His breakthrough was thwarted, and seeing Jinguji Budou doing whatever he wanted in his backcourt, Maki Shinichi's face suddenly darkened.
The ominous premonition before the game came true at this moment. Jinguji Budo's personal strength has reached a higher level than last year.
"Jinguji Budo is very tall, but even though he has grown so much taller, he is still so agile."
"If there was a flaw in my breakthrough move just now, it was only in the moment of suspended dribbling."
"Even such a fleeting opportunity was seized by him."
"This guy... is very difficult to deal with!"
"I have to be very careful with every ball from now on!"
After Jinguji Budo returned to the backcourt to defend, Maki Shinichi returned to his own half, took the basketball from his teammate, and slowly advanced to the frontcourt with the ball.
The sense of oppression given to him by Jinguji martial arts was very strong, which made Maki Shinichi more cautious.
One-fifth of the offensive time had passed before Maki Shinichi slowly entered the frontcourt with the ball. At this time, the other players of Hainan had also completed their positions. When Maki Shinichi approached the top of the arc, Kamiso Ichiro, who was not far away, quickly moved up and wanted to help Maki Shinichi with a pick-and-roll.
Although the second-year player Kazuo Kamisama has only been given a tactical position in the team this year, he still has a lot of experience. Kazuo Kamisama's physical fitness is mediocre compared to players like Hanamichi Sakuragi, but he has one thing going for him: basketball IQ.
Good basketball IQ allows Kazuo Kamiya to see through the opponent's defensive weaknesses during the game, and at the same time to make up for some of his own shortcomings in offense and defense in a timely manner.
Combined with his accurate three-point shooting, Kazuo Kamiya has the capital to gain a foothold on the court.
Before facing Ryonan High School and Shohoku High School, Ichiro Kamiya was able to average a terrifying 33 points per game.
At this time, Kamiso Ichiro also noticed that Maki Shinichi seemed to be struggling to face Jinguji Budou alone, and decisively provided support to Maki Shinichi.
"Pick and roll..."
When Wudao was defending Shinichi Maki, he also noticed the movement of Ichiro Kamiso. After a moment of thought, he chose to bypass Ichiro Kamiso's pick-and-roll.
Maki Shinichi does not have the ability to shoot three-pointers from long range. In this position, Wudao only needs to be wary of the opponent's breakthrough.
As the figures intertwined, Maki Shinichi quickly crossed the three-point line and reappeared in front of Wudao. At the same time, Maki Shinichi intentionally or unintentionally blocked Mitsui Shou's position, slowing down Mitsui Shou's pace in chasing Kamiso Ichiro.
When Maki Shinichi reappeared in front of Wudao, Wudao suddenly discovered that there was no basketball in Maki Shinichi's hand.
"Um?!"
Looking quickly in the direction of Kamiso Ichiro, Wudao happened to find that Kamiso Ichiro had already raised the ball and was ready to shoot, while Mitsui Hisashi was still nearly one meter away from him.
"Damn it, don't even think about doing that!"
Mitsui Shou chased very desperately, and finally arrived in front of Kamiso Ichiro a second before Kamiso Ichiro shot. He jumped up and tried to block Kamiso Ichiro's shot.
However, Mitsui's jump really gave Kamiya Ichiro a chance.
This boy with a soft look is not just good at making silly open jump shots. Mitsui Hisashi really underestimated his opponent!
"Fake move!? Does this kid know I can keep up?"
Kazuo Kamiya, who was holding the ball, suddenly took the ball back, dribbled once, took a diagonal step in the opposite direction, instantly distanced himself from Mitsui Hisashi, and quickly raised the ball and shot it.
The beautiful and standard shooting posture drew cheers from the audience in the stands.
"Swish!" With the sound of the basketball entering the net, three points were added to Hainan's scoreboard.
"Beautiful! A-shen!"
"Good shot! He actually dodges Shohoku's Mitsui Shou and makes a three-pointer! God, this three-pointer is so crucial!"
Kazuo Kamiya's three-pointer made the Hainan bench cheer, and all the players waved towels and shouted excitedly.
Mitsui tapped the floor with his toes in dissatisfaction, stretched his calf muscles that had just been tense due to the all-out pursuit, and looked at Kamiso Ichiro who was returning to defense.
"Hey, Xiaosan, can a fake move of this level fool you?"
Jinguji Takeshi, who was standing not far away, laughed and teased, causing Mitsui Shou's expression to freeze.
"Asshole, if that middle-aged man hadn't blocked my position, I would have had plenty of time to calmly judge."
"Kamizoe Ichiro has a beautiful shooting form and is an excellent shooter."
"Hainan's pick-and-roll tactics can bring out his three-point ability. Wudao, if we encounter this situation again, let's switch defense."
Mitsui Hisashi and Jinguji Takeshi ran towards the front court while discussing defensive strategies.
Generally speaking, the best way for the defense to deal with the pick-and-roll is to use the pick-and-roll, but with his terrifying leg strength, Takeshi Jinguji was able to keep up with Shinichi Maki even if he was slightly delayed by the pick-and-roll player. With such a direct follow-up, Shinichi Maki did not get any chance to shoot.
But on the other hand, Kazuo Kamiya on the pick-and-roll side can get some space with the help of Shinichi Maki.
Although Mitsui Shou was also very fast, Maki Shinichi's blocking did have some impact on him. When Mitsui Shou came in front of Jinzong Ichiro, he hardly gave him time to think.
Faced with this situation, switching defense is actually the most appropriate defensive strategy.
Moreover, even if Mitsui Hisashi defended Shinichi Maki alone, he would not be crushed by the opponent.
"Yes, sure."
"Then let's switch defense."
"Maki Shinichi is being closely watched, Hainan will probably focus on Mori Shigehiro and Jinsou Ichiro."
“As long as we can seal the remaining two, there will be no suspense in this game.”
As Wudao spoke, he crossed the center line, and he and Mitsui Shou ran to the same side. Wudao stood at the cow corner, and Mitsui Shou sank to the bottom corner, still planning to play a triangle attack.
After Sakuragi Hanamichi and Akagi Takenori entered the frontcourt, they quickly cut into the inside. Miyagi quickly passed the ball to Jinguji Takenori before the opponent's defense could come up.
Takeshi Jinguji, who received the ball outside the three-point line, did not pass the ball directly to Hanamichi Sakuragi this time. Instead, he took the ball sideways and quickly swept the ball to the basket for a fake shot, which alerted Shinichi Maki. He raised his defensive center of gravity and quickly dropped the ball to advance.
"Are you going to attack on your own this time?!"
"I really thought too much. Xiangbei High School's main attacker is still this guy!"
As Maki Shinichi was chasing after Jinguji Budo, his brain was working rapidly.
Suddenly, Takeshi Jinguji paused while he was charging, and quickly adjusted the direction of his breakthrough with a cross-crotch dribble. Just as Shinichi Maki also stopped abruptly and prepared to adjust the direction of his defense, Takeshi Jinguji stopped abruptly and made two consecutive quick changes of direction in front of his body. The next second, he turned his body to the side and passed the ball directly behind his back.
"What?!"
Shinichi Maki had left a huge gap on the defensive end. He thought that Takeshi Jinguji would take advantage of this to break through or make a pull-up shot, but unexpectedly, Takeshi Jinguji actually passed the ball.
When Jinguji Takeshi passed the ball, Mori Shigehiro in the inside had already moved up, intending to help Maki Shinichi defend against Jinguji Takeshi's advance. Unexpectedly, just as he left his original position, the basketball passed quickly from his side and went directly into the hands of Akagi Takenori under the basket.
Akagi took the ball and dribbled it once, then jumped up with the ball, ready to dunk. Just as he jumped, Takasago Kazuma, who was filling in the position, was already in place, with one hand raised high, pressing the basketball.
When Akagi Takenori dribbled the ball just now, he didn't shoot directly, which gave Takasago Kazuma a chance to defend!
"snort!"
Akagi Takenori, who was about to be blocked by Takasago Kazuma, suddenly snorted in a mocking manner. In the air, his arms holding the ball quickly dropped and passed the ball directly to Sakuragi Hanamichi who was in a wide open position.
"What?!"
Kazuma Takasago cried out in surprise when he saw this, and turned his head quickly after landing. However, what came into his sight at this time was the figure of Sakuragi Hanamichi holding the ball in the air.
“Bang!”
With a double-handed dunk, Sakuragi Hanamichi's body hit Kazuma Takasago, pushing Takasago back two steps. Looking at Sakuragi Hanamichi grabbing the basket with both hands, Kazuma Takasago knew that he was fooled by Akagi Takenori. He had a chance to shoot directly but chose to dribble the ball to the ground, which was clearly to trick him into making up for the defense, and his purpose was to pass the ball to the red-haired freshman.
"well done!"
Akagi Takenori rarely smiled and celebrated by fist-bumping with Sakuragi Hanamichi after he landed.
Today, Xiangbei plans to build a new triangle offense with Sakuragi Hanamichi as the core. The core of this triangle offense is not Jinguji Budou, nor Mitsui Shou, but Sakuragi Hanamichi, who is the most immature and has the least offensive means.
When Akagi first received the news, he didn't understand, but since Coach Anzai had made the decision, he would cooperate.
Taking the initiative to pass the ball to Sakuragi was purely because he hoped that such a goal would give Sakuragi enough self-confidence and allow Sakuragi to fully unleash his talent and potential.
This has nothing to do with him being Akagi Haruko's brother...
"Not bad, just like that, steady and safe!"
Wu Dao clapped his hands and gave the same encouragement.
Maki Shinichi couldn't help but feel uneasy when he saw the people from Xiangbei leaving.
Takenori Jinguji and Takenori Akagi passed the ball to the red-haired first-year student one after another. Could it be that the purpose of this game of Shohoku High School was to train that first-year student
"Amu, organize the attack and maintain Hainan's offensive rhythm!"
"Find a way to get the ball to Hiro, don't worry about Jinguji Budo!"
Off the field, Coach Gaotou stood on the sidelines and shouted loudly towards the field. The game had just begun and the current situation was still under his control.
As long as Hainan can stabilize its offense, the outcome of this game is still unknown!
Maki Shinichi turned his head to look at Coach Gaotou and nodded silently.
After receiving the ball in the backcourt, he began to advance with the ball. Maki Shinichi's advancement speed was not fast, and he was at the back of the team, using the standard rhythm of positional warfare. While lengthening the offensive intervals, he also gave the strikers more time to adjust and rest.
Although the game had just begun, Shinichi Maki was still controlling the tempo.
Soon, a new round of attack from Hainan came.
Shinichi Maki, who had no way to break through alone, did not hesitate and called for help from his teammates. This time, Kazuma Takasago from the inside came outside and provided a high pick-and-roll. Budou did not switch defense with Sakuragi, and still chose to bypass the pick-and-roll, giving some lead time and entering the mid-range early to guard against Shinichi Maki's breakthrough.
This time, Budou stood too close to the inside. After Takasago's pick-and-roll, Shinichi Maki was one step inside the three-point line and actually chose to shoot from a high position.
"Long shot?!"
"Maki Shinichi can still shoot long shots?"
It is no wonder that Takeshi Jinguji was surprised, because the Maki Shinichi he knew was not good at long shots. Even when facing a strong enemy like Ryonan High School, Maki Shinichi almost never made any long shots. Takeshi did not think that Maki Shinichi had no chance, he simply thought that Maki Shinichi was incapable.
“Swish!”
However, the crisp sound of the net coming from behind made Wudao raise his eyebrows.
“He actually got in?!”
Wu Dao murmured in surprise, then came to his senses and shook his head in self-mockery.
He seemed to be a little inflated. After all, Maki Shinichi was one of the best point guards in Kanagawa Prefecture and the trump card of Hainan. He had shooting ability. Even if his long-range shooting accuracy was not as high as that of players like Jinguji Budou, if he still couldn't make the shot in such a large open space, it would be too unworthy of Maki Shinichi's status.
"Sorry, mine."
Wu said something apologetically to his teammates and then quickly ran towards the front court.
Shinichi Maki's goal did not affect the offense of Shohoku High School. Under the leadership of Takeshi Jinguji, Shohoku began to organize an offense.
Like Hainan, Xiangbei also played in a positional manner with a slow pace, giving the audience a slow feeling.
After reaching the frontcourt, Miyagi Ryouta still quickly passed the ball to Budo, and he stood at the top of the arc, not cutting, not helping with the pick-and-roll, just simply... watching. As if he was an outsider.
Wudao still took the ball outside the three-point line, holding the basketball above his head, and looked down at Maki Shinichi who was defending calmly.
“That won’t do!”
"This guy seems to have determined that I can't shoot, so he lowered his center of gravity so low?!"
Wudao didn’t know what Maki Shinichi was thinking, but he didn’t want to miss such an opportunity.
Without any unnecessary movements, just pull out the ball directly.
Jinguji Budo didn't seem to be worried at all that Maki Shinichi would block him, and he didn't even make any extra fake moves.
And this is indeed the case. For a player of Wu Dao's height, wingspan and jumping ability, he does not have to worry too much when playing as a 184cm tall guard with a calm center of gravity.
Physical talent is the absolute difference between the two!
“Swish!
”
Without any pressure, Takeshi Jinguji made a three-pointer. With a slight sound, the audience in the stands cheered.
After being shot by Jinguji Budoyan, Maki Shinichi's expression did not change at all. This was within his expectations.
"Am I overthinking..." Maki Shinichi hesitated for two seconds, then stopped thinking about it and said to Mori Shigehiro while catching the ball:
"Hiroshi, proceed according to the plan."
"From now on, we have to defend against Xiangbei's attack!"
Between offense and defense, Hainan launched a new round of offensive. It was still the pick-and-roll tactic, and the pick-and-roll was still done by Kazuma Takasago, but this time, Maki passed the ball back to Takasago after the breakthrough, and Takasago missed the mid-range shot against Sakuragi's defense, but Mori Shigehiro grabbed the rebound and finished with a low-post small hook shot.
After several rounds of attacks by Hainan, Xiangbei also figured out the opponent's offensive route, but the defensive strategy did not change.
On the offensive end, Xiangbei started to play some fancy moves.
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... .