Unable to stop Hiroshi Morishige on defense, Dai Moroboshi anxiously dribbled into the opposing half. He wanted to break the deadlock through offense.
Meihou Industrial High School's defense was interesting, too. They hounded the opposing perimeter shooters, giving them as few chances to shoot from outside as possible.
Moroboshi, for instance, had been double-teamed ever since he made a three-pointer.
And when they double-teamed him, they deliberately left an opening that let him drive inside.
Without thinking too much about it, Moroboshi broke out of the encirclement and drove into the paint to face Morishige alone.
With a star player's pride, Moroboshi showed no fear or intention of backing away. He charged toward Morishige in long strides.
Leaping high, Moroboshi adjusted in midair for a double-clutch layup.
But the next second, Morishige slapped the basketball away with an incredibly clean block.
That was what made Morishige so frightening. Not only was his interior defense strong, but his movements were clean, too.
If he did not so often get called for fouls by deliberately hanging on the rim, Morishige would rarely find himself in foul trouble. In that respect, he was far better than Jun Uozumi, whose defense was also excellent.
Caught in Meihou Industrial High School's defensive trap, Moroboshi repeatedly found opportunities to face Morishige one-on-one inside.
But it was not very efficient. Morishige had already recorded four blocks.
Eighteen minutes into the first half, Aiwa Academy trailed by eighteen points, 17-35.
Moroboshi worked hard on defense, trying to cut off the passing lanes to Morishige.
But the basketball still reached Morishige, who had established position inside.
Knowing his teammate would struggle to stop him, Moroboshi gritted his teeth and ran toward Morishige, preparing to help double-team him.
With the ball in his hands, Morishige did not look at anyone