When everyone in Akita Prefecture realized that Mitsui Hisashi was their biggest obstacle at the moment, Coach Domoto off the court immediately began to think of ways to limit Mitsui Hisashi.
The Akita Prefecture representative team was formed based on the players of Sanno Industrial Team, and what Sanno is best at is actually the full-court pressing defense, which creates steal opportunities by double-teaming the point guard, thereby widening the score difference between the two teams.
If Sanno was facing a high school at this time, Goro Domoto would definitely not hesitate to let his players implement such a defensive strategy.
This is to interrupt the opponent's offensive rhythm, because the bench depth of Sanno Industrial is absolutely top-notch in the country, and no university can compete with Sanno in bench depth.
But unfortunately, what they faced at this time was not just a high school opponent, but the Kanagawa Prefecture team that gathered all the elites of Kanagawa.
Goro Domoto knew very well that if his main players consumed too much energy before the opponent's ace players like Jinguji Takeshi and Shinomiya Tano came on the court, this game would lose suspense early.
Therefore, when facing a disadvantageous situation, Goro Domoto would never think of adopting a full-court press.
He needs to make some adjustments in his formation.
On the court, when the offense and defense were rotating, Kazunari Fukatsu received a pass from his teammate in the backcourt and began to advance with the ball. Eiji Sawakita and other players trotted across the center line, and Goro Domoto, who was originally sitting in his seat, stood up silently, walked to the sidelines, folded his hands on his chest, and watched the game on the court.
"Oh? You finally can't sit still anymore..."
"No wonder. Before Shinomiya Tano and Jinguji Budou came on the field, our team was able to suppress Akita. Not to mention Domoto, even I, the coach of Kanagawa, was a little surprised."
"Sa... What would you do, Domoto!?"
While watching the game on the field, Coach Takeo was actually also paying attention to the movements of Goro Domoto. When he saw Goro Domoto walking to the sidelines, Coach Takeo knew that the other party was planning to make some moves.
In a basketball game, the coach on the sidelines can influence the players on the court not only during timeouts and halftime.
The basketball court is not as big as a football field. Often the players on the field can hear what the coach is yelling at the sidelines. Timeouts are so precious that they will never be used easily.
On the court, Kazunari Fukatsu who entered the frontcourt was blocked by Shinichi Maki outside the three-point line. However, his support came very quickly. Fukatsu didn't even need to shout, as Masashi Kawata in the inside had already quickly moved to the high position and made a high-post screen for Kazunari Fukatsu.
With the help of Masashi Kawata's pick-and-roll, Fukatsu quickly accelerated and broke through. At this time, Shinichi Maki was blocked by Kawata and his speed was hindered. Akagi Takenori, who followed Kawata to a high position, was also attracted by Fukatsu's breakthrough and moved to block Fukatsu's way.
The misalignment of the small will hit the big.
Facing the defense of Takenori Akagi, Kazunari Fukatsu played very calmly. With a sudden stop and a bow, Akagi became a wooden stake. When he accelerated again, Akagi could no longer keep up with the opponent's speed.
Kazunari Fukatsu broke into the inside as if he was in an empty space. Hanagata did not dare to let go of Masahiro Nobe to provide backup defense. He just raised his hand symbolically to interfere. However, such defense might be okay against a rookie with an average mentality, but it was completely useless against a battle-hardened master like Fukatsu.
With Fukatsu's light layup, the score between the two teams came to 15:13, and the difference was narrowed to two points.
Akita Prefecture was indeed under great pressure on the defensive end, but they were still able to handle the offense with ease. Takenori Akagi was repeatedly pulled to a high position by Masashi Kawata, and then faced Kazunari Fukatsu's small-on-big, one-on-one military training.
Akagi's speed is pretty good among centers, but it's not good enough for him to face Kazunari Fukatsu, who is also one of the fastest guards. In front of Kazunari Fukatsu, Akagi Takenori simply became a clumsy big man with nothing but airs.
"Hmm...Akita Prefecture's offensive is very steady!"
"Masashi Kawata's high pick-and-roll completely exposed Akagi's weaknesses."
"The offense looks smooth now, but the stability of three-pointers is not as good as layups after all. If Mitsui's form declines, the score will soon be overtaken by Akita Prefecture."
Coach Tian Gang watched this round of offense and defense, touched his chin and thought to himself. Of course, he could see the weaknesses of his team, but at this stage, he had no way to change the situation.
Use a zone defense? It is true that each of the players on my team is an elite, but there is really no tacit understanding between them. If I rashly use a zone defense, I am afraid... not only will I fail to defend the opponent, but I will also be completely defeated by the opponent on the defensive end.
Still using man-to-man defense? Akita County played with a small team and played with mismatches. Akagi was really being trained on the court. He stood at attention when he was told to.
Of course, for Coach Tanaka to change this situation, the method is very simple. The answer is sitting right next to him.
"We still have a small advantage in points, and there's plenty of time. Let's wait and see."
Just as Coach Tiangang was thinking this, Goro Domoto on the sidelines took advantage of the players returning to defense and shouted to everyone on the field:
"Zebei, Matsumoto, the two of you switch defense!"
"Stop letting that guy shoot three-pointers. You've already lost a lot of points!"
"The real hero hasn't even entered the game yet, and you guys are already fighting like this with those scumbags. How can you still win the game?!"
Even an elegant coach like Goro Domoto has already used the abusive word "trash". It can be seen that he is quite dissatisfied with the results achieved by Akita Prefecture at this stage.
When he saw Coach Tiangang sending this group of people to start, he naively thought that the players would take this opportunity to quickly widen the score between the two teams. However, he did not expect that the main players had not yet come on the court, and they had been entangled with the opponent for so long. If they continue to play like this, the players' physical strength will only be consumed. When the main players come on the court, will they still have the ability to resist
Although Domoto's shouting was loud, the enthusiasm of the audience still made his words unclear. Akagi Takenori and others at the other end of the court did not actually hear what Domoto said, but Mitsui Hisashi, who entered the front court early, heard it clearly.
"Trash?!!!"
"Damn it... I'll let you see how powerful I, Mitsui Shou, am!"
How could the young and energetic Mitsui Shou allow others to scold him like this? Hearing this, Zeng's anger surged up and his expression darkened.
After saying this, Goro Domoto on the sidelines glanced at Mitsui Hisashi imperceptibly, a faint smile appeared on his face, and then he returned to his seat and watched the game intently.
For team players, technology is important, but mentality is just as important as technology!
How could a coach as elegant as Domoto Goro mock his opponent for no reason? The Sanwang team he led would go all out even against a small shrimp! Do not underestimate any opponent, this is the concept that Domoto Goro has always instilled in his players.
In addition to making defensive adjustments, his words were mostly meant for Mitsui Hisashi to hear.
"Pass the ball! Amu, pass the ball!"
Sure enough, Goro Domoto's words had some impact on Mitsui Hisashi. After Maki Shinichi dribbled the ball into the frontcourt, Mitsui Hisashi hurriedly asked Maki Shinichi for the ball, completely ignoring the opponent in front of him, who had been replaced by Sawakita Eiji.
Or maybe it’s not that Mitsui Shou didn’t value Zebei Rongji enough, but in his heart, he didn’t think Zebei had the ability to stop him.
Maki Shinichi had no idea what had just happened in the frontcourt. At this time, Mitsui Shou asked for the ball. Maki Shinichi did not hesitate at all. He slightly put some distance between himself and Fukatsu and quickly passed the ball to Mitsui Shou.
At this time, Mitsui Hisashi had already scored three three-pointers in a row. He was in hot form. Even the most amateur guard knew that he should pass the ball to a teammate like him at this time.
The basketball was in hand, and Mitsui turned half-way to face the basket. However, at this moment, a dark shadow flashed in front of Mitsui's eyes. While Mitsui was catching the ball, Zebei Rongzhi took the initiative to rush forward, pressed the basketball accurately with one hand, and knocked the ball out of Mitsui's hands.
The next second, Zebei Rongji quickly passed by Mitsui Shou, grabbed the basketball, and ran towards the front court at a high speed.
"What?!"
"Such a jerk!"
Mitsui Hisashi was intercepted and a look of surprise appeared on his face. He quickly turned around and chased after him. His speed was not slow. He gradually caught up with Zebei Rongji who was fast breaking with the ball while running without the ball. However, Mitsui Hisashi could only follow behind Zebei and had no way to get in front of Zebei.
Zebei didn't even think about looking back at Mitsui's position, and quickly rushed to the basket with the ball, and dunked the ball into the basket. Mitsui, who was following behind, wanted to make up for his mistake, but his jumping ability was far inferior to Zebei's, and he had no way to stop Zebei's dunk.
With Akita Prefecture stealing the ball and scoring it through a fast break, the score between the two teams finally reached a turning point.
15:15, for the first time, the two teams were tied.
Mitsui's mentality was affected. He was provoked by Domoto, intercepted by Zebei, and dunked under his pursuit. All of this made Mitsui feel embarrassed. Young people of his age actually value their face.
Mitsui Shou, who was eager to prove himself, finally failed.
On the offensive end, Mitsui Hisashi missed a three-pointer in the face of Zekita Eiji's defense. Then, Akita Prefecture quickly counterattacked under the leadership of Fukatsu Kazunari. After several rounds of quick passes, the basketball was given to Masashi Kawata in the interior. Kawata took a low step to push Akagi away and broke into the basket, where he scored a dunk with both hands.
The game successfully reversed the score, and two consecutive dunks by Zebei Rongzhi and Kawata Masashi also brought the atmosphere of the game to a climax. Some relatively neutral fans began to cheer for Akita Prefecture's score, while the cheers of the fans on the Kanagawa Prefecture side were much weaker.
After being intercepted once and missing the shot once, Maki Shinichi planned to ignore Mitsui Shou for one or two rounds on the offensive end and chose to try Sendoh.
Although Matsumoto Minoru was unable to stop Mitsui Hisashi who had long-range shooting skills, he did have some defensive experience when facing Sendoh.
In a one-on-one situation, Matsumoto Minoru really couldn't stop Sendoh's breakthrough, but this was a game, and he had teammates! Realizing that he couldn't stop Sendoh, Matsumoto chose a smart way of playing, deliberately exposing a defensive flaw and deliberately driving Sendoh towards Kawata Masashi's defense area.
After Sendoh seized the opportunity to break through, he was met with the backup defense of Kawata Masashi. Sendoh was a little afraid of Kawata Masashi, so he chose a mid-range pull-up jumper as a finishing method, but his offensive choice was also predicted by Matsumoto. When Sendoh was shooting, Matsumoto jumped up and blocked the shot.
Although he failed to block Sendoh successfully, he still scared Sendoh, causing him to miss the shot.
Akita Prefecture certainly would not miss such an opportunity. With Nobe Masahiro grabbing the defensive rebound, Akita Prefecture once again launched a counterattack. This time the speed of the counterattack was quite fast!
Sawakita Eiji received a quick pass from his teammate in the frontcourt, and successively passed the defending Maki Shinichi and Mitsui Hisashi, and once again broke into the Kanagawa basket and scored a dunk.
Akita's continuous scoring also set off a wave of attack. In this wave of attack, Kanagawa lost momentum in many places and fell into a scoring drought.
With 8 minutes left, the score between the two teams was 15:21.
After Zebei, Kanagawa Prefecture and Akita Prefecture played several more rounds. During the offense and defense, Kanagawa Prefecture did not score any points. Instead, on the Akita Prefecture side, Fukatsu made another three-pointer, widening the gap between the two teams to 6 points.
Under this situation, Maki Shinichi wanted to step up and break the team's slump.
But unfortunately, Kazunari Fukatsu, who was defending him, did not give him such an opportunity at all. Although Fukatsu could not stop Maki Shinichi's breakthrough, he was able to catch up with Maki Shinichi after his breakthrough. With the help of Masashi Kawata who was making up for the defense, Kazunari Fukatsu and Kawata were able to double-team Maki Shinichi, making it impossible for the breaking Maki to pass the ball.
Maki Shinichi's ability to break through and pass the ball is excellent, but if he can't pass the ball, his effectiveness is greatly reduced. As for a layup against Kawata Masashi? The opponent is not a center of Akagi's level. Laying up in front of Kawata is tantamount to committing suicide.
Maki Shinichi realized that he couldn't force a breakthrough, and he paid the price for it the first time.
Akita Prefecture also perfectly spent Shinichi Maki's tuition fees, and the score between the two teams reached 15:23, with the difference widening to 8 points.
8 minutes 45 seconds.
Coach Tiangang glanced at the time on the scoreboard, folded his hands over his chest, leaned forward slightly, and looked serious. He had put down his crossed legs at some point, and his right foot kept shaking, and the soles of his feet made a "pa pa" sound as they stepped on the floor.
On the court, Goro Domoto realized that the rhythm of Kanagawa's team was in chaos. Thinking of defeating Kanagawa with one blow, he instructed the players on the court to press the whole court.
The defensive pressure on Kanagawa Prefecture suddenly increased, and Shinichi Maki was caught off guard by the double-team of Zebei and Fukatsu, and the ball was intercepted. In order to stop Kazunari Fukatsu from making a layup, Shinichi Maki slapped the opponent on the arm when he was making a layup, which not only disrupted the opponent's layup but also caused a foul.
As Kazunari Fukatsu stepped onto the free throw line, Coach Tiangang finally sighed and said in a deep voice:
"You have all seen the situation on the field!"
"Those guys were stunned by their opponents."
"You, go wake them up."
"Shinomiya Tano, you replace Hanagata and play the power forward position!"
"Jinguji Budo, you... go and replace Mitsui Shou..."
"That boy can't handle Zebei Rongzhi."
While Coach Tanaoka was talking, Jinguji Takeshi and Shinomiya Tano had already stood up from their seats. After Kazunari Fukatsu had taken two free throws, Jinguji Takeshi and Shinomiya Tano came on the court to replace Hanagata and Mitsui Hisashi.
As these two players came on the court, the Kanagawa fans, who had originally been too weak to shout, burst into unprecedented enthusiasm, and cheers surged into the field like a tsunami.
"That little bald guy is very jumpy, let's start with him!"
"Can you do it? Martial Arts."
After Shinomiya Tano walked into the court, he pointed at Zebei Rongzhi who was returning to the court, and asked Wudao with a smile.
"Shall I go first?"
"Then I'm afraid the contest between you and me has already been decided."
"Zebei, I'm afraid I won't have the time to pay attention to you."
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