With the club's future on the line, Maki and Toma face Joy. The two fall behind early, but they notice that Joy's partner is a liability and they direct the ball at him to win the match. They win their next two matches, leading them to play against the defending champions, the Itsuse brothers. While the tournament is going on, Nao's mother decides that she will let things slide for that day but will ultimately regain control of him, and Rintaro receives a message from his biological mother, who came to watch his match but left before meeting him face to face.