" Shohoku!" " Sannoh!" The fans on both sides shouted themselves hoarse, even more enthusiastically than the players on the court. The roar almost lifted the roof off the arena. Even the Ryonan players were thrilled by the scene. "The final battle! The final battle!" Hikoichi Aida clenched his fists, his eyes not blinking.
He was watching intently as Kazunari Fukatsu served the ball from the baseline, which was steadily passed to Eiji Sawakita. The timer on the sidelines jumped to 10:01, and the game restarted. Shirasawa stood in the midfield, his body slightly heavy, like a wall blocking the way.
Miyagi and Mitsui stood on either side of the 45-degree three-point line, Akagi moved into the paint, and Hanamichi Sakuragi spread his arms to guard the basket. That's right, Akagi entrusted Shohoku's entire basket area to him.
" Sakuragi!" Akagi roared, his voice deafening. "The area under the basket is the battlefield!" Sakuragi's eyes shone like a hawk's. "I'll defend my territory even if it kills me!" Akagi nodded with his back to him, muttering softly, "Please, genius."
Sawakita grabbed the ball and charged forward, with the entire Sannoh team pressing forward. Thud! Thud! At the center line, Sawakita faced off against Shirasawa. Neither of them exchanged words; they relied entirely on their physical strength.
Sawakita seized an opening and drove hard against Shirasawa. Masashi Kawata Mikio simultaneously pulled Akagi and Sakuragi towards the basket, creating a large space for Sawakita. The game instantly turned into a one-on-one duel between Sawakita and Shirasawa!
Sawakita broke through to the basket and jumped. The entire Sannoh team instantly switched to defense and retreated to their backcourt. Sawakita, facing Shirasawa, attempted a floater on the right side of the rim. His movement was less fluid than before, full of power. Swish! The ball went in. Sannoh had already set up their defensive positions, waiting for Shohoku to attack.
"What kind of tactic is this?" Hikoichi Aida widened. " Sannoh isn't even going for rebounds? Just to buy time for defense?"
Uozumi sighed, "No, they're absolutely certain that Sawakita will score! Just like before when the two big men gave Sawakita space, Sannoh is putting all their offensive pressure on Sawakita! The others have to play defense like crazy now."
Uozumi said this, Ryonan's teammates were stunned—this style of play was too crazy, turning the team match into a one-man show by Sawakita!
"That's the terror of Sawakita, terrifying enough to dominate the entire Sannoh," Sendoh said calmly, then added after a pause, "But there's something even more terrifying."
The offense and defense switched, Shirasawa got the ball. Sannoh played a set offense, ignoring everyone except Mitsui, focusing on Shohoku's weak shooting and targeting them relentlessly.
Shirasawa glanced around and instantly figured out Sannoh's plan. Although Sannoh's offense was all focused on Sawakita, their defense was determined to shut down Shirasawa.
The Kawata brothers positioned themselves directly under the basket, blocking all of Shirasawa's driving space and forcing him to either pass or shoot. Shirasawa got into position, passed Sawakita, and drove straight to the basket. The Kawata brothers instantly collapsed into a wall, turning the situation into a three-on-one blockade, with Shirasawa tightly surrounded from both sides.
Goro Domoto is a nationally renowned ruthless character who knows every player on Shohoku inside and out, especially Shirasawa. He wasn't unaware of how dangerous Shirasawa's passes were, but he had to choose one of the two worst players and pass the other directly to Shirasawa. He could leave the others open, but he had to shut down Shirasawa, otherwise Sannoh would collapse.
The Kawata brothers Sawakita formed an impenetrable wall, their defense almost exceeding human limits. Every one of the top five tough guys in the country is a master of both offense and defense. But Shirasawa had to take on two of them simultaneously, plus the overwhelmingly Mikio. His offense and passing were completely shut down. Yet Shirasawa still charged in, because he had a reliable teammate by his side.
Six hands surrounded him, and Shirasawa threw the ball with an incredibly high arc, almost leaning back. Sawakita nearly snatched the ball from behind. As soon as the ball left the court, the Kawata brothers spun upon landing, and Mikio directly forced Akagi to stick to the basket. Masashi Kawata and Sakuragi were locked in a fierce battle for position.
Sannoh hadn't ignored the rebound, but they trusted the Kawata brothers' positioning skills, and Shirasawa also trusted Sakuragi. This ball would either go in, or Sakuragi would grab the rebound. Clang! The ball hit the rim, its arc too high, bouncing straight up and down.
Akagi Mikio were entangled in a tight struggle, neither gaining the upper hand. Sakuragi twisted and turned, managing to squeeze a little space off Kawata's grasp. But soon Kawata squeezed him back in, and both of them had bulging veins. Sakuragi's arm was red and he was using every ounce of strength he had.
Kogure yelled at the top of his lungs, " Akagi, Sakuragi! Rebound!" He believed that Shohoku's twin towers wouldn't lose. As the ball fell, the battle under the basket became fierce, with constant groans and groans as everyone fought for every inch of space.
Swish! The ball grazed the rim and went in. Shirasawa stopped as soon as he made his run, muttering, "Good shot." The ball stopped under the basket, and all four of them were panting heavily. In terms of weight, Sakuragi was the bigger winner; he was more than a size smaller than the other three.
Domoto, crouching on the sidelines, nodded. Although the ball went in, he felt the defense had improved; Shirasawa couldn't be this accurate every time. The offensive and defensive transition continued, Shohoku's interior players dared not leave the Kawata brothers open. Those two were incredibly accurate with their mid-range shots, as had been proven before.
Shohoku didn't dare gamble on Sawakita because Kawata might beat them first. Akagi's weakness of not being able to shoot would be magnified to the extreme, and Sannoh was the nemesis of traditional centers. Sawakita was also matched up against Shirasawa. The nation's number one offensive power was no joke. His technique and physique were both top-notch. He made a difficult layup over Shirasawa and scored two points.
Shirasawa rushed back into the encirclement, spun in the air, and shot at Mikio. The ball went in. With Sakuragi beside him, Shirasawa became even bolder, his touch getting smoother and smoother. He scored four points by beating three opponents in a row, a completely incredible move. Domoto was so anxious that he almost bit off his nails.
Neither Shirasawa nor Sawakita can stop the other now, and both can score goals. However, it's much more difficult for Shirasawa to hold off the Kawata brothers. The original plan was to shut down Shirasawa, but after these few rounds, he almost turned into a god. Form depends half on skill and half on playing in matches, and Shirasawa is definitely in top form right now.
Domoto felt that Shiro could make any three-pointer from the mid-court line now. Shirasawa's scoring spree had boosted Shohoku's morale, and if this continued, the game would be dragged out. He already knew Shirasawa strong, but he didn't expect him to be this strong! Domoto immediately ordered a change in defense, having Fukatsu coordinate with Sawakita, Shirasawa double-teaming Shiro whenever he received the ball!
Sannoh's defensive strategy remained unchanged, still featuring the same two top-five defensive specialists in the country. Although Sannoh had used the same strategy against Kainan's Maki the Emperor last year, Sannoh managed to pull ahead by thirty points in those five minutes, leaving Shinichi Maki completely helpless and forced to be dominated.
Now all the pressure is on Shirasawa's head. In the first round, Shirasawa forcefully dribbled the ball across half-court, shook off Kazunari Fukatsu and went straight for the basket, but as soon as he got to the paint, he was blocked by Masashi Kawata. He tried to pass the ball while maneuvering, but the ball was poked away by Eiji Sawakita. Three top-five defensive players in the country were just going all out against Shirasawa.
With just over five minutes left in the game, Sannoh's full-court press proved effective, keeping the score close at 85-78, with Sannoh managing to narrow the gap to seven points. After Shirasawa was surrounded by three defenders, Shohoku's offense suddenly stalled. Shirasawa missed a strong shot, Hisashi Mitsui's shot also went wide, and Hanamichi Sakuragi Masashi Kawata's strong attack under the basket was blocked by Kawata Masashi.
Sannoh relied entirely on Eiji Sawakita's relentless attacks. Even though Shirasawa delivered a big block to him, it couldn't stop the score difference from shrinking. In terms of the game, Shirasawa did have the advantage, after all, he was taking on three top-five defensive players in the country. But the score was another matter.
Sannoh's all-or-nothing gamble did work. Although Kainan used a similar strategy last year, even employing Box-and-One Defense strategy, Shirasawa still managed to crush them. However, Sannoh's group is on a different level. Kainan's strongest Shinichi Maki, Maki Shinichi, is only ranked fifth. Shirasawa is now facing Sawakita, Masashi Kawata, and Fukatsu, who are the fourth, third, and first ranked players in the country, respectively!
With a whistle, the ball was out of play, and Coach Anzai called a timeout. The sole purpose of this timeout was to give Shirasawa a breather and a rest. Although he had played fiercely for the first five minutes, the exertion was greater than playing the entire game.
After the timeout, Shirasawa was still closely marked, and Sannoh wanted to narrow the gap again in the last five minutes. They started to surround him from the baseline inbounds, this time with Minoru Matsumoto, Kazunari Fukatsu and Eiji Sawakita, maximizing their mobility, and even pulled Masashi Kawata out to specifically mark him.
In the end, Mitsui didn't dare to pass the ball to Shirasawa Ryota Miyagi, and instead gave it to Miyagi Ryota. Miyagi dribbled all the way down the right flank, while Shirasawa held off three defenders. It was a good opportunity for a four-on-two, but they still fell into the hands of Masashi Kawata.
With 5 minutes and 17 seconds remaining, Masashi Kawata didn't look for Sawakita. After a few passes, he raised his hand and shot from beyond the three-point line. Hanamichi Sakuragi jumped, but he was a step too late, and the ball swished through the net. With 4 minutes and 59 seconds left, the score was 86-81. The two teams entered the final five minutes, with a four-point difference. Sannoh won the previous five-minute battle.
Eiji Sawakita and Shirasawa fought hard for those five minutes, but Sawakita was unhappy because he was fighting one against one, while Shirasawa had to take on three opponents. This was unfair, but there was nothing he could do; the competition was all about winning, and everything was based on victory.
Shohoku inbounded the ball from the baseline. Taking advantage of this moment, Shirasawa wiped his sweat and looked at his teammates, saying, "Guys, I've brought the game down to the last five minutes."
Shirasawa's words struck a chord with everyone. Indeed, at halftime, Coach Anzai's task was to have Shirasawa hold off the game and maintain the lead until the last five minutes. Shohoku had exhausted themselves in the first half, with everyone, including Sakuragi, giving it their all. Although they still had energy in the second half, their performance couldn't keep up.
Shohoku gambled everything on the first half, except for Shirasawa, who was gambled on the second half. From the start of the second half until now, a total of fifteen minutes have passed, and to put it bluntly, Shirasawa single-handedly carried all five members of Sannoh!
Of course, the other players from Shohoku also contributed. Although Sannoh's tactics limited their effectiveness, they recovered a lot of their stamina during this period. After all, the stamina they had used in the first half was more of a waste than a depletion.
Now, Shirasawa wants to tell everyone that his mission is complete. The 11-point lead at the start of the second half has now shrunk to just 4 points, an absolute overachievement. His performance in those fifteen minutes is enough to go down in the history of the national tournament. Next, Sannoh will give it their all, and it's time for his teammates to step up.
Takenori Akagi clenched his fist and pulled Shirasawa closer to him. "You've worked hard, Xiao Bai." As the captain, his performance was disastrous, but he couldn't be blamed. Everything has its counter. Akagi did his best. His spirit was more important than his performance, especially for Sakuragi.
Akagi's gaze swept across the entire field, his voice rising. "Brothers!" This was the first time he'd called out to his teammates like this. "Don't hold back, run!" "These are our last five minutes!"
Hikoichi Aida excitedly pointed to the sidelines. "Look! Shohoku's morale is rising!"
Having just slipped back onto the court from the timeout bench, Shohoku's energy was completely different—to put it bluntly, it was all about going all out!
Their eyes showed no way out, and every step they took seemed to pound a hole in the floor.
Kazunari Fukatsu stood at the top of the key, holding the ball, his tone as steady as if welded to the spot. "Looks like Shohoku has staked everything on this."
The Sannoh players around him instantly erupted. "Bullshit! Did you get the Sannoh championship title for nothing? In the last five minutes, let those hotheads from Shohoku know what the true depth of a national champion is!"
Fukatsu didn't say anything more, he just raised his hand to calm the restless team down instantly—don't let his quiet demeanor off the court fool you, he's a pillar of strength on the court, and no one dares to ignore his instructions.
Although no one said it outright, everyone at Sannoh knew that they had to fight to the bitter end and absolutely could not let Shohoku upset them.
Shinichi Maki, waving a towel on the bench, shouted, "That four-pointer was practically worthless! The next few plays might not be exciting, but they'll definitely be bragging about it for a year!"
No sooner had he finished speaking than Shohoku's attack came crashing down.
At the top of the key, Mitsui and Miyagi took turns setting screens for Shirasawa, dismantling Eiji Sawakita's defense and creating open space for Shirasawa to receive the ball.
Shirasawa took a half step back to pull Sawakita away, then flicked the ball towards the basket with his left hand and drove straight to the basket!
Akagi slipped out from the baseline like a fish, caught the ball and lunged towards the basket. Mikio Kawata had already jumped up, and the two collided in mid-air with a loud bang.
Akagi gritted his teeth; he knew the ball was gone the moment he threw it—but Mikio Kawata was like he was on steroids today, managing to push back his interference, sending the ball bouncing far off the rim.
Hanamichi Sakuragi and Masashi Kawata collided under the basket, causing them to fall flat on their faces. The Ryonan players couldn't sit still in the stands.