Coach Taoka's tactical adjustment produced immediate results.
Akira Sendoh was able to devote more energy to his one-on-one matchup.
He relied on his outstanding height, wingspan, and anticipation.
Combined with Ryoji Ikegami's help defense from the wing, these quickly formed a solid defensive wall against Kaede Rukawa.
Rukawa tried to take him one-on-one, only to fall into a double-team trap.
Forced into a difficult shot, he could only watch it clang off the rim.
Akagi grabbed the offensive rebound and passed it back to Rukawa.
This time, Sendoh went straight for the steal, winning possession for Ryonan.
On offense, Sendoh was even more terrifying.
Sendoh established position a step beyond the top of the arc, calmly turning sideways against Rukawa.
Rukawa lowered his center of gravity and focused completely, ready to stop Sendoh on this possession.
Sendoh did not rush to drive. He dribbled steadily, his rhythm unhurried.
Then he pivoted on his right foot and jerked his body left, threatening to spin toward the baseline and drive.
Rukawa reacted extremely quickly, sliding across to cut off the baseline.
But Sendoh's movement was only a convincing fake.
The instant Rukawa shifted his weight, Sendoh had already pulled back.
He spun toward the middle with incredible speed and leaped high into the air.
His turn was lightning-fast, his elevation ample, and the entire motion flowed without the slightest hitch.
By the time Rukawa tried to readjust his balance and jump to block him, he was already half a beat too late!
The ball rolled softly off Sendoh's fingertips, tracing a beautiful arc before dropping precisely through the hoop.
35-45.
Ryonan added another three points.
After scoring, Sendoh quickly retreated on defense.
Rukawa watched his retreating figure, an even fiercer fighting spirit igniting in his eyes.
On Shohoku's possession, Rukawa also held out his hand for the ball at the top of the arc. He wanted to answer back.
Kogure passed him the ball.
Facing Sendoh's defense, Rukawa dribbled rapidly between his legs several times, trying to find a rhythm for his drive.
Suddenly, he accelerated and changed direction, trying to force his way past on the right!
But Sendoh's defensive footwork was every bit as quick. He held his position firmly, constantly disrupting Rukawa with his long arms.
Unable to find a better opening and with little time left on the shot clock, Rukawa had no choice but to force a step-back jumper.
Sendoh read the timing of his release perfectly and jumped with all his strength to contest it!
Under the pressure of Sendoh's defense, Rukawa barely managed to get the shot away.
"Rebound!"
After landing, Sendoh shouted.
Sure enough, the ball bounced off the rim.
Jun Uozumi secured the rebound.
Ryonan quickly launched a fast break.
Sendoh received the ball and pushed ahead at speed, with Rukawa chasing relentlessly.
Sendoh dribbled into the frontcourt without slowing down and went straight into his layup steps with Rukawa pursuing him!
He absorbed Rukawa's close defense, made a small double-clutch adjustment in midair to evade the block, and scored.
35-47.
Sendoh had scored five straight points.
On the next possession, Rukawa used Akagi's screen to shake off Sendoh.
He caught the pass and sank a midrange jumper, stopping the bleeding for Shohoku.
37-47.
But Sendoh's assault did not stop.
On the next possession, he caught the ball on the wing and immediately assumed a triple-threat stance against Rukawa's tight defense.
A shot fake drew Rukawa's weight upward, and Sendoh immediately put the ball on the floor, getting more than half a body length past him in one step.
He pulled up and sank another jumper!
37-49.
Rukawa tried to answer with another isolation play. His drive was even fiercer, but Sendoh's defense followed him like a shadow.
Rukawa's forced layup missed again.
At the other end, Sendoh ran a pick-and-roll with Uozumi.
After drawing Akagi into switching onto him, Sendoh bounced a pass to the rolling Uozumi, who shouldered past Sakuragi's help defense and scored an easy layup.
37-51.
The lead reached fourteen points.
Akira Sendoh had taken complete control of the game.
Not only did he score at will on offense, but he did so in all kinds of ways.
Post-ups, face-up drives, pull-up jumpers.
On defense, he had also successfully contained Shohoku's ace scorer, Kaede Rukawa.
Every basket became exceptionally difficult for Rukawa, while Sendoh seemed to score with effortless ease.
This all-around suppression dealt a heavy blow to Shohoku's morale.
With the perimeter locked down, Takenori Akagi's efforts inside were not enough to carry the team alone.
Hanamichi Sakuragi was a beginner, after all, and looked lost on both ends of the court.
Shohoku's offense stalled, while its defense had no answer for Sendoh.
Through his performance, Akira Sendoh proved that he was not merely one of Kanagawa Prefecture's top scorers, but a superstar capable of dominating the game on both offense and defense.
Compared with last year, his skills were more complete, his mindset steadier, and his influence on the game had reached a new level.
Moving off the ball, Sendoh received a pass and sank another three-pointer without hesitation, bringing his individual scoring display to a climax.
37-54.
In just a few minutes, Sendoh alone had scored ten points and delivered a crucial assist.
He had led Ryonan on a 12-2 scoring surge, stretching the lead all the way to seventeen points.
Rukawa braced both hands on his knees, sweat dripping steadily.
This was the first time he had felt such immense pressure in an official game.
The opposing number seven, Akira Sendoh, was not only unstoppable on offense, but also made every step a struggle for him on defense.
He had never experienced this kind of frustration before.
Akira Sendoh calmly retreated to his own half, his gaze sweeping over Shohoku's players before lingering briefly on the deeply frowning Akagi and the expressionless Rukawa.
Shohoku's only two offensive focal points had been completely contained once he stepped up his efforts.
The gap would soon reach twenty points.
With less than ten minutes remaining, it could be said that Shohoku had already lost.
His strength seemed to proclaim to all of Shohoku that they were still a long way from challenging for the throne.
Shohoku had reached the brink of its greatest danger.
Coach Anzai remained seated calmly, but his gaze once again turned to number fifteen, Kawamoto Kazuki, who had strictly followed his orders since the opening tip and had done little of note on either end of the court.
Then he quickly looked away.
Kawamoto Kazuki came up beside Rukawa and spoke slowly.
"Don't feel pressured. Akira Sendoh is a second-year student. He's long since gotten used to the pace of high school basketball."
"You're only a first-year."
"This is just a practice game. Nobody expects you to shut Sendoh down."
"Play freely. Just play your own game."
"I believe that by this time next year, you'll be much stronger than he is now."
With that, Kawamoto Kazuki ran off to continue his matchup with Koshino.
It was Shohoku's possession.
Kiminobu Kogure dribbled across half court, scanning the floor. Takenori Akagi was battling Uozumi inside, Hanamichi Sakuragi was tightly shadowed by Ikegami, and Kawamoto Kazuki was occupying Koshino.
In the end, his gaze still settled on number eleven, who stood beyond the three-point line on the wing with his knees slightly bent and his hand extended for the ball.
Rukawa's eyes were as cold as quenched iron.
Within them burned defiance and an almost stubborn fighting spirit.
He needed this basket.
Shohoku needed it even more.
Without hesitation, Kogure delivered a precise lob into Rukawa's hands.
The instant the ball reached him, Rukawa lowered his center of gravity and planted his back firmly against Akira Sendoh behind him.
That lazy curve still lingered at the corners of Sendoh's mouth.
He spread his long arms, cutting off all of Rukawa's usual attacking routes.
The air seemed to freeze at that moment.