As soon as the second half whistle cut through the gymnasium, Sannoh's possession left no chance for the outside.
When Kazunari Fukatsu dribbled past half-court, his eyes didn't even drift towards Zawa Kita; his wrist sank, and the basketball slid along the floor towards the basket—Mikio Kawata was already positioned like a small mountain in the center of the restricted area.
This time, Sakuragi Hanamichi didn't wait for Taoka to call a play before sticking close to him.
He no longer stood stiffly, pushing hard, but instead bent his waist and moved around Mikio Kawata's side.
When Mikio Kawata hugged the ball and squeezed towards the basket, as his butt just protruded backward, Sakuragi suddenly crouched and slipped past his side, his fingertips gently flicking the bottom of the ball—"Bang!" The ball didn't drop, but Mikio Kawata's center of gravity swayed, and his motion to raise his hand for a layup was half a beat slow.
In that half-beat, Sakuragi had already jumped up.
He jumped a full half-head higher than in the first half, his arms stretched straight, his palm solidly slapping the basketball.
"Thud!" The ball was swatted away, and Sendo grabbed it and charged forward.
"Great block!" Ryonan's bench nearly overturned the stands.
When Sakuragi landed, he deliberately spun in front of Mikio Kawata, hands on his hips, shouting, "Fatty! This genius's first block!"
Mikio Kawata pursed his lips and said nothing, only shifting closer to his brother.
Masashi Kawata patted his shoulder, his gaze deepening—that last play, Sakuragi's timing was far more precise than in the first half.
As Sendo dribbled the ball to the front court, the corner of his eye caught Fukuda already sprinting along the sideline; he flicked his wrist, sending the ball over. Fukuda caught the ball, took three steps for a layup, and the ball grazed the rim and fell into the net. 51:48.
"Great block! Great pass! Great shot!" Ryonan's bench nearly overturned the stands.
Sannoh's offense didn't stop. Fukatsu changed his approach this time, sending a high lob over Mikio Kawata's head.
Mikio Kawata stood on his tiptoes to catch it, then turned to dunk it into the hoop.
But as he raised his arm, the corner of his eye caught a flash of red charging up.
He instinctively pulled the ball close to his body, but Sakuragi didn't touch the ball, only leaned into his side with the momentum.
"Hmph!" Sakuragi Hanamichi glared at Mikio Kawata and let out a fierce roar right into Mikio Kawata's ear!
Mikio Kawata lost his footing, his heart panicked, his hand trembled, and the ball rolled down his fingertips.
Sakuragi had been waiting for this moment, bending down to scoop up the ball and passing it to Sendo.
"Hahahaha, fatty, this is the highest realm of this genius's defense. Killing you with my gaze, plus sonic attack, hahahaha, I really am a genius."
Seeing the clowning Sakuragi, Sendo paused with the ball even outside the three-point line.
Seeing that Sannoh players hadn't yet recovered on defense, he suddenly accelerated, broke through, attracted a double-team, then dished the ball to Fukuda on the weak side, who made an open jump shot. 53:48.
"It's Sakuragi again!" The commentator's voice was filled with surprise. "He seems to have suddenly figured out Mikio Kawata's rhythm! That steal just now was too dramatic."
Mikio Kawata stood under the basket, a bit bewildered.
He glanced at his brother, Masashi Kawata, who said nothing but merely nodded to Fukatsu.
The next possession, Fukatsu still gave the ball to Mikio Kawata—Sannoh was determined to break Ryonan's interior.
This time Mikio Kawata learned his lesson. After catching the ball, he didn't squeeze towards the basket but stood with his back to Sakuragi, his elbows up to protect the ball.
"Red-head, you won't scare me this time!" Mikio Kawata's voice was muffled.
"Is that so? Then come at me, and let this genius give you another big block!"
Sakuragi moved to his front, then suddenly retreated half a step, deliberately exposing the space under the basket.
Mikio Kawata hesitated.
"Now!" Sakuragi suddenly charged, twisting his body in the air to avoid Mikio Kawata's elbow, his fingertips precisely pressing on the basketball. "Bang!" Another crisp sound, and the ball was swatted out of bounds.
"Two consecutive blocks! Sakuragi Hanamichi has completely exploded!" The commentator's voice rose, "Mikio Kawata, at two meters one, seems to have no advantage against him!"
Mikio Kawata stood rooted, his nose a little red.
He clutched the corner of his jersey and looked towards the bench. Goro Domoto frowned, tapping his finger on the tactics board.
Sannoh inbounded the ball, and Fukatsu didn't look for Mikio Kawata this time, but gave the ball to Masashi Kawata.
Masashi Kawata received the ball with his back to Uozumi, pushed back to create a half-space, then turned and shot—"Swish!" The ball went in. 53:50.
"Masashi Kawata! This is the strength of Japan's number one center!" The commentator immediately interjected, "Sannoh's interior isn't just Mikio Kawata!"
Just then, Masahiro Nobe had also stepped onto the sideline and started warming up.
"Nobe is warming up? It seems Sannoh is getting serious! Are they going to fight it out in the paint?" The commentator's voice suddenly rose.
Next to the scoreboard by the court, the screen suddenly displayed the interior data for both teams: Sannoh Industrial—Masahiro Nobe 198 cm, Masashi Kawata 194 cm, Mikio Kawata 210 cm;
Ryonan High School—Uozumi Jun 202 cm, Sakuragi Hanamichi 191 cm, Fukuda Kiccho 188 cm.
"Just looking at height, Sannoh's advantage is too obvious!" The commentator's voice conveyed emotion, "Masahiro Nobe, at 198 cm, has top-notch rebounding ability nationwide;
Masashi Kawata can play inside and out, simply unguardable;
Plus Mikio Kawata, this 'restricted area pillar,' how will Ryonan's interior hold up?"
No sooner had he finished speaking than, after Ryonan's inbound, Sannoh gained possession and immediately substituted Masahiro Nobe for Minoru Matsumoto.
Sannoh's interior completely set up: Masashi Kawata stood near the free-throw line, Masahiro Nobe guarded the rebound position, and Mikio Kawata posted up under the basket.
With three tall players standing in the restricted area, Ryonan's players felt breathless when rushing inside.
Masashi Kawata indeed did not disappoint.
He received the ball from Fukatsu under the basket, faked twice with his back to Uozumi, then suddenly spun past Uozumi and raised his hand to shoot.
Uozumi was half a step slow on defense and could only watch the ball fly towards the hoop—
"Don't even think about it!"
A shout exploded in his ear.
Sakuragi Hanamichi had rushed over from behind at some point; he jumped even higher than Masashi Kawata, his right hand slamming hard on the basketball.
"Thud!" The ball was swatted directly out past the three-point line. Sendo reacted extremely quickly, rushing over to catch the ball steadily, and Ryonan once again gained possession for offense.
"My goodness! Sakuragi Hanamichi actually blocked Masashi Kawata!" The commentator's voice trembled, "That last play was too fast! He rushed from near the three-point line, his jump timing was flawless! And Sendo immediately controlled possession; Ryonan's defensive counterattack awareness is outstanding!"
Sakuragi almost slipped when he landed, steadying himself by holding onto the basket, then turned and made a face at Masashi Kawata: "Japan's number one center? You're nothing special!"
Masashi Kawata's face instantly darkened. He said nothing, only waved his hand to Fukatsu—keep attacking the paint.
But the next few minutes became Sakuragi Hanamichi's showtime.
Mikio Kawata received the ball for a layup and had it swatted away from the side by him. Sendo grabbed the ball and organized a fast break, passing to the cutting Gu Jin, who scored a layup;
Masahiro Nobe jumped for a rebound and had the ball pinned from behind by him. The ball bounced into Uozumi's hands. Uozumi passed to Fukuda, who drove hard to the basket, drawing a foul and making one of two free throws;
Even Masashi Kawata's attempted hook shot was tipped off course by his fingertips as he jumped, the ball hitting the rim and bouncing away. Sakuragi himself grabbed the rebound and threw it directly to Sendo in the front court, who shot a three-pointer—"Swish!" Nothing but net.
Mikio Kawata was completely flustered.
The N-th time he was blocked by Sakuragi, the ball was swatted directly into the stands. He stood rooted, his eyes red, and quietly told his brother, "Brother, I can't beat him..."