Slam Dunk:Starting with perfect copy

The halftime break ended quickly, and both the Kainan and Ryonan players returned to the court. Given the importance of this game, neither coach dared to make any substitutions unnecessarily, so both teams stuck with their original players.

The game resumed, and once again, Uozumi won the contest for the ball against Takasago. As planned, Uekusa passed the ball to Kenichi Uesugi. It was at that moment the crowd realized Kainan had made adjustments. Kiyota moved to defend Kenichi Uesugi, while Maki took over guarding Sendoh.

"Why has Kainan changed its defenders against Uesugi again? This No. 11 player is practically impossible to defend!"

"Exactly! Maki can't defend Kenichi Uesugi at all!"

"Are they just giving up on the game?"

"I don't get it, I really don't understand!"

Kainan's strategic shift left the audience puzzled. On Ryonan's bench, Tanaka Shigeichi observed Coach Takato Riki, who had a mysterious smile on his face. For a moment, Tanaka wasn't sure what to make of it.

Only Coach Anzai, seated calmly on the bench, started to grasp what was happening.

"Kainan isn't giving up the game," he said. "Instead, they've decided to ease off their defense on Kenichi Uesugi and focus on containing the other players."

"If this continues, it may end up being Kenichi Uesugi against the entire Kainan team," Coach Anzai muttered with concern. "Can he handle that?"

The game continued as Uekusa passed to Uesugi, and despite the confusion over the change in defense, Uesugi was still determined. With Kiyota defending him,

Uesugi wasted no time. Despite the pressure, he took a quick shot and made it effortlessly.

On the other end, Kainan launched an attack. With Maki and A Shen working together, they quickly broke through Ryonan's defense and stormed the paint. Yuzumi tried to block Maki's layup but fouled him in the process.

"Beep!"

"Blue No. 4 fouls! White No. 4 gets two free throws!"

The referee's voice echoed through the court as expected, and Maki calmly sank both free throws.

The score stood at 57:44, with the gap still at 13 points. Despite this, Ryonan's lead began to feel increasingly fragile. Over the next several minutes, the score remained relatively unchanged, but the pattern had become clear. Uesugi was the only consistent scorer for Ryonan, while Kainan's defense continued to stifle the other players.

Uekusa, forced to rely on Uesugi, kept passing the ball to him, but Kainan was clearly targeting the other players. The pressure on Ryonan grew, especially with Yuzumi accumulating fouls—he had already racked up three, and a fourth would mean he'd be replaced. As the inside pillar of the team, Yuzumi couldn't afford to make any more mistakes.

As the game wore on, Tanaka Shigeichi realized Coach Takato's true intentions. Not wanting Uesugi to be overtaxed, he immediately instructed Ryonan's players to try to involve Sendoh and others in the offense.

At this critical moment, Tanaka hesitated to take Uesugi off the court. If he did, he feared that Kainan would quickly catch up, erasing Ryonan's 13-point lead.

Ryonan's players tried to follow the coach's instructions, but the results were limited. While Sendoh occasionally managed to score through Kainan's tough defense, Ryonan's other players were nearly neutralized. Without Uesugi's scoring, Kainan steadily closed the gap.

With only 10 minutes left in the second half, the score was 76:70, with Ryonan's lead shrunk to just 4 points.

When Maki attacked the basket again, Yuzumi, now visibly frustrated, made a reckless attempt to block him.

"Beep!"

"Blue No. 4 foul!"

Yuzumi now had four fouls, and the situation was growing dire for Ryonan.

Tanaka Shigeichi, seeing the players on the verge of losing control, called for a timeout. Ryonan still held a slight lead, but it was evident that the game was slipping away from them.

"Kainan is still strong! Even though they've been trailing for so long, they're not panicking!"

"They're not rushing to catch up; it's almost like they're biding their time. They really have confidence in their own strength!"

"The pressure is on Ryonan now! Yuzumi has 4 fouls, Sendoh is being restricted, and it's just Uesugi left!"

On Ryonan's bench, Yuzumi angrily punched the bench, furious with himself for falling into the trap and committing the foul. Tanaka had no time to console him; he was already making arrangements for the next phase of the game.

"Sugahira, Yuzumi can't play anymore. You're up," Tanaka said urgently.

"Guard the basket and hold on for at least 5 minutes until Yuzumi can return!"

Sugahira nodded, but both he and Tanaka knew that this task was virtually impossible. If Yuzumi had struggled so much, how could Sugahira possibly cope with Kainan's relentless offense?

Just as Tanaka and Sugahira were silent in their concerns, Uesugi suddenly spoke up, surprising everyone.

"Coach, I'll hold on for these 5 minutes!"

The other Ryonan players exchanged confused glances. What did Uesugi mean by "hold on"? Was he going to play center? That seemed highly unrealistic.

But when Tanaka met Uesugi's eyes, filled with quiet determination and unwavering confidence, he stopped himself from speaking further. Since Uesugi joined Ryonan, Tanaka had never seen such a look in his eyes—full of confidence, almost to the point of arrogance.

Tanaka nodded, silently acknowledging that Uesugi had a plan. What no one knew was that, just moments ago, Uesugi had finally received a late notification from his system—the advanced talent he'd been waiting for had finally awakened: Perfect Imitation.

This meant that Uesugi was now capable of replicating the best moves from other players, making him an even greater asset on the court. With this new ability, Uesugi had become a one-man miracle for Ryonan.

As the timeout ended and both teams returned to the court, the tension continued to build.

On Kainan's bench, a substitute named Kojima excitedly spoke to Coach Takato Riki, "Coach, is what you said true? Are we really going to win this game?" Kainan had been behind for most of the match, and the substitutes were understandably concerned.

Takato smiled confidently, "There shouldn't be any problem. Everything is going according to plan."

"Ryonan's Yuzumi is out, and their substitute center can't match up to you guys."

The substitutes laughed nervously, reassured by their coach's words.

"As for Sendoh, he's been completely neutralized by Maki. He won't be a threat."

"And in the end, there's only Uesugi left. What can one player do against a whole team?"

"Unless he's playing 1 vs. 5, right?" one of the substitutes chuckled.

They all laughed again, dismissing the idea that Uesugi could win the game on his own. But then, Takato caught a glimpse of Uesugi, who was staring right at him.

To Takato's surprise, Uesugi smiled—a smile that sent a chill down his spine.

For a moment, Takato's heart skipped a beat. He didn't understand why, but he suddenly felt uncertain. How could he be intimidated by Uesugi's smile when Kainan had such a clear advantage?

"Beep!"

"The game continues! White No. 4 has 2 free throws!"

With Maki's two free throws, the score was now 76:72. The gap was down to just 4 points.

"Maki, great job!"

"Let's defend hard now! The coach wants us to overtake them and widen the lead!"

Maki and A Shen high-fived, and they quickly moved toward Kainan's defensive half.

Suddenly, a basketball flew over their heads. Qingtian saw it, confused. "Why is a basketball being thrown onto the court? What's going on with the security?"

Maki also felt something was odd, but didn't comment. He just urged Qingtian to focus on defense.

Then, something unbelievable happened. The basketball sailed through the air, drawing a perfect arc before swishing through the net!

"What?"

"Who threw that? It landed right in our basket! That's too lucky!"

Qingtian and Maki thought it was a freak accident, but the referee's next move stunned them even more.

"Beep!"

The referee blew the whistle and made a valid 3-point shot gesture.

Maki and Qingtian turned around in shock and saw Kenichi Uesugi, confidently holding his follow-through from an incredible shot. The basketball had already vanished into the net.