handed dunk. The closest player chasing behind him was Imayoshi, who ended up turning the ball over.

Realizing that Kagami was already near the basket, Imayoshi decided not to pursue him any further. He knew that even if he tried to catch up to Kagami, he wouldn't be able to do anything. So he allowed Kagami to score an easy basket.

With Kagami's dunk, the score was now 65-49, and Too Academy still held a 16-point lead. However, Seirin High was slowly closing the gap. Too Academy's coach decided not to call a timeout, believing that Imayoshi's mistake was just a result of Kuroko's recent substitution, catching Imayoshi off guard.

The game continued, with Imayoshi bringing the ball down the court. Ogiwara remained between Imayoshi and Aomine, but this time Aomine didn't stay still. He ran towards Imayoshi to receive the ball closer, reducing the risk of interception.

However, Ogiwara stuck to Aomine like a leech, making it difficult for him to get close to Imayoshi. Even when Aomine received the ball from Imayoshi, it took some time and burned shot clock before he had full control. Ogiwara continued to closely guard Aomine, preventing him from dribbling freely.

The referees were close to calling a foul due to Ogiwara's close guarding, but they decided against it since Ogiwara wasn't reaching in with his hands, only using his body to make it challenging for Aomine to dribble.

Aomine grew irritated by Ogiwara's tight defense. He used his body to push Ogiwara slightly, creating space to dribble. However, Ogiwara pushed back and quickly returned to harass Aomine.

Nevertheless, Aomine managed to create some room to dribble. Seeing that Ogiwara was leaning towards the left side, Aomine seized the opportunity and went towards the right. But before he could escape Ogiwara's defensive pressure, he sensed someone trying to steal the ball.

Instinctively, Aomine pulled back his dribble to evade a hand reaching for the ball. It turned out to be Kuroko attempting the steal. Recognizing the unsuccessful attempt, Kuroko swiftly returned to his position.

Upon realizing that it was Kuroko, Aomine was pissed by how much they harassed him this quarter. He quickly made his move towards the basket, after noticing that Kuroko had moved away from him. Despite Ogiwara's tight defense, Aomine burst towards the paint. However, as Aomine approached the paint, Kagami immediately double-teamed him.