The first half ended in the eighth minute.
The score was 24-19, with Shohoku leading by 5 points and successfully suppressing Toyotama's usual high-scoring pace.
After the score was tied at 4-4, Shirasawa took the lead in changing his playing style.
He completely slowed down Shohoku's offensive pace. Except for Takenori Akagi stayed under the basket, everyone else was pulled to the perimeter. He himself turned on one-on-one mode, taking several shots from mid-range and long range, and Daijiro Itakura had no way to stop him.
He couldn't keep up with it, and he couldn't defend against it. Shirasawa would pull up for a jump shot, turn around and lean back, and then he could even do a step-back three-pointer, making Itakura run around in circles and unable to make any effective interference.
As soon as the ball went in, Mitsuaki Iwata tried to quickly serve the ball to the baseline, but Shirasawa had already led his teammates back to the backcourt. Toyotama's rocket-style offense suddenly became useless.
Of course, it doesn't matter if he misses the shot, there's still Takenori Akagi standing under the basket. In front of Akagi, Mitsuaki Iwata can't do much except be toyed with by "pulling out the chair".
Toyotama's offensive rhythm was thus forcibly slowed down.
However, once they can't pick up speed, their offensive threat is greatly reduced. Tsuyoshi Minami, Minori Kishimoto, Daijiro Itakura are the top three scorers in Osaka Prefecture. It's rare to see the top three scorers on the same team in any prefecture.
However, to be fair, Sannoh Industrial High School in Akita Prefecture is indeed capable of doing this.
Eiji Sawakita, Masashi Kawata, and Kazunari Fukatsu are also consistently among the top three scorers in the prefecture.
But they're different; they're all excellent one-on-one fighters, capable of solving problems on their own no matter where they're placed.
Toyotama's side, however, was somewhat lacking.
Aside from Tsuyoshi Minami, who is relatively capable, Minori Kishimoto and Daijiro Itakura both rely heavily on the system for their livelihood.
In other words, once their run-and-gun offense fails to pick up, their scoring ability will be diminished.
Firstly, they didn't have many rounds to rack up points, and secondly, Shohoku's defense was no pushover.
They were evenly matched up in every position, which made Toyotama's offense feel restricted.
There was no other way but to pass the ball to Tsuyoshi Minami Lie more often.
But Tsuyoshi Minami's match against Hisashi Mitsui wasn't so easy either.
After several rounds of intense fighting, Mitsui was putting considerable pressure on him.
However, Toyotama did not sit idly by and wait for their doom; they quickly found another way.
After all, this team has a signature skill: they're very good at pick-and-roll.
Especially Kyohei, their pick-and-roll quality is incredibly solid.
Moreover, every player in Toyotama, from point guard to center, can shoot.
In fact, apart from center Mitsuaki Iwata, the other four players all have a three-point shot.
Even Mitsuaki Iwata himself could extend his attack range to about 45 degrees to both sides.
This is really tough on Takenori Akagi!
That's what Mitsuaki Iwata so difficult to deal with.
Although he is not tall and his strength is average, he is agile, fast, and has a mid-to-long-range shot.
If Akagi stays under the basket, he'll just shoot;
If Akagi lunges out, he will immediately break through.
Back and forth, Akagi was really caught in a dilemma on the defensive end.
Ten minutes into the first half, Mitsuaki Iwata had already scored ten points.
Apart from Toru Hanagata, no one else can really move freely on the Akagi.
In contrast, Shirasawa's offensive prowess was practically like strolling through his own backyard.
The score was about to be widened by Shohoku.
"Call a timeout right now! Let Tsuyoshi Minami have the ball!"
Coach Kitano watched from the sidelines, wringing his hands in frustration.
Toyotama's most important task right now is to get the rhythm back on track. The players on the field are too busy to keep up, so you, as the coach, should step in and do something!
Calling a timeout wasn't considered a foul under the agreement between him and Coach Anzai.
After all, Toyotama's nominal coach is still Jinpei. The players may disobey his instructions, but they can't stop him from calling a timeout...
As agreed, Coach Anzai also has an equal right to call timeouts.
He can call out as many times as Jinpei calls out.
Calling a timeout only interrupts the game; it doesn't allow for tactical adjustments. Otherwise, it would be considered an automatic surrender.
Just then, Jinpei truly lived up to Kitano's expectations.
He raised his hand and called the first timeout of the game.
After watching for ten minutes, he came up with some ideas on how to deal with Shohoku and wanted to give them a try.
But he also knew in his heart that even if he told them, Tsuyoshi Minami and the others would most likely not do as he said.
Besides, his idea was just an experiment; if it failed, these kids would look down on him even more...
Okay, let's call a timeout and take a break.
If we don't call them soon, they might really have to pack their things and go home.
"Damn it! This is so frustrating!"
Minori Kishimoto slammed his fist on the bench, making two loud thuds.
He was really frustrated because he couldn't break through the deadlock.
Especially that red-haired number 10 across the way, he's like a leech, you can't shake him off no matter what you do.
Once Kishimoto lost his temper, no one else dared to utter a sound.
The only one still able to respond at this point is Tsuyoshi Minami.
"Save your energy, you'll have to pay for the broken stool if you do." Tsuyoshi Minami smiled, his tone quite calm.
His demeanor suggested that he had planned this all along.
Kishimoto looked up immediately upon hearing this, his eyes lighting up.
"Captain, is it time?"
Jinpei looked left and right, only to find himself completely invisible, ignored by everyone.
But the atmosphere within the team... the more I listen, the more something seems off.
"What are you trying to do! This is a national competition, don't mess around!" Jinpei shouted anxiously.
Toyotama's reputation is quite interesting. When Kitano was in charge, Toyotama was a respected team, and their run-and-gun tactics had made a name for themselves.
But all the bad reputation only emerged after Jinpei took over!
In just over two years, the team's reputation has completely reversed.
Jinpei himself felt wronged, saying, "It's really not my fault!"
Ultimately, the real culprits are Tsuyoshi Minami and Minori Kishimoto!
These two are willing to use any dirty tricks to prove that run-and-gun offense can win games.
Jinpei, of course, couldn't stand it. During a training session last year, he couldn't hold back any longer and got into an argument with the two of them.
He thoroughly criticized Coach Kitano's run-and-gun philosophy from beginning to end, and told Tsuyoshi Minami and the others to stop getting stuck on the details and to stop engaging in any underhanded tactics outside of basketball!
But to his utter surprise, Tsuyoshi Minami's eyes turned red, and he grabbed him by the neck.
Even now, Jinpei gets chills when he thinks about those words.
I'll fucking kill you!
Tsuyoshi Minami's gaze was not meant to frighten; Jinpei believed it was the closest he had ever come to death...
Fortunately, the other team members rushed forward and pulled Tsuyoshi Minami Lie away, thus calming the situation down.
Jinpei didn't report the matter to the school.
How can you say that the head coach can't even control his players?
What use is a coach like you to the school?
Jinpei felt incredibly frustrated. In all his years of coaching, Grandpa Kitano had never caused such a mess!
So what could he do? This job was quite valuable to him, so he could only swallow his pride and bear it.
He figured he should just bear with it a little longer, and once Tsuyoshi Minami and his gang of troublemakers graduated and left, the good days would begin...
Since that incident, Jinpei has basically learned his lesson and will absolutely not get involved in other people's business if he can avoid it.
As long as the team achieves results, making it into the top eight nationwide is more important than anything else.
But the current situation, with Tsuyoshi Minami and Minori Kishimoto like that, immediately reminded him of what happened in the round of 16 last year!
That match where Toyotama won against Shoyo, which is still being talked about to this day!
Jinpei felt he had to stop it and prevent history from repeating itself.
It wasn't that I felt sorry for Tsuyoshi Minami; it was mainly for his own sake.
How could outsiders possibly know about the mess in Toyotama's team? In the end, the blame will definitely fall on the coach, and he might even be accused of being the mastermind.
His reputation is already bad enough; if he causes any more trouble, he might not even be wanted by anyone in Toyotama!
How can we not be anxious?
Back then, two years ago, I was at least a well-known young talent in the industry...
Tsuyoshi Minami merely glanced at Jinpei and didn't respond at all.
" Kishimoto! Did you hear me?!"
Jinpei didn't dare to provoke Tsuyoshi Minami again, and turned his attention to Kishimoto was relatively easier to talk to.
Kishimoto's temper has improved a tiny bit...
Unfortunately, Kishimoto already itching to get started and was preparing to make a big splash with Tsuyoshi Minami.
"Coach, what are you thinking?" Kishimoto grinned, cracking his knuckles. "We just want to increase the intensity of the game. As the coach, you should support us."
"You..."
Jinpei was speechless, choked by the situation; clearly, he had no control over it.
Why not let Tsuyoshi Minami and Kishimoto play?
That's even less likely; they'd probably start fighting right there on the bench.
"In short... you all better behave yourselves! Otherwise, I'll really replace you!"
Faced with Jinpei's weak threat, Tsuyoshi Minami finally reacted.
"Hehe..."
The meaning of that "hehe" couldn't be clearer: the conversation ends with a "hehe," and the threat ends with being ignored.
The camera pans to the other side.
Coach Anzai, holding his thermos, looked at the players with a smile, remaining silent for a long time.
"Coach... don't you have anything to say?" Takenori Akagi scratched his head, a little puzzled.
Indeed, aside from timeouts called by Coach Anzai himself, he doesn't talk much.
But this is the first time I've ever seen someone remain completely silent, just staring blankly until the timeout expires.
Coach Anzai slowly shook his head.
I tried my best to convey the message "I believe in you" with kind eyes...
"Alright," Takenori Akagi ended the silent performance, "Then let's get ready to go on stage."
Anyway, the team is currently in the lead and has Toyotama completely under pressure.
If you keep playing at this pace, you can't go wrong.
" Shirasawa, step up your offensive game," Akagi added. "Let's try to pull the score difference to a safe level before the end of the first half."
The timeout ended, and both teams returned to the court.
" Shohoku should seize this opportunity and take the game!"
Hikoichi Aida's eyes lit up with excitement.
"Yes, that's about right," Hiroaki Koshino in agreement. " Toyotama's playing style is basically locked down."
Jun Uozumi crossed his arms and shook his head.
"I think Toyotama still has a backup plan," he pondered. "Based on past data, Tsuyoshi Minami is Toyotama's best defender on the perimeter, but so far, he hasn't even been primarily guarding Shirasawa. Can they just leave Shirasawa like this?"
"Captain, maybe he thinks he can't defend against it! That's Shirasawa, after all."
" Hikoichi, you're oversimplifying things," Uozumi frowned slightly. "Anyway... I have a bad feeling."
Kaede Rukawa's gaze remained firmly fixed on Tsuyoshi Minami.
Fujima said that last year he scored 22 points in ten minutes, and then Tsuyoshi Minami Lie sabotaged him.
Now, Shirasawa's data is in no way inferior.
The timing is about right.
Just like Uozumi said, Tsuyoshi Minami... would he really just admit it like that?
On the field, Toyotama launched an attack.
Itakura dribbled the ball past midfield, but upon seeing Shirasawa in front of him, he didn't dare to dribble for long.
He had already been dispossessed twice and lost a pass once; the defensive pressure was terrifying, something he simply couldn't handle.
After the game turned into positional warfare, Toyotama began to frequently move around and set screens.
Kyohei set a screen for Kishimoto without the ball, temporarily blocking Hanamichi Sakuragi.
Kishimoto seized the opportunity to slip along the baseline and drive straight to the basket.
Tsuyoshi Minami Lie faked a shot and then passed the ball to Kishimoto.
Kishimoto faced Takenori Akagi and took off into the air in two steps!
With a twist of its brow, Red Eyebrow Peak seemed to spring up from the dry ground!
Toyotama Yupiao spent the entire game shooting from the outside, and now he dares to go under the basket? We have to teach them a lesson!
Kishimoto didn't back down either, and flew straight at Akagi.
only...
He subtly adjusted his posture in mid-air.
He raised his right knee.
The two collided head-on.
In an instant, Akagi's entire face scrunched up!
Kishimoto's gesture was large, and his intention was even clearer!