In Hainan's half, Jin Soichiro refused to be outdone. His superb off-ball movement kept finding him open looks, and he answered Mitsui Hisashi's three-pointers with long-range shots of his own, swishing them home one after another.
Their duel on the perimeter became the brightest highlight of the third-place game.
The battle inside was just as fierce.
Akagi attacked like a tiger charging down a mountain, repeatedly powering his way beneath the basket. His broad shoulders knocked aside the defenders' raised arms as he tried to hammer the ball through the hoop.
But Takasago Kazuma was no pushover. He fought with everything he had to hold his ground in front of Akagi, using his body and experience to barely contain those powerful attacks. Even when he was driven backward again and again, he refused to concede an inch.
Mu Shenyi's drives remained razor-sharp. With the explosive power his physical advantage gave him, he occasionally tore through Shohoku's defense and went straight to the basket to score.
Yet whenever he brought the ball forward, Sakuragi Hanamichi would close in without warning, like a beast appearing out of thin air, disrupting his rhythm with incredible leaps and animal-like instincts.
Several times, Maki Shinichi nearly had the ball stolen and could only rush a pass, throwing Hainan's offensive plans into disarray.
The numbers on the scoreboard kept changing, but the score stayed tight. Neither side could pull away.
15-14, 17-16, 20-20. The teams traded blows, locked together on the scoreboard, neither able to easily build even a single basket's advantage.
The court had become a fierce battleground between evenly matched opponents.
Every attack met tenacious defense, and every basket drew gasps from the crowd.
The third-place game was far more exciting than anyone had imagined.
As the first half approached its midpoint, Shohoku suddenly