CHAPTER 18

The chat was buzzing:

【That Quick Shot is super practical!】

【Nice shot!】

【His shooting form is really clean.】

【With a 190 Three-Pointer stat, it seems like he’s already pretty accurate.】

“Senpai, your defensive distance was too far just now,” Donnie (as Ethan) remarked.

Nobuhiro Hashitani nodded. “I have to admit, this year’s new recruits are incredibly talented.”

“From now on, I absolutely won’t be treating you like a new recruit!”

After Donnie’s basket, they switched sides.

Nobuhiro Hashitani had the ball, his eyes fixed on Donnie’s defensive stance.

“Lots of openings in his defensive form!” he thought.

After a brief feint, he lowered his center of gravity and exploded with a drive to his right!

He was fast, clearly not underestimating Donnie in the slightest, giving it his all!

But as Nobuhiro Hashitani drove past Donnie and brought the ball down for a dribble with his right hand…

Suddenly, his pupils contracted.

Because…

The ball was gone!

He looked back at Donnie, who had somehow stolen the ball, and muttered to himself:

“When…?”

“I didn’t even notice it.”

Meanwhile, the coaching staff outside the court were observing intently, meticulously recording details.

“Excellent physical talent.”

“Excellent shooting ability.”

“Possesses a quick shot skill.”

Donnie had the ball. He didn’t need to think much about his offensive approach; he’d planned it before even stepping onto the court. Showcase his abilities in multiple ways, make a strong impression right from the start to get into the first-string, then claim the mission rewards and get stronger quickly!

With this in mind, Donnie once again adopted the triple-threat stance, his right foot forward.

This time, Nobuhiro Hashitani was wary of his ‘Quick Shot,’ and his defensive distance was much closer than before.

But it still wasn’t enough!

“Can he make it?” Hashitani wondered.

“From that far out!”

“It’s still too far!”

Junpei Hyūga: Unstoppable Shot!

Donnie’s body suddenly dipped, feinting a drive.

Nobuhiro Hashitani hesitated for a split second…

And in that instant, his opponent suddenly seemed to create a huge distance from him in his vision!

Still a three-pointer!

But this time, Nobuhiro Hashitani couldn’t even react in time to contest!

“So far…”

As Hashitani exclaimed, the basketball swished through the net!

The chat was impressed:

【So that’s the Unstoppable Shot…】

【Isn’t that just Harden’s stepback three?】

【What’s with the fancy foreign name… Bros, it’s just a stepback jumper!】

【It’s still pretty good though. That stepback, in the game, looks really hard to defend. The speed of the stepback almost leaves an afterimage. Doesn’t look like something you could do in real life.】

【Looking at it that way, yeah, he created a lot of distance too.】

【Both of Donnie’s 4-star shooting skills are pretty decent. Don’t know if he got lucky or unlucky with those pulls.】

By the time Nobuhiro Hashitani snapped back to reality, it was his turn on offense again.

This time, Donnie fully showcased his physical abilities on defense. Aggressive body contact, intense defensive pressure – he was like a completely different player from before.

This was a level of defensive intensity Nobuhiro Hashitani had only ever faced from first-string players. He was immediately overwhelmed, and his own speed wasn’t enough to shake off Donnie’s tenacious defense.

Smack! The ball was stolen again, as everyone expected.

“Seriously…?”

“Hashitani is actually getting shut down this badly.”

“First Murasakibara Atsushi, now this Ethan Woods.”

“I heard Eikichi from Group Three lost earlier too…”

“Lost to who?”

“Midorima Shintaro. Heard it was all three-pointers, didn’t miss a single one. 4 for 4!”

“…”

Nobuhiro Hashitani remained silent, heading straight to his defensive position. This time, he stuck even closer, completely committing to preventing Donnie’s shot!

“This next one!” he thought.

“I will definitely stop it!”

His opponent’s tight, up-close defense was like a blatant signal to Donnie—or rather, to the body of ‘Ethan Woods’ in the game.

Such defense was practically an open invitation for someone with Donnie’s speed and dribbling ability.

Everyone present saw ‘Ethan Woods’ move like lightning, breaking past Nobuhiro Hashitani’s side in the blink of an eye!

“He’s even this strong at driving to the basket?!”

“There’s still a chance! He can catch him!”

“Go for it, Hashitani!”

Nobuhiro Hashitani moved his feet with all his might, desperately trying to recover!

However, Donnie intentionally slowed down at this moment, waiting for him.

This move was learned from the Generation of Miracles’ Aomine in the CG. Although he couldn’t replicate Aomine’s almost 100%-to-0% stop-and-start, he could still achieve half the effect.

Thump!

The moment Nobuhiro Hashitani shifted his feet to recover, Donnie simultaneously initiated body contact, leaning into his left front.

“Oh no!”

“…”

Thud…

Nobuhiro Hashitani fell to the ground, a dazed expression on his face.

On the other side, Donnie stopped, then took a simple mid-range jump shot.

The second-string players on the sidelines stared intently at the spinning basketball in mid-air, praying with all their might that it wouldn’t go in!

Unfortunately for them.

Swish!

The basketball passed cleanly through the net.

Tweet!

The whistle suddenly blew.

The coaching staff immediately gathered to confer.

“Let’s switch players. A completely one-sided match like this is meaningless.”

“That might be a blow to Nobuhiro Hashitani’s confidence…”

“If he can’t handle a little setback like this, then the third-string is more suitable for him.”

“Besides, leaving him on the court to be embarrassed by getting crossed over again would be an even bigger psychological blow.”

“Who to switch in? Ethan Woods definitely hasn’t used his full strength yet. A second-string player might…”

“Bring in someone from the first-string?”

“No, switch in a new recruit!”

“You mean?”

“Yes, put that energetic kid from Group One on the court!”

After a while, Nobuhiro Hashitani, with a complicated expression, walked off the court with his head down.

“Ethan Woods…”

“Do you mind switching opponents?”

The man with the black-framed glasses who had been overseeing the assessments at the start personally came over to this court, accompanied by an excited, dark-skinned youth.

Aomine Daiki!

When he looked at Donnie, his aura was like that of a wild beast in the forest, sizing up choice prey.

Aomine:

“Yo!”

“Heard you were pretty impressive just now!”

“Perfect timing! I just demolished three second-stringers. I was planning to challenge the first-string guys next!”

“But thanks to you, our showdown can happen ahead of schedule!”

Donnie also grinned with excitement.

“Perfect!”

“My opponent just now was too weak. I wasn’t satisfied either!”