Xiangbei High School will play against Ryonan High School in the second match this morning, the quarter-finals. Ryonan High School, an old rival, put a lot of pressure on Budo, and when he woke up in the morning, he was more restless and nervous than before.
However, after getting up early and exercising for a period of time, the restless and nervous mood was relieved a lot, and Wudao's physical condition has also been adjusted to the best.
"Oh? Budo-san, are you up so early?"
Just as Wudao was standing by the window looking at the scenery outside to adjust his mentality, a gentle voice suddenly came from the door of the gym. Turning his head, he saw Coach Anxi, wearing a neat suit, slowly walking in from the door.
"Coach Anxi, why are you here?"
Wudao was a little surprised to see Coach Anxi. Even though this old man was the coach of the Xiangbei High School basketball team and was once a national player, he didn't like sports. It was really a rare thing to see Coach Anxi in the gym.
"Haha, I'm getting older and I don't sleep as much."
"I didn't see you in the dormitory. I thought you should be here."
"Mr. Budo, you got up earlier than usual today. Is there something on your mind?!"
Coach Anxi raised his head slightly, pushed his glasses, and suddenly said.
"Anything on your mind? I don't think so."
"I'm just a little nervous. After all, Ryonan High School is a very strong team."
Wudao answered casually without hiding his feelings from Coach Anxi. From Coach Anxi's questions just now, Wudao could also sense that Coach Anxi should have noticed that his condition was different from before.
"Are you nervous... .hohoho~"
"To be honest, I always thought that such emotions would not appear in you."
"It seems that Ryonan High School has indeed put a lot of pressure on you."
"Don't you have confidence in winning?"
Coach Anxi approached slowly. His eyes did not linger on Wudao. After walking to the window sill, he looked out the window.
"Of course I have the confidence to lead Xiangbei High School to defeat Ryonan, but the threat posed by Ryonan High School cannot be ignored."
"I watched their match against Sannoh. I watched the whole thing. I could feel that Ryonan High School did not use their full strength when playing against Sannoh."
"But even a team like Sannoh can't beat Ryonan High School. It's definitely not an easy task for us, Shohoku, to beat Ryonan."
"I'm afraid that just having faith is of no use."
Jinguji Budoushun stood with Coach Anzai and looked at the scenery outside the window.
Coach Anxi did not respond, but just stood there quietly. After a long time, Coach Anxi retracted his gaze, turned around, and prepared to leave the gym. Just as Coach Anxi walked to the door of the gym, he suddenly turned around and said to Wu Dao:
"Budo, for today's match, you just need to perform as usual."
"As for the outcome of the game, there is no point in thinking so much about it now."
"When you get to the court, your heart will tell you what you should do."
Coach Anxi finished speaking and left the gym. Wudao heard what Coach Anxi said before he left. He stretched out his hand, looked down at his palm, then clenched his palms, and then followed Coach Anxi out of the gym.
...
The players of the Xiangbei High School basketball team have a very regular schedule. Except for Takeshi Jinguji and Coach Anzai who get up early, the rest of the players get up on time around 7 o'clock. After getting up, the players immediately pack their backpacks and then have breakfast. After all the preparations are completed, they will gather in the hotel lobby.
The quiet hotel lobby became lively as the players of Xiangbei team gathered one after another.
At 7:30 in the morning, the Xiangbei team, ready to go, walked towards the stadium.
Along the way, the Xiangbei team seemed very quiet, and few people were chatting. Coach Anxi and Ayako walked in the front of the team one after the other. The perceptive Ayako seemed to have noticed that the players seemed to be particularly quiet today. Looking back, she saw that the players were all busy on their way.
Ayako realized that the team members seemed to be under a lot of pressure and looked like they had a lot on their minds.
"Coach Anxi, I see that the players' condition today is different from before. Is there any problem?"
Ayako quickly caught up with Coach Anzai, and then asked in a low voice in Coach Anzai's ear.
"It's okay, don't worry." Coach Anzai said without even turning his head. Seeing that Coach Anzai didn't care, Ayako didn't say anything.
The group arrived at the gymnasium in such a silent atmosphere.
When the Xiangbei players walked into the gymnasium and came to the stands, the first game of the top 8 had already started. The two teams competing on the court were Luoan High School and Kakuzuru High School. The game had just started not long ago, and only two minutes had passed since the start of the game.
The score between the two teams was 7:4, with Luoan High School leading Jiaohe High School by 3 points. Although the score difference did not seem to be that big, only a three-point difference, the situation on the field was far from as optimistic as the score.
It was the time when Jiaohe High School was attacking. No. 6 of their team was advancing slowly with the ball, and Luoan's defensive pressure was very strong. Jiaohe's side didn't even carry the ball across half the court. Luoan's players all pressed forward, and the man-to-man defense throughout the court made Jiaohe's offensive rhythm very unsmooth.
And seeing how the point guard of Kakuzuru tried hard to control the ball and maintain space, it was clear that No. 6 might not be able to break through Luoan's defense on his own.
A few more seconds passed, and Jiaohe's point guard had controlled the ball for more than 10 seconds. During such a long time, he only managed to dribble the ball across the center line. In the eyes of Wudao and others, the fact that Jiaohe's point guard was able to dribble the ball across the center line without losing the ball was entirely the result of Luo An's deliberate indulgence.
The opponent was clearly using full-court pressure, but they also deliberately gave Jiaohe a way to survive.
"Huh~" The basketball was passed to the inside line. The center of Jiaohe received the ball and turned half-way to hook the ball, but what greeted him was a perfect block by the center of Luoan. The flying basketball was caught by Luoan's No. 5. When the ball was transferred, Luoan quickly launched a counterattack.
Luoan's fast break transmission was very smooth. The basketball was only passed twice in the middle before it was given to No. 9 who cut into the basket. Luoan No. 9 made a light layup and easily put the ball into the basket.
Although it was just a ball, Wudao noticed the strength gap between Luoan High School and Jiaohe High School from this round of offense and defense.
"I'm afraid this match will be a crushing one, Kakuzaku will definitely lose!" Wudao sentenced Kakuzaku to death in his heart, but the course of the match was completely beyond Wudao's expectations. Luoan High School seemed to be hiding its strength. They obviously had the ability to widen the gap between the two teams in one go, but Luoan was not in a hurry at all.
They just maintained the existing score difference and did not expand the score advantage by pressing the ball. Sometimes even after getting the rebounds, they were slow in attacking and had no intention of increasing the pace to increase the score difference.
However, the people who understand football are only a minority after all. The audience in the stands only felt that the score gap between Luoan and Jiaohe teams had not widened or narrowed, so they directly and arbitrarily concluded that the strength gap between the two teams was not big. This kind of competition of chasing each other looked very interesting.
At the end of the first half of the game, the players of Xiangbei High School left the stands and went to the waiting room.
...
"We will have a match with Xiangbei soon."
"Everybody cheer up!"
"Shohoku is our old rival. I think you are all very clear about their strength. They are different from the teams we have met before. In today's game, no one should take it lightly!"
"Now, I announce the starting lineup."
"Center, Jun Uozumi; power forward, Toru Hanagata; small forwards, Shinomiya Tano, Sendoh, and Fujima. The two of you will play guard, and Fujima will be in charge of controlling the ball."
"Listen up, other players. Although you are not in the starting lineup, you must be ready to play at any time. I may let you play at any time."
"The intensity of the games will be very high every day, and I need to properly allocate the physical strength of all the players."
"Tian Ye, you have to share some of the ball rights with Sendoh in today's game, and let Sendoh assist you in offense."
"Don't consume yourself too much. Our goal at Ryonan is not just to defeat Shohoku. Our goal is to win the national championship!"
In the locker room of Ryonan High School, Coach Takeo was arranging the players' games while they were waiting in the backcourt, and at the same time he was explaining the offensive tactics to the players.
"For the match against Shohoku, we need to adopt a 23-zone defense. Tano, you guard Jinguji Budou, Fujima, you guard Mitsui Shou."
"Sendoh, Uozumi, Hanagata, I need the three of you to guard Nengxian well. Sendoh will be in a high position, ready to provide reinforcements at any time."
"Pay attention. If Jinguji Budo breaks through Tian Ye's defense, you must immediately make up for it. Don't be afraid of fouling. Make sure to provide adequate defensive pressure."
"Tian Ye, when you're defending, focus on defending shots. If the opponent breaks through, let him go, and then double-team him with Sendoh. This isn't your first time dealing with him, so you don't have to force yourself to defend every shot, just disrupt him as much as possible."
Coach Tiangang simply demonstrated the defensive positioning to the players on the tactical board, then put the tactical board aside, clapped his hands, and continued:
"The defensive tactics are like this. As for offense, just play as you normally would in training."
"Classmates, I, Shigeichi Tanaoka, have been waiting for this day for a long time."
"I have a good understanding of the teams participating in this year's national competition."
"Shohoku High School will be the last hurdle on your road to becoming a national champion. Just get past them and smash them to pieces."
"What awaits you is a smooth road with a clear end in sight!"
Coach Tiangang was mobilizing the players in the lounge. For a while, shouts came one after another in the lounge. Obviously, Coach Tiangang's mobilization was quite effective.
At this time in the Xiangbei locker room, Coach Anxi did not encourage the players. He just quietly arranged the offensive formation for the players on the whiteboard in the locker room.
Coach Anzai's tactics are still centered around Jinguji Budo's core style of play, and are no different from previous game arrangements. I don't know whether Coach Anzai has not developed a new challenge or whether Coach Anzai thinks Shohoku can defeat Ryonan with this style of play.
Anyway, the players of Xiangbei all nodded in agreement, and no one thought there was anything wrong. They had long been accustomed to playing under the light of Jinguji martial arts.
After a long time, someone from the conference organizer came to the lounge to notify the Xiangbei players to enter.
After receiving the order, the Xiangbei players hurriedly packed their backpacks and followed Coach Anxi out of the locker room and went to the court.
When the Xiangbei players arrived at the stadium, the game between Luoan High School and Kakuzuru High School was nearing its end. With less than a minute left in the game, Luoan was leading Kakuzuru High School by 21 points, 93:72. At this point in the game, it was actually impossible for a miracle to happen, but the players of Kakuzuru were still active on the court and had no intention of giving up.
This team may not have the best physical strength, but its attitude towards basketball and the game has been recognized by everyone.
When the Xiangbei team entered the field, the Ryonan team had already been waiting in the field. When Shigong Tianye saw Jinguji Budou in the Xiangbei team, he couldn't help but smile.
Jinguji Takeshi seemed to have noticed Shinomiya Tano's gaze, and he looked back from a distance, narrowing his eyes slightly.
The two looked at each other, invisible sparks exploded in the field, and this scene happened to be captured by reporters.
"A king doesn't meet a king... Today's match between Xiangbei and Ryonan will probably be very intense!"
The reporter on the sidelines sighed excitedly and hurriedly picked up the camera to take pictures. At the same time, he told his assistant to turn on the camera and prepare to film the game between Xiangbei High School and Ryonan High School.
As for the previous match between Luoan and Jiaohe, they didn’t even want to waste their film!
The match between Luoan and Jiaohe ended quickly. As the final whistle blew, Luoan High School won the match with a score of 96:72. The Luoan players on the winning side cheered and rushed into the field, while the Jiaohe players on the losing side lined up in disappointment.
After the two teams shook hands, they walked off the court and began to pack up.
The players from the Xiangbei and Ryonan teams, who had been waiting for a long time, put down their packages in the rest area and walked into the court.
During the warm-up phase, the two teams seemed to be strangers and tacitly did not greet each other. During the 20-minute warm-up period, both teams showed varying degrees of silence.
The audience in the stands were also infected by this atmosphere. The entire stadium was quiet, waiting for the big battle to begin.
Twenty minutes later, the warm-up was over, the referee walked into the court and blew the whistle. The players from Xiangbei and Ryonan returned to the rest area to make final adjustments, and then the starting players re-entered the court.
As the players from both teams entered the stadium, the stands suddenly became lively.
"Shobei! Shobei! Shobei!"
"Come on, Xiao San~"
There are many supporters of Xiangbei, and the cheers are quite shocking. The supporters of Ryonan are not to be outdone, and another wave of cheers rang out, faintly suppressing the former's cheers.
"Lingnan! Lingnan! Lingnan! Lingnan!"
The supporters in the stands were full of hostility, not to mention the players on the field.
Yuzumi and Akagi, who were preparing to jump the ball in the middle circle, had their eyes burning with fighting spirit. Fujima stood next to Mitsui Shou, Sendoh stood next to Miyagi Ryouta, and Chiba Daishi also faced off against Hanagata Toru.
As for Jinguji Budo, he naturally stood with Shinomiya Tano.
There was no nonsense talking to each other. Everyone was staring at the basketball in the referee's hand, waiting for the game to begin.
“Beep!
!
”
With a sharp whistle, the referee threw the ball directly into the air.
“Roar, roar, roar!
”
“Hehe!
”
As the basketball entered the air, two muffled shouts were heard, and Akagi Takenori and Uozumi Jun jumped up almost at the same time and hit the basketball.
"Snap~" With a slight sound, Uozumi Jun finally touched the ball before Akagi with his excellent height and hit the ball towards Fujima.
Just when Fujima was about to catch the ball, a huge force suddenly came from his side. Mitsui Shou actually squeezed Fujima away and grabbed the ball before Fujima.
Mitsui Shou, who got the basketball, didn't hesitate at all and passed the ball directly. On the other side, Jinguji Budou had already crossed the center line, grabbed the ball in his hands, and then started to speed up.
They won the jump ball but failed to successfully gain possession of the ball, which was something that no one in Ryonan had expected. Jinguji Takeshi's fast break was also very sudden. In the entire Ryonan, only Shinomiya Tano noticed Takeshi's movements and followed him closely.
"Tatta...tatta!" Wudao was dribbling the ball and heard hurried footsteps. Without turning his head to look, Wudao knew that Shigong Tianye was chasing him quickly.
Facing the pursuit, Wu Dao not only did not slow down, but instead accelerated again. He quickly dribbled the ball across the three-point line and rushed into the basket.
Wudao received the ball at the free throw line, and after two steps, he grabbed the ball with his right hand and jumped, then raised the ball over his head. However, when Wudao approached the basket, his raised right hand suddenly retracted, and the basketball went into his left hand, and he grabbed the ball with his left hand and dunked it.
“Huh?!”
Shinomiya Tano, who was following Jinguji Takeshi, jumped with Takeshi. He was about to block Takeshi from behind, but suddenly found that Takeshi switched hands to dunk, and his hands were empty. This change made him couldn't help but let out a light exclamation.
At the same time, cheers broke out from the stands, and the entire stadium was filled with warm cheers.
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