Nango took the ball and immediately pushed forward for a fast break. Kawashima Naoto, never known for his speed, tried once again to stop him, but this time Nango was prepared. With a sharp diagonal cut, he slipped past Kawashima's defensive zone and caught up with the vanguard.
Nango, Sakuragi, Rukawa Kaede, and Miyagi—just imagining these four charging at full speed was enough to make any defense tremble.
Miyagi and Rukawa Kaede sprinted down the wings, while Nango dribbled at full speed in the center, Sakuragi only a few steps ahead. Together, they roared down the court like a stampede.
Morishige Hiroshi was still jogging back, leaving Meihou Industrial's three-man backline looking helpless, on the verge of collapsing under the pressure.
Miyagi bent low and accelerated, drawing Hayama Kazuto toward the right. Rukawa Kaede mirrored him on the left, pulling Horiuchida away.
That left only Hanaoka Jugo in the middle, forced to defend both Sakuragi and Nango at once.
Sakuragi charged recklessly into the paint, and Hanaoka had no choice but to follow him.
Nango smiled faintly, adjusted his steps in stride, then launched from just outside the restricted area—slamming the ball home with a thunderous dunk.
40–39. Shohoku finally overtook the score with two minutes left in the first half, and Meihou Industrial instantly felt the pressure. They desperately wanted to tie the game.
Morishige Hiroshi and Sakuragi clashed again inside, but Sakuragi wouldn't allow even a moment's rest, sticking to him with desperate tenacity. Sakuragi no longer tried to fight power with power—he simply denied Morishige the ball like his life depended on it.
Morishige could overpower Sakuragi in a pure push, but he couldn't shove him aside without risking a foul. And every time he created the slightest opening, Sakuragi immediately darted around him, resetting the fronting defense.
With Nango lurking behind like a hungry tiger, Morishige's dominance was suddenly gone.
Sugiyama Shota covered his mouth in disbelief.
"I really didn't expect… that this red-haired kid would defend so well."
Coach Tangze nodded solemnly.
"Unbelievable. So many big men failed to stop Morishige Hiroshi, yet this freshman, barely 1.9 meters tall, is doing it. Truly remarkable. He's made quite the impression…"
Initially, Coach Tangze, an old-school coach, disliked Sakuragi's flashy red hair. But seeing his gritty, relentless defense completely changed his view. For a moment, he even wondered if Sakuragi admired someone like Dennis Rodman.
Rodman? If only he knew Sakuragi didn't even know who Michael Jordan was.
Up in the press box, Nakamura clenched his fists.
"Sakuragi's performance is incredible, Miss Aida! Was this part of Shohoku's plan?"
Yayoi smiled wryly.
"Not exactly… I believed Shohoku could win, but Sakuragi locking down Morishige this tightly? Even I didn't expect that."
Despite Nango helping on the backline, Sakuragi's solo performance was astonishing, especially given the ten-centimeter height and seventeen-kilogram weight disadvantage. It was like a lightweight boxer brawling with a heavyweight.
"Damn it…"
Hayama held the ball for a long time, but he couldn't get it to Morishige. Forced, he passed it to Kawashima, letting him distribute instead.
The moment Kawashima touched the ball, Nango leaned into him from behind, throwing him off balance. Kawashima's hands dropped automatically to steady himself.
Exactly what Nango wanted.
If Kawashima kept the ball high, stealing it would be harder. But now, with the ball low, lifting it back up wasn't easy.
Kawashima turned hesitantly, the ball tucked at his waist. Nango stood crouched in front of him, one hand raised, body pressed close. The posture alone made Kawashima second-guess himself. He felt that raising the ball now… would lead to disaster.
With no perimeter opening and no inside option, Kawashima hesitated—
Slap!
Nango sprang up and swatted the ball away like picking an apple off a tree.
Miyagi swooped in, grabbed it, and Shohoku launched another blistering fast break. This time Rukawa Kaede led the charge straight down the middle.
Miyagi veered wide, gathered the ball, then fired a powerful long bounce pass. Rukawa Kaede caught it in stride and hammered down a dunk.
Sawakita yawned.
"Shohoku's rhythm keeps improving. Meihou is falling apart."
Kawata nodded.
"They can't get the ball to Morishige. That red-haired guy really is something."
Fukatsu merely shrugged.
"Maybe this is Shohoku's strongest lineup."
After returning to defense, Rukawa Kaede extended his fist first.
"Nice pass."
Miyagi blinked in surprise, then grinned and bumped fists.
"Thanks!"
Coach Anzai chuckled warmly on the bench.
Everything was unfolding beautifully. Shohoku was heading toward victory.
With only one minute left in the half, Meihou Industrial planned for a fast attack, hoping to squeeze in two possessions before the buzzer.
But Morishige still couldn't receive the ball. Kawashima couldn't secure it. Their pick-and-roll plays were shut down instantly. As a last resort, Hayama isolated on the right wing to go one-on-one against Miyagi.
But Miyagi didn't bite on a single fake.
Running out of time, Hayama switched to a post-up, turned, and shot.
The moment the ball left his fingertips, he felt something wrong.
"Rebound!"
Morishige shoved in deep, pinning Sakuragi in place. Once he established position, he was like a steel post—unmoving.
Nango couldn't help on rebounding—he had a 205-centimeter opponent behind him—so this rebound came down to timing.
The ball hit the front rim, then bounced high—
—straight toward Nango.
He leapt and ripped it out of the air.
With 18 seconds left, Nango dribbled upcourt and slowed near half-court. The wings spread out instinctively.
At 10 seconds, Nango exploded past the first line of defense.
Kawashima and Horiuchida panicked and rushed to double-team. As they converged on the edge of the paint, Nango rose and fired a pass to Rukawa Kaede.
Rukawa caught it and released a lightning-quick three-pointer.
Swish.
Meihou Industrial had only 2.7 seconds left.
Hayama rushed upcourt and launched a desperate, leaning three-pointer from near half-court—
It didn't even hit the backboard.
47–39.
Shohoku entered halftime with an eight-point lead—a huge problem for a team like Meihou Industrial that relied solely on their inside offense.