After Sakuragi stood still, he held the basketball with his right hand and gently supported it with his left. He jumped up, flicked the ball with his wrist, and the basketball bounced off the backboard and went into the net, making the score 15-16, with Shohoku taking the lead. Yo Aoki could see from Sakuragi's shooting motion that he had improved. Sakuragi waved to Haruko in Haruko stands, Yo Aoki actually showed a relieved expression.
However, he quickly realized his mistake, composed himself, and muttered, "No, no, we're opponents now. It wouldn't be good if my teammates saw this."
Takezato attacked, and this time Yo Aoki received the ball on the outside. Sanada Akagi around the three-point line, leaving Shohoku's interior defense vulnerable again. Shindo seized the opportunity to cut inside, suddenly started his run, shook off Miyagi, and ran towards the basket.
Yo Aoki instantly anticipated Shindo's position and delivered a diagonal pass. Shindo had just run to the basket and was about to ask Yo Aoki for the ball when it was already close by. He instinctively reached out and caught it with both hands with a "snap".
Sendoh exclaimed, "The trajectory and force of that pass were just right!" Shindo received the ball and easily scored, making the score 17-16.
For the remainder of the first half, Takezato substituted Shindo and Kawai for Nakako and Hojo, leaving only Yo Aoki as a substitute. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Shohoku, led by Kaede Rukawa, completely overtook the score. However, Takezato managed to keep the score close thanks to Yo Aoki's performance. At halftime, the score was 32-39, with Takezato trailing by 7 points.
The halftime stats are in: For Takezato, Yo Aoki scored 11 points, Imamura scored 6 points, Shindo and Mizuki each scored 4 points, Kawai scored 3 points, and Hojo and Sanada each scored 2 points; For Shohoku, Kaede Rukawa scored 22 points, Mitsui scored 9 points, Miyagi scored 6 points, Sakuragi scored 2 points, Akagi... scored no points.
Akagi dragged his weary body back to the locker room. Haruko watched his retreating figure, clutching the hem of her clothes, and said with heartache, "Brother, pull yourself together!"
Yayoi Aida and Nakamura were chatting animatedly when Nakamura exclaimed, " Shohoku's Kaede Rukawa is amazing! He scored 22 points all by himself!" Yayoi Aida smiled and said, "You can't judge a book by its cover."
Nakamura frowned and asked, "Is there some hidden meaning in this?" Yayoi Aida nodded. " Shohoku's Kaede Rukawa is indeed strong, but what about the others?"
Nakamura looked at the records carefully and said in surprise, "No way, Akagi, who scores more than 20 points in every game, didn't score at all?"
Yayoi Aida, resting her chin on her hand, analyzed. "We are used to comparing Uozumi and Akagi because their playing styles are similar, but in fact, their roles in the team are different."
Uozumi is Ryonan's captain and a role player; Sendoh is the team's core. Akagi, on the Shohoku hand, is Shohoku's core pillar. If the core player underperforms, even if they're leading now, they'll be quickly caught up in the second half.
Nakamura asked, puzzled, "Why?"
Yayoi Aida said, "Haven't you noticed? Takezato Team is using substitute players on the field right now. What are they thinking, using substitutes at such a crucial moment? It's simple. Although Takezato's starters are strong, the gap between them and their substitutes isn't that big. As long as Yo Aoki doesn't leave the field, their strength is..."
Coach Taoka sat alone on the Ryonan bench. Ever since the practice match between Shohoku and Ryonan, he had a feeling that Shohoku Team would be a formidable opponent for Ryonan in the future.
After watching the video of Shohoku vs. Miuradai, he was completely convinced of his idea. The opponent was clearly using player rotation to wear down his main players' stamina, and they might be able to seize this opportunity.
Akagi covered his forehead with a towel, obscuring his face. Coach Anzai walked over and gently placed his hand on Akagi's back.
"For the past three years, you've given your all to this team; you're the backbone of the team." Anzai's voice wasn't too deep, but it carried absolute certainty.
Akagi didn't say anything, but his shoulders were trembling slightly.
In the locker room of the Takezato Team, Yo Aoki nodded slightly and said to the players who gathered around him, "After the exertion of the first half, Shohoku's performance has declined."
Akiyama, panting heavily, wiped his sweat. " Shohoku is really strange; they're not making any substitutions."
Yo Aoki waved his hand with a smile, "From what I know, their substitute players are of varying abilities, and even if they come on, they won't be able to make a difference."
Oriyuki Iwasaki frowned and asked, "Is Shohoku still asleep? Aren't they still in the lead?"
Yo Aoki stopped laughing and said seriously, "Right now, Shohoku is just playing individually, with no coordination between the five players. Once they realize what's happening, they'll unleash tremendous power, so everyone must not let their guard down."
The players from both sides finally returned to the court, and the cheers from the spectators erupted instantly, with shouts of " Takezato! Takezato!" and " Shohoku! Shohoku!" echoing throughout the stadium.
At the start of the second half, Takezato brought on all of its key players, with Imamura and Akagi standing in the center circle for the jump ball.
The referee tossed the ball up, Akagi leaped up, overpowering Imamura and swishing the ball towards the three-point line. The ball landed precisely in Mitsui's hands.
Just as Mitsui was about to reach out to catch the ball, a red figure suddenly darted out – it was Yo Aoki!
He anticipated the basketball's landing point, stole it immediately, and turned to rush towards Shohoku's half of the court, moving as fast as the wind.
At this moment, only Shohoku was following Sakuragi Yo from Yo Aoki. Yo Aoki didn't take Sakuragi's defense seriously at all and rushed to the basket to jump and lay up.
Uozumi on the court, saw everything clearly and thought to himself: Yo Aoki's jumping ability is indeed outstanding, but Sakuragi is not weak either. This ball will most likely be blocked by Sakuragi.
Sakuragi had already stretched out his arm to cover Yo Aoki. As soon as Yo Aoki made a move, he would use the "fly swatter" technique taught by Akagi to swat the ball away.
But Yo Aoki didn't take Sakuragi seriously at all. He suddenly twisted his waist and tilted his upper body to the right, creating distance between them in mid-air.
Yo Aoki extended his right hand to support the basketball, and with a gentle flick of his wrist and fingers, the ball fell steadily into the basket.
The scoreboard showed 34 to 39, with Takezato taking the lead.
"Damn it, that dodging move again!" Sakuragi clenched his fists, his face full of frustration. He had already been blocked by Yo Aoki once in the first half, and now he had fallen for it again.
Mitsui walked over and patted Sakuragi on the shoulder. "Don't worry about it, we'll get back at him right away."
Shohoku's offense immediately commenced. After the halftime break and encouragement from Coach Anzai, Akagi finally regained his form, leaning against Yo Aoki and reaching out for the ball.
Miyagi, hoping his captain could pull himself together, immediately passed the ball to him.
After receiving the ball, Akagi first turned slightly to the left to attract Yo Aoki's attention, then suddenly turned to the right, preparing to cut into the basket.
However, Akagi's seemingly fast movements appeared ridiculously slow to Yo Aoki.
The moment Akagi turned around, Yo Aoki blocked all of Akagi's paths with a lateral movement, then shifted his weight downwards and poked the ball away.
Looking at Yo Aoki Akagi, holding the ball, said, "Your offensive style is too one-dimensional; it's too easy to defend against you."
Although it was trash talk, Akagi knew that Yo Aoki was telling the truth; his attack had indeed not changed.
In the transition between offense and defense, Takezato organized the attack, and Yo Aoki still controlled the ball. He slowly dribbled the ball from the three-point line to the baseline, and then suddenly accelerated and cut inside.
Imamura immediately ran over to help block Sakuragi, Yo Aoki successfully drove into the basket. At this point, Shohoku only had Akagi left under the basket.
Yo Aoki rushed to Akagi's side, not intending to dunk over him, but instead using his left foot as a pivot to turn and jump, leaning against Akagi who came up to defend him in mid-air, and then swinging his arm to dunk hard.
With a muffled "thump," the ball slammed into the basket, and the scoreboard showed 36 to 39.
"Wow! Yo Aoki finally dunked!" "That was such a powerful dunk!" "We've been waiting for this dunk for so long!" The bench of Takezato erupted in cheers, their morale soaring.
When Shohoku organized their offense, the players were clearly affected by the dunk they had just made.
After Imamura dribbled the ball to the frontcourt, Shindo passed it across to Yo Aoki, who was following up. Sakuragi, Sakuragi, and Mitsui immediately surrounded him.
Instead of shooting himself, Yo Aoki passed the ball to Shindo, who was unguarded at the three-point line.
Shindo adjusted his posture, raised his hand and shot. The basketball swished through the net, and the scoreboard showed 39-39. Takezato had tied the score, and only one and a half minutes into the second half.
Shindo looked at Mitsui, a smirk playing on his lips, and said provocatively, "So-called junior high MVP, nothing special."
Seeing that Takezato had quickly leveled the score, Shinichi Maki slowly said, "Faced with such a fierce counterattack from Takezato, only the team's core player can keep them in check!"
Before Kiyota could finish speaking, Shinichi Maki waved his hand. "Although Kaede Rukawa is Shohoku's ace, Shohoku's pillar of strength is Akagi. If Akagi doesn't step up and support the team, no matter how many points Kaede Rukawa scores, he won't be able to reverse the current slump."
Seeing that the score had been tied, Kogure anxiously tugged at Coach Anzai's sleeve. "Coach, should we call a timeout?"
Coach Anzai slowly began, "There are some hurdles they have to overcome themselves. If they can get past this hurdle today, the team will move to the next level."
Kogure stared anxiously at the field, silently pleading in his mind: Akagi, Mitsui... Please, do your best!
Shohoku launched an attack. At this crucial moment, Kaede Rukawa stepped up first. He dribbled the ball to the three-point line, suddenly stopped, and raised his hand to shoot.
Kaede Rukawa's shot was incredibly fast; Mizuki didn't even have time to react, still holding her arm horizontally in a defensive stance against a breakthrough.
Swish! The basketball swished through the net! 39:42! Shohoku has taken the lead again!
"How could that ball go in?" "That release speed is unbelievable!"
From stopping the ball to jumping and then releasing the shot, Kaede Rukawa didn't pause for a moment; his rhythm was ridiculously smooth. Most people either aim at the basket before shooting or, like Yo Aoki, use hang time to aim, which always takes some time.
But Kaede Rukawa didn't follow that step at all. The moment he decided to shoot, he was already staring at the basket, which is why his release was so fast. Only someone who had taken millions of shots by the age of sixteen could pull off such a fancy move.