"Got it!" Eiji Sawakita exclaimed confidently from the stands. The basketball was still in the air, and no one was sure if Shirasawa could catch it. Even if he did, could he shoot in just one second while Dai Moroboshi was chasing him? And even if he did shoot, how rushed would it be? But Sawakita dared to predict the outcome.
If you ask him why, he'll definitely say "intuition." But put yourself in his shoes; if it were him, he would absolutely score! His confidence was evident from the moment Shirasawa ran towards the frontcourt.
Speaking of super scorers, that kind of confidence is enough to feed them... Masashi Kawata is completely convinced now. Ever since he redefined Shirasawa's role, he's been looking at Sawakita with the same eyes he uses to look at Shirasawa. In the eyes of these monsters, nothing is impossible. Big Kawata quickly turned his gaze back to the court. Shirasawa Dai Moroboshi, was charging towards the right corner with his arms outstretched. He pushed off with his foot and flew into the air! He managed to seize the initiative in mid-air and catch the ball firmly in his hands.
The timer started counting down from that moment. 0.9 seconds... 0.8 seconds... Time seemed to fly by. Shirasawa landed, the timer showing 0.7 seconds. He didn't even have time to adjust his posture; as he landed, he twisted his body, leaned back, and pushed the ball almost past his head. He not only had to shoot, but also dodge Dai Moroboshi's block; his movements were ridiculously fast. Dai Moroboshi's fingertips almost touched the ball, just a hair's breadth away.
Whistle! The whistle blew, and the basketball flew towards the hoop. The first half was just over. Dai Moroboshi's first reaction was to turn around and look. He was thinking to himself, if he blocked the shot, it would be over; if he didn't... it's probably going in! Everyone's eyes were fixed on the ball, watching it slowly descend. A loud thud! The basketball slammed solidly into the rim, it really went in! A buzzer-beating three-pointer! The scoreboard flashed, 79 to 59!
The entire stadium erupted! "Holy crap! It went in! It really went in!" " Shirasawa! My god! A buzzer-beating three-pointer!" "That's incredible! This is something to brag about for the rest of your life!" The stands were like firecrackers, incredibly excited, more frenzied than ever before. Shirasawa himself was also ecstatic. As soon as the ball went in, he sprinted back to the backcourt, grinning and bumping chests with his teammates, shouting and savoring this magical moment.
"MVP! MVP!" "MVP! MVP!" The shouts grew louder and louder, and the entire stadium erupted in unison, chanting "MVP!" Keep in mind, this is only the Round of 16! On the field, Dai Moroboshi stood rooted to the spot, letting out a long sigh and shaking his head in resignation.
He knew what he was supposed to do and did his best to defend, but the opponent just scored. What could he say but feel helpless? The point difference had finally reached 20 points, Aiwa Academy needed to catch their breath. The situation was terrible for them. The team left the court dejectedly and went back to the locker room to regroup.
" Maki, even if you guessed the process, you definitely couldn't have imagined the ending, right? It's still down to 20 minutes! Hehehe~~" Nobunaga Kiyota grinned, showing his two rows of Xiao Bai teeth, his expression as smug as if he'd just beaten Shinichi Maki. Shinichi Maki simply smiled and shook his head slightly. In his opinion, Dai Moroboshi's last national tournament probably only had 20 minutes left...
Shohoku scored a whopping 79 points in the first half! Although they didn't break the national tournament record for points in a half, that score was still quite impressive; no team has achieved that yet this year. Shohoku Aiwa Academy, known for their fierce offense, really went all out on offense, and it's now clear who was the better scorer.
Shirasawa set a new record—scoring 41 points in the first half with a combination of inside drives and outside shots! He broke Eiji Sawakita's record of 39 points in the first half set last year, making it his own 41 points. Of course, whether Sawakita really played his heart out in that game last year is hard to say; similarly, no one can guarantee whether Shirasawa used all his skills in this game.
Don't forget, Shirasawa was constantly feeding the ball to Akagi at the start. If he had focused solely on scoring from the beginning, it's hard to say whether he could have scored more. So, a little regret makes it all the more exciting. Compared to that, Dai Moroboshi's 31 points in the first half seem a bit underwhelming.
In the locker room of the Aiwa Academy, the head coach was giving the players a pep talk, his spittle flying everywhere. "We really didn't slack off in the first half. That's our team's style—we took all the shots we were supposed to take, and our shooting percentage wasn't bad at all. 59 points in the first half is acceptable. And our Dai Moroboshi, needs no introduction—31 points in the first half! He really gave it his all!"
So, the problem isn't with our players at all; it's just that Shohoku, or rather, that guy Shirasawa, their offense is too powerful! It makes us look like we don't know how to attack...
Entering the second half with a 20-point deficit, to be honest, the head coach knew perfectly well that with Shohoku in this state, Aiwa's chances of turning the game around were practically nonexistent, only theoretically slim. The only exception would be when Morishige Hiroshi Morishige fouled out in just five minutes of the second half, like in the prefectural tournament, which gave Aiwa a real opportunity.
But look at Shirasawa, he only committed one foul in the first half... Even if he commits three more, he won't be eliminated immediately. But even if it's only theoretically possible, we can't just give up. He's Aiwa, after all; what if the guys get hot in the second half and hit a few three-pointers in a row? Maybe...
"Cheer up, everyone! There are still 20 minutes left in the game, we're not without a chance!" the head coach shouted, slamming his fist on the table. "In the second half, we'll start with defense, seize opportunities to launch fast breaks, and shoot three-pointers!"
... 0...
" Moroboshi, you need to step up your game against that kid Shirasawa!" "If we can catch up for two consecutive rounds, the scales of victory will definitely tip in our favor!" The head coach spoke with great passion, but raising the morale of the players wasn't so easy. Shirasawa was strong, but his dominance overshadowed the rest of Shohoku... You think that red-haired guy is weak on defense? You think that number 14 is an easy target? And that damn mushroom-headed Hisashi Mitsui...
There's practically no place on the Shohoku team that anyone can really bully!
However, such discouraging words should definitely not be uttered aloud...
"Alright, brothers, no matter what, we've come this far. We have to fight them to the death, what else can we do but give up on the spot?"
Dai Moroboshi jumped to his feet. As captain and ace, he had to make a statement. "There's no third option. Like the coach said, we still have 20 minutes left."
"We're not at our wits' end yet, and it's not time to give up. In the second half, let's give Shohoku another good fight! Let's take back the victory we lost!"
In short, it boils down to this: I, Dai Moroboshi, have not submitted! I would rather die standing than surrender on my knees!
Dai Moroboshi's words were much more direct and impactful than the coach's earlier speech. Regardless of what his teammates were really thinking, they finally reached a consensus: let's give it another shot against Shohoku!
After all, they were a top-four team last year! After all, their ace hasn't given up yet, so there's still a chance!
Beep!! Halftime is over, and both teams have returned to the court. Shohoku is on fire, they seem to have victory in their pocket, just waiting to zip it up.
The second half began on time. During halftime, Coach Anzai didn't make any special instructions. With a 20-point lead and peak performance on both offense and defense in the final seconds, what more could be said? You can't expect everyone to maintain that level of play in the final seconds, can you? That's simply unrealistic.
So, all Coach Anzai needs to do is smile and say his famous line, "Yes, everyone played very well. Remember, you are the strongest." As long as nothing catastrophic happens in the second half, Shohoku will basically secure a spot in the top eight.
On the court, Takenori Akagi easily won the jump ball. Shirasawa organized Shohoku's first offensive wave in the second half. The ball crossed half-court, landed steadily in the defense, and was then passed to Takenori Akagi in the paint. Akagi shoved left and right, using brute force to clear a path, and with a roar, slammed the ball into the basket, instantly widening the score to 22 points.
Takenori Akagi actually played quite well in the first half, but his presence gradually diminished as he worried about foul trouble and Shirasawa took over the offense in "807 mode." He played the entire first half, scoring 14 points and grabbing 4 rebounds. With this basket, his score is now 16...
In the stands, Kazuo Karasawa was genuinely worried for Akagi. Akagi was still 11 points and 6 rebounds away from completing that hidden mission. Scoring wasn't too much of a concern; as long as Shohoku didn't finish too early, Akagi scoring over 25 points shouldn't be a problem. The real headache was the rebounds...
The score was high for both sides, largely due to high shooting percentages, resulting in a pitifully low number of rebounds for both teams throughout the first half. Moreover, it was obvious that Akagi was primarily assisting Sakuragi, the red-haired guy, when it came to rebounding; he didn't seem to care much about his own stats. What to do now...?
Although Kazuo Karasawa is the head coach of Fukazawa Sports University, Shota Sugiyama's influence is simply too great. That national team veteran doesn't have many other requirements for team recruitment, except for the center position, which he insists on personally overseeing. With such a small requirement, how could they not meet it? Now, all we can do is pray for Akagi, hoping he can complete his mission and successfully join Fukazawa.
Aiwa and the team launched an attack, with Dai Moroboshi continuing to defend Shirasawa one-on-one. His idea was to first open up his position to boost the team's morale and give the shooters some confidence. Otherwise, if the shooters missed two shots in a row at the start of the game, their mentality would probably collapse.
*Thump~ Thump~ Dai Moroboshi dribbled continuously, looking for an opportunity to break through. But Shirasawa's defense was no less stringent than in the first half. A slight crossover, followed by a spin, then a step-back and a fadeaway jump shot... Dai Moroboshi's series of moves were as fierce as a tiger, and he finally managed to create a sliver of an open shot.