Slam Dunk: My physical abilities can be increased indefinitely.

Chapter 25: A Narrow Overtime Defeat, Sendoh's Knee Slams on the Floor.

Thirty-two seconds left, leading by eight points.

In basketball, this point difference is basically equivalent to the game being over. Sendoh stood in front of Maki Shinichi, his knees still trembling.

Maki Shinichi's dribbling rhythm suddenly changed, going from slow to fast in less than a second. He switched from right hand to left hand, and from left hand to right hand, the ball weaving back and forth between his legs. The speed was so fast that Sendoh's eyes couldn't keep up. His center of gravity shifted slightly to the left, and Maki Shinichi suddenly broke through from the right side. It wasn't the left side, but the right side. Sendoh only realized it in that instant. Maki Shinichi had been going down the left side all game, making him think he had figured out his opponent's habits, but this time the ball went down the right side.

It wasn't that he couldn't play on the right flank; it was that he hid the entire game.

Maki Shinichi drove to a position one step outside the three-point line and stopped abruptly to shoot. By the time Sendoh rushed over, it was too late; he was a step too late.

The ball flew from Maki Shinichi's fingertips, arcing smoothly before hitting the backboard and bouncing into the basket. The score was 73-68, with 27 seconds remaining.

Ryonan served the ball, and Uekusa's hand was shaking when he caught it. Sendoh ran over to receive the pass and dribbled from the backcourt to the frontcourt. Maki Shinichi did not press him all over the court; instead, he retreated to the three-point line and waited, his hands on his knees, his eyes fixed on Sendoh's chest.

Sendoh wasted time dribbling at the top of the arc when Maki suddenly lunged out, not towards the ball, but towards Sendoh's left hand. The instant Sendoh dribbled with his left hand, Maki's palm reached up from below, his fingertips poking the bottom of the ball, causing it to bounce. Both of them reached out to grab it at the same time.

Maki Shinichi's fingers were longer, so he touched the ball first and poked it towards the frontcourt. Kiyota Nobunaga rushed over from the wing, picked up the ball, and made a layup. The score was 73-70 with 19 seconds left.

Taoka called for a timeout from the sidelines, but Sendoh didn't hear him.

His ears were ringing with the sound of blood rushing to his head, and his vision was blurry. It wasn't that he wanted to cry, but sweat was getting into his eyes. He bent over and braced himself on his knees. Cross-country runners came over and pulled him up. "It's okay, there are still nineteen seconds left. We still have possession of the ball."

"Timeout," Taoka said, covering his mouth with his clipboard and speaking in a low voice, "Sendoh, after you receive the ball, don't dribble. Just hold onto it and wait for them to foul you. Take the free throws, and if you make them, we win."

Sendoh nodded, his throat dry as if sandpaper was being rubbed. As he walked back onto the field, he passed by Maki Shinichi, but Maki Shinichi didn't look at him.

Uekusa stood outside the sideline, Sendoh came around from the baseline to receive the ball, and Maki Shinichi followed behind. The two bodies were close together. The moment Sendoh received the ball, Maki Shinichi fouled him. His action was very decisive. He grabbed Sendoh's waist with both hands, and the referee blew the whistle.

Sendoh stepped to the free-throw line, shook his foot, took the racket three times, and released the ball. The first free throw bounced off the back edge of the rim and went in, making it 74-70. For the second free throw, Sendoh took a deep breath, bent his knees slightly, and pressed down on his wrist. The moment the ball left his hand, he knew it was off target. His finger flick was too light, and the ball didn't have enough spin. The ball bounced back off the front edge of the rim, and Takasago grabbed the rebound.

Maki Shinichi received the ball and advanced towards the frontcourt, while Sendoh retreated, the two separated by two meters.

Maki Shinichi stopped abruptly outside the three-point line, and Sendoh followed. Maki Shinichi didn't shoot; instead, he passed the ball to Jin Soichiro in the corner.

Jin Soichiro received the ball and shot immediately. Koshino rushed over but was a fraction of a second too late. The ball flew over Koshino's head in a high arc and swished into the net. The score was 74-73 with four seconds left.

Ryonan called a final timeout.

Taoka crouched down and grabbed Sendoh's shoulder. "After you catch the ball, just throw it forward. Just throw it out there."

Sendoh didn't say anything, walked back onto the court, and Uekusa served. Sendoh was sandwiched by two people, Maki Shinichi in front and Kiyota Nobunaga behind.

Uekusa hesitated for a second before passing the ball to Fukuda. Fukuda received the ball and was fouled by Jin Soichiro. With 0.7 seconds left, Fukuda stepped to the free-throw line. He missed the first free throw and intentionally missed the second, but the ball bounced in the wrong direction and Takasago grabbed the rebound.

The game ended with a score of 74 points, and overtime began.

Taoka didn't scold anyone. He looked at Sendoh, who had his head down, staring at the puddle of sweat on the floor that no one knew whose it was. Before the overtime started, Sendoh's right knee hit the floor. It wasn't a kneeling, but when he couldn't hold on and squatted down, his knee hit the floor with a dull thud.

Off-road reached out to pull him up, and Uozumi also reached out. The two of them pulled him up from the ground. The moment he stood up, Sendoh opened the system panel. The Endurance B+ mark was already red, and he had 15 PP points left. He silently recited two words in his mind: Add points, Endurance.

[Endurance: B+ → A-, PP consumed: 6, PP remaining: 9]

A surge of heat travels down from my chest, through my waist, thighs, and calves, finally settling on the soles of my feet. It feels like those muscles that were about to fall apart are being bound together again by something, and I can hold on, I can hold on for another five minutes.

In overtime, Hainan took the lead.

Maki Shinichi dribbled to the frontcourt and faced Sendoh. He didn't call for a screen, but instead accelerated towards the basket. Sendoh followed, and the two men's knees collided, the sound of bones hitting bones was dull and painful.

As Maki Shinichi jumped, Sendoh also jumped up to block, his palm reaching out to touch the bottom edge of the ball, but Maki Shinichi's wrist pressed down and the ball slipped under Sendoh's armpit.

The ball bounced off the backboard and into the net. The whistle blew, Sendoh committed a foul, and Maki made the free throw, making it 77-74.

After receiving the ball, Sendoh called for a screen. Uozumi came up to screen Maki Shinichi. Sendoh broke through to the left and Takasago switched to defend. Sendoh did not change direction and directly used his speed to overpower Takasago. He cut in from the left and jumped. Kiyota Nobunaga flew over from the baseline to help defend. Sendoh switched hands in mid-air, passing the ball from his right hand to his left hand and laying it in to avoid Kiyota's hand.

The ball spun around the rim one and a half times before falling in, making it 77 to 76.

When Sendoh got up from the ground, his right knee felt a little weak.

Maki Shinichi advanced into the frontcourt, and Sendoh limped after him, widening the gap by two steps. Seeing that Sendoh's leg was not right, Maki Shinichi did not hesitate and pulled up for a three-pointer from the top of the arc. There was no one in front of him, and the ball went in, making it 80 to 76.

Ryonan called a pause.

Taoka didn't make a substitution. He looked at Sendoh's right knee and asked, "Can he still fight?"

Sendoh looked down at his knee. There was no blood on his pants, but his knee was swollen, and you could see through his basketball shorts that the right side was higher than the left.

"I can fight." Sendoh stood up, and his knee hurt a little when he bent down, but it wasn't an unbearable pain.

In the final minute of overtime, Sendoh drew fouls on two separate drives, making three of four free throws to score three points.

Maki Shinichi scored a layup and then assisted Takasago for a layup off the backboard. The score was now 84-79.

The referee blew the whistle, and the game ended. Hainan won.

Sendoh stood motionless on the field. In the stands, the Hainan supporters cheered, their drums thundering down, shaking the entire stadium.

The stands on the Ryonan side were quiet; no one spoke or moved. A few first-year girls were covering their mouths and crying, and people next to them were patting their shoulders.

Sendoh's right knee was even more swollen, and his basketball shorts were stretched taut, creating a bulge. He bent down and touched his knee; his skin was burning hot.

Mu Shenyi walked over and stood in front of him, wiping the sweat from his face with his arm.

"You almost won."

"We almost didn't win."

Sendoh looked up at Maki Shinichi and took his hand.

Shinichi Maki's palm was warm, and his grip was stronger than when they shook hands at the training hall last time. He held it tightly, and after letting go, he turned and walked away. After taking two steps, he turned back and said, "Your knee, go ice it."

Sendoh didn't reply and turned to walk towards the changing room.

Off-road followed behind without saying a word. Uezu walked at the very back, pushing up his glasses, the lenses of which were completely fogged up. Uozu stopped at the entrance of the players' tunnel, glanced back at the stadium, and saw that most of the lights were already off.

In the locker room, Sendoh sat in front of the locker with a towel covering his face. The system panel popped up, showing that he had scored eight points in overtime, for a total of thirty-four points, seven assists, and five rebounds.

Taoka pushed the door open and said in a low voice, "Sendoh, you played a great game today."

Sendoh didn't speak. He couldn't see anything under the towel, but he could hear something throbbing in his knee.