The Beginning of the End!

Yuki gritted his teeth, increasing his speed when he glanced above and noticed the ball was about to fall. He dug deep into his reserves of strength, his weary legs screaming in protest as he sprinted across the court to reach the wild ball that had careened out of bounds.

'Come on, legs! Keep going!'

As he felt the ball was within his reach, Yuki jumped. He outstretched his arms, trying to get the ball before it could land on the floor. He felt his body weight shift forward, his legs extending in a perfect arc, his arms bending to cradle the ball in a perfectly timed dive.

The moment Yuki felt his fingertip touch the ball, with a swift flick of his wrist, he sent it soaring back toward Riku who was waiting with open arms to receive the perfectly placed pass,

"NICE RECEIVE, KOBAYASHI!"

Within a second, Tsunemori's collective momentum shifted from chaos to control in the blink of an eye, and the exact opposite happened to Shimoyawata.