Meihou Industrial's opening strategy was somewhat similar to Shohoku's: during the early phase of the game, they focused on letting their interior players score a few easy points.
Once that phase ended, their perimeter players would begin to exert pressure, connecting inside and outside to make the offense more versatile and harder to predict.
Now in this exact phase, Hayama Kazuto continued to run the pick-and-roll with Kawashima Naoto. Sakuragi, still fuming from earlier, once again stepped in to block Hayama's advance.
But this time, Hayama didn't pass to Kawashima—he threaded the ball to Hanaoka Jugo, who suddenly cut towards the basket.
Hanaoka had been nearly invisible this entire game, which made Mitsui lower his guard. Seizing the chance, Hanaoka slipped in easily.
He caught the ball and rushed straight in for a layup. Akagi adjusted and jumped in to block, but Hanaoka tossed the ball to the side. Morishige Hiroshi easily tipped it in.
Meihou Industrial's offense was becoming more and more complete—inside game, outside shooting, off-ball cuts… everything was flowing. Their firepower was nothing to worry about.
Even better for them, this balanced offense allowed Morishige Hiroshi to conserve energy. As monstrous as his talent was, he was still a 100-kilogram center. Forcing him to play nonstop one-on-one battles would only exhaust him and dull their sharpest weapon before the endgame.
Now, their only concern was preventing Morishige Hiroshi from committing another foul. As long as he stayed on the court, Shohoku's defense would be anchored to him, giving everyone else openings.
Nango felt conflicted. His repeated drives had kept the score close… but hadn't achieved the main objective: drawing more fouls on Morishige Hiroshi.
He did manage to draw one foul, which was something— Fatty would definitely be a bit more cautious now.
So should he adjust, involving his teammates more?
Or should he keep forcing the issue and gamble on drawing that critical second foul?
Seeing Nango hesitate with the ball, Coach Takato sighed.
"Shohoku has fallen into a major misconception. I wonder if Anzai has noticed it."
Maki and Kiyota blinked, puzzled.
"What misconception, Coach?"
"They are too concerned with the opponent's performance," Takato said, voice calm and analytical. "This stems from their lack of experience at the National Tournament.
It's normal to face unfamiliar opponents, but if you constantly fear the opponent's ability, you become hesitant—just like Shohoku now. They aren't running their own game.
The score is close for now, but if this continues, Shohoku will fall behind. Unless they either force Morishige Hiroshi off the court… or return to their own rhythm."
He respected Coach Anzai deeply, but even he couldn't deny:
Anzai was old.
His in-the-moment adjustments might no longer match the responsiveness of middle-aged coaches like himself or Taoka.
"If I were Shohoku's coach," Takato thought, "and my pre-game strategy wasn't working, I'd call a timeout right now."
After thinking it through, Nango made a decision:
If they double-team, he would pass.
If not, he'd break through.
After a few fakes, he exploded forward. Horiuchida reacted well this time, sticking tightly to him. Kawashima held his ground at the free-throw line, ready to block Nango's shot instead of rushing out recklessly—he was wary that Nango might pass to Sakuragi.
Nango cut into the paint. Morishige Hiroshi rotated, expecting Nango to rise up for a shot—just like when he had blocked Sakuragi earlier.
All three Meihou Industrial players were anticipating the shot.
But Nango didn't shoot.
He slipped around Morishige Hiroshi and dashed along the baseline.
Horiuchida and Kawashima were completely blocked by Morishige's huge frame. Morishige assumed Nango would attempt a reverse layup, so he defended only to the edge of the paint.
Which meant—
Nango was wide open.
Hanaoka rushed to help, but Nango immediately made a sharp bounce pass to Mitsui.
This was Mitsui's first real touch of the ball all game.
And like always—
swish.
A three-pointer, nothing but net.
Coach Takato stiffened.
Was that intentional?
Or just luck?
He had literally just said Shohoku had lost their identity… only for Nango to deliver a perfect team-play assist seconds later.
He could only stare at the court and pretend he didn't feel that sharp slap to the face.
Of course, the play wasn't planned. Nango simply had no reason to force a shot against three defenders. But the success revealed a strategy he could exploit.
Morishige Hiroshi's huge body was practically a living screen—
and with one foul already, he had become a giant liability.
Nango's mind began to open up.
On offense, he had options.
But on defense… that was still a problem.
He glanced toward the bench and couldn't help but think:
If only Rukawa were on the court…
With him defending the perimeter, Nango could help inside without worrying about Horiuchida slipping free.
Morishige Hiroshi received the ball again. Miyagi and Sakuragi collapsed on him instantly, so Fatty kicked the ball back to Kawashima, who immediately swung it out.
Hayama caught it and launched a three-pointer—clean form, clean arc.
After the basket, Shohoku pushed the ball up.
Nango took possession and once again cut inside, using Horiuchida's angle and circling past Morishige Hiroshi.
This time, Horiuchida wasn't blocked, but half a second of delay was all Nango needed.
He turned and sank a mid-range jumper.
The entire sequence looked like he and Morishige Hiroshi were running a pick-and-roll together—something that irritated Meihou Industrial greatly.
They silently cursed him for being despicable.
Cheap.
Shameless.
But they couldn't stop it.
For several possessions, Meihou used Morishige Hiroshi's gravity as their offensive core.
And Nango, in turn, constantly used Morishige Hiroshi's size against him.
Eventually, whenever Nango drove in, Morishige Hiroshi instinctively avoided the baseline—terrified of being used as a screen again.
Both sides traded points blow for blow.
Meihou Industrial led 33–32, but neither coach was satisfied.
With five minutes left before halftime, Coach Murai called a timeout.
He needed to readjust.
If they couldn't build a lead before the second half, they would be in danger—because once Morishige Hiroshi had to rest, Meihou Industrial's offensive flow would collapse.