Jun Uozumi's dunk sounded the offensive horn for Ryonan High School.
Shinomiya Tano's offense and defense after the opening have completely attracted Hainan's attention. Hainan has focused a lot of strength on his defense. Not only was the ace Maki Shinichi sent to focus on Shinomiya Tano, but Hainan also assigned a player to assist Maki Shinichi in defense, always ready to make up for the defense and double-team him.
The original plan of Ryonan High School in the first half was to attack around Shinomiya Tano. However, Sendoh Akira noticed that Kainan had invested a lot of defensive power in Shinomiya Tano, and he did not stick to the coach's arrangement before the game started. Instead, he naturally took over the ball control task from Uekusa and handled the ball himself.
The next few rounds of attack by Ryonan High School were led by Sendoh Akira, either Sendoh's singles, or passing the ball to Uozumi Jun in the paint after a breakthrough, or to Uesugi or Ikegami in the open space. For a while, Ryonan High School blossomed in many places.
On the defensive end, Ryonan's defense adopted a standard zone defense system. Except for Shimoya Tano who was single-handedly guarding Shinichi Maki, the others established a zone defense around the paint area.
Hainan's offense revolved around Shinichi Maki and Daiki Maekawa in the interior, but it became extremely difficult for Shinichi Maki to break through the basket as he was closely guarded by Shinomiya Tano. He could only pass the ball to his teammates to let them attack.
Ryonan High School, which uses a zone defense to protect the paint area, has a very tight defense in the interior. Under such defense, even though Hainan's center Daiki Maekawa has very strong personal abilities and his footwork and skills are better than Yuzumi, it is difficult for him to perform well with the backup of Sendoh and Ikegami. Therefore, Hainan's shots are more often shot from mid-range and long-range as a means of finishing.
However, it was precisely because Sendoh needed to go inside to help defend that the captain of Hainan, Omasa Shifuku, who wore the No. 4 jersey, got the opportunity to play against Uekusa. Uekusa, who was much shorter than Omasa Shifuku, was at a very obvious disadvantage and was repeatedly forced to shoot against Omasa Shifuku's defense.
As the third-year captain of the king Hainan, Da Zheng has a very solid shooting foundation and his hit rate is quite stable during the game.
For a while, the two teams fought back and forth, and the score was not quickly widened because of Shigong Tianye's terrifying combat power.
About 7 minutes into the game, at 12:16, Ryonan High School was leading Hainan by 4 points, but the ball was in the hands of Hainan High School.
"These guys from Hainan are really tough. Yuzumi is no match for that center, and Ikegami and Uekusa's heights are useless even if they try to defend."
"That No. 5 is obviously a center, but he has a very good passing vision. If I go to help defend, he will pass the ball to No. 4 on the outside. If I don't help defend, Yuzumi can't stop me at all."
"If we don't find a way to crack Hainan's offensive method, the outcome of the game will be hard to predict."
Hainan's No. 4 Omae Shifuku controlled the ball and defended his Sendoh, crouching slightly to guard against his passing and shooting. Omae Shifuku's breakthrough ability was also very average, and he did not pose any threat to Sendoh. However, this person's dribbling foundation was very solid, and Sendoh could not find any opportunities to steal the ball, and his shooting was very accurate.
In general, Omasa Shifuku is a second-tier ace player. He does not have the ability to play against Sendoh alone, but he can pass the ball under Sendoh's defense, and once the opportunity arises, he can also give Ryonan a heavy blow.
It was precisely the Hainan offensive system formed by Omasa Sifu and the inside player Maekawa Daiki that allowed Hainan to maintain the score gap against Ryonan's attack.
Omasa Shifuku and Maekawa Daiki, two not-so-top "ordinary players", are now causing trouble for Ryonan High School.
While Sendoh was thinking, Omasa Shifuku raised his arm and the basketball flew directly to the inside. The center of Hainan got the basketball, dribbled the ball, took a big step towards the free throw line, and then quickly turned around, looking like he wanted to shoot.
Yuzumi Jun's defense never slackened, and he raised his arms and rushed forward. However, as Yuzumi lunged forward, Maekawa Daiki quickly pulled back and passed the ball from Yuzumi's side to the inside. Takasago Kazuma, who was also standing near the inside, received the basketball and immediately made a layup.
Ikegami, who was defending Takasago, had no interference effect at all and was completely unable to stop Takasago.
Accompanied by the cheers of Hainan's substitutes, the Hainan players high-fived each other in celebration and then began to return to defense.
When Shimoya saw the score on the scoreboard had reached 14:16, his face looked a little unhappy.
Is Ryonan High School strong now? Very strong. The team has two top scorers in the country, Shinomiya Tano and Sendoh Akira. The two-meter-tall mermaid in the interior, Sumi Jun, is also an excellent center ranked in the top five in the county. Although the others are not star players, they are also the starting players of the top four in the county.
But even such a team could not do anything to Hainan.
In the entire Hainan, the only player who could be considered the top player in the country was Maki Shinichi, but up to this point in the game, he had made almost no sound, being suppressed by Shigong Tianye. The rest of the players in Hainan were only above average, but relying on the established offensive system and the tacit cooperation of the players, Hainan was able to keep a tight grip on the score.
If Ryonan High School is unable to widen the score gap, as the game progresses, Ryonan is likely to lose momentum before Hainan.
"I never thought that Hainan would be such a team this year."
"The Hainan of today is much stronger than the one I remembered!"
Jinguji Budo sat in the audience, watching the game on the court, muttering in his heart. In his impression, the Hainan team built its offensive system around Maki Shinichi's breakthrough points.
In the future, Hainan will have sharpshooter Kazuo Kamiso on the perimeter, top guard Maki Shinichi on the ball control, and Kazuma Takasago on the inside who can send Yuzumi off the court with Maki Shinichi. Kiyota Nobunaga is a super rookie who can dunk over Yuzumi with a height of 178cm, but even that Hainan team is still not as good as the current Hainan team.
At the center position, the current Hainan center is far from being top-notch in Budo's opinion, but it is more than enough to suppress Uozumi Jun who has just entered the second year of high school. The second-year Takasago Kazuma is also very young, but he is much stronger than Ikegami of Ryonan High School, at least in terms of height.
Although Shinichi Maki is not yet at his peak, his lethality would definitely not be small if his opponent was not Shinomiya Tano.
Although Hainan's No. 4 player is not as accurate as Kazuo Kamiso in three-point shooting, his mid-range shooting is very solid and he has a very good passing vision, and his dribbling is also very solid.
The biggest advantage of Hainan is their height. No one in the team is less than 180cm tall. The average height is much higher than that of Ryonan High School. This terrifying height difference is one of the key factors in why Ryonan has such a hard time playing.
"Budao, tell me, if we were facing Hainan like this, how should we fight to limit their attack?"
"If we face Hainan, it seems that we will face the same dilemma as Ryonan now."
Mitsui Shou looked at the two teams on the field and asked while stroking his chin. Their next game was against Hainan. At this time, Mitsui Shou was already thinking about the game against Hainan in a few days.
"To be honest... it's very troublesome. The only ones in Xiangbei who are relatively tall are me, Akagi and you. When Maki Shinichi needs me or you to defend, the other person will have to defend the No. 4. Akagi in the interior will face the twin towers of Kainan."
"If we don't use a zone defense, Akagi and Chiba probably won't be able to hold the basket."
"But if we also use a zone defense, Miyagi can't support the basket. It can only be you or me. In this way, the opponent's Shinichi Maki or the No. 4 will have the opportunity to play against Miyagi in a mismatch."
"It's more likely to be bad than good." When Jinguji Wudao said the last sentence, his eyes looked at Miyagi Ryouta who was not far away. When he was speaking, the team members around him were listening. When he finished speaking, all the team members looked at Miyagi Ryouta in unison.
"..." Although Miyagi Ryouta's expression was not very good after hearing what Takeshi said, he did not say anything to refute. He knew in his heart that with his height, it would be very difficult for him to deal with either Maki Shinichi or No. 4 from Hainan.
"Ryonan High School's lineup is actually similar to ours. Ikegami's ability is even slightly worse than Chiba's. Uekusa's speed and jumping ability are far inferior to Miyagi's, and Uozumi is not as good as Akagi in terms of skills."
"We can see how Ryonan responds next and learn how to play against Hainan from Ryonan's perspective."
"If my guess is correct, Ryonan will soon change its style of play."
As Jinguji Budou spoke, his eyes were fixed on the field, focusing on the No. 8 player of Ryonan High School.
"Change the style of play? How else can we change it? On the offensive end, Shinomiya Tano was restricted, and Sendoh's organized offense was quite effective. However, as the game progressed, the shooting of those Ryonan players was not so accurate. On the other hand, Kainan was able to score well from both inside and outside, and his hit rate was quite good."
"Hainan has two tall players in the paint, and their control of rebounds is much better than Ryonan High School."
"Even though Ryonan High School has a few points lead, if they continue to play like this, it's only a matter of time before Hainan catches up and overtakes them."
"I really can't think of how Ryonan High School can beat Hainan."
Mitsui shook his head, deduced the direction of the game in his mind, and then shook his head, unable to think of any good solution from Ryonan High School.
"Do you feel that Shinomiya Tano is restricted?"
"If this guy was so easy to restrain, our previous match against Ryonan wouldn't have been so difficult."
Wu Dao heard this and smiled. Coach Anxi, who was sitting in the audience watching the game, seemed to have heard Wu Dao's words. He turned his head and looked at Wu Dao with a smile in his eyes, as if he was very satisfied with Wu Dao's vision.
While Wudao and others were talking, the game had already gone back and forth on the court. Ryonan High School's offense failed, Ikegami missed an open shot, Uozumi under the basket was blocked by Maekawa Daiki, and the rebound was taken by Kazuma Takasago of Hainan.
Hainan made a fast break counterattack, Maki Shinichi forced his way past Shinomiya Tano and barely passed the ball to Omasa Shifuku, who scored with a close-range shot.
Suddenly, the score between the two teams reached 16:16.
The ball was tied. The ball was in the hands of Ryonan High School.
The score was tied, and the players on the Ryonan bench were frustrated. Ikegami Ryoji, who missed an open shot, was also frustrated, with some self-blame in his heart. On the other hand, Hainan successfully caught up with the score, which boosted the spirits of all the players and made them more active in defense.
"We need to boost the morale of our teammates..." Sendoh Akira pushed the ball forward. He could feel that some of the players were in low spirits. The experienced Sendoh knew very well that if he failed to boost the morale of his teammates, Hainan might overtake the score.
"Hey, Sendo, give me the ball!"
Just as Sendoh Akira was preparing to score a goal to boost the morale of his teammates, the voice of Shigong Tianye came from the midfield. Shigong Tianye, who was running to the front court, did not immediately go to the three-point line or mid-range position, but waited at the midfield position.
"Um?"
Sendoh looked at Shinomiya with some doubt. Although there were still two people staring at Shinomiya, he did not think much and immediately passed the ball to Shinomiya. As soon as Shinomiya got the ball, Maki Shinichi and a Hainan player wearing the No. 6 jersey surrounded him.
"It's begun!" When Jinguji Takeshi in the stands saw this scene, his eyes lit up. He knew that the next few rounds of attack and defense would determine the outcome of the game.
In the court, Sigong Tianye, who got the basketball, was quickly blocked by Maki Shinichi. Hainan's No. 6 also stood not far behind Maki Shinichi, with a defensive look on his face. The two defensive players were in a very high position, approaching the midline.
"With the remaining time, if we attack with all our strength, we should be able to maintain our physical condition even in the second half, as we can rest at halftime."
"At this point in the game, those guys don't think that this is all I am capable of!"
After Shigong Tianye dropped the ball, he glanced at Maki Shinichi, quickly accelerated, and in one step he was level with Maki Shinichi, trying to break through him. However, Maki Shinichi never relaxed his vigilance against Shigong Tianye, and the moment Shigong Tianye made a move, he immediately followed, and his body inevitably collided directly with Shigong Tianye who was rushing forward.
"Bang!" A muffled sound was heard, and the attacker, Shigong Tianye, paused for a moment. After slowing down, he immediately regained his balance. However, Maki Shinichi, on the contrary, was hit and his breath was stagnant. He took a step back and made way.
Taking advantage of this gap, Shimonoseki quickly passed Maki Shinichi. At the same time, Hainan's No. 6 also stepped forward to fill in the position. Just as he lowered his center of gravity to intercept Shimonoseki, he saw Shimonoseki turn around with the ball, instantly passed the defender and rushed towards the inside.
Kazuma Takasago and Daiki Maekawa, who had already been in position inside, saw Shinomiya Tano break through the defense and stepped forward together, trying to intercept Shinomiya Tano.
Shinomiya Tano, who broke through to the free throw line, clearly saw two defenders coming forward and saw Uozumi Jun cut into the basket, but he had no intention of passing the ball and jumped directly towards Kazuma Takasago and Daiki Maekawa. The two defenders of Hainan were not to be outdone and jumped up to intercept, which was quite similar to the double block in tennis.
"Bang!" Shigong Tianye's body hit Takasago Kazuma and Maekawa Daiki in the air. This time, he failed to break through the two people's blockade and his sliding body stopped. But Shigong Tianye still maintained his shooting posture without changing. His jumping was terrifying. Takasago and Maekawa Daiki, who jumped with all their strength, raised their arms only to the vicinity of Shigong Tianye's wrist.
In less than a second, under the influence of gravity, Kazuma Takasago and Daiki Maekawa were pulled by gravity and began to fall. On the other hand, Shinomiya Tano still maintained his height. After looking down at Takasago and Daiki Maekawa, he took a close-range shot.
“Bang!”
“Swish!”
The basketball hit the backboard from the front and went into the net. Shinomiya Tianye stood very steadily after landing, while Maekawa Daiki and Takasago took two steps back before they could barely stand.
For a moment, the stadium was filled with exclamations. Even Hainan's tall coach looked surprised and dazed. It took him a long time to come back to his senses.
"This... this person..."
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