Although the two still couldn't stand each other, trading barbs off the court and barely communicating on it, with coordination that seemed haphazard at best, they had somehow given Shohoku its biggest boost of the season, creating an offensive and defensive system that looked chaotic but packed immense power.
When Rukawa drove, he instinctively used Sakuragi Hanamichi's positioning to screen for him. Though Sakuragi Hanamichi grumbled and cursed, his body cooperated, blocking the defender coming over to help.
After grabbing a rebound, Sakuragi Hanamichi absolutely refused to pass directly to Rukawa, always tossing the ball casually to Miyagi Ryota or Mitsui Hisashi instead.
Yet after a few passes around the court, the ball always somehow ended up back in Rukawa's hands for him to finish the play.
Akagi had also firmly regained control of the paint.
With Sakuragi Hanamichi providing help defense, he no longer had to divide his attention between defending and rebounding. He could focus on Takasago Kazuma, repeatedly shutting down his attacks with solid defense.
Mitsui Hisashi had rediscovered his hot shooting touch. With Sakuragi Hanamichi securing the rebounds and Liu Chuanfeng drawing defenders, he found more open looks, knocking down threes to extend their lead.
Hainan was forced back step by step by Shohoku. Its players grew increasingly impatient, committed more turnovers, and struggled harder and harder to score.
Though Maki Shinichi still gave everything he had, he couldn't withstand the pressure of Shohoku's two awakened players.
His teammates' shooting touch had also gone completely cold under the suffocating defense.
Jin Soichiro's threes were no longer accurate, and Muto Tadashi repeatedly lost the ball on his drives. Shohoku's offense surged like a tide, while Hainan's defense teetered on the brink.
Past the halfway point of the second half, the electronic scoreboard read 78-65. Shohoku led Hainan