Kaede Rukawa scored again and again, single-handedly tying the score and then taking the lead.
His scoring arsenal showed everyone the terrifying ability of this super rookie.
Shohoku's morale soared to its peak, as though the scales of victory had begun to tip in their favor.
Yet the relaxed smile never left the face of Ryonan's ace, Akira Sendoh.
He clapped his hands and told his somewhat dejected teammates, "It's fine. Stay steady and get them back. Ikegami, switch with me. I'll guard Rukawa."
His voice remained composed, as though Rukawa's display had been nothing more than a brief interlude in the game.
It was Ryonan's possession.
Sendoh brought the ball up, and Rukawa immediately stepped up to guard him closely.
He tried to shut down Ryonan's engine with suffocating defense.
Facing Rukawa's pressure, Sendoh showed no sign of panic.
He turned sideways to shield the ball, deftly combining a light behind-the-back dribble with a spin to foil Rukawa's first steal attempt.
Rather than force an isolation against Rukawa, he surveyed the court, watching his teammates' movements.
At that moment, Jun Uozumi and Takenori Akagi were battling fiercely for position under the basket, while power forward Hiroaki Koshino quietly moved up toward the free-throw line.
Sendoh's simple bounce pass pierced a gap in Shohoku's defense and landed precisely in the hands of the cutting Koshino.
Koshino caught the ball with nobody in front of him, rose easily, and sank a midrange jumper.
19-19. The score was tied again!
With one composed pass, Sendoh swiftly answered Rukawa's individual offense.
On Shohoku's possession, Rukawa tried to isolate against Ikegami again, but this time, prompted by a glance from Sendoh, Ikegami defended more fiercely.
Meanwhile, Uekusa on the wing also made a conscious effort to provide help defense.
Under heavy pressure, Rukawa's forced jumper missed, and Uozumi secured the rebound.
As possession changed hands, Sendoh caught the ball and pushed forward quickly.
Rukawa sprinted back at full speed.
But while dribbling at speed, Sendoh looked toward Uekusa on his right, only to whip a convincing no-look pass to Ryoji Ikegami, who was racing down the left!
Ikegami caught it and made the layup!
19-21.
Ryonan had the lead again!
Sendoh's passes came from nowhere, making them almost impossible to defend.
Over the next few minutes, the game fell entirely into Akira Sendoh's rhythm.
Like an elegant conductor, he directed Ryonan's offense with unhurried composure.
Sendoh used a screen to shake off Rukawa, drew Akagi onto him on the switch, then passed up his own scoring chance and bounced the ball to Uozumi rolling toward the basket.
Uozumi caught it and faced Hanamichi Sakuragi, who had rotated over to help, using his height advantage to bank it in easily.
Sendoh dribbled at the top of the arc, suddenly accelerated as though driving to the basket, and forced Shohoku's defense to collapse before kicking the ball out to Tomoyuki Uekusa, waiting beyond the three-point line in the corner.
Uekusa took the open three and made it.
Facing Rukawa one-on-one, Sendoh dribbled repeatedly between his legs, his rhythm shifting unpredictably.
Suddenly, he stepped back, created space, and pulled up for a jumper!
The ball swished through the net!
This time, he chose to score himself, displaying elite individual offensive ability.
It seemed to tell Rukawa that scoring was just as effortless for him.
With Sendoh threading passes and orchestrating play, Ryonan's offense became incredibly fluid.
Uozumi continued to score frequently inside despite Akagi's defense.
Koshino and Uekusa repeatedly hit midrange shots from outside, and even Ikegami found easy scoring opportunities through cuts to the basket.
Sendoh himself waited for his openings, shooting or passing as the situation demanded, toying with Shohoku's defensive system.
Shohoku's offense, by contrast, depended almost entirely on Rukawa going it alone.
Although Rukawa had a hot hand and kept making difficult shots.
Ryonan intensified its double-teams and help defense against him, making every basket extraordinarily difficult.
Takenori Akagi struggled to accomplish anything under Uozumi's tight defense, the inexperienced Hanamichi Sakuragi was practically invisible on offense, and Kiminobu Kogure could not organize an effective attack against Sendoh's defense either.
As for Kawamoto Kazuki...
He continued to follow Coach Anzai's orders to the letter.
Coast!
Two minutes remained in the first half.
Akira Sendoh dribbled at the top of the arc, running down the clock.
He suddenly accelerated and changed direction, getting half a step past the tiring Rukawa.
After drawing the help defense, he passed to Uekusa in the corner.
Uekusa's pump fake sent Kogure flying as he rushed out to contest, then he took one dribble to draw another defender before passing to the cutting Hiroaki Koshino.
Koshino scored an easy layup.
27-34.
The gap widened to seven points.
On the next possession, Rukawa forced a drive and passed after being double-teamed.
Unfortunately, his errant pass was stolen by Sendoh.
Sendoh immediately launched a fast break off the steal, finding Ikegami racing ahead with a full-court pass.
Ikegami missed the layup but drew a foul from Hanamichi Sakuragi.
He made one of his two free throws.
27-35.
It was Shohoku's turn on offense.
Once again, they went through Rukawa.
This time, Rukawa's attack failed again, and Ryonan's Jun Uozumi secured the rebound and passed to Sendoh.
Sendoh did not opt for a fast break, bringing the ball up at an unhurried pace.
With Rukawa giving him space on defense, he suddenly pulled up a step beyond the three-point line and launched a deep three!
The basketball traced a high arc-
"Swish!"
Nothing but net!
27-38!
Beeeep!
The referee's whistle sounded, ending the first half!
The scoreboard froze at 27-38.
Ryonan entered halftime with an eleven-point lead.
Under Akira Sendoh's nearly flawless direction, Ryonan had put together a 21-10 run in just five minutes, completely turning the game around!
From trailing to leading by eleven, Sendoh showed everyone what true team basketball was, and what an elite point guard's command of the game looked like.
The entire gym fell quiet.
Shohoku's players panted heavily, their faces etched with exhaustion and helplessness.
Rukawa braced his hands on his knees, sweat dripping steadily. Although he had scored an astonishing twenty points in the half, his team was far behind.
Individual heroics looked so pale and powerless against the team storm led by Sendoh.
Akira Sendoh smiled and high-fived his teammates, then walked calmly toward the bench.
His gaze swept across Shohoku's half of the court, lingering briefly on Rukawa and Kawamoto Kazuki, who had remained silent but steady on defense.
The game was far from over.
Coach Moichi Taoka nodded in satisfaction.
Coach Anzai, meanwhile, remained as unruffled as ever, his gaze deep behind his thick lenses.
Everyone's eyes involuntarily turned toward Kawamoto Kazuki.
But he still wore that same expressionless look, barely even breathing hard, calmer than Shohoku's substitutes off the court.
Coach Anzai first gave a chuckle, then spoke.
"Don't look at Kawamoto. Basketball is a five-man competition. Kawamoto and Sakuragi played well in the first half, and so did Rukawa. But Akagi, Kogure, as veterans of the basketball team, your performances were truly poor."