CHAPTER 21

The chat was still reeling from the previous play:

【CandyBunnyNana: Such a grown man, acting so childish…】

【Hahaha~】

【Mrs. Donnie speaks the truth~】

【That ‘Hehe~’ was the essence of it all.】

【Gotta say, Donnie’s forced dunk really wasn’t as smooth as Aomine’s reverse layup.】

The people on site erupted in cheers after Aomine scored.

Donnie and Aomine, just like before, had each successfully executed one offensive and one defensive play against each other.

Comparing their performances, the new recruits and second-stringers watching from the sidelines couldn’t really see a clear difference; they just felt that both players were incredibly evenly matched.

“My god, both of these guys are so strong…”

“One guy’s dribble is like thunder, the other’s is like a dance.”

“The key is that both of them are so fast! To be able to react and chase down for a block against that kind of dribbling!”

“Where did these two even come from?”

Donnie took a breath. At this moment, he was completely focused on this duel. He had no attention to spare for the surrounding discussions or the live stream chat.

Through that one offensive and one defensive exchange with Aomine, he had roughly figured out the upper and lower limits of what his current abilities, combined with his skills, could achieve in a real game.

The upper limit was his offensive firepower, enough to contend with Aomine.

The lower limit was his defense, which was considerably weaker compared to his offense.

On defense, his performance just now was far inferior to Aomine’s.

Honestly, there were a few times just now when Aomine’s fakes had almost made his ankles buckle.

Tsk~

As expected of the Generation of Miracles, their physical abilities were truly extraordinary.

To be able to withstand such high-speed, continuous changes of direction with their knees and ankles…

He himself still felt his hands shake when using the Lightning Dribble at full power!

Damn it!

You really couldn’t compare different people!

Although Donnie was marveling at Aomine Daiki like this in his mind, he still believed this game was completely winnable!

I can’t guard you!

But don’t you think you can guard me either!

This time, it was Donnie’s turn on offense.

Aomine Daiki bent his knees, this time lowering his defensive center of gravity extremely low. While extending one hand towards Donnie’s hip, he smiled and said:

“Ethan, what do you think? You can choose to shoot!”

Donnie held the ball, looking at Aomine, who had pressed his center of gravity so low. For a fleeting moment, he was indeed tempted. Perhaps he could just pull up and use ‘Quick Shot’ to finish this possession.

However…

When he saw Aomine’s confident smile, he instantly dismissed the thought.

Feeling the pressure of Aomine’s defense, and that hand pushing against his hip, Donnie found it very difficult to put the ball on the floor. At this moment, the Physicality boost provided by Kōsuke Wakamatsu’s character card played a huge role.

Maintaining the triple-threat stance, he jab-stepped his right foot towards Aomine’s center, using his whole body to push off and create dribbling space.

Immediately, the sound of thunder echoed again!

“Tsk!” Aomine clicked his tongue.

“Not bad strength, Ethan!”

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

Donnie initiated the ‘Lightning Dribble’ from a stationary position, the image of the ball almost blurring into a red streak.

Seeing this, Aomine didn’t dare to press forward for position anymore. Instead, he took half a step back, preparing to deal with the impending thunderous assault!

Donnie, however, pressed forward step by step, forcing Aomine closer to him, to face his Lightning Dribble head-on.

Aomine stared intently at Donnie’s movements. Suddenly, his eyes narrowed!

The next moment, as expected, a violent thunderclap erupted!

Even though Aomine, relying on instinct, reacted almost simultaneously with Donnie activating the Lightning Dribble, faced with such incredible speed, Aomine still couldn’t keep up with the dribble. By the time he turned to pursue, he was nearly a full step behind!

However…

This time it was one step!

He had already closed the gap by half a step compared to the last defensive play!

Aomine sprinted rapidly behind Donnie, chasing him down…

As Donnie entered the range to attack the rim and jumped with all his might, he could clearly feel the blocking arm extending from behind him was much longer than last time. The sound of the wind rushing past his ears was also closer!

Although Aomine still couldn’t catch up enough to make a clean block this time, Donnie instinctively created more distance from the trailing block attempt, opting for a safer reverse layup on the weaker side of the contest.

The score became 2 to 1.

Despite being beaten by this move again, Aomine still smiled very happily.

He was as excited as a big cat.

“This is great, Ethan!”

“That you could continue playing basketball, that you could come to Teiko…”

“This is really great!”

The way Aomine looked at Donnie was like a starving beast that had finally caught its prey!

Donnie, however, looked at Aomine with a complicated expression.

He was thinking…

Next time I use my Lightning Dribble, is he going to completely shut me down?

The viewers in the live stream shared the same concern.

【Aomine Daiki’s adaptability is also TOP tier. After just one exchange, his defense is already that much better than before.】

【Is Donnie’s Lightning Dribble going to get figured out by Aomine right at the start of the game?】

【It’s not that easy, guys!】

【I just rewatched the slow-motion replay. Aomine’s reaction to the Lightning Dribble was almost as perfect as it could be; they practically moved at the same time. The speed of the Lightning Dribble is an absolute suppression. If your body can’t keep up, it just can’t keep up. Unless Aomine’s stats get a massive breakthrough, that one-step gap in defense just now was a chasm. That was the limit of what he could do!】

【Unless he can predict Donnie’s move and retreat early to prevent the Lightning Dribble, but if he does that, it gives Donnie an open shot!】

Aomine Daiki gestured to Donnie for the ball.

“My turn!”

Donnie passed him the ball. After catching it, Aomine flashed a smile, his teeth dazzlingly white against his bronze skin.

Aomine casually bounced the ball to his side, towards Donnie’s right, within easy reach.

Everyone froze.

A mistake?

Who cares if it’s a mistake!

Donnie reached out to grab the ball. Suddenly, a hand flashed past, and the basketball vanished from before his eyes!

Donnie: “…”

The chat was stunned:

【Damn!】

【You can play like that?!】

【Intentionally expose the ball to the opponent, then when they reach for the steal and create a defensive opening, use your superior agility to snatch the ball first and drive past?】

【HOLY CRAP!】

【Playing it that risky! So flashy!】

【But… it looks like Aomine isn’t that proficient with this move yet. He stumbled a bit…】

Aomine’s incredibly streetball-esque, freestyle dribble move—his right hand didn’t secure the ball cleanly, and adjusting his dribble wasted the fleeting opportunity.

But from Donnie’s perspective, it was a stroke of luck that Aomine hadn’t secured it properly. Otherwise, he would have been faked out of his shoes!

Aomine: “Totally fooled you, didn’t I!”

Aomine: “Wasn’t that move awesome?!”

Donnie: “…”

Donnie: “Awesome!”

Donnie: “Too bad…”

Donnie: “You haven’t mastered it yet!”