Xiangbei High School can be regarded as the dark horse of this county competition. Although Xiangbei was also a team that made it to the quarterfinals in the last competition, anyone with a discerning eye can see that there is a world of difference between this year's Xiangbei High School and last year's Xiangbei High School.
Last year, Xiangbei High School was indeed excellent, but last year's Xiangbei was unable to shake the status of Shoyo High School and Hainan University Affiliated High School.
But this year, Xiangbei's fighting strength has expanded rapidly, and it is reasonable to say that Xiangbei is a dark horse.
"It's really lively. In previous years, there were not so many spectators except for the finals."
"The match between Xiangbei and Shoyo did attract a large number of people."
At the entrance of the corridor, Coach Tiangang led the Ryonan High School team to the stadium. Looking at the densely packed audience sitting in the stands, Coach Tiangang couldn't help but sigh. Then Coach Tiangang seemed to have thought of something, turned his head to look at Sendoh and Shinomiya Tano in the team, and continued with a smile:
"Having a team as eye-catching as Xiangbei is really a good thing for us, Ryonan!"
"In today's match against Buri, you two should hide yourselves well so that others won't notice you."
"Especially you, Tian Ye. You were the MVP of your junior high school days. You will also attract some attention. Don't give your opponents a chance to study you before you enter the semi-finals."
As Coach Tiangang spoke, the smile on his face gradually twisted, giving people a sinister and cunning feeling. After the voice fell, Coach Tiangang quickly found their Ryonan viewing area, and then led the players to the front of the stands.
Sendoh Akira and Shinomiya Tano, who were called, looked at each other, then nodded silently and followed Coach Tagora's pace.
...
In the Xiangbei locker room, the Xiangbei players arrived at the venue early. Even Jinguji Budou, who always liked to arrive on time, arrived early. He had already changed into his jersey and sneakers, and sat quietly on the bench with his eyes closed.
The lounge was very quiet. Even when the players spoke, they kept their voices down. Mitsui Shou stood in front of his closet, silently adjusting his wrist and knee pads, with a serious expression.
Akagi Takenori sat on a bench not far from the martial arts hall, silently adjusting his shoelaces. Chiba Daishi stood by the window, half of his body leaning against the wall, staring out the window.
A depressing atmosphere enveloped the locker room.
Shoyo High School, it was they who blocked Shohoku’s path to the national team last year. This year, facing Shoyo again, Mitsui Hisashi, Akagi, and Chiba Oishi, the veteran players, all acted unusually serious.
Once again facing Xiangyang High School, they all felt inexplicable pressure.
Influenced by the old players, the emotions of the freshmen were also brought over, and the entire locker room seemed quite quiet.
"Kachcha."
The lock of the locker room door turned, making a slight sound. In the quiet locker room at this moment, this slight sound seemed particularly loud. All the players looked towards the door in unison. Under everyone's gaze, Coach Anxi walked in with Ayako.
Coach Anxi, who walked into the locker room, seemed to feel the depressing atmosphere lingering over everyone's heads at the moment. He pushed up his glasses and glanced at everyone one by one.
"Hello, coach!" Mitsui Hisashi took the lead in greeting Coach Anzai, and the team members responded sporadically.
Coach Anxi frowned slightly when he saw this scene, but then quickly relaxed his brows, revealing a gentle smile on his face and his signature laugh:
"Oh, oh, oh~ Okay, all good."
"You guys, are you ready?"
Coach Anxi didn't want to put more pressure on the players, so his tone was quite soft when he spoke.
"Of course I'm ready. I've been waiting for this moment for a long time!"
Mitsui Shou nodded heavily and answered, but although Mitsui Shou's voice was loud, the solemnity on his face did not diminish much. In the locker room, except for Mitsui Shou, no other player responded to Coach Anzai's question. It was obvious that facing Shoyo High School, the morale of the Xiangbei team was not high.
Coach Anxi saw Mitsui Shou's expression, pushed his glasses and looked at Jinguji Budou. If there was anyone in the locker room who was still calm, it was only Jinguji Budou.
After Coach Anxi came in, Wu Dao also greeted him, then quietly took out a teacup from his bag and sipped the tea. Wu Dao actually noticed that his teammates were in low morale, but he didn't think it was a big problem. Morale was something that naturally improved after scoring a few goals on the court.
Therefore, although Wu Dao knew that his teammates’ conditions were not normal, he did not say anything to remind them or encourage them.
However, Coach Anxi obviously doesn't think so. He is a person who pays great attention to pre-match morale.
"Budo, I plan to let you play the entire game."
"Do you have the strength to sustain it?"
Coach Anxi turned the conversation to Wu Dao, his tone gentle, just like a family member chatting.
"Fight the whole game? Of course I can hold on!" Wu Dao replied with a smile, without any hesitation.
"Budo, you will play as a small forward in this game, and be the team's main attacker."
"The highest score in the history of the county competition is 57 points. Budo, I want you to break this record in this game."
“Can you do it!?”
Coach Anxi raised his head slightly, and the reflection on the lens disappeared as he raised his head, revealing his bright eyes. Coach Anxi looked at Wu Dao with a sharp gaze, waiting for Wu Dao's answer.
Listening to Coach Anxi's question, all the players of Xiangbei looked at Budo. They were still worried about whether Xiangbei could beat Xiangyang High School in this game, but Coach Anxi seemed to have never doubted that Xiangbei could beat Xiangyang. Not only that, Coach Anxi planned to use Xiangyang as a stepping stone for Budo's rise!
Although Wudao’s performance in the previous competitions was already excellent, at most it just let people know that there was such a person as Wudao.
But if Budo can break the county tournament scoring record in the match against Shoyo, then Budo will instantly become the real focus of the county.
Xiangyang High School is a national powerhouse. Being able to score more than 57 points against such a team is far more significant than any of the previous smaller games.
"Records... ..."
"Hey, let's give it a try!"
Wudao didn't agree arrogantly, he just said he would give it a try. But even if Wudao just said he would give it a try, the first-year students of Xiangbei gasped, and many second- and third-year students also looked at Wudao in amazement.
Facing a national-level powerhouse like Shoyo, they dared not even think about breaking the conference record, let alone trying!
Coach Anxi listened to Wu Dao's answer and nodded without saying anything else. His goal had actually been achieved. After a few brief exchanges with the players, Coach Anxi left the locker room.
Sometimes boosting team morale is a very simple thing because there are deep connections between players.
After Coach Anzai left, Mitsui Shou stood up from his seat. The stern look on his face was gone. Instead, there was only jealousy and unwillingness towards martial arts.
Mitsui Shou sat down next to Wu Dao and shouted angrily: "Why did Coach Anxi let you be the main attacker~"
“Obviously, I can do it.”
In response to Mitsui Shou's complaints, Wudao smiled and said casually: "Maybe it's because you are already famous enough, and I am not famous yet."
Mitsui Shou originally looked full of resentment, but when he heard what Wu Dao said, a smile suddenly appeared on his face, and he even asked shamelessly:
"Hey, really?!"
Wudao glanced at Mitsui Shou speechlessly without saying anything. At this time, Miyagi Ryouta also came to Wudao's side and promised solemnly: "Wudao, as long as you need it, I will deliver the ball to you as soon as possible!"
"When the time comes, don't waste my pass!"
Miyagi Ryouta was very supportive of Takeshi, and his words were echoed by the other players, who all assured that they would give the ball to Takeshi if he needed it.
For a moment, the silent locker room became much more lively, and the players' depression and tension were greatly relieved.
...
As time goes by, the start time of the game is getting closer.
The spectators in the stands, who had been waiting impatiently, finally heard the sound of lockers being opened in the closed locker room passages on both sides of the venue.
The noisy stadium gradually quieted down, and the audience looked towards the player passages on both sides, with expectant expressions on their faces.
"Xiangyang! Dong! Dong! Dong!"
"Xiangyang! Dong! Dong! Dong!"
In the team passage on one side, the players of Shoyo High School wearing green and white uniforms began to enter the stadium. At the front of the Shoyo team was Fujima Kenji wearing the No. 4 jersey. Fujima's appearance instantly ignited the Shoyo cheerleading team. For a moment, the loud sound of large plastic bottles hitting each other filled the entire basketball hall.
"Look, that's Fujima from Shoyo High School."
"I became a regular player for Shoyo in my first year, and now in my second year of high school, I'm already the captain of Shoyo!"
As Kenji Fujima led the team into the stadium, Coach Takeo in the stands also became active, pointing at the No. 4 players of Shoyo and introducing them.
"Shoyo's cheerleading team is really strong~ Coach, why aren't our Ryonan cheerleaders as sharp?"
Sendoh was sitting next to Coach Takeoka. At this moment, he had no interest in Kenji Fujima mentioned by Coach Takeoka, but was very interested in Shoyo's cheerleading team.
"... ..."
"You bastard, why are you focusing on such a weird thing? Look at the players, why the cheerleaders?"
"Most of Shoyo's cheerleaders are actually members of the basketball team, but they were unselected and failed to become regular members."
Coach Takeo scolded Sendoh a little angrily, but still gave Sendoh a brief introduction to the cheerleading team on the opposite stands, which was green and banging plastic bottles to cheer for Shoyo.
"What?!"
Sendoh was just asking casually, but he was shocked when he learned the origin of the Shoyo cheerleading team.
You know, there are at least hundreds of people in the Xiangyang cheerleading team on the opposite stand, and more than half of them are boys. If most of these people are Xiangyang's unsuccessful players, how strong will Xiangyang's players be
A large number of students will definitely benefit the team. With so many reserves, Xiangyang's team strength will be quite terrifying.
At the very least, in their Ryonan High School, apart from the dozen or so players who have jerseys, there are not many players left.
Suddenly, the sound of the Xiangyang cheerleaders knocking on the bottles suddenly stopped, as if someone had suddenly grabbed their throats. The audience in the stands suddenly cheered. These audiences were not students from any school, but ordinary people who came to watch the game. At this moment, they all cheered at the same time.
The people of Ryonan followed the audience's gaze and happened to see the players of Shohoku High School, led by Mitsui Hisashi, walking out of the passage.
Although Jinguji Budo was at the end of the team, he attracted the most attention.
"Shohoku's No. 15, Jinguji Budo is out!"
"Here comes Xiangbei, Xiangbei!
!”
"Mitsui Hisashi! Mitsui Hisashi! Mitsui Hisashi!"
Chaotic cheers and encouragements poured into the stadium. Mitsui heard someone calling his name, raised his arms and waved to the audience around him. This guy immediately adapted to the atmosphere of the stadium.
"It's amazing that we, Xiangbei, actually have so many supporters."
"The cheers are so loud!" Several first-year players were not used to the audience's enthusiasm. They looked at the surrounding stands with emotion, and their movements became a little stiff.
The second and third year players were not much better. Except for Mitsui Hisashi and Chiba Daishi who were able to adapt, Akagi Takenori and others became a little nervous when they saw this scene.
As for Jinguji Budo, after arriving at the rest area, he casually picked out the earwax, then flicked his nails and blew a breath.
For him, it was a small scene. When he was chased and beaten by fans because of a misjudgment, the scene was much more lively than this.
After the players from both teams entered the stadium, the cheers from the audience gradually subsided.
Coach Anzai stood up, shook hands with the coach of the opposing team, Shoyo, and then returned to the Shohoku area.
"Don't be nervous, just proceed with today's game as usual."
"The starting lineup is Chiba Daishi, Miyagi Ryouta, Jinguji Budou, Kakuda Satoru, and Yasuda Yasuharu."
"You five, go first."
After returning to his own area, Coach Anzai directly designated the starting players. When Mitsui heard that neither he nor Akagi Takenori was on the starting list, he became anxious and walked up to Coach Anzai and asked hurriedly, "Coach, Shoyo is not an ordinary team. Is this arrangement really okay?"
"Not just any team?"
"How can Shoyo be any special team in front of our Shohoku High School?"
Coach Anzai replied calmly, and his words made Mitsui Shou stunned. He never thought that he would hear such crazy words from Coach Anzai.
Coach Anxi's confidence in the team infected everyone.
Mitsui Shou came back to his senses, looked at Kakuta Satoru and Yasuda Yasuharu, and couldn't help laughing.
Yes, how can there be any extraordinary team in front of Xiangbei
Coach Anzai's goal is obviously not as simple as defeating Shoyo. Mitsui Shou attaches great importance to the match with Shoyo, but in the eyes of Coach Anzai, it is just a game, and Shoyo is just a stepping stone.
After a quick whistle, players from both teams began to enter the court to warm up.
Because of the influence of Coach Anxi, the Xiangbei players didn't pay much attention to the Xiangyang players during the warm-up, and they were all warming up on their own. The Xiangbei players' performance was full of confidence in the eyes of the Xiangyang players. For a time, the Xiangyang players all felt a huge pressure.
After all, they have watched a lot of Xiangbei's previous games. Although the opponents are not very strong, they still have to acknowledge Xiangbei's strength.
During the warm-up period, neither team had any outstanding performance, but the audience could feel the sense of oppression emanating from the two teams.
As the referee blew the whistle, the warm-up officially ended and the two teams returned to their teams.
In the stands, the tall coach of Hainan and his players sat on the benches, gently waving folding fans, pointing at Mitsui Shou of Xiangbei, and said to Maki Shinichi beside him: "Amu, Mitsui Shou of Xiangbei and Fujima of Shoyo are both opponents that cannot be underestimated."
"No matter who wins, they will come to challenge us in Hainan."
"You need to take a good look at the strength of these two people and be prepared to deal with them."
"It is highly likely that Xiangyang will win."
Maki Shinichi looked in the direction Coach Gaotou pointed and nodded.
They in Hainan are a little out of touch with the information. Today is their first game in this county competition in Hainan. This is also the first time for them to come to this venue this year. Their understanding of Xiangbei High School is still stuck in the past.
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