Ryoji Ikegami's arrival on the court also had a downside: Ryonan had one fewer scoring option, as he had very little desire to attack.
That meant Shohoku could focus even more on Akira Sendoh.
There was no room for sentiment. Ryota Kudo, Kaede Rukawa, and Hisashi Mitsui began swarming Akira Sendoh.
The Kainan Team had come up with this tactic, and it had been extremely effective against Ryonan.
Now Shohoku began copying it, with Ryota Kudo as the primary defender and Kaede Rukawa and Hisashi Mitsui providing help defense.
Although this could not shut Akira Sendoh down completely, it could drain his stamina considerably.
Before the first half was even over, even Akira Sendoh's walking pace had slowed.
With the connection between Akira Sendoh and his teammates cut off, the rest of the Ryonan Team could only watch him keep exhausting himself on isolation plays.
Beads of sweat rolled constantly down Akira Sendoh's forehead. Even this exhausted, he still wore a faint smile.
No longer actively looking to receive the ball, Akira Sendoh actually leaned against Ryota Kudo to rest and complained quietly.
"Ryota, aren't you taking this a bit too far? Didn't we agree before the game that we'd go one-on-one?
"How come it's turned into you constantly double-teaming me once we're on the court?"
Akira Sendoh made Ryota Kudo laugh too. Rather than push him away, he adjusted his position so Sendoh could lean against him more comfortably and rest.
"A game is a game, Sendoh-chan. Double-teaming is perfectly normal when you're trying to win."
There were now two minutes left in the first half, and Shohoku's lead had already reached sixteen points.
On top of that, the Shohoku Team was still in good shape overall, while the Ryonan players were nearly at their limits.
Never mind the