"After those previous rounds, the entire Shohoku team was in top form, and with Shirasawa's relentless attacks, Shoyo's defense was starting to falter."
"Conversely, Shoyo's offense has become somewhat sluggish. They now need Fujima's individual ability to break the deadlock and contain Shohoku's defense."
"The two teams have completely reversed their playing styles."
Nobunaga Kiyota closed his eyes and pondered for a moment, then suddenly realized. "To put it simply, it's just that Shirasawa and Fujima have switched roles! Shirasawa has become the organizer, while Fujima has become the main attacker."
Soichiro Jin nodded approvingly. "That's right. After all that fuss, both teams are back to their most familiar and comfortable rhythm."
"That's why I say the game has only truly begun at this point."
Shoyo's strength lies in Fujima's unstoppable scoring ability.
Last year, they were able to make it all the way to the top 16 in the country thanks to Fujima, their sharpest weapon.
In the round of 16 match against Toyotama High School, Fujima was injured and had to leave the field in the 11th minute of the first half.
In those 11 minutes, he scored a whopping 20 points all by himself!
In terms of scoring explosiveness, Fujima is definitely top-tier.
Now that he has personally taken over the offense, Shoyo has truly switched to their strongest and most familiar mode.
Nobunaga Kiyota sighed in boredom, muttering, "If that's the case, wouldn't it have been better if Fujima had just played like this earlier? He probably would have sent Shohoku home by now."
"I knew it, Shohoku is just so-so."
Shinichi Maki glared at him.
"Shallow."
" Fujima didn't focus on scoring before, partly because his teammates were in good form. As a point guard and coach, he just needed the team to score; it didn't matter who scored."
"Besides, it's always easier to have the team open it up than for one person to try and carve it out alone."
"On the other hand, the reason lies with Shirasawa."
" Shirasawa put immense pressure on Fujima on both offense and defense. You'll understand if you look at how I matched up against Fujima."
Nobunaga Kiyota pursed his lips and muttered under his breath, "Tch, he's even dragging himself into this. Maki, you're quite the chatterbox."
As soon as he finished speaking, Shinichi Maki's icy gaze swept over him.
Kiyota quickly covered his mouth, "The captain is right!"
The situation on the field unfolded exactly as Maki and his team had predicted.
Both teams have now returned to their most familiar rhythm.
On the Shoyo side, Fujima drove inside and shot outside, occasionally seizing opportunities to pass the ball to his teammates, doing his best to activate the whole team.
On the Shohoku, Shirasawa of Shohoku kept pressing the pass button, making one amazing pass after another, while also launching his own powerful attacks, leaving Shoyo's defense struggling to keep up.
The scene appeared lively, with people interacting and engaging with each other.
The score was now 54-44.
Shoyo is now down by a full ten points.
There are 27 seconds left in the first half.
In theory, both sides still have one more chance to attack.
The reason I say "theoretically" is because Shoyo currently has possession of the ball.
Fujima controlled the ball, constantly checking the timer.
Clearly, he intended to drag out the 24-second shot clock until the very last second, leaving Shohoku only two or three seconds, so they wouldn't have time to organize a final attack.
Shirasawa wasn't in a hurry; he stood in front of Fujima, observing quietly.
With the attack timer running out, Fujima finally launched his attack.
He dribbled between his legs, then used a screen to shake off Shirasawa again, stepped back to create space, and raised his hand to shoot a three-pointer!
But this time, Shirasawa swiftly turned around, bypassed the cover, took a big step forward, and stretched out his long arm.
Just as Fujima jumped and released his hand, his fingertip touched the basketball perfectly!
Fujima felt a sudden lightness in his hand; the ball was gone.
Shirasawa picked up the ball; there were 5 seconds left on the clock.
He buried his head and charged forward.
Fujima turned and gave chase, and the two engaged in a high-speed chase on the field.
Both teams' teammates also rushed back as fast as they could.
In the eyes of the entire audience, Shirasawa's fast break against Fujima meant he would definitely have to fight back.
Fujima's defense probably won't be able to stop him.
But in the last two seconds...
Shirasawa, who had driven to the basket, didn't even turn his head. He flicked the ball behind his back and passed it out!
This news came as no one expected.
The basketball flew straight through the retreating defenders and towards the last person at the back...
Hisashi Mitsui received the ball a step outside the three-point line, jumped and shot!
Although the movement was the same, he jumped noticeably lower than usual.
After landing, he remained in the following motion, panting heavily, his eyes fixed on the ball flying towards the basket...
The basketball arced through the air, soaring over the heads of everyone on the court.
Even Fujima couldn't help but mutter to himself, "That Shirasawa guy is really crazy!"
He himself didn't think he could defend against Shirasawa's final attack, when two points were clearly within his grasp.
But Shirasawa insisted on choosing the three points, which had a higher value.
It's unclear whether he was trying to widen the score gap or simply wanted to show off this incredible maneuver.
In short, he's halfway there. Now, it all depends on whether Mitsui can score.
However, judging from Mitsui's condition... it's risky!
Throughout the first half, Hisashi Mitsui was the worst performer for Shohoku.
He only scored 6 points in total, which is definitely not his normal level.
Especially in the second half, the physical exhaustion warning signs had already started to sound.
Shoyo has really taken a toll on him!
Especially that number 6 Hasegawa, Mitsui even wondered if he had a personal grudge against him...
Various chases and defenses, various physical confrontations.
Dealing with Hasegawa alone took away most of his strength.
So in this final fast break, he fell behind everyone else, even Akagi ran faster than him.
However, it was precisely because of this that he got this completely open shot opportunity.
When~
The basketball bounced off the front edge of the rim and then bounced up.
It's clearly not powerful enough.
The referee has already blown the whistle to end the first half, so there's no need to fight for the rebound anymore.
Everyone watched the ball bounce.
when...
It bounced again, and this time the basketball, with a slight spin, wobbled and fell into the net.
The scoreboard immediately jumped to 57 to 44.
Mitsui didn't waste Shirasawa's brilliant pass, sinking the buzzer-beating three-pointer.
In the stands, Shohoku supporters began their final celebration of the first half.
Tetsuo Hotta put one foot on a stool, held up a megaphone, and roared for his brother with all his might.
" Mitsui! Mitsui!"
The teammates gathered around Mitsui, and Hanamichi Sakuragi excitedly patted him on the back, "Not bad, Mitchy!"
This slap caused Mitsui to stumble and fall.
It seems his body has truly reached its limit, yet he still forced a confident expression onto his face.
"Of course, I'm always at my best."
The whistle blew for halftime, and both teams returned to their respective locker rooms.
Shohoku's 13-point lead at halftime certainly surprised many.
Even those who thought Shohoku could win mostly believed that the game would be very close and might not be decided until the last one or two rounds.
But those 13 points carry a completely different weight in a match between strong teams.
Just like the shot that Fujima almost made in the first half, it was a microcosm of the entire match.
In a battle between experts, the slightest carelessness can have dire consequences.
Looking at it this way, a 13-point difference is no small matter.
The atmosphere in the two locker rooms was completely different.
While Shoyo's morale wasn't exactly low, they were definitely not happy... The way the game turned out had far exceeded their expectations.
They no longer had the absolute certainty of victory they had at the start of the game.
As usual, Fujima fulfilled his coaching duties, giving a brief review of the first half.
However, he took on most of the responsibility himself.
"If I hadn't used those psychological tactics at the start and had just gone straight into the game," Fujima told his teammates, "The situation might have been different."
After all, Shohoku was still a bit panicked at that time, but on second thought, Shirasawa probably wouldn't let them succeed so easily.
Fujima had already placed Shirasawa on the same level as himself in his mind.
It's not just about technology, but also about that kind of dominance and judgment.
This is another formidable opponent he has encountered after Shinichi Maki.
He might even be more troublesome than Shinichi Maki.
This was Fujima's conclusion after the first half.
In the second half, he has to give it his all and fight Shirasawa to the death.
Leading Shoyo to victory!
Finally, Fujima looked at all the team members and concluded with:
" Shohoku is a team with championship potential; we must give it our all!"
He wasn't the only one to express this opinion about Shohoku.
All the Shoyo team members now think so too.
If they don't fight to the death, these 20 minutes in the second half will be the last time for these third-year students in the county competition.
Compared to Shoyo, Shohoku situation on the other side is completely different.
After the first half, their unease had long since vanished.
I've come to believe from the bottom of my heart that Shohoku is a top-tier team.
Whether it's Shoyo or Kainan, we're all on the same level.
Who's strong and who's weak? Let's settle it with a real fight!
Everyone in the locker room was full of fighting spirit; even Akagi's dark circles under his eyes seemed to have faded miraculously.
The biggest contributor was, of course Shirasawa, who scored 31 points and 7 assists in the first half.
In the opening stages alone, he scored 24 points!
The pillar of Shohoku's spirit has unknowingly become Shirasawa.
Although he doesn't roar like Akagi, his method is more direct and more effective.
Shirasawa made every teammate feel at ease, including Takenori Akagi himself.
" Xiao Bai, you worked hard in the first half. How's your stamina?" Kogure asked with some concern.
The most important thing for Shohoku right now is Shirasawa's stamina.
The style of play in the first half was simply too crazy. If we're talking about who expended the most energy, it would definitely be Shirasawa.
The second half is the decisive moment. If Shirasawa's stamina can't keep up, we'll be in big trouble!
When Kogure asked this question, he was already prepared to step in at any moment.
He made up his mind that even if he had to fight it out himself, he would at least give Shirasawa an extra five minutes of rest time.
However, Shirasawa acted as if nothing had happened, looking completely relaxed.
"It's nothing, it's just a small part."
Upon hearing Kogure's lips twitched involuntarily, and he sincerely gave a thumbs up.
"Wow! You made me worry for nothing. I'd forgotten you guys are physical monsters!"
The physical monsters Kogure referred to were Shirasawa, Miyagi, and Hanamichi Sakuragi.
The "wonderful" scene of the three of them being punished by Akagi for being late is still vivid in my mind...
At this point, Kogure suddenly remembered another problem child— Hisashi Mitsui!
It felt like Mitsui was invisible today; apart from that buzzer-beating three-pointer at the end of the first half, he didn't make a sound.
His presence was so low that people almost forgot he was even on the field.
It's worth noting that before playing against Shoyo, Mitsui was the team's second-leading scorer!
His average points per game are only two or three points lower than Shirasawa's.