When everyone's attention was focused on Sakuragi Hanamichi, almost no one paid attention to Rukawa Kaede's expression at this time.
The five specially recruited players selected by Coach Anzai have not yet demonstrated their abilities at the beginning of the game. Up to now, only Sakuragi Hanamichi has shown his abilities to the Xiangbei players. It is precisely because of Sakuragi Hanamichi's active performance that the Xiangbei players on the court focused most of their attention on Sakuragi.
At the baseline, Chiba Oishi served the ball from the backcourt and the basketball fell into the hands of Miyagi Ryouta.
At this time, most of the junior high school students were in the backcourt, and Sakuragi Hanamichi and Kiyota Nobunaga, who were playing fast break, also hurried back to the court after Shohoku served the ball. Miyagi had just got the basketball and started to advance, and the junior high school students had already taken up their defensive positions.
The person responsible for defending Miyagi Ryouta was Kiyoda Nobunaga. When Miyagi dribbled the ball forward, Kiyoda Nobunaga stood at the top of the arc in his own half. When Miyagi approached the three-point line, Kiyoda Nobunaga immediately ran up, which restricted Miyagi's passing.
"Senior! Is your role on the court just to pass the ball?"
"In this case, isn't the impact on the team too small?"
Kiyota Nobunaga is a flamboyant person, and he wanted to perform well in this practice match. Not only his offensive ability, he also wanted to show his defensive talent in front of Coach Anzai.
However, if his opponent, Ryouta Miyagi, always dribbles the ball into the frontcourt and then passes it to other players instead of playing it himself, he will have very few opportunities to perform.
Kiyota Nobunaga doesn't want to become transparent on the court. He hopes that his opponent Miyagi Ryouta can take the initiative to attack. Only in this way can he, Kiyota, show himself in front of Coach Anzai!
"Huh?" Miyagi Ryouta, who was about to pass the ball, paused when he heard this, let out a light exclamation, and looked at Kiyota Nobunaga.
"Hey, come on, senior, and see if you can break through my defense!"
Kiyota Nobunaga was very confident and hooked his finger at Miyagi Ryouta, signaling Miyagi Ryouta to attack. This provocative action caused Miyagi Ryouta to frown and subconsciously began to speed up the pace of dribbling.
Suddenly, Miyagi Ryouta paused while dribbling the ball, and stretched out his arms to make a breakthrough. Kiyota Nobunaga's eyes lit up, and he immediately bent down and reached out to grab the basketball. Just as his hand approached the basketball, Miyagi Ryouta quickly pulled the ball back, and with a beautiful quick cross step, he instantly passed Kiyota Nobunaga.
"What?!" Kiyota Nobunaga, who was passed by, was shocked and wanted to turn around to defend, but at this time, Miyagi Ryouta quickly dribbled the ball into the inside.
Miyagi Ryouta's breakthrough speed was too fast. Sakuragi Hanamichi, who was near the top of the arc, focused all his attention on Chiba Daishi and ignored the matchup of Kiyota on the side. He had watched the games of Xiangbei and knew that Xiangbei's offense was mainly based on Jinguji Budou and Mitsui Hisashi.
As for Miyagi Ryouta, he is a real "point guard" and does not have strong offensive capabilities.
But what Sakuragi Hanamichi didn't know was that Miyagi's weak offensive ability was only because he was compared with players like Jinguji Takeshi and Mitsui Hisashi. It was also because Shohoku had Mitsui Hisashi and Jinguji Takeshi that Miyagi rarely had the opportunity to play singles on the court.
In this practice match, among the players of Xiangbei, the one with the strongest outside attack ability is actually the seemingly inconspicuous Miyagi Ryouta.
Miyagi Ryouta passed Kiyota Nobunaga and cut into the paint area through the middle. Before Nango Koichiro and Rukawa Kaede arrived in the interior, Miyagi made a short layup.
The basketball hit the backboard and went into the net. With a slight sound, Xiangbei High School scored the first goal.
"Well done! Miyagi!"
"Well done, Miyagi~"
Miyagi Ryouta scored, and the Xiangbei players who were watching the game applauded and encouraged him. Even Ayako waved to Miyagi. Miyagi was very happy when he heard Ayako's voice, and he was full of confidence in his ability.
"Very good! I'm in great shape today."
"Even though it's just a practice match, I definitely won't lose to a junior high school student!"
"I will never give up the starting position of Xiangbei to anyone!"
Miyagi Ryouta clenched his fists, defending himself while strengthening his confidence. Miyagi Ryouta obviously felt threatened by the junior high school students, and facing this practice match, he was ready to use all his strength to deal with it.
When Miyagi Ryouta returned to defend, he did not forget to look back at Kiyota Nobunaga. His look was like a declaration of war and a mockery.
"hateful!
I was broken through so easily. "
"I underestimated that guy."
Kiyota Nobunaga growled with gritted teeth, his face full of unwillingness. Sakuragi Hanamichi glanced at Kiyota, patted his shoulder, and said, "Wild monkey, your loss of composure is within the expectations of this genius. It doesn't matter, I will get the points back soon."
"You just have to remember to give the ball to this genius. Scoring is such a hard thing, you can't grasp it."
"Ha ha ha ha!"
Kiyota Nobunaga was easily passed by Miyagi Ryouta. Instead of comforting or encouraging his teammates, Sakuragi Hanamichi seemed to be gloating over their misfortune. Sakuragi laughed and ran towards the front court, leaving Kiyota Nobunaga behind with a look of resentment on his face.
"Asshole... I was underestimated by this red-haired monkey, damn it!
"Kiyota was very angry. He wanted to get back the ball himself, so he walked to the baseline angrily and shouted to Rukawa who was about to serve: "Pass the ball!
Pass the ball to me!
However, Rukawa Kaede, who served from the baseline, ignored Kiyota Nobunaga's intention and passed the ball to his teammate Ichiro Katsumi. Ichiro Katsumi smiled at Kiyota Nobunaga and pushed forward with the ball.
"Hey, pass the ball! Pass the ball!" Seeing that Katsumi Ichiro had no intention of passing the ball, Kiyota Nobunaga trotted over to Katsumi Ichiro and urged him in his ear. But Katsumi Ichiro frowned slightly, ignored Kiyota Nobunaga, and continued to advance with the ball.
For a moment, a very strange phenomenon was formed on the court. Kiyota Nobunaga and Katsumi Ichiro were less than 30cm apart, and they entered the front court side by side. The Xiangbei players were also a little confused by this situation, and they also temporarily changed their defense plan. They originally planned to use two people to defend, but only one person went.
Because Kiyota Nobunaga and Katsumi Ichiro were close to each other, Shohoku only sent out Miyagi Ryouta to cover the two's attack area. And Mugure Konobu stood in the middle distance, guarding against someone cutting in.
"Pass the ball! Pass the ball!
"Kiyoda Nobunaga was still chattering, and Katsumi Ichiro looked at the fertile fields of Miyagi in front of him, glanced at Kiyoda Nobunaga out of the corner of his eye, and the corners of his mouth curled up a little.
When Katsumi Ichiro was holding the ball and approaching Miyagi, he suddenly lowered his body and dropped the ball to the other side of Kiyota. Miyagi Ryouta just stepped up to defend, but Katsumi Ichiro suddenly stopped his body, backhanded the ball behind his back, stuck to Kiyota Nobunaga's body, and instantly changed the direction of the breakthrough. Breaking through from Kiyota's side.
As for the defending Miyagi Ryouta, he was caught off guard by this sudden change. He was blocked by Kiyota while chasing and lost the possibility of following up.
"Kurogure-senpai!" Miyagi knew that it was hopeless to catch up, so he shouted to Kogure Konobu, and quickly blocked the passing path of Katsume Ichiro and Kiyota.
It was not until his vision was blocked by Miyagi that Kiyota Nobunaga realized that he was being used by Ichiro Katsumi. Oh, no, he made a beautiful pick-and-roll for Ichiro Katsumi~
Katsumi Ichiro completed the breakthrough and Murasakibara's defense was quickly in place. Facing the defense, Katsumi Ichiro paused, raised the ball and made a shooting gesture, but when Murasakibara raised his center of gravity to defend the shot, Katsumi Ichiro hit the ball to the ground and quickly passed the ball to Rukawa Kaede who was in the inside position.
"Oh! Nice pass." Katsumi Ichiro's breakthrough pass was very smooth, which attracted a round of praise. Rukawa Kaede received the ball in the paint and quickly passed the ball after one dribble, then suddenly turned around to face the basket and shot a backward jump shot on the spot.
Rukawa was not far from the basket, less than one meter away from the paint area, and his fadeaway jump shot was so sudden that Kadota Satoru, who was defending him, didn't react at all. Until Rukawa shot, Kadota stood there in a daze, as if his legs had taken root and he couldn't jump.
“Bang!”
“Swish!”
The basketball hit the backboard at an angle and went into the net with a crisp and clear sound. After scoring the goal, Rukawa Kaede did not look at Kakuda Satoru in front of him, but turned his head to look at Jinguji Budo on the sidelines, his eyes full of fighting spirit.
"Ryukawa's fadeaway jumper was clean and neat, a pretty good move."
"Tsunoda Satoru and Rukawa Kaede are of similar height. If Rukawa Kaede receives the ball in that position, Kanoda may not be able to defend against him."
"Among the five specially recruited players, Rukawa Kaede's physical condition is not the best, but he is also the best. Moreover, Rukawa Kaede's basketball skills should also be stronger than the other four."
"After you and I graduate, I'm afraid Rukawa Kaede will have to carry the banner for Xiangbei in the future!"
Mitsui Shou looked at Rukawa Kaede's back as he returned to defense, his tone full of appreciation. Few words, strong skills, this is Mitsui Shou's impression of Rukawa Kaede. Among these five special recruits, Mitsui Shou's favorite are Rukawa Kaede and Katsumi Ichiro.
"It's too early to talk about resisting the big banner. I'm only in the first year of high school, and this kid is only in junior high school."
"When I retire from the army, this kid will have a chance to carry the flag."
"Also... although Kadota can't defend him, Rukawa Kaede doesn't necessarily have many chances to touch the ball."
When Budo heard what Mitsui Shou said, he smiled and said that Rukawa Kaede was indeed very capable, and when he entered high school in the future, he would definitely shake up the high school basketball world. But when it comes to carrying the flag, it is too early, Rukawa Kaede is still a little immature, and it has been too smooth along the way. The high school arena will make Rukawa Kaede more mature, and before that, Budo does not intend to give up his position.
At the same time, Budo was reserved about how well Rukawa Kaede would perform in this practice match.
The biggest problem for this group of junior high school students may lie within the team.
After Rukawa scored, the junior high school students quickly retreated. Kiyota Nobunaga kept mumbling during the process, saying things like "pass the ball". Sakuragi Hanamichi also looked dissatisfied, because he was not the one who scored the first goal for the team, which made him very unhappy. Nango Koichiro also looked serious, and no one knew what he was thinking.
Although the junior high school students had already taken up their positions, the atmosphere in the team was quite strange.
"There is only one basketball, and not everyone has the opportunity to show their talents."
"Young players love to attack, but a team often needs a role that can connect the dots."
"One person is not enough for this kind of role!"
"When the ball is uncertain, the team needs someone with considerable leadership to coordinate the team."
"Who will be the leader?"
Coach Anxi looked at the junior high school students returning to their defensive positions and thought to himself. He could no longer sit still, so he slowly stood up from his seat and walked to the sidelines, wanting to see more clearly.
"Come on! Show your strength!"
"Let these middle school students see how high school students play basketball!"
After serving the ball from the baseline, Takenori Akagi quickly ran towards the front court, yelling at his players as he ran.
At this moment on the court, Akagi Takenori was undoubtedly the leader of Xiangbei. The other Xiangbei players were closely surrounding him to form a team.
After receiving the ball in the backcourt, Miyagi Ryouta advanced quickly. This time, he did not choose to attack by himself. After entering the frontcourt, he directly passed the ball to Akagi Takenori in the inside.
Akagi Takenori, who received the ball in the interior, did not make any unnecessary movements. While dribbling the ball, he leaned his body hard on Nango Koichiro. The huge force directly pushed Nango Koichiro back a big step. Then Akagi quickly turned around to face the basket, cut under the basket in the blink of an eye, jumped up directly, and slammed the ball into the basket with both hands.
“hohoho!
!”
A strange sound came out of Akagi's mouth, and the huge force pulled the entire basketball hoop down a little. The sound of the slam dunk resounded throughout the stadium. The enthusiasm of the Xiangbei players watching the game nearby was also ignited by Akagi's powerful slam dunk, and they all applauded.
"Hey, Dye Monkey, can you play defense?"
“It’s so ugly!”
When Sakuragi Hanamichi saw Nango Koichiro being broken through and watched Akagi dunk, he still had a gloating look on his face, giving people the feeling that the more dunks his teammates made, the happier he was.
Without waiting for Nango Koichiro to reply, Akagi Takenori was the first one who couldn't stand Sakuragi Hanamichi's expression. When he returned to defense, he punched Sakuragi on the head, forcing this guy to shut up.
Xiangbei scored two goals easily, and Rukawa Kaede's face was not looking good. The reason for his bad face was not because his teammates were easily broken through, but because of Xiangbei's two attacks, and his backup defense could not keep up in the first time.
He is a person who is extremely strict with himself, but on the contrary, he is not very demanding of his teammates.
The team lost points easily, and Rukawa felt it was his own problem.
Since it is his own problem, he should make up for it himself. This is what Rukawa Kaede thinks.
"Pass the ball to me." Rukawa said to Ichiro Kumi with a blank expression, and then ran to the front court. Looking at Rukawa's appearance, Ichiro Kumi knew that Rukawa was getting into the state, and he spread his hands helplessly, preparing to receive the backcourt serve from his teammate.
I saw that the baseline ball sent by Nango Koichirō was intercepted by Kiyota Nobunaga.
"Hahaha!
”
"Shohoku, let me show you how powerful I am!"
"Just watch, red-haired monkey, bleached monkey, I will use this ball to convince you!"
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ..