No one expected that the players from Ryonan High School would be the first to lose points in the match against Shohoku.
Akagi Takenori made a layup under the basket against Yuzumi Jun, which immediately stopped the boos from the Ryonan students. Akagi Takenori, who scored, also seemed extremely excited. He pounded his chest and roared to vent his emotions before turning around and returning to the court to defend.
When Akagi met Budo on the outside, the two of them smiled and fist-bumped to celebrate.
"Well done, Akagi."
"It's a beautiful transmission, martial arts."
Wu Dao praised Akagi Takenori's goal, while Akagi Takenori praised Wu Dao's beautiful pass. Such cooperation was rare in the past of Xiangbei High School. In high-intensity games, Wu Dao almost never passed the ball to Akagi.
"It's really unexpected that the first attack of Xiangbei was carried out by that Akagi Takenori!"
"That Akagi actually scored against Uozumi so easily..."
"How about... changing our fighting style?"
Ryonan High School served the ball from the baseline. While running towards the front court, Shinomiya Tano diverted some of his attention to Takenori Akagi. He looked Akagi up and down, thinking secretly in his heart.
The playing style of Xiangbei High School is actually not much different from that of Ryonan High School. The core scorers occupy the vast majority of the shooting rights of the entire team. Note, it is shooting rights.
Ryonan had played against Shohoku before, and Shinomiya Tano's impression of Akagi Takenori was that he was a blue-collar player with good height. But just now in Shohoku's attack, Jinguji Budou actually chose to pass the ball in the most comfortable shooting position, which actually meant that Akagi Takenori's position in the team was different from before.
Although it was just one ball, Shimoya immediately caught the change in Xiangbei and began to think about corresponding countermeasures in his mind.
Without waiting for Shinomiya Tano to make a decision, Hanagata Toru had already passed the ball from the backcourt. Sendoh, who was in control of the ball, landed at the back of the team and slowly advanced. Not long after, the Ryonan players had entered the frontcourt, and Sendoh had already crossed the center line with the ball.
Xiangbei's defense adopted man-to-man marking. After all, it was a practice game, so they used man-to-man marking to test the opponent's strength. The two teams haven't played against each other for a while since the national competition. Let's first see what changes there are after Ryonan uses the new "point guard Sendo" tactic on the offensive end.
The one who was man-to-man defending Sendoh was Mitsui Shou. The second-year Mitsui Shou was about the same height as the first-year Sendoh, and their builds were not much different. In a one-on-one situation, it was not easy for Sendoh to single out the experienced Mitsui Shou.
Sendoh obviously knew this, so he had no intention of speeding up when advancing with the ball. As long as Mitsui's defense was not too oppressive, he did not show too much desire to attack. Mitsui was also a little afraid of Sendoh's speed, so when defending, he kept a distance of 30 to 40 centimeters from Sendoh, and took half a step.
When Ryonan High School saw that Sendō had stopped dribbling the ball, their formation quickly changed.
Fujima Kenji on the top of the arc quickly ran towards Sendoh at the top of the arc. At the same time, Shinomiya Tano in the symmetrical position chose to go down and cut into the inside. Miyagi Ryouta, who was facing Fujima, was led to the top of the arc by Fujima, and Jinguji Budou was also forced to follow Shinomiya Tano into the inside because of Shinomiya Tano's movement.
The positions of Sendoh Akira and Fujima Kenji were staggered at the top of the arc. Sendoh Akira passed the ball to Fujima. At the same time, Sendoh spread his arms and used his body to block Miyagi who was chasing and defending, and Mitsui Hisashi who was trying to steal the ball.
“Bang!”
Fujima received the ball one step outside the three-point line, then quickly turned around to face the basket. The next second, he actually made a jump shot from that position.
“Swish!”
Under the astonished gazes of Miyagi and Mitsui Hisashi, the basketball flew out of Fujima's hands, passed over everyone's heads, and plunged into the net with a crisp sound.
At the same time as the basketball entered the net, Takeshi Jinguji happened to chase Shinomiya Tano into the basket. Looking at the basketball falling into the net, Takeshi couldn't help but raise his eyebrows.
This was the 1990s, and Ryonan High School had plenty of time to attack. They didn't use players like Shinomiya Tano who could attack the basket, but instead used three-pointers? Ryonan was not Xiangbei. When did their offensive philosophy become like this
The ace of Ryonan and the ace of Shohoku have completely two different offensive styles, and the offensive style of the ace often affects the style of the team. Normally, it is normal for Ryonan to attack the basket and score two points or to force a mid-range shot. Three-pointers are often not the optimal solution for Ryonan on the offensive end.
"ohhhhhh!!! Fujima! Fujima!"
Without giving the Shohoku team too much time to react, Fujima's successful attack immediately ignited the audience that had just seemed silent. The Ryonan students all found their backbone at this moment, and cheered for Fujima one after another, filling the entire stadium with cheers.
Ryonan quickly retreated after scoring the goal. Although the Shohoku team did not expect Ryonan's three-pointer, everyone had an expectation of Fujima's ability and quickly adjusted their mentality and devoted themselves to the attack.
Miyagi Ryouta was still holding the ball, and Ryonan's defense was not strong, so Miyagi was able to dribble the ball into the front court quite smoothly. However, after entering the front court, Fujima Kenji's defense pressed up, and Miyagi's lateral pass was still smooth under such defense, but it was extremely difficult to pass the ball inside.
At this time, Jinguji Takeshi was standing in the middle distance on the wing. He originally wanted to stand here to receive the ball, but Takeshi also noticed that Miyagi seemed to be struggling, so he immediately trotted back to the three-point line and trotted towards Miyagi along the arc to ask for the ball.
Connecting the inside and the outside is not easy for Miyagi at this stage. He needs some time to get the ball past Fujima, but Budo does not want to wait passively.
As Budou returned to the three-point line, the basketball flew out of Miyagi Ryouta's hands and passed to Budou's hands. Fujima had no intention of defending against Miyagi's lateral pass, because no matter how the ball was passed horizontally, the basketball was always on the outside line, and Fujima could accept it.
The basketball flew out and landed in the hands of Takeshi Jinguji. At this time, Takeshi Jinguji stood outside the 45-degree three-point line, holding the ball at his waist with one hand. While catching the ball, Takeshi also adjusted his body position to face the frame.
As soon as he got the basketball, Budou changed his posture immediately, bent down to sweep the ball, and tapped his right foot sideways. A simple tentative step was unable to shift the defensive focus of Shinomiya Tano. Jinguji Budou suddenly straightened his waist, held the ball in front of his chest, and looked towards the basket.
However, Takeshi's action this time successfully attracted the attention of Shinomiya Tano, who immediately raised his center of gravity and took a step forward. At the same time as he made the move, Jinguji Takeshi dropped the ball and broke through, lowered his body, and quickly passed through Shinomiya Tano.
"What a sharp breakthrough! It actually passed through the four palace fields!"
The Ryonan students who were watching the game nearby exclaimed in surprise, and the expressions of the people from Hainan were all froze when they saw this scene. Coach Tiangang on the sidelines stroked his chin, his eyes full of amazement.
On the court, Hanagata Toru in the paint moved quickly, and when Jinguji Budou broke through, he quickly took action and ran towards Budou. On the Xiangbei side, Akagi Takenori did not stand stupidly under the basket. When he saw Hanagata's figure, he quickly moved up and used his body to push behind Hanagata.
If Hanagata is broken through by Martial Arts, then Hanagata will be pinned down by Akagi in the first place and will not be able to pursue Martial Arts. At that time, Uozumi Jun will have to face Martial Arts' attack head-on. Akagi has already anticipated the result.
“Snap! Snap!”
Jinguji Budou's breakthrough speed was very fast. After passing Shinomiya Tano, he only dribbled twice and quickly approached Hanagata's defense line. When approaching Hanagata, Budou's footsteps paused, and while holding the ball, his whole movement rhythm slowed down, swinging his arms with the ball, with a strange rhythm.
With a simple European step, Jinguji Budou easily broke through Hanagata's defense and easily cut into the basket for a layup. Although Uozumi Jun, who was defending behind, shouted loudly, he could not stop Jinguji Budou's attack at all.
As the basketball hit the backboard and went into the net, Xiangbei High School regained the lead. Although the lead was only one point, this was something Hainan had never done before.
"Beautiful, Budo!"
"Well done, slowly widening the gap!"
Mitsui Hisashi and Akagi Takenori both high-fived Budo in celebration, and the Xiangbei team quickly retreated. Shinomiya Tianye scratched his hair in embarrassment and apologized to his teammates.
Jinguji Budou has a strong ability to seize opportunities, and Shinomiya Tano is somewhat hard to defend against. In a one-on-one environment, Jinguji Budou's skills are unstoppable.
"No matter how many times I watch Jinguji Budo's breakthrough techniques, they're always impressive!"
"He is completely different from Tian Ye. Tian Ye has a terrifying physical fitness that crushes his peers, which makes his breakthroughs invincible."
"And Jinguji Budou's offense is more based on the changes in footwork and rhythm based on his shooting. For someone else, that kind of fake shot from the three-point line doesn't need to be defended, but if it's Jinguji Budou, he has to make a move."
"With that height, ball skills and flexibility, this guy from Xiangbei is really scary!"
"Akira no Kokutai, with him and Tano joining forces, I can't think of any team that can resist our Kanagawa Prefecture!"
Shigeichi Tanaka turned his head and glanced at the scoreboard. He secretly admired the team and couldn't help but smile. When he thought about coaching the two strongest high school students in the country at the autumn national sports competition, Coach Tanaka's heart beat faster and he was extremely excited.
On the court, the game between Xiangbei and Ryonan was still going on. Ryonan High School, which adjusted its personnel positions, showed terrifying offensive power. Sendoh Akira, who was placed at the point guard position, performed well. The basketball could be said to be passed wherever he pointed. Although Mitsui's defense could limit Sendoh's breakthrough and shooting, he had no way to deal with Sendoh's passes.
With a point guard like Sendoh as a link, Ryonan High School's offense was very smooth. The man-to-man defense of Shohoku High School had no defensive effect at all. The defense was easily penetrated by Ryonan, and the success rate of Ryonan High School's offense was abnormally high.
As for Shohoku High School, the offense completely revolved around Jinguji Budou. Although Budou mobilized Akagi Takenori and Mitsui Hisashi during the offense and reduced his number of shots, compared to the stable scoring of Ryonan High School, Shohoku's few shots were rather forced.
Akagi under the basket is capable of forcing Jun Yuzumi, but Yuzumi can also successfully defend Akagi's shots. Although Mitsui Shou can fight for mobile phone opportunities in front of Sendoh, Sendoh's defense also has a disruptive effect. The same is true for Jinguji Budou. Although his offensive efficiency has reached a terrifying 70%, misses are inevitable.
This keeps Xiangbei High School's overall offensive success rate around 50%.
And every time at this time, control of rebounds becomes the key to a team's victory. If Xiangbei's strength under the basket is strong enough, relying on its rebounding ability and 50% offensive efficiency, it will be enough to compete with Ryonan High School. But the bad thing is that Xiangbei's strength under the basket is not as good as Ryonan High School.
Relying on Takenori Akagi and Daiishi Chiba is simply not enough to deal with the basket lineup of Jun Uozumi and Toru Hanagata. Ryonan's Shinomiya Tano and Sendoh also know the importance of rebounds, and they support the basket from time to time when defending.
On the Xiangbei side, Budo often cannot appear under the basket at the first time because he has to connect with the team. Mitsui Shou also rarely has the opportunity to support the basket because of his offensive position attributes.
As one team gained strength, the other lost strength. Xiangbei completely lost the rebounds, and the gap between the two teams began to widen slowly as the game progressed.
Although the process was slow, when the game reached 27 minutes, the score difference between Xiangbei High School and Ryonan finally broke through 15 points. The practice match between the two teams was also stopped by Coach Tiangang.
Not counting the rest time, Ryonan High School and Xiangbei played for 27 minutes. The score of the two teams also stayed at 57:41, and Ryonan High School won by 16 points.
On the Shohoku side, Akagi Takenori performed well on the offensive end, scoring 12 points and 7 rebounds. Takeshi's individual performance was relatively normal, with 14 points and 6 assists. Mitsui Hisashi also scored in double digits, with 11 points and 3 assists. The three of them accounted for most of the team's points.
For Ryonan High School, Jun Uozumi scored 8 points and 11 rebounds, Toru Hanagata scored 7 points and 5 rebounds, Kenji Fujima scored in double digits and scored a team-high 21 points in 27 minutes, and Shinomiya Tano played casually and scored 13 points. Although Sendoh did not score many points, he had 10 assists, which was quite comprehensive.
After the game, all the players of Ryonan High School blossomed, and everyone's performance was remarkable. On the Xiangbei side, Takeshi and Mitsui Shou played steadily, Akagi performed brilliantly, but Chiba Daishi was somewhat invisible on the offensive end, and Miyagi's performance on both offense and defense was mediocre.
Anyone with a discerning eye can see that the only positions where Shohoku is inferior to Ryonan are power forward and point guard, and Miyagi Ryouta and Chiba Daiishi themselves have also noticed this.
The method to make up for the weaknesses of Shohoku High School is actually quite simple. Let Kainan's Shinichi Maki and Takasago replace Shohoku's Chiba and Miyagi. In this way, the team's strength will be greatly enhanced, and it will truly have the capital to compete with Ryonan High School.
Coach Tian Gang saw this clearly, but... he would not say anything about it. Because it would hurt the players' self-esteem. Even if Xiangbei was not his own player, he would not interfere with the players' free team formation from the perspective of a coach.
"After Xiangbei, I think no one will want to challenge our Ryonan players anymore!"
"My rule is this, as long as you can win, you can replace the players in the starting lineup, but if you can't win, then sorry, you will be a substitute!"
"After this, the Autumn National Sports Training Camp will revolve around the starting players. All the rest of you are just pieces of the starting lineup!"
"In the days ahead, I hope you can demonstrate your worth and gain a stable rotation position! Of course, the Challenge Tournament will always be open, and you are welcome to form a team freely and challenge the starting Ryonan players!"
"Now, everyone take a 10-minute break, and then we'll start today's training!"
Coach Takeo gave a brief speech after the game between Ryonan and Shohoku. After confirming the starting position of the Ryonan players, he stimulated the other young players with words. It can be imagined that after his words, the other players will try their best to show themselves in training in order to get a chance to play in the autumn national sports competition.
Capable players will also spontaneously form a team in an attempt to defeat Ryonan and replace one of the starters.
They are all young players and all of them are ambitious.
The content of the first day's training was not strict. After two practice games, Coach Takeo arranged basic physical training. The standards were based on Ryonan's usual training standards.
However, even with such not-so-rigorous physical training, quite a number of players participating in the Autumn National Games could not bear it.
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