If this were a normal game, having a double-digit lead with just four minutes left would pretty much be a death sentence for any team. But the guy on the other side... is Aomine.
Kota knew — if Aomine managed to take control of the pace now, the outcome of this game could still be anyone's guess.
"Genius, it's all on you now! Put your whole soul into defense!" Kota shouted.
Kise wiped the sweat off his face with his jersey, then gave Kota a big thumbs-up.
"Of course! I'll stop him for sure!"
...Yeah, that sounded way cooler than it actually was.
"Stopping Aomine? With how I am right now, that's basically impossible..."
Kise frowned. Even mimicking Aomine's playstyle wasn't enough — if Aomine entered the Zone, the gap was brutal.
"Is it really true that the only one who can beat "you" is you..."
"Can't believe I'm about to do this..."
Kise sighed, then closed his eyes.
Aomine, who was just about to start his drive, froze when he noticed the shift—Kise opened his eyes, and his entire aura transformed.
Up in the stands, Kagami shot to his feet, staring in shock.
"Wait... is Kise... copying me?!"
"Copying Kagami?"
Aomine scoffed.
"You seriously think Kagami could stop me right now? You're dreaming, Kise!"
On the sidelines, Kota braced himself with his hands on his knees, slightly nodding. Kagami might not be enough at the current level—after all, Kise can copy him without much issue. But still, Kagami's defense is solid. His absurd jumping ability gives him a real edge in the air. His main flaws? Not enough offensive threat, weak penetration, and no three-point shot. But for Kaijo right now... they don't need offense. They just need to stall Aomine. No—lock him down, and that's game.
"Smart move, Kise... but seriously, can Kagami's regular defense really hold back Aomine?"
Aomine answered that question the only way he knew how—by doing it.
That lightning-fast first step, borderline illegal, blasted him past Kise like nothing. In a blink, he was in the paint and launched himself skyward.
"No way!"
Kise roared internally, twisting his body to give chase. Using Kagami's copied jumping power, he leapt up—
Blocked it!
Kise grinned—only for it to freeze on his face. Aomine adjusted mid-air like gravity was optional, kept hold of the ball, twisted, and slammed down a folding dunk right over him!
The crowd exploded.
"Dang, that blond dude from Kaijo almost blocked him though!"
"Yeah, yeah! And Kaijo's still up by ten! They've got a real shot at winning this!"
Aomine, deep in the Zone, had his senses cranked up to eleven. Hearing the chatter from the stands, he smirked.
"Almost? Yeah, right. Copying some budget version of me won't change a thing."
He even threw a quick glance at Kagami sitting in the stands.
Kagami shivered.
"Why... why does it feel like I'm the one getting dunked on right now? Creepy as hell..."
Kota glanced at Kise, who had his head hanging, dead silent. He clapped his hands.
"C'mon! Heads up! We're not just here to be punching bags! Four minutes left! One more basket and we seal this!"
The game resumed—Kaijo on offense.
Kota calmly pushed the ball forward, determined to run the clock as much as possible and cut down Aomine's chances to score.
Imayoshi, on the other hand, was helpless.
"No way I'm going for a steal on Kota... if he breaks past me again and stretches the lead, we're really done."
Kota dribbled, keeping an eye on the shot clock. When there were seven seconds left, he lobbed a high pass toward Kobori, who jumped with everything he had, trying to throw down a poster dunk right there.
But Too's defense held strong. Kobori missed the dunk.
"Sorry!"
Kobori threw up his hands, apologizing. At this stage, every missed shot was a dagger to the team's chances.
No one replied.
Because... the ball didn't go out of bounds. It bounced straight toward mid-court.
Aomine's eyes sharpened. He sprinted.
Kise wasn't about to give in either. He instantly switched his copy mode back to Aomine's and chased full speed.
By sheer luck — or fate — the ball landed right in front of Kota, who now stood there holding it... smiling straight at Aomine.
Aomine clicked his tongue, slowly backing off into a defensive stance, positioning himself close enough to keep Kise in check too.
Kota glanced at the clock.
"Three minutes left... Staying calm, huh? You really believe you can erase a ten-point gap in three minutes... so you're not pressing yet."
Once again, Kota drained the shot clock before passing it out to Kasamatsu for an open three.
Clank.
No good.
At this point, everyone was running on fumes. Tension maxed out. Legs heavy. Shots breaking down. Even form starts to collapse under pressure like this.
"Sorry, my bad!"
Kota calmed his teammates down but couldn't help thinking,
"Dude, are you seriously never gonna mess up? You've been going full throttle for over 40 minutes and still not a single crack?"
Aomine charged back, still lightning quick. Even against triple coverage, he twisted mid-air, shifted his body, and scored yet again.
Too—two points.
2:30 left on the clock. Kaijo leads by 8.
Everyone in the arena straightened up. This next possession would decide the game.
"If Kaijo scores here and pushes the lead back to double digits... Too's finished" Kuroko said, deadpan, scanning the scoreboard.
Takao chimed in, "But if they miss... that's three straight empty possessions. Total scoring drought at the worst time..."
"And momentum flips straight back to Too."
Kota stood just a step behind the three-point line, scanning his teammates. Too's defense was tight. Only the area near Aomine had a crack. Everywhere else was locked down.
Inside the arc, Imayoshi adjusted his glasses, running every possible play Kota might call through his mind.
"Will he go for a pick-and-roll? Or dish it to Kise? But man... Kise's rhythm is shot. Everyone's is..."
Just then, Kota waved Moriyama over.
Imayoshi's eyes sharpened.
"This time... I swear I'm stopping your pick-and-roll!"
Imayoshi shuffled, adjusting his angle, ready for anything.
Unfortunately for him... the universe had other plans.
As Moriyama stepped up to set the screen, Kota didn't even use it.
He just jumped. From a full step behind the three-point line.
A deep three.
The ball arced high, soaring perfectly.
Watching it, Kota muttered,
"My secret weapon... If this bricks, I swear, I'm uninstalling life."
This was his new talent — Ultra-Deep Three. And this was the very first time he ever used it in an actual game.
Imayoshi stood frozen, watching the ball fly... and swish perfectly through the net.
His brain produced one single thought:
"Why... why does he have THAT too?!"
BEEP—
Kaijo three-pointer—good.
The arena went dead silent for half a second.
Then exploded.
Kaijo's entire bench rushed the court, arms raised, mimicking Kota's follow-through from the three.
Coach Takeuchi was straight-up shadow-boxing the air like he was about to fight God.
His teammates mobbed Kota, aggressively ruffling his hair like a pack of puppies.
Two minutes left. Eleven-point lead. This was practically the dagger. A deep-range, near-game-sealing three.
Aomine sighed.
"Didn't think he had that up his sleeve... Guess that's it."
He walked over to Imayoshi... and slapped him right on the butt.
Imayoshi jolted back to reality, body stiff. He was ready. Ready for Aomine to straight-up jump him, body him, or throw hands for how badly he'd gotten cooked—being targeted by Kota all fourth quarter, culminating in that soul-crushing three.
"Honestly, if Aomine beats me into the floor right now... fair enough."
But Aomine just patted his butt again, sighed, and said,
"Inbound the ball. Game's not over. Two minutes. Play it out."
Hearing that... Imayoshi completely broke down.
Tears streamed down his face as he kept whispering,
"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..."
"If I hadn't gotten torched so bad... if I could've slowed him down... with Aomine's skill, we shouldn't have lost..."
Aomine stared at him and muttered,
"Yeah... Remember this feeling, four-eyes. When Winter Cup comes... we give it back to them—with interest."