Rukawa's steal drew cheers from the onlookers, but Sakuragi Hanamichi, the player involved, was not in such a good mood. He did not expect that Rukawa would be so fast, and his move was successfully predicted by the opponent to complete the steal.
Losing the ball so easily made Sakuragi Hanamichi a little anxious. He was an impatient person and did not hide his emotions at all.
"You attack!" Sakuragi Hanamichi curled his lips and consciously exchanged positions with Rukawa Kaede, his face full of unhappiness.
Rukawa didn't mean to take care of Sakuragi Hanamichi's feelings. He trotted a few steps to pick up the basketball, dribbled it a little, and walked in front of Sakuragi Hanamichi and handed the ball to Sakuragi. Sakuragi Hanamichi took the basketball, rubbed it, and gave it back to Rukawa.
After receiving the ball, Rukawa Kaede didn't hesitate at all and immediately broke through. At this time, Sakuragi Hanamichi was not prepared for defense at all and was instantly passed by Rukawa Kaede.
"This despicable villain actually launched a sneak attack!" Sakuragi Hanamichi cursed softly and quickly turned around to chase after him. Sakuragi Hanamichi obviously did not concentrate on preparing for defense, but his series of movements of turning around and accelerating were quite smooth and fast. In the blink of an eye, he was closely following behind Rukawa Kaede.
"Ho!" Coach Anxi, who was watching the game, straightened his back slightly and let out a sigh when he saw this scene.
"Behind, Rukawa-senpai, behind!" Ichiro Mizusawa, who was watching the game, shouted anxiously, and his reminder also made Rukawa aware of the approaching Sakuragi Hanamichi.
Rukawa tilted his head slightly and observed Sakuragi's position with the corner of his eye. Seeing that Sakuragi Hanamichi was close to him, Rukawa immediately stopped when he was in the middle distance. Rukawa thought that he could get rid of Sakuragi Hanamichi with an emergency stop, but the next second, a sharp voice rang in his ears.
"squeak!"
The sneakers rubbed against the floor, making a harsh sound.
Sakuragi Hanamichi maintained a high center and actually stopped. The inertia formed by the sprint and defense seemed to have no effect on Sakuragi Hanamichi. Sakuragi actually kept up with Rukawa's rhythm in this posture, stopped in front of Rukawa, raised his hands high, and made a defensive posture.
It is foreseeable that if Rukawa Kaede jumps and shoots immediately after the sudden stop, he might be blocked by the pursuing Sakuragi Hanamichi.
"Wow! That red-haired guy is so fast, he actually caught up with Rukawa-senpai!"
"He caught up so easily?! When I saw him defending, his center of gravity was clearly not lowered."
Rukawa Kaede on the field stopped his advance, dribbled the ball back and prepared to reorganize the attack. Although he heard the exclamations of the surrounding players, he did not let these words affect his rhythm.
On the contrary, Sakuragi Hanamichi was somewhat complacent when he heard the praises from the people around him. The unhappiness caused by the interception disappeared without a trace in the exclamations, and he even became a little proud. Therefore, he inevitably became a little lax when defending.
The change in Sakuragi Hanamichi's mentality was very subtle, and the loopholes in his defense were not obvious. But for a master, the opponent's decreased concentration can actually be felt.
"Sakuragi, this idiot... His mentality is a big problem!" Jinguji Takeshi noticed Sakuragi's slackness in defense and couldn't help but cover his forehead and shook his head, feeling helpless.
In terms of ball skills, Sakuragi Hanamichi has transformed from a layman to an entry-level player. But in terms of mentality and personality, there is really no way for Budo to... ..
Sure enough, Rukawa Kaede on the court obviously noticed Sakuragi's condition. He quickly lowered his center of gravity, made a front-body change of direction with the ball, and easily led Sakuragi to defend in the wrong direction.
Rukawa got a gap and took a side step, then made a jump shot. The shot in the wide open space was without any pressure and went straight into the net.
"Swish!" With a slight sound, Rukawa Kaede took the lead in scoring a goal in this match.
"What?!" Sakuragi Hanamichi, who was blocked by the ball, quickly turned his head to look at the basket and exclaimed in surprise. The voices of the people around him made Sakuragi feel proud, thinking that Rukawa Kaede was just like that, but this goal also woke Sakuragi up.
"Damn it... I was careless!" Sakuragi Hanamichi gritted his teeth, patted his cheek, trotted back to the starting position, and said to Rukawa Kaede: "Come again!"
Sakuragi was obviously unwilling to admit defeat. He pointed to the starting position of the attack and looked at Rukawa.
Rukawa didn't say anything. He walked to the basket, grabbed the basketball with one hand, and returned to the three-point line. However, in the process of walking to the three-point line, Rukawa saw Jinguji Takeshi and Mitsui Hisashi standing behind the crowd. His eyes shrank slightly, and when he looked at Sakuragi Hanamichi again, his eyes became cold.
"You want to show off yourself in front of your seniors? Are you serious about it, Rukawa Kaede?"
Wu Dao noticed Rukawa's gaze and smiled faintly. He then stole a glance at Coach Anxi beside him and saw that Coach Anxi was concentrating on watching the game on the field, which made Wu Dao smile even more.
It can be seen that both Sakuragi Hanamichi and Rukawa Kaede have caught the eyes of Coach Anzai.
On the court, Rukawa attacked with the ball, and after checking the ball, he broke through directly. However, this time, Sakuragi Hanamichi was clearly fully prepared, and he immediately followed the moment Rukawa started to break through. The moment Rukawa's body hit Sakuragi, the rhythm of his dribbling was also disrupted by Sakuragi Hanamichi.
The defending player, Sakuragi Hanamichi, simply took a small step back after the physical confrontation, then stood firm and immediately shot towards the basketball.
Although Rukawa's dribbling rhythm was affected, he did not lose control of the basketball. He hooked the ball behind him with his right hand and dribbled behind his back to easily avoid Sakuragi's steal. Sakuragi, who failed to steal the ball, reacted quickly and decisively gave up the pursuit. He quickly retreated half a step to create a certain distance and completed the defensive position to prevent Rukawa from breaking through in disguise.
"Sakuragi, this kid is good at defense!" Wudao's eyes lit up when he saw this scene. The stubborn Sakuragi actually knew to give up chasing and forcing, and chose a safe defensive method, which was really wise.
It is rare for a novice who has been learning basketball for a few months to not only chase the ball but also have his own defensive awareness.
At this time, Rukawa also opened up the distance again and adjusted his dribbling rhythm. Sakuragi saw that Rukawa seemed to be a little relaxed, and he couldn't help but relax himself.
"..." Wudao was speechless upon seeing this. The next second, Rukawa Kaede lowered his body, accelerated and broke through, instantly surpassing Sakuragi Hanamichi, making it impossible for Sakuragi to intercept from the front.
"Damn it!" Sakuragi Hanamichi was passed by Rukawa, and he cursed and turned around quickly to chase him. At this time, Rukawa had already successfully crossed the free throw line and entered the basket. After two steps, he grabbed the ball with one hand and held it high, then jumped and prepared to dunk.
“Madamada!
”
Sakuragi Hanamichi shouted and jumped out from behind Rukawa. His fingertips jumped high and even reached a height half a palm higher than Rukawa's. He slapped the basketball from behind Rukawa.
Rukawa, with one hand raised high, didn't even turn his head, but actually gathered the ball in the air and brought it back to his chest, easily avoiding Sakuragi's block. Then he held the ball with his left hand, hooked it towards the backboard, and made a layup from the left side of the backboard.
"Bang!" With a muffled sound, Sakuragi Hanamichi's palm slammed firmly on the empty space on the right side of the backboard, and then his body began to fall. Sakuragi, who returned to the ground, looked up at the basket and saw the basketball rolling twice on the basket, then lost momentum and fell into the net.
"What!
"Sakuragi was shocked when he saw the basketball go into the net, and he shouted in disbelief. Rukawa Kaede maintained his posture until the sound of the basketball landing, then he straightened up and turned to look at Sakuragi Hanamichi who was full of surprise.
The Takeishi people who were watching the game around also burst into cheers. Rukawa's switch-hand pull-up shot to avoid being blocked also surprised them. Even for them, such skills as Rukawa's were rarely seen.
Because in junior high school basketball, there is almost no one's defense that can force Rukawa to make such evasive moves.
"Big idiot!" Rukawa whispered, walked to the basketball, grabbed the basketball and walked to the three-point line. Seeing Sakuragi standing under the basket and not moving, he couldn't help but urge him:
"Hey, it's not over yet!"
Sakuragi Hanamichi became furious when he heard this "reminder". He cursed "bastard" and "stinky fox" and walked towards Rukawa Kaede with a heartless step, exuding a fascinating aura.
After conceding two goals in a row, Sakuragi Hanamichi felt a little embarrassed.
Moreover, the powerful block he just made on the backboard caused the pain in his palm to make Sakuragi Hanamichi's adrenaline surge.
The pain made Sakuragi Hanamichi more focused and excited, just like a wounded tiger, only more ferocious.
"Sakuragi Hanamichi jumps really high. The height just now was estimated to be over 360cm, which is not much different from when he was in the third grade of our country. And Sakuragi is shorter than when he was in the third grade of our country."
Jinguji Budo glanced at Coach Anzai and gave an unintentional compliment.
"Yeah, the bounce is really amazing. For a junior high school student to have such a bounce... it's like a monster."
Mitsui Shou said with a somewhat bitter tone, and after that, he couldn't help but glance at Wudao beside him. In terms of height, his latest physical test height is 185cm, which is not much different from Sakuragi Hanamichi in the field, but his jumping ability...
At best, it was just a dunk. Mitsui Shou also tried to dunk privately. After all, as a young man, who doesn't want to dunk? But... .. 4 out of 5 balls were missed, which also made Mitsui Shou temporarily give up the idea of dunking.
Seeing the relaxed posture of Sakuragi Hanamichi, a junior high school student, flying in the air, Mitsui Hisashi was a little envious.
"Ho ho ho~" Coach Anzai obviously heard the conversation between Takeshi and Mitsui Hisashi. He smiled and didn't say much. However, what Takeshi and Mitsui Hisashi didn't notice was that Coach Anzai had already clenched his fists.
Coach Anxi saw through Wudao's little trick. The height of the junior high school basketball hoop is not the standard hoop. It is 15cm different from the high school basketball hoop. In other words, Wudao's visual estimation is actually too high. But even if it is more than 345cm, it is already terrible for junior high school students. Because the standard hoop is only 305cm.
On the court, Rukawa Kaede was holding the ball and confronting Sakuragi Hanamichi.
Sakuragi Hanamichi exuded a very strong aura during this round of defense, and this aura also affected Rukawa Kaede, making Rukawa Kaede more cautious when dropping the ball.
Both of them have their attention focused on the court, and at this moment, they are in their best condition.
Sakuragi's defense put a lot of pressure on Rukawa. Sakuragi put one hand on Rukawa's waist and raised the other hand above his head. His footsteps moved slightly as Rukawa swept the ball, but no matter how Sakuragi moved, his position was stuck in front of Rukawa, giving Rukawa no chance.
Such defensive steps also made Rukawa hesitate about where to drop the ball.
"It's actually hand-testing defense. I don't remember teaching him this?"
"And the way they use it... actually looks pretty good!"
Wu Dao thought to himself when he saw Sakuragi Hanamichi's defensive posture.
At this time, Sakuragi's brain was empty, and he gave everything to his body. He had never learned hand-to-hand defense, but when watching basketball, he had seen Budo used it, and he had also seen Ryonan's Shinomiya Tano use it.
When Sakuragi was concentrating, these movements were done unconsciously.
"This guy..." Rukawa was the one who felt the defensive pressure of Sakuragi the most directly. Sakuragi's defense made him feel uncomfortable. Although he twisted his body while sweeping the ball, Sakuragi Hanamichi actually knew how to retract and release his hands, so that his hands were always on Rukawa's waist, preventing Rukawa from landing the ball comfortably.
"Talent is really important for basketball players!"
"Sometimes the body moves before the mind."
Coach Anxi murmured softly, as if he was sighing with emotion.
On the court, Rukawa, who had been slow to throw the ball, decisively turned his back to Sakuragi and pressed his back tightly against his chest. After two dribbles, he calmed down and actively sought confrontation.
"Bang!" The bodies of Sakuragi and Rukawa collided. Not only did the back-to-back confrontation fail to give Rukawa a chance to break through, but Sakuragi pushed Rukawa half a step out instead.
Realizing that he could not win the power contest, Rukawa decisively moved quickly along the three-point line, while Sakuragi on the defensive side also followed him with a crab step. However, he was not very skilled in the crab step and was soon left nearly half a meter behind by Rukawa.
Rukawa got a gap and stopped suddenly, quickly gathered the ball, and raised his hand to shoot a three-pointer. As soon as he raised the ball, Sakuragi Hanamichi jumped up from his side without thinking. However, Rukawa stood in place, maintaining the posture of bending his knees and raising the ball, but did not jump to shoot.
“Fake move!
"Sakuragi Hanamichi finally reacted at this time, but it was too late. Sakuragi, who was falling rapidly in the air, saw Rukawa Kaede shooting along the three-point line. The shooting posture was light and stretched.
"In the end, I suffered from my lack of experience."
"Basketball is not good just by practicing."
Wu Dao sighed softly, watching the basketball fly out of Rukawa Kaede's hands, hit the backboard at a 45-degree angle and make a three-pointer.
"You lost." Rukawa Kaede heard the sound of the basketball entering the net, turned his head and looked at Sakuragi Hanamichi and said.
Sakuragi was panting heavily, his eyes were empty, as if he hadn't heard what Rukawa said. There was no sweat on his forehead, but Sakuragi's breathing was getting more and more rapid, with a hint of respiratory alkalosis.
“Bang!
”
At this moment, Jinguji Budou walked behind Sakuragi Hanamichi and slapped Sakuragi hard on the back. The severe pain made Sakuragi's breathing stagnate, Tong Kong regained focus, and his breathing slowly calmed down. Sakuragi turned his head to look at Jinguji Budou beside him, opened his mouth, but said nothing.
On the contrary, Wu Dao praised with a gentle expression:
"Good defense, Hanamichi."
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