As the basketball was thrown into the air by the referee, the game between Xiangbei High School and Hainan officially started.
Center line.
Akagi Takenori and Mori Shigehiro jumped up one after another and reached out to hit the basketball.
With rich experience in the game, Akagi Takenori has already mastered the timing of the jump ball. He was about to grab the basketball before Mori Shigehiro. The next second, a big hand came from behind and touched the bottom of the basketball before him, and pushed the ball towards Hainan's backcourt.
"This boy has such strong explosive power!"
Akagi was shocked when he saw the jump ball that was about to be won was knocked away by the opponent. Although he had felt that Mori Shigehiro was a very strong center in the game between Hainan and Ryonan, the opponent still won the jump ball after losing the initiative, which still surprised Akagi.
Such explosive power is far beyond that of Akagi Takenori!
"Well done! Hiro!"
Maki Shenyi from Hainan's backcourt trotted a few steps and took control of the ball, then immediately shouted out encouragement.
Don’t think that it’s just about winning the jump ball. For Hainan, winning the jump ball means taking the initiative in offense. Facing a strong opponent like Xiangbei High School, the initiative is crucial!
"Very good, A-Kun really won the jump ball. Next, he will score a goal!"
"Jinguji Budo is different from Shinomiya Tano. Although his physical fitness is equally explosive, Xiangbei's offense needs to revolve around him."
"It should be impossible for Shohoku High School's defense to send Jinguji Budou into the inside."
"As long as A-Kuan can catch the ball inside, our offensive success rate will be greatly increased!"
Maki Shinichi pushed the ball forward while watching Xiangbei's defense. Unlike Ryonan High School's man-to-man defense, Xiangbei High School adopted a joint defense, with the main task of consolidating the defense in the interior.
In the Xiangbei half, Akagi Takenori and Sakuragi Hanamichi were guarding the two sides of the paint area under the basket, Jinguji Takenori and Miyagi Ryouta were standing on both sides of the free throw line, leaving the three-point line outside the corner empty. However, Mitsui Hisashi did not join the Xiangbei four-man defense system, but was responsible for defending Kamiso Ichiro alone.
Today, Mitsui's height is similar to Kamiso Ichiro, and he is more experienced and technically advanced than Kamiso Ichiro. He has no problem defending the opponent alone.
Maki Shinichi entered the frontcourt and observed the defense of Xiangbei High School, and immediately gave up the idea of passing the ball to Mori Shigehiro. Maki Shinichi knew that Xiangbei's defense was mainly aimed at players like him and Mori Shigehiro who needed to attack near the basket.
"We need to trick the people from Xiangbei out!"
"Otherwise, with someone like Jinguji Budo helping defend the inside, it would put too much pressure on A-Kuan..."
Soon, Maki Shinichi made a decision, left the top of the arc with the ball, and began to move quickly from the corner to the mid-range at the baseline.
Seeing this, Jinguji Budo, who was originally standing near the free throw line, glanced briefly and chose not to follow.
Soon, Shinichi Maki approached the basket. Akagi Takenori, who was closer to him, thought for a moment and stepped forward decisively, not giving Shinichi Maki a chance to shoot. At the same time, he also blocked the passing route between Shinichi Maki and Shigehiro Mori by relying on his positioning.
As Akagi Takenori left the basket, Maki Shinichi had to settle for the next best thing, faked a shot and passed the ball to the inside, where it landed in the hands of Takasago Kazuma. Takasago Kazuma took the ball without any hesitation and passed it sideways to Mori Shigehiro who was in the open space.
The latter took the ball, jumped up directly, grabbed the ball with both hands, and dunked it into the basket.
“Don’t even think about it!
!”
However, at this moment, Akagi's roar sounded from behind Mori Shigehiro, and a big hand pressed on the basketball from behind Mori Shigehiro.
Akagi Takenori, who moved to the mid-range to defend Shinichi Maki, successfully returned to the basket in the short one or two seconds when Hainan was passing the ball.
"Well done! Gorilla!"
Sakuragi Hanamichi was standing under the basket at this time, with Kazuma Takasago behind him. He watched Akagi hold the basketball in Mori Shigehiro's hand with one hand and let out a low cry of excitement.
"Bang!
!”
However, as soon as he finished speaking, Mori Shigehiro slammed the ball into the basket, making a loud noise.
The block that Takenori Akagi gave to the opponent from behind did not affect Mori Shigehiro's dunk.
"What?!"
The basketball fell rapidly from the net. Sakuragi Hanamichi looked at Mori Shigehiro hanging in the frame with a look of surprise.
“Snap!”
Akagi Takenori and Mori Shigehiro fell back to the ground one after another. Akagi looked at the No. 15 of the White Team in front of him with a look of surprise, and there was no way to hide the shock on his face.
Akagi knew that Mori Shigehiro was very strong, stronger than Uozumi Jun, but he didn't expect that the opponent could be so strong. Obviously, he had already pressed on the basketball.
"Beautiful! Hiro!"
The Hainan people happily surrounded Mori Shigehiro and began to return to the court, leaving the Shohoku people behind in surprise.
Wudao looked at Mori Shigehiro who was leaving, turned around and clapped his hands, bringing Sakuragi and Akagi back to reality from their shock.
"You two, don't look so surprised."
"Relax and attack!"
"Akagi, don't think too much. Even if your strength is not as good as his, it is not this bad."
"You can't block this shot, simply because your footwork is slow and your explosiveness is not as good as his."
"When you touch the ball, it's already at its highest point."
Wudao comforted Akagi Takenori who failed in defense, then turned around and started advancing towards the front court.
After listening to Wudao's explanation, Akagi recalled the opponent's ball just now, nodded silently and went to the baseline to serve, but his face was still ugly.
What Jinguji Budou said was right, but Akagi also knew that Budou was just comforting him.
The fact is, there is indeed a gap in strength between him and Mori Shigehiro. If the gap wasn't that big, Mori Shigehiro's ball would have been destroyed by him even though it reached the highest point.
However, Akagi did not think too much about it. He had watched Mori Shigehiro's games and had a basic expectation of the opponent's strength. He would not lose confidence because of one goal.
"Start the attack!"
Miyagi Ryouta received the basketball in the backcourt, pressed behind the team, and advanced slowly.
As Xiangbei High School organized an attack, the audience in the stands also began to become active.
"It's started, it's started! Xiangbei High School is about to start the attack!"
“Phew~ I came all the way from Tokyo just to see Jinguji Budou play basketball! Come on! Jinguji Budou!”
"Shobei! Dongdongdong! Shobei! Dongdongdong!"
The liveliness of the audience will also affect the state of the players on the field. With the encouragement of the audience, Sakuragi Hanamichi couldn't help but start to get excited. Although he knew that a large part of the cheers were not for him, it didn't matter!
Because today, the main attacker of Xiangbei High School is him! Genius Sakuragi!
"I'm the genius Sakuragi! I must prove myself in front of everyone!"
"absolute!"
Sakuragi quickly entered the frontcourt and took a position directly in the middle distance, with his back leaning against Kazuma Takasago and lowering his center of gravity to take position.
As he finished his position, Jinguji Takeshi and others had already entered the frontcourt. After crossing the three-point line, Miyagi Ryouta passed the ball directly to Jinguji Takeshi at the right corner, and then stood at the top of the arc. After entering the frontcourt, Mitsui Shou went directly to the three-point line corner on the same side as Takeshi.
At the same time, Akagi Takenori walked along the baseline towards the left mid-range. Mori Shigehiro glanced at Jinguji Budo who was holding the ball from a distance, then followed Akagi and left the basket.
At this time, the only two people left under the basket were Sakuragi Hanamichi who was in the key position, and Takasago Kazuma who was blocking the position behind him.
"Shohoku is pulling away. Are they planning to let Jinguji Budou fight alone?"
Shinichi Maki stood in front of Takeshi Jinguji, not daring to lower his center of gravity too much. He raised his right hand high, guarding against Takeshi Jinguji's pull-up shot, while quickly observing the positions of other Shohoku players.
When he saw such a huge gap in the interior, he immediately realized what Xiangbei was planning.
For teams like Xiangbei and Ryonan that have super ace players, singles play is a common style of play.
"Boy, you're maintaining your movements pretty well."
"It seems that Takasago doesn't put much pressure on this kid."
Takeshi Jinguji dribbled the ball with his back straight, his eyes fixed on Sakuragi Hanamichi who was in the mid-range position, and casually lobbed the ball into the inside.
Jinguji Budou, who was more than ten centimeters taller than Maki Shinichi, passed the ball with great ease. Maki Shinichi tried to intercept the ball, but then he realized that his interception was a bit ridiculous and did not affect Jinguji Budou's pass at all.
"Youxi!"
"The first goal of the genius Sakuragi attack!"
Sakuragi Hanamichi, who had the ball, shouted excitedly and quickly hit the ball from behind. The huge force directly hit Takasago Kazuma, who was actually pushed back two steps before he could stand firm.
Sakuragi Hanamichi got the chance and turned around quickly and made a jump shot.
It was a standard two-step shot, and the basketball flew directly out of Sakuragi's hands and towards the basket.
"First ball!" Sakuragi looked at the basket confidently and murmured.
The basketball hit the backboard and bounced towards the basket. However, the ball did not bounce into the basket as Sakuragi expected, but instead hit the edge of the basket and bounced out.
"Missed!"
"rebound!
!”
Mu Shenyi shouted loudly when he saw this, and just as he shouted, a red figure suddenly flew past him and rushed straight towards the inside.
"Jinguji Takeshi! Damn it!" By the time Makishin saw Takeshi's figure, it was too late to take action.
Under the basket, Kazuma Takasago occupied the best landing spot and jumped high to grab the ball. At this moment, Sakuragi Hanamichi realized that he missed the shot and squeezed together with Takasago to grab the rebound.
As the basketball was falling under the basket, Takasago and Sakuragi jumped up together and grabbed for it.
Although Sakuragi Hanamichi is not as tall as Takasago, his jumping and explosive power are far superior to Takasago. Even if his position is not ideal, his height is still higher than Takasago.
Just as Sakuragi was about to take the ball, a big hand suddenly appeared from behind Sakuragi Hanamichi, grabbed the basketball, and slammed it into the basket.
At the same time, both Sakuragi and Takasago were hit by the person who came. After landing, they stumbled a few steps before they could barely stand up. Sakuragi was so angry that he cursed directly:
"That bastard! How dare he destroy this genius's backboard..."
"Ha ha... .."
However, when Sakuragi saw Jinguji Budo falling to the ground after completing the slam dunk, Sakuragi's angry curses stopped abruptly. Instead, he scratched the back of his head awkwardly and laughed dryly.
"Sakuragi, even if you get a chance to back-up, never let down your guard!"
"You were obviously too excited when you shot the ball just now!"
"Do you think you'll get in? It seems like your practice is far from enough!"
"Take every ball you get seriously! Treat it with a normal attitude!"
Jinguji Takeshi pointed at Sakuragi Hanamichi and taught him a lesson.
Although Sakuragi Hanamichi has started practicing shooting a few months ago, he practices shooting very evenly, shooting hundreds of balls every day.
However, Sakuragi Hanamichi still hasn't gotten rid of his bad habit of being easily carried away by success. Sometimes he misses good opportunities because he is not focused enough and is daydreaming.
When the gap between the enemy and us is big, Sakuragi's mentality will not affect the victory.
But when the strength of the enemy and us is similar, it all depends on how we handle every ball!
Often in that kind of game, the difference between victory and defeat is only 1 to 2 points, and every mistake is fatal!
"Uh... sorry..."
In front of Jinguji Budou, Sakuragi Hanamichi was still able to remain humble. He nodded and spoke seriously.
"Return to defense!" Seeing that Sakuragi had a good attitude, Wudao's expression eased a little. He shouted softly and began to return to defense quickly.
"As expected of Xiangbei, the counterattack is so sharp!"
Shinzo Ichiro followed Shohoku's footsteps and quickly advanced to the front court. Maki Shinichi had already received the serve from his teammate in the back court and was following behind Shinzo Ichiro not far away. He looked at Jinguji Budo who had returned to the court early and had a little doubt in his heart.
"Although this goal was indeed scored by Jinguji Budo."
"But....Shohoku High School didn't seem to focus their attack on Jinguji Budo?!"
"Hainan took the initiative, and Xiangbei was behind. The team's score also broke through from 0. At this time, the ace should have initiated the attack first."
"But Jinguji Budou just gave the ball to the red-haired Sakuragi Hanamichi..."
"Shohoku, what are you going to do?!"
Maki Shinichi didn't understand what Xiangbei High School was doing, and he didn't think much about it after he entered the front court with the ball. Therefore, at this time, Jinguji Budo, who had been consolidating the inside defense, had already arrived in front of him.
Wu Dao also understood that Hainan's attack was most likely initiated by Maki Shinichi. He planned to first interrupt the internal and external connection between Maki Shinichi and Mori Shigehiro!
The tall and long-armed Jinguji Takeshi came in front of Maki Shinichi, stood still, spread his arms, and covered Maki Shinichi in his shadow.
Mu Shenyi slightly turned sideways and protected the ball on the spot. Facing Wudao's defense, he did not dare to be negligent in the slightest.
“Such a strong sense of oppression...”
"This guy... is even more powerful than before!"
Maki Shinichi looked at Jinguji Budo, who was much taller than him, and the pressure increased dramatically. He felt that he was enveloped by an invisible aura, and the hairs on his body stood up.
"You can't just sit there and wait for death. The longer you hold the ball, the more flaws there will be!"
Maki Shinichi decisively changed the rhythm and prepared to break through. In front of Jinguji Budou, he couldn't easily lob the ball to the inside. If he wanted to pass the ball, he had to find Jinguji Budou's flaw!
With his center of gravity lowered and after continuous between-the-hip dribbling, Maki Shenyi spread his arms and dribbled the ball in suspension. After the fake dribble, he prepared to accelerate and break through.
However, at this moment, Jinguji Takeshi's face darkened, a red light flashed in his eyes, and he suddenly took a step forward, as if he had anticipated Maki Shinichi's move, and slapped out with his palm, hitting the basketball.
"!
!”
The next second, Jinguji Budou accelerated out, grabbed the ball directly in his hands, and rushed quickly to the front court.
His extremely fast dribbling speed immediately left behind all the Hainan players who were trying to chase him, and he rushed into the front court, and under the gaze of the entire audience, he performed a smooth windmill dunk.
"Amu... please don't try to challenge me!"
"Be a good boy.....be a stepping stone for flower arrangement..."
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ..