Rukawa Kaede and Sakuragi Hanamichi didn't care at all that there was a third person on the court besides them.
After Rukawa Kaede proposed a duel, Sakuragi Hanamichi immediately took off his coat and walked into the court.
This evening, after dinner, Sakuragi wanted to practice basketball in the gym without even changing out of his sportswear.
"Stinky fox, today I will let you see how powerful this genius is!"
"Let me show you the difference between the starting players and the second team players."
Sakuragi Hanamichi stretched his muscles while speaking to Rukawa Kaede shamelessly. Rukawa Kaede had no extra expression when hearing this, and threw the ball to Sakuragi, then walked outside the three-point line.
"Let's start!" Rukawa Kaede came in front of Sakuragi, lowered his body slightly, and signaled Sakuragi Hanamichi to start.
This was not the first time that the two of them had fought a bullfight. In all previous bullfights between the two, Sakuragi Hanamichi always started the fight first.
This is Rukawa Kaede, his mercy for the weak!
Sakuragi Hanamichi didn't say anything else after receiving the basketball. He was already used to kicking the ball off, and there was no unnecessary operation of checking the ball between the two of them.
Sakuragi Hanamichi looked towards the basket and raised the ball to fake a move. However, Rukawa Kaede, who was facing him, was unmoved. If Sakuragi Hanamichi's three threats faced an opponent who was not familiar with him, then maybe they would be useful.
However, Rukawa Kaede, who is familiar with Sakuragi Hanada, knows clearly that Sakuragi does not have the ability to shoot three-pointers.
Sure enough, Sakuragi Hanamichi, who was raising the ball to make a fake move, saw that Rukawa did not react, so he put the ball back to his chest. At the same time, Sakuragi Hanamichi stepped his left foot in front of the right, and while rushing forward, he used his back to hit Rukawa. Almost at the same time he landed, the basketball hit the ground with a slight sound.
Accelerate and attack.
Sakuragi Hanamichi started without any warning, and this guy has very strong explosive power. The moment he accelerated, he rushed towards the basket like an arrow.
Although Rukawa Kaede on the defending side was half a beat slow, he was able to keep up with Sakuragi Hanamichi's rhythm by starting from the back position. He lagged behind by half a body length and caught up closely.
Sakuragi and Rukawa were very fast. In the blink of an eye, Sakuragi Hanamichi dribbled the ball under the basket. When he was less than one meter away from the basket, Sakuragi took the ball and jumped, gliding directly towards the basket. At the same time, Rukawa, who was chasing him, also jumped up and blocked Sakuragi Hanamichi's sight with one hand.
Rukawa's jumping ability is quite outstanding, but Sakuragi Hanamichi's jumping ability is even more terrifying than Rukawa's!
In Hikoichi Aida's eyes, he only saw Sakuragi Hanamichi successfully pass Rukawa in one step, then invade the basket and jump for a layup. At the moment of jumping, Sakuragi Hanamichi's body actually paused briefly in the air. The basketball that was originally raised above his head was deliberately retracted by Sakuragi Hanamichi, easily avoiding Rukawa's interception, and then Sakuragi flipped his wrist lightly and hooked the ball towards the basket.
A beautiful pull-up layup was performed right in front of Hikoichi Aida, causing the freshman at Ryonan High School to involuntarily widen his eyes and open his mouth in surprise.
“Bang!”
“Swish!”
The basketball hit the backboard and went into the net, and Rukawa Kaede and Sakuragi Hanamichi fell back to the ground one after another.
"Did you see that, stinky fox?! The strength of this genius!"
Sakuragi Hanamichi heard the sound of the basketball entering the net. After it landed, Sakuragi pointed at Rukawa and shouted excitedly.
This was the first time he successfully made a layup under Rukawa's defense.
I don't know what happened, but Sakuragi Hanamichi felt that his mind was unusually clear today. Just now when he was in mid-air, he could clearly see Rukawa's defense, and he used his mid-air to make evasive moves.
This feeling... is amazing!
Although Rukawa Kaede showed no expression on his face, he was a little surprised in his heart. The reason why Sakuragi Hanamichi was able to break through so easily was that he deliberately let the opponent pass, and Rukawa Kaede was also ready to block Sakuragi Hanamichi from behind.
Rukawa Kaede deliberately wanted to teach Sakuragi a lesson. Compared to stealing the ball, wouldn't a big block be more satisfying?
But what surprised Rukawa was that Sakuragi Hanamichi actually used a pull-up shot to avoid his defense. Sakuragi had tried before, but he had never been able to score successfully. Today, he actually succeeded.
After a brief moment of surprise, Rukawa quickly adjusted his mentality and walked towards the three-point line without saying anything.
Sakuragi Hanamichi happily ran to the basket to pick up the ball, and while walking outside the three-point line, he shouted to Aida Hikoichi:
"Hikoichi, did you see that? This is the strength of the Xiangbei regular players. This kind of fox can't compare to them!"
"Ha ha ha ha!"
Sakuragi Hanamichi, who successfully scored a goal, couldn't help but become complacent. If there was no other people present at today's bullfight, Sakuragi might still be able to immerse himself in the game, but there was a spectator, and Sakuragi Hanamichi's personality made him unconsciously show off to others.
“Yeah!”
“I see it, I see it!”
Hikoichi Aida also nodded solemnly, expressing his great approval of the strength shown by Hanamichi Sakuragi.
Although he has not been in Ryonan High School for long, Hikoichi Aida has been a basketball enthusiast since he was a child. Although his playing skills are average, he has a good vision.
The layup that Sakuragi Hanamichi just did was smooth and elegant, and his jumping and air-staying abilities were both top-notch. There are only a few people in their Ryonan High School who can perform such a move.
At this time, Hikoichi Aida had already believed that Hanamichi Sakuragi was the "future star" of Shohoku, and planned to record the confrontation between Hanamichi Sakuragi and Rukawa Kaede.
"Hahahaha!" When Sakuragi Hanamichi saw that Aida Hikoichi recognized his strength, he immediately laughed and stood in front of Rukawa Kaede with the basketball.
“Second goal!
!”
Sakuragi suppressed the smile on his face, murmured softly, and moved sideways with the ball in both hands, while his right foot also moved to the right in a tentative step.
Rukawa Kaede stared at the basketball in Sakuragi Hanamichi's hands. While Sakuragi was testing him, he moved his body slightly and quickly reached out to the basketball with his left hand, trying to steal the ball.
Seeing Rukawa's action, Sakuragi reacted quickly. He turned sideways, held the ball with his back to the basket, and actively pressed his back against Rukawa's body. After blocking the ball once, he suddenly leaned towards Rukawa.
The huge force pushed Rukawa back a step, and Sakuragi Hanamichi suddenly felt his back loosen, so he turned around and broke through, instantly passing Rukawa.
Although Rukawa was pushed back a step by Sakuragi, he still maintained an excellent defensive posture. At the moment Sakuragi Hanamichi turned around and broke through, Rukawa moved sideways, without fear of physical confrontation, and took the initiative to block Sakuragi's path.
"Bang!" With a dull sound, Sakuragi's body directly hit Rukawa's body, and his breakthrough was stagnant, and his dribbling rhythm became chaotic. Rukawa Kaede also quickly adjusted his posture at this moment, blocking Sakuragi while stealing the ball.
Sakuragi Hanamichi was frightened by Rukawa's action and hugged the ball with both hands. Although he avoided being intercepted by Rukawa, he was forced to stop the ball.
At this moment, it was just near the free throw line and had not yet entered Sakuragi Hanamichi's attack range.
When Rukawa saw Sakuragi stop the ball, he was no longer in a hurry. He straightened his back, raised his hands above his head, and blocked Sakuragi Hanamichi's shooting route.
“But… Damn it!”
Sakuragi Hanamichi held the ball with both hands, swinging left and right, trying to find a gap to shoot from Rukawa Kaede's defense. Although Sakuragi can't shoot from the middle, this doesn't stop him from struggling madly in desperation... .
"Hey, you're holding the ball for more than thirty seconds!"
Sakuragi Hanamichi and Rukawa Kaede were dodging and blocking respectively. After a long stalemate, Rukawa Kaede couldn't find a chance to steal the ball, and then suddenly said to Sakuragi Hanamichi.
When the naive Sakuragi Hanamichi heard this, he became anxious and threw the ball towards the basket without caring about anything. However, the basketball was blocked by Rukawa Kaede as soon as it was shot.
"Bang!" The basketball was blocked by Rukawa Kaede and hit the floor directly behind Sakuragi.
"Damn...damn stinky fox!" Sakuragi Hanamichi, who had eaten a big hot pot, had his face flushed red. He felt that he had lost face, and stomped his feet on the floor angrily, then put his hands into his autumn trousers and walked towards the three-point line with an unhappy look on his face.
At this moment, Rukawa picked up the basketball with an expressionless face, walked to the three-point line, and prepared to attack.
When Aida Hiko on the sidelines saw that Sakuragi Hanamichi actually attacked in this way after stopping the ball and was blocked by Rukawa Kaede, he looked at Sakuragi Hanamichi thoughtfully and started to mutter in his heart:
"Sakuragi Hanamichi's first attack, the breakthrough and the pull-up were really beautiful."
"It can be seen that Sakuragi-san must be very strong."
"But in this round of offense, how was the handling after the ball was stopped... so..."
"It's like a novice who's just learning to play basketball."
Hikoichi Aida didn't understand why Shohoku's "future star" would have such contradictory performance. He opened his notebook, made a few notes, and prepared to see Rukawa's attack.
"Rukawa Kaede, who was famous in Kanagawa during junior high school..."
"I don't know what kind of strength he has! What's the difference between him and Senior Xiandao and Senior Shigong..."
While Aida Hiko was thinking, Rukawa Kaede had already taken action on the court.
There was no movement to check the ball between Rukawa and Sakuragi Hanamichi, who were familiar with each other. After Sakuragi finished getting into position, Rukawa directly dropped the ball and broke through.
There is a world of difference between Rukawa's technique and Sakuragi Hanamichi's. Sakuragi's breakthrough moves have very few variations in connected movements, but Rukawa is different.
Both of them accelerated to break through, and Rukawa's speed was not any slower than Sakuragi Hanamichi's. Although Sakuragi on the defending side reacted quickly and blocked the opponent's way, when Rukawa met Sakuragi, he suddenly stopped and changed direction in front of his body.
Rukawa is very skilled at changing direction in front of his body, and there is no flaw except for a momentary pause. Although Sakuragi has strong athletic ability, he cannot change direction instantly while maintaining the crab step.
In an instant, Rukawa Kaede had opened up a considerable distance between himself and Sakuragi.
Rukawa, who got the opportunity, dribbled the ball with his left hand and quickly rushed towards the basket. Although Sakuragi caught up with him from behind, Rukawa passed the ball with his left hand while moving, blocked Sakuragi with his right hand, and rushed directly to the basket and scored a layup with one hand.
The offense and defense switched, and in just a few seconds, Rukawa scored over Sakuragi's head.
"asshole!"
After losing the ball, Sakuragi Hanamichi cursed and turned to walk towards the three-point line.
Rukawa quietly went to the basket, picked up the basketball, and prepared for the second attack.
"I really can't believe that he could suddenly change direction while moving at such a high speed. Are his knees made of iron?"
"And Rukawa Kaede's movements were very smooth. Sakuragi Hanamichi had clearly caught up with him, but he still didn't stop him."
"I'm afraid only Senior Xiandao and Senior Sigong can stop such a breakthrough!"
Hikoichi Aida sighed and made a few more notes in his notebook.
At this time in the court, Sakuragi and Rukawa had already taken their positions. Just as Rukawa was about to start the second attack, there was a sudden knock on the door of the basketball hall.
“Ding ding ding!
”
The iron door of the stadium was knocked loudly, instantly breaking the silence in the stadium. Aida Hikoichi turned his head unconsciously and found a short-haired young man leaning against the iron door, looking at him, Sakuragi and others.
Sakuragi Hanamichi and Rukawa Kaede in the stadium also looked in the direction of the voice. When they saw the person coming, they both greeted him:
"Xiao San~"
"team leader!"
When Mitsui heard Sakuragi's address, his eyebrows immediately raised and he scolded, "Asshole! Don't call me 'Xiao San', call me Captain or Mitsui Senior!
”
"You're an idiot!"
Sakuragi Hanamichi, who was scolded by Mitsui Shou, didn't care at all. He nodded perfunctorily and responded, "Okay, Xiaosan."
Upon hearing this, Mitsui Shou rolled his eyes at Sakuragi Hanamichi, then walked towards him while looking at Aida Hikoichi.
"Captain? This one is the captain of Shohoku High School, Mitsui Hisashi?!" While Mitsui Hisashi was examining Aida Hikoichi, Aida Hikoichi was also examining Mitsui Hisashi, and at the same time, he secretly hid the notebook in his hand inside his clothes.
When Mitsui Shou approached, Aida Hikoichi took the lead and bowed deeply to Mitsui Shou and greeted him: "Hello, Captain Mitsui!"
"I'm a freshman at Ryonan High School, my name is Hikoichi Aida."
Mitsui Shou nodded slightly and asked, "Why are people from Ryonan coming to our Xiangbei?"
"Captain Mitsui, I'm here to observe and learn!"
Aida Hikoichi said modestly, keeping a very low profile in front of Mitsui Hisashi.
Seeing this, Mitsui Shou nodded, moved his eyes away from him, and looked at Sakuragi Hanamichi and Rukawa Kaede.
"You two, why don't you train properly in the gym? Are you fighting bulls? What are you fighting?!"
"You're full and have nothing to do, or do you feel that you're already very strong and there's nothing else you can practice?"
Mitsui passed Aida Hikoichi and shouted to Sakuragi and Rukawa. Rukawa lowered his head slightly and said nothing. Sakuragi, on the other hand, immediately ran to Mitsui, hugged Mitsui's arm, and said with a smile:
"Xiaosan, it's just for fun. It helps to gain practical experience."
"By the way! I've become stronger again!"
Mitsui Shou rolled his eyes at Sakuragi Hanamichi, grabbed Sakuragi's arm and moved it away from his body, and said:
"You've gotten stronger... No matter how strong you become, you're still only a first-year. You still have a long way to go."
"Go, get some equipment from the equipment room and practice your footwork."
"Ryukawa, you train on your own."
"As for you..."
"I think it's getting late today. My classmate from Lingnan, would you like to go home early? Don't let your family worry!"
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