A point guard's role is to dribble and advance the ball while organizing the offense—essentially serving as the team's on-court commander.
That's why the position is usually filled by someone with steady dribbling, sharp court vision, and a strong sense of tactics.
Dribbling, of course, wasn't a problem for Rukawa Kaede. He could bring the ball up the court with ease.
But as for tactical awareness and playmaking…
Well, in everyone's impression, Rukawa Kaede didn't exactly excel in those areas.
Ask him to dribble and score on his own? No problem.
Ask him to coordinate a team offense? That was another matter entirely.
After all, this was Rukawa Kaede—the Offensive Demon from Tomigaoka Junior High!
So when Shohoku decided to let Rukawa Kaede handle the ball and run the offense, those who knew him were completely baffled. Was this a special tactic by Coach Anzai? Some secret strategy to confuse the opponent?
Whatever it was, Aiwa Academy didn't have time to worry about it. They were trailing on the scoreboard—what mattered most now was stopping Shohoku's attack.
Rukawa hadn't played much in the first half, so his stamina was still full.
Slap… slap… slap…
He dribbled steadily up the court, eyes locked on Moroboshi Dai. His initial rhythm was slow, but gradually, the pace picked up.
A sharp light flickered in Moroboshi's eyes. He noticed Rukawa's palm spread wider—Here it comes!
The next instant, Rukawa lowered his stance, about to burst past Moroboshi with his trademark speed.
Moroboshi reacted quickly, adjusting his position to cut him off—but Rukawa suddenly stopped short, executed a clean crossover, and rose for a jumper.
"Swish!"
Moroboshi leapt too, but he was a split second late. The shot was good.
"Even though it went in… isn't that just Rukawa doing his usual solo play?" Kiyota scratched his head, unable to see the difference.
"Exactly. It's just an isolation. What's Shohoku trying to pull here?" Maki muttered, equally confused.
Coach Kouzu on the sidelines silently nodded—he didn't get it either.
When possession changed, Moroboshi used a screen from Aoba Yoshi to shake off Rukawa, pulling up for a clean mid-range jumper. It went in easily.
On the return, Rukawa once again opted for a solo drive. He faked out Moroboshi and fired a mid-range shot—Bang! It bounced off the backboard and missed.
Amamiya Hideyoshi fought hard to box out Nango, freeing his hands to grab the rebound—but before he could leap, Sakuragi, fueled by sheer determination, snatched the ball first.
Though he didn't secure it cleanly, the ball deflected and bounced his way.
"Red-headed punk! You're not getting it!" Amamiya lunged forward, while Aoba squeezed in from the other side, trapping Sakuragi between them.
Nango, watching from under the basket, shouted, "Sakuragi! Over here!"
But Sakuragi wasn't listening. His eyes were locked entirely on the ball.
As it dropped, all three players jumped at once—but Sakuragi's superior vertical leap gave him the advantage. He grabbed the rebound and clutched it to his chest.
Amamiya and Aoba landed quickly and surrounded him, trying to strip the ball.
"Miyagi!" Nango called. Miyagi darted into the fray, and Sakuragi immediately passed him the ball.
"Give it to me!" Amamiya jumped again, waving his long arms to contest.
Miyagi's shot was disrupted and clanged off the rim.
Fortunately, Nango was there to clean it up, tipping the ball smoothly into the hoop.
AMaki shook his head. "As soon as Rukawa takes over as point guard, Shohoku's offense becomes a mess. They're lucky they grabbed two offensive rebounds—otherwise, Aiwa would've cut the lead."
"I really don't get it," Kiyota frowned. "This is the National Tournament—what are they thinking?"
Rukawa, however, remained as calm and unreadable as ever.
During Aiwa's next possession, Moroboshi gathered his teammates. "I don't know what's going on with Shohoku, but that number 11 is actually helping us. Let's take advantage and close the gap!"
His teammates nodded eagerly, their morale renewed.
Fukuoka Yuji brought the ball across half-court, passed to Moroboshi, then moved to his favored right mid-range spot, ready to attack Miyagi again.
Moroboshi hesitated briefly—should he take a risk for three points or play it safe for two? He chose the latter, passing back to Fukuoka. There was still plenty of time left; stability came first.
Fukuoka began backing Miyagi down, while Nango and Sakuragi shifted subtly toward that side to help. But Fukuoka, experienced and composed, stopped just short of the paint and released a fadeaway jumper.
The ball bounced twice on the rim before dropping in. The lead shrank to nine.
On the next possession, Rukawa received the inbound pass from Nango and resumed his solo approach—no screens, no passes, just him.
Moroboshi, still carrying the team's offense, had been conserving energy on defense earlier. But since Rukawa insisted on isolating, Moroboshi decided to use the opportunity to push back.
Last time, Rukawa had faked him out with a sudden rhythm change. This time, Moroboshi was ready.
Rukawa dribbled left, then right, quickening his pace with two crossovers before accelerating to attack—but Moroboshi read it perfectly, sliding in front to cut him off.
Unable to shake him, Rukawa pulled the ball back, intending to reset and change rhythm.
But Moroboshi wasn't giving him any room. He stepped up, extended his arm, and snatched the ball cleanly!
Rukawa froze for a split second—he hadn't expected to get stripped so directly. He turned immediately, lunging to contest.
Moroboshi felt Rukawa's body crash into his side, so he quickly slapped the ball ahead toward Fukuoka before Rukawa could foul him.
Fukuoka spread his arms to keep Miyagi from intercepting, waited for the ball to roll close, then scooped it up and looked ahead.
By then, both Moroboshi and Rukawa had reached the frontcourt. Fukuoka lobbed it forward to Moroboshi.
Catching it with his back to Rukawa, Moroboshi spun fluidly, driving hard to the basket. Rukawa was caught off guard and left trailing.
Holding Rukawa off with one arm, Moroboshi laid the ball up cleanly off the glass.
Score.
Nango sighed and muttered, "That's Rukawa getting schooled on both ends... Rukawa's probably going to snap after this."
Sakuragi's reaction was far less restrained. "See?! I knew that stupid fox couldn't be trusted! Getting the ball stolen like that—what a waste! Looks like it's up to me to save this game!"