With the sides switched, Meihou Industrial continued feeding the ball to Morishige Hiroshi, fully dedicating their offense to him.
Fatty received the pass, lowered his shoulder, and charged straight inside. Akagi dropped his center of gravity even further than before, but he still couldn't stop the bulldozing advance. Morishige's shooting motion remained unchanged—another smooth turn, another clean bank off the glass.
Two-for-two. His form was impeccable, and Meihou's confidence soared.
Being dominated by Morishige on back-to-back plays left Akagi burning with frustration. He clutched the ball, gritting his teeth.
"Damn it… is there really no way?"
Up in the stands, Uozumi watched with complicated emotions. To him, Akagi now looked exactly like his former self—standing before a player blessed with greater raw talent.
Facing such an opponent inevitably brings sadness… and the painful realization of one's limits. But accepting reality is the first step to walking the path ahead.
Akagi, Uozumi thought, have you come to understand yourself yet?
"Gorilla! Let me deal with that guy!"
Everyone could tell Akagi alone couldn't control Morishige. To Sakuragi, this was the perfect chance to propose a position swap.
He also had another idea…
If he could stop Morishige—the man even Akagi struggled against—wouldn't that make him a legend instantly?
"Don't talk nonsense!"
Akagi rejected him outright without even considering it. There was no universe in which he believed Sakuragi could stop Morishige. Without another glance, Akagi ran into the frontcourt.
"Damn Gorilla! He can't handle it himself, so why not let me try!" Sakuragi fumed, though behind the anger, his mind spun quickly. There has to be another way…
Nango brought the ball up again. Kawashima Naoto positioned himself much closer than before—his intentions obvious.
Unfortunately for Meihou, Horiuchida's defense posed almost no threat. Nango easily dribbled past him, accelerating instantly, rendering Kawashima's help defense ineffective.
This only reinforced Nango's conclusion: Meihou Industry was a one-man team. The others were only marginally stronger than an average starting lineup. Without Morishige, they probably wouldn't even make it to Nationals.
He lowered his stance, crossed over sharply, and once again blew by Horiuchida in one step.
Kawashima moved in to stop him. Nango bent low, changed direction effortlessly, slipped past him, and drove inside.
This time, he stopped one step away from Fatty, lifted the ball, and prepared to shoot.
Morishige spread his long arms wide—but didn't step forward to contest.
Swish!
Nango nailed another mid-range jumper—two-for-two—but frowned slightly.
Why didn't he contest?
Seeing his reaction, Coach Murai propped one leg on the bench, grinning smugly.
"You brat, it won't be that easy to send Hiroshi to the bench. He won't bother guarding you this game—so keep shooting! Let's see how long you can stay accurate!"
Knowing how dangerous Nango was at drawing fouls, Murai had instructed Morishige not to guard him—only to focus on securing the defensive rebound.
In the next two possessions, Morishige kept scoring over Akagi, and Nango continued hitting pull-up jumpers to lure him out. Both players went 3-for-3.
Kawata commented lazily, "That freshman kid's mid-range is surprisingly accurate."
Sawakita nodded. "Mm. He's got a bit of my style. Maybe he's my fan."
How shameless! With so many people around too…
Kawata swallowed his irritation and changed the subject. "If I remember right, he played point guard before. You guys should keep an eye out tomorrow."
Sawakita smiled calmly. "Relax. I won't let him shoot like that again."
"You don't need to. I'll deal with him."
Fukatsu liked the idea of Nango playing point guard. He excelled at shutting down big guards. What he feared were fast, slippery types like Miyagi.
"Senpai, I'll take care of the perimeter. The moment that guy touches the ball, you go double-team him with Akagi-senpai. Aim for the steal."
Nango's original plan was simple: have Akagi constantly wear down Morishige, while he attacked offensively to lure him into fouls, until Meihou was forced to rest their ace.
But Morishige wasn't taking the bait—and Akagi was only getting more frustrated.
Time for a new defensive plan.
"Alright. I'll leave the outside to you," Miyagi nodded.
Hayama Kazuto lobbed it inside to Morishige again. He dribbled once—yet before he could take two steps, Miyagi flew in low, targeting his legs.
Morishige quickly gathered the ball and swung it out.
Despite being built entirely around Morishige, Coach Murai had carved out a very practical system for Meihou:
A pure "one star, four shooters" formation.
He had drilled Morishige endlessly in inside-out passing from the moment he joined the team. After months of work, the system was now seamless.
Fatty's pass reached Kawashima Naoto, who immediately rose for a shot.
With a 16-centimeter height advantage, Kawashima wasn't concerned about Sakuragi at all. Block this? Jump as high as my arm if you can.
Wait—that high!?
Kawashima didn't expect Sakuragi to explode upward with such speed. Even so, he was still a step late—the shot was already released.
Swish!
Kawashima's jumper fell cleanly.
"Heh." Amak chuckled. "Meihou's lineup is tailor-made for Morishige Hiroshi. Without him, their offense would fall apart."
Though Meihou hadn't fully displayed the system's potential yet, Amak already saw the structure.
Kawashima wasn't just a shooter. He was the relay point.
If Morishige passed directly to the three-point line, it could be intercepted.
But passing to Kawashima first? Much safer. He could distribute, swing the ball, or even return it inside depending on the situation.
Coach Murai had turned this simple system into something frighteningly efficient—maximizing Morishige's power and carrying them all the way to this stage.
Nango had seen it too. The double team was meant to force steals… but now, it was clear that to win, besides his own scoring, Sakuragi needed to step up as well.
But first, he had to take the lead.
Crossing half-court, Nango immediately handed off to Miyagi, then dribbled to find rhythm. If Morishige wouldn't bite on the pull-up, then it was time for something more direct.
Outside the three-point line, he suddenly executed a sharp crossover, blowing past Horiuchida, then spun past Kawashima's help.
Only Morishige remained.
Nango sprinted at full speed toward the lane, planted his right foot, and tossed the ball high off the glass.
"Huh?"
Morishige blinked, confused. What was he—
SLAM!
The ball bounced off the backboard—right into Nango's grasp as he rocketed upward.
He caught it midair and hammered it down with both hands.
BOOM!!
The arena shook with the thunderous dunk.
The entire gym froze.
Every spectator stared blankly at the figure hanging from the rim—
Nango Koichiro, roaring in the air.