Kaijō High vs Seirin High is the second match of the Winter Cup semi-finals. This is a highly anticipated match between two of the strongest teams in the league, both with their own Generation of Miracles member. It's a rematch of their previous practice game. The winner will have to play against Rakuzan High in the Winter Cup finals.
Game[]
Prologue[]
Having played against each other before in a practice game, both teams know and acknowledge each other. It highly fuels their fighting spirit, even long before the game. When the time finally comes and both teams warm up, it seems quiet and calm. But this is only a facade, since all players can't wait to play and are piling up their excitement. Eventually, Kasamatsu orders Kise to give them a greeting. Kise draws Seirin's attention and does Kagami's lane up he performed during the WC preliminaries. Hyūga tells the same to Kuroko and Kagami and they do an alley-oop combined with Kagami's lane up.[1]
At the start of the match, Hyūga and Kasamatsu greet each other as two equal national-level captains. Izuki, Kiyoshi, Kobori, Moriyama and Hayakawa are all pumped for the match. Kise declares his fighting spirit to Kagami, but the latter tells him to hurry up and get started already. Kise turns to Kuroko and asks what he thinks. Kuroko replies that he always thought of Kise as his rival. This gets Kise even more excited.[2]
1st Quarter[]
The tip-off is given and Kiyoshi and Kobori jump for the ball. It ends up in Izukis hands, who gives a quick pass to Kuroko. Been given the order to go full-out from the start, Kuroko drives past Hayakawa with his Vanishing Drive and scores using his Phantom Shot. Immediately after, the ball flies through the net of their own basket. Kise has already activated his Perfect Copy and scored using Midorima's full-court shot.
Later, Kuroko passes to Kiyoshi under the basket, goes up but runs into Kobori. Kiyoshi is about to be blocked, but he passes it outside to a free Hyūga. He shoots, but gets blocked by Kise, Murasakibara style. The transition to offense happens fast and Kise is already at the middle line, challenged by Kiyoshi. He uses Aomine's movements and change of pace to fake a shot and do a crossover to pass him. Kise has reached the bucket, awaited by Kagami, who has entered his phase of animal instinct. Kise drives towards him, but uses Akashi's eye ability to see Kagami's movements, makes a crossover and forces Kagami to fall back. Kise scores a shot from the free-throw line.[3]
Kise uses Emperor Eye to ankle break Kagami
Hyūga reasons that if they can't stop them, then they just have to score more points. He uses his Barrier Jumper to draw Moriyama in, but switches to a pass towards Kuroko. Kuroko sets himself up for his Phantom Shot and faces Kise before him. It is deemed impossible to block this shot, since it was impossible for Murasakibara as well, but Kise uses a combination of Murasakibara's block and Akashi's Emperor Eye and is able to block it. Kuroko is defeated, but can't help but laugh at Kise's strength.[4]
Kise uses Aomine's, Akashi's and Murasakibara's techniques to overwhelm Seirin and run out to a 13-point difference. Having the complete flow of the first quarter, Kise deactivates the Perfect Copy to save up his last two minutes. Being rushed to close the gap, Hyūga takes an uncomfortable shot and misses. Kaijō's next offense is stopped by Kiyoshis barely on time block. Desperate for points, Kagami misses the next shot as well. Riko realizes that the pace is too high and subs Furihata for Izuki. Being nervous and a coward on top of that, Furihata is clumsy, but still manages to drop Seirin's pace and set up a decent offense.[5]
Furihata shines
The ball goes to Kagami, but Furihata asks it back after seeing the defense set up. He passes it through and it ends up with Kuroko. Being set up carefully and cautious, Kuroko sees an opening with Kiyoshi, who swings it back outside for Hyūga to make the shot. Seirin gets their first points in a considerable time. As Kasamatsu dribbles the ball, he is suddenly pressured by Furihata, but uses his drive to pass him. He also avoids Kuroko, who went in for the steal. Not being able to find a good shooting position, Kasamatsu's shot goes out. Kiyoshi gains the rebound and during the next offense, Furihata is noticed for supporting his teammates well. A Seirin fast break occurs and the ball ends up with Furihata. He lays it in and is congratulated by his fellow rookies, Kuroko and Kagami.[6] The first quarter ends with Furihata's job fulfilled.
2nd Quarter[]
Eagle Spear
As the second quarter begins, Kaijō's coach tells his team to focus more on Kasamatsu, while Seirin is ordered to feed Kiyoshi. The match restarts and Kiyoshi gets the ball, posting up against Kobori. Kuroko comes cutting in and Kiyoshi tricks Kobori into believing he's going to pass. He changes the movement of his hand and turns around, laying it in. Kaijō is in the offense and Kasamatsu and Izuki are isolated, meaning that the other players make way for Kasamatsu for a one-on-one. Izuki reasons that he cannot win against Kasamatsu's speed, so he predicts Kasamatsu's movements to the right. But it is futile, for Kasamatsu is too fast and slips by Izuki's defense. He reaches the basket, avoids Kiyoshi's block and throws it in. Izuki is shocked by Kasamatsu's speed. After a steal by Moriyama, Kasamatsu goes up against Izuki again. Again, Kasamatsu drives by Izuki, but his ball gets intercepted by Izuki's new skill, Eagle Spear.[7]
Flashback to during the preparations for the match, Kagetora pointed out that having just the Eagle Eye would not help Izuki, therefore Kagetora offered to teach him the Eagle Spear, but it will be difficult for him. Izuki insisted on learning the Eagle Spear, despite the difficulty. Back to the match, after stealing the ball, a counterattack starts and Hyuga goes to shoot a supposedly 3-pointer, but his foot is on the line so it's considered a 2.
In the next possession for Kaijō, Kasamatsu thinks that he underestimated Izuki, and the latter goes to pressure defense. It will not be easy for Kasamatsu as if he quickly goes to shoot, Izuki can use the Eagle Spear to steal, and if he goes to drives, there is a tendency for Kuroko to steal the ball. Under intense pressure, Kasamatsu decides to pass to Kise. The latter decides to use Perfect Copy of Kagami's move of full speed drive and then a quick fadeaway. Although the movement is faster than Kagami, the latter manages to block the shot. This initiates a quick counterattack, for which the finish is a Kagami dunk, but gets blocked by Kise.
Kise vs Kagami
With neither Kagami nor Kise backing down, the two aces will decide the moment of the match. In the next possession of Seirin, Kagami holds the ball, and then quickly drives past Kise and goes for the dunk. On the other side, Aomine discusses with Momoi about the fact that there is one more person who can be in the Generation of Miracles, but didn't and chose a different path, and is the last to awaken his talents. That person is none other than Kagami, the true light who met his shadow, Kuroko.
Kaijō goes to attack with Kise going to shoot, but Kagami avoids the screen of Hayakawa and blocks the shot. In the counterattack, Kagami quickly drives and shoots, but misses due to losing his grip to sweat. Already feeling a slight defeat to Kagami, Kise to determined to defeat him. However, the coach of Kaijō wants to sub Kise out immediately after due to his leg injury he suffered earlier on in his showdown against Haizaki. After Kasamatsu wakes Kise up about the reality, Kise reluctantly returns to the bench. This can be the chance for Seirin to go all out and win the match by a big difference.
Kagami is pressured
Kagami holds the ball, but is immediately double teamed. Hyuga suddenly notices that Shinya Nakamura, who replaced Kise, is famous for being in the top 8 nationwide when it comes to defensive skills. In trouble, Hyuga asks for the ball and then passes to Kuroko, who scores with his Phantom Shot. At this time, Kasamatsu figured out why Kuroko's Phantom Shot disappears, meaning that he may be able to stop the Phantom Shot's ability to confuse the opponent about whether Kuroko shoots or passes.
Hayakawa misses a shot and the fight for the rebound is there. Kiyoshi got a chance to take it, but Kobori screens out Kiyoshi and gets the offensive rebound. He then passes to Moriyama and the latter makes another 3-pointer. Riko realises that Seirin might be in trouble, wanting to sub Kuroko out as Misdirection doesn't work on Kaijō since both schools have faced each other before.
Kasamatsu steps back...
Izuki holds the ball, shocking to see that Kasamatsu stands further away from him than usual. Izuki's shots from outside does not have a high accuracy, plus Kagami and Kiyoshi are tightly marked, therefore the last option is to pass to Kuroko, which he did. Going for another Phantom Shot, Kuroko cannot reverse his shooting motion as Kasamatsu quickly steps back and uses his speed to block it.
... to block the Phantom Shot
The secret revealed is that Kuroko's shooting form leads to the ball disappearing instead of itself being high trajectory. When one attempts to block, one would look up and go for the block, but Kuroko's shooting form is such that it is placed low at his chest, so that the defender looks downwards instead, and when the shot goes, it temporarily leaves the defender's side of view. The release of the shot is also different from normal, where it is at the same time as when Kuroko jumps. At the same moment, Kuroko also uses Vanishing Drive and caused the defender's diversion of view to Kagami, hence the ball is such that it temporarily disappears. However, by stepping back, the field of view has widen, and hence it just needs the speed to successfully block Kuroko's shot.
It was a little too late as the secret to Phantom Shot is completely revealed, but Kuroko is not disappointed than expected from the bench, as there is Seirin's reliable ace in Kagami, who tears through the double team right through the centre and dunks. It is a shocking discovery by Riko that Kagami has an incredibly fast growth in ability. Kagami then requests his seniors to pass him the ball, as there is a need for him not to lose. Kagami follows to break the double team again and makes a clutch layup.
In the next possession, Moriyama quickly shoots a 3 without Hyūga noticing, but Kagami is there to block. Kagami prepares to dunk in the next possession, but knowing that he will get block, he switches to pass to Kiyoshi, who simply scores the basket. First half ends with both team tied at 44 apiece.
Halftime break[]
During the halftime break, at Seirin's designated locker room, the team were shocked when realising that Riko has nothing to say as to what to do in the second half, just telling the team to take advantage of Kise's leg injury and continue to do the same so that a big point difference can be made.
At Kaijō's locker room, Kise keeps pleading to the coach to sub him back in for the start of the second half, to which the coach said no straight, and only will do that in the last 2 minutes of the match. Asking for the rest of the team's opinions, and lastly, Kasamatsu's, Kise has nothing to say as he suddenly recalls the team's hierarchy and during his first training at Kaijō.
3rd Quarter[]
As expected, Kise was put on the bench, but Riko feels that something is not right. At first, the flow of the match goes to Seirin and leads 48 - 52, but Kaijō counters with a Moriyama 3-pointer that Hyūga still could not stop, trimming the lead to 1 point. Hyūga wants to counter with his own 3, but realising he may get block, he switches to pass to Kiyoshi, who uses the Right of Postponement to pass to Mitobe to finish. Himuro thinks that the current Seirin is unstoppable and that Kaijō could be in trouble if they don't come up with a stop. Kasamatsu also thinks that this match is now not in favour of Kaijō, but believes they could still score points, even if Kagami's unbelievable growth speed had shocked him for a moment. The attention goes to the coach of Kaijō, who thinks his team should be grateful to Seirin, and flashback to after Seirin won their first matchup, the team trained even harder, including Kise.
Back to the match, Kasamatsu goes full drive past Izuki, who attempts Eagle Spear, managing to tap the ball out of control. Kasamatsu hustled for the loose ball and he managed to tap the ball to pass to Kobori, attempting a basket. However, Kiyoshi is there to block the shot and hence the shot is missed, but Hayakawa appears and taps the ball into the basket. Hayakawa then gets an offensive rebound, passes to Kobori, who makes a dunk, drawing a foul on Kiyoshi for pushing Kobori. The score is 57 - 59. Before Kobori takes the shot, he turns to Kiyoshi, admitting the latter is stronger. Despite this, he explains that the game is Kaijō's revenge game, therefore he has a sense of urgency not to lose. A slightly irritated Hyūga approaches a speechless Kiyoshi and asks him why he didn't say something back in reteliation. After a short and heated argument, Izuki reassures an anxious Kagami and tells him not to worry. Kobori successfully takes the shot, making the score 58 - 59, with Kaijo hanging on tight.
Kiyoshi's response to Kobori
Izuki gains control of the ball and is determined to send one right back. Kagami complies, although he appears to be worried at the fact that Hyūga and Kiyoshi haven't cooled off yet. He expresses his concern to Izuki, who in turn, tells him not to worry and explains that they never got on too well with each other last year, so it isn't unusual to see them fighting, especially in sticky situations. He finishes by letting Kagami know that Hyūga and Kiyoshi were the two pillars that took Seirin to the final league. He also encourages him to focus on his own plays. Hyūga is seen passing the ball to Mitobe, who attempts a hook shot. Shinya is quick to respond and is determined to stop him. He manages to tap the ball with the tip of his finger, resulting in a miss. Kiyoshi regains his composure by dunking the ball into the basket on the rebound with incredible strength, lifting the team's spirit.
Hyūga stops Moriyama
Hyūga has a flashback of the previous night after practice, when he was discussing their practice match against Kaijō, with the rest of the team. He emphasised the point that what they won was merely just a practice match, and that no matter how many times they won, nothing would change. He finished by saying that there was no point if they won 100 times during practice, as it is something that is done in order to prepare for the real deal. Back to the match, Moriyama attempts a 3-pointer, in which Hyuga, remembering the words he said last night, manages to block Moriyama's shot. They immediately counter, with Izuki in possession of the ball. Kiyoshi screens out Moriyama, which allows Izuki to pass the ball to Hyūga, who redirects it to Kiyoshi, who then lays the ball into the basket after performing an effective screen-roll. Kiyoshi and Hyūga crudely comment on each other's play, despite their impressive co-ordination.
After observing them, Izuki finally convinces Kagami that they are playing perfectly fine with each other. Meanwhile, in the stands, Himuro says that despite Kaijō's tenacity, Seirin's drive can't be stopped. With two minutes remaining in the quarter, Kise irritably tells his coach that he should have substituted him back in. The coach, also at a loss, watches as Kagami dunks the ball into the basket as the 3rd quarter comes to an end with Seirin overwhelming them; the score being 58 - 67.
4th Quarter[]
Kagami forces his way through
The players of Rakuzan appear at the match and take their seats in the stands, with the 4th quarter in full swing. Hayama is seen speculating the outcome of the match, whilst Akashi is conversing with a teammate about the progress of the match. The audience turn their attention to Rakuzan and look at them in awe, as they have already secured their place in the finals. Back to the match, Kagami is still being double-teamed by Shinya and Hayakawa. However, Kagami forces his way through with speed and passes the ball to Kiyoshi, who puts it into the basket. The score now becomes 59 - 69, with Seirin leading by 10 points.
In the stands, Nebuya and Mibuchi are surprised by Kagami's speed and strength. Hayama is also amazed at how strong Seirin is, and asks Akashi for his opinion on this. Akashi acknowledges the reasons why Seirin have made it to the semi-finals, whilst also expressing his disbelief at the fact that it is only the teams' second year. He concludes by saying that even though Kaijō is a capable team, they probably won't stand a chance without Kise. Meanwhile, on Seirin's bench, Riko thinks by putting a 15-point difference between them, their victory will be secured, even if Kise returns.
Shinya is seen attempting a shot, however, it misses. On the rebound, Kobori manages to put the ball back into the basket, with Kaijō desperately hanging on. Kasamatsu is determined not to let Seirin pull any further ahead, whilst Hyūga is resolute in that they'll pull ahead no matter what. Still on the bench, Kise is silently begging his team to hang on. He flashbacks to the previous night after practice, when he confessed to Kasamatsu that it was his own fault that they lost against Tōō at the Inter High quarter-finals. Kasamatsu replied by saying that it was the aces' job to lead the team to victory, but it was the captains' job to bear responsibility if they lost. He encouraged him to keep looking forward instead of brooding on the past. Back to the present, Kise watches helplessly as Izuki alley-oops the ball to Kagami, who dunks it into the basket.
Kise and Kuroko return
With 4 minuters remaining, Seirin finally extend their lead to a 15-point difference, with the score 62 - 77. Kise has seen enough and decides to go in, disregarding the fact that he will only be able to last for 2 minutes. The coach notices and immediately orders Kise to wait, as it is still too early to send him back in. After a heated discussion, Kise persuades his coach to let him play, as long as he doesn't end up injuring himself. Coincidentally, Kuroko asks the officials to substitute him in after convincing Riko to put him in, despite the point difference and the fact that his Misdirection won't be effective Kaijō at this point in time. He also warns Riko that there is nothing more terrifying than a member of the Generation of Miracles when he's cornered. Meanwhile, Aomine along with Momoi enters the scene to witness the end of the match. Aomine tells Momoi that they are in luck, as he instantly notices both Kuroko and Kise being substituted in.
As Kise walks onto the court, Akashi says that Kaijō was already at their limit without Kise. Likewise, Mibuchi comments on Kaijō's decision to bring Kise back into the game by saying that they would have suffered psychologically, if they had waited any longer. Meanwhile, at the back of the stands, Murasakibara reinforces the fact that even though there are 4 minutes remaining, Kise will only last for 2 minutes. Himuro adds by saying that even if Kise uses his Perfect Copy in the time he has left, they still won't catch up to Seirin. On Seirin's bench, Riko thinks that they are definitely pushing Kaijō to the limit. Despite this, she begins to feel uneasy.
Kise remains a threat
Kagami comments on Kise's return, as the latter is seen passing him. Kagami is immediately shocked at the expression on Kise's face. Mirroring Kuroko's thoughts, Kagami warns Kuroko that they can't let their guard down, even for a second. In agreement, Kuroko says that the outcome of the game will not be decided until the final buzzer is heard.Hyūga raises his voice and alerts everyone not to relax until the game is completely over. The players of Seirin reply by shouting in unison, and are seen tightly marking their opponents.
Kise overwhelms Kiyoshi
Kasamatsu is seen passing the ball to Kise, after being heavily pressured by Izuki. The audiences' attention suddenly turns to Kise. With the ball in his hands, Kise quickly reflects on his role as Kaijō's ace, and is more determined than ever to defeat Seirin. Through his Perfect Copy, Kise utilises Akashi's Emperor Eye, followed directly by Aomine's full-speed drive to pass Kagami. Kise finishes by dunking to ball into the basket over Kiyoshi, with incredible strength.
Eventually, Kaijo leads 80-79 with 3.8 seconds left on the clock. Kagami gets the ball and immediately runs to the hoop. He attempts the meteor jam to dunk over Kise, but he did not jump high enough. Kuroko calls for the ball but it's already leaving Kagami's hand. At the last second, he throws the ball and bounces it off the goal and Kuroko catches it and performs his Phantom shot. The final buzzer sounds and the ball lands in. The ball counts and Seirin wins 81-80.
Kaijo's members are in shock and on the brink of tears. They thank Seirin for the game and wish them good luck in the Finals. Kise cries as his teammates help him walk off the court.