The game between Xiangbei High School and Ryonan High School entered the second half. After both teams replaced their ace players, the game became more intense.
Eight minutes into the second half, the score between Ryonan High School and Shohoku High School was 78:74.
And the ball fell into the hands of Xiangbei High School.
After Jinguji Takeshi and Mitsui Hisashi left the court, the player leading the offense on the Shohoku side was undoubtedly the first-year player Rukawa Kaede.
But so far in the second half, the player who scored the most points was not Rukawa, but... .
On the court, Kiyota Nobunaga quickly entered the frontcourt with the ball and approached the top of the arc. After a fake breakthrough, he quickly pulled the ball back and passed it to Ichiro Katsume at the corner. The latter then stuck to the three-point line and shot directly.
Fujima Kenji is shorter than him, and in front of Fujima, Katsume Ichiro can shoot a three-pointer if there is a little gap. His touch today is average, and his hit rate is far lower than that in training, but even so, Katsume Ichiro still chose to shoot, for no other reason, just because the person who controls the basket now is from their Xiangbei High School!
“Ding~”
"roar!"
After a slight sound, Ichiro Kumi's three-point shot missed and the basketball bounced out of the basket.
When Jun Yuzumi saw the rebound under the basket, he roared and prepared to grab the best position, but as soon as his body moved, Nango Koichirō suddenly lowered his center of gravity and held Yuzumi tightly.
Nango's center of gravity was very low, and all his strength was used to fight against Yuzumi. His center of gravity was so low, which also meant that Nango Koichirō lost the opportunity to grab the rebound.
"Ugh!" Facing Nango Koichiro's all-out effort, even Uozumi Junichi couldn't get past him to grab the rebound. At this time, the basketball had already begun to fall.
"Damn it, this bastard!"
Jun Yuzumi pressed his body against Koichiro Nango and watched the basketball slowly fall. A red figure not far away was quickly rushing towards the basket. When Yuzumi bypassed Nango, Hanamichi Sakuragi had already rushed to the basket, jumped up, grabbed the ball in the air with one hand, and dunked the ball into the basket.
The loud noise of the successful slam dunk caused amazing cheers to erupt from the Xiangbei bench. After Sakuragi Hanamichi scored another tip-in, he pounded his chest and roared after returning to the ground. His unbridled and arrogant appearance even dazed Fukuda Yoshitaka who arrived late.
This is not the first time that Sakuragi Hanamichi has performed a tip-in in front of Yoshitaka Fukuda and Jun Uozumi.
Yoshitaka Fukuda's offensive ability is indeed remarkable, only slightly weaker than ace players like Sendoh. However, in terms of defensive ability, Yoshitaka Fukuda is far from the ace level. Not to mention compared with an all-around ace like Sendoh, Fukuda's defensive ability is worse than that of ordinary players.
His defensive talent is really not that good.
Sakuragi Hanamichi had already mastered the skill of running without the ball at Shohoku High School. He learned it by himself to judge the landing point of the rebound. His beast-like intuition always enabled him to judge which direction the basketball would fall at the moment it hit the basket.
Running without the ball and judging the landing point, combined with Sakuragi Hanamichi's terrifying bounce and terrifying power that is comparable to that of a center, these conditions make Sakuragi Hanamichi a true ace rebounding king who dominates the basket.
Originally, if Uozumi Jun and Sakuragi were one-on-one, Ryonan High School would not have completely lost control of the rebounds.
However, under the influence of Koichirō Nango, Uozumi was completely at a disadvantage in the fight for rebounds. From the moment Koichirō Nango figured it out and was willing to cover for Sakuragi, Uozumi rarely got any rebounds.
78:76.
The score difference came to two points. The players on the Xiangbei bench cheered loudly for Sakuragi Hanamichi. Mito Yohei and others in the stands looked at each other in surprise, unable to believe that the person who was active on the court was actually Sakuragi Hanamichi.
During the practice match of the Xiangbei team, Sakuragi Hanamichi made a lot of fools of himself. Yohei and his friends always watched Sakuragi train because they were good friends and brothers of Sakuragi.
On the other hand, they were really bored, and watching Sakuragi make a fool of himself was the greatest fun they could find.
Seeing Sakuragi's outstanding performance, they were of course happy for him, but they were more surprised that Sakuragi Hanamichi, such a fun guy, was actually playing basketball seriously. This was something they had not expected at the beginning.
However, after a brief surprise, Yohei cheered loudly towards the field. Seeing Sakuragi's activeness, Yohei was happy for Sakuragi from the bottom of his heart.
However, just as Sakuragi's good friends started cheering, Sakuragi Hanamichi started to give them a hand.
Ryonan attacks.
Fujima Kenji, who was holding the ball, used a front-body change of direction to easily break through the high-center-of-gravity Katsumi Ichiro and went directly into the paint. Facing Fujima, Katsumi's speed on the defensive end was not fast enough, and Fujima's dribbling frequency was very fast, and Katsumi's pace could not keep up.
If it was Miyagi Ryouta who was defending Fujima, it would not be so easy for Fujima to break through. It is more likely that Fujima would choose to pull out and shoot.
Faced with the different characteristics of different defensive players, Fujima can easily find the opponent's weaknesses and use them as breakthroughs to attack. This is one of the reasons why Fujima can debut as the ace of Ryonan's back line.
Kenji Fujima who rushed into the inside line quickly encountered Sakuragi Hanamichi's defense, but it was just a simple bow, and Sakuragi Hanamichi directly pounced on Fujima without hesitation, "pounced" on him in the truest sense of the word.
However, Sakuragi's defense was circumvented by Fujima with a light turn, and Sakuragi himself came into close contact with the floor.
The way he banged his head against the ground made the audience laugh.
Fujima passed Sakuragi and entered the basket. He looked back at the moon, glanced at Sakuragi on the ground, cold sweat broke out on his forehead, and then he made a layup and scored.
"hateful!"
"How dare that sissy play tricks on me!"
Sakuragi Hanamichi got up from the ground and cursed with a pouty mouth, his face full of anger. Wudao, who was watching the game on the sidelines, couldn't help but cover his head and felt a headache.
Takeshi has already felt Sakuragi's concentration and enthusiasm in the game, but Sakuragi on the court gave Takeshi a feeling of overexerting himself. It seems that Sakuragi himself is a freak of physique, otherwise he would have killed himself with that kind of running and defense.
Physical energy distribution and the inability to control enthusiasm are Sakuragi's biggest problems at the moment.
If facing a strong enough enemy, Sakuragi's style of play would not allow him to complete the entire game.
While thinking, Wudao stood up from his seat. At this time, Sakuragi Hanamichi felt humiliated by Fujima Kenji, and he didn't care whether the speed of Katsumi Ichiro with the ball was fast or slow, and he ran to the front court quickly. It seemed that he wanted to catch up with Fujima and beat him...
"Hello!"
"Sakuragi!"
"The ball is still in the backcourt, why are you running so fast?!"
"You have to run in sync with your teammates. There's no fast break, so why are you running so far ahead?!"
Budo's shout made Sakuragi stop involuntarily, and at the same time he calmed down a little, turning his head to look at Katsume Ichiro and other teammates.
It was discovered that at this time, Kiyota Nobunaga had just received the ball in the backcourt and was slowly running towards the frontcourt, while Rukawa Kaede and Katsume Ichiro were only slightly happier than Kiyota, and their positions were not much different.
Nan Xiang is faster than the back line, but not much faster. At this time, he has just crossed the center line.
And Sakuragi Hanamichi ran into the frontcourt alone early. If Wudao hadn't called him, he would have crossed the three-point line and entered the basket.
From the time Ryonan scored to the time Sakuragi ran into the frontcourt, Sakuragi Hanamichi did not stop for a moment.
The other players of Xiangbei continued to improve their physical fitness by jogging.
"You bastards! Why don't you run faster for me!"
"Didn't you hear Brother Wudao urging me? Hurry up, idiots, and follow the footsteps of this genius!
”
After hearing what Wu Dao said, Sakuragi Hanamichi did not reflect on himself at the first time, but turned his head and shouted directly at Rukawa Kaede and others. His words made everyone in Ryonan who had already taken their positions stunned, and Rukawa Kaede couldn't help but cursed "idiot" when he heard it.
Kiyota Nobunaga was so angry that he yelled, "Idiot! Senior Budo asked you to coordinate with our rhythm. Ryonan is already in position, so let's fight!"
"Just go ahead if you want, but don't affect our offensive rhythm!"
After all, Kiyota Nobunaga was of the same kind as Sakuragi Hanamichi, and he instantly understood Sakuragi Hanamichi's thoughts.
Sakuragi snorted when he heard that, as if he didn't hear it. He didn't bother to sort out the situation, but ran into the inside and came to the edge of the paint area.
Although Sakuragi looked a little unconvinced, his running pace was indeed a little slower.
“Although there is still a lot of room for improvement, it’s pretty good now.”
"According to the current situation, Ryonan may be defeated by these first-year students."
"Air supremacy, hey!"
"Uozumi can't suppress both Nango and Sakuragi!"
Takeshi Jinguji looked at Sakuragi Hanamichi who had calmed down a little, and a smile appeared on his face. Coach Anzai's on-the-spot arrangement seemed to have an unexpected effect.
I didn't expect that Ryonan's coach Takeka would get angry and send out rotation players. Although there are still a few main players on the field, guys like Sakuragi Hanamichi and Rukawa Kaede are not easy to deal with!
On the court, Kiyota Nobunaga dribbled the ball into the frontcourt and quickly passed it to Katsume Ichiro. After getting the ball, the latter just glanced in the direction of Rukawa Kaede, and seeing that Sendoh was following closely, his eyes immediately looked towards the inside.
At this time, Sakuragi Hanamichi was standing outside the paint area. When he saw Ichiro Katsume looking at him, he quickly turned around and trapped Yoshitaka Fukuda behind him, then raised his hand to ask for the ball.
Without hesitation, Katsume Ichiro directly threw the ball out and passed it to Sakuragi.
The basketball was in his hand. Sakuragi Hanamichi, who was holding the basketball, looked serious. He quickly turned around with the ball to face the basket, then raised his hand to make a fake shot. At the moment when Fukuda Yoshitaka raised his center of gravity, Sakuragi Hanamichi dropped the ball and rushed forward, easily passing by Fukuda Yoshitaka and rushing towards the inside.
"Little devil! Don't be so arrogant!"
When Uozumi Jun saw that Sakuragi Hanamichi was actually rushing towards the inside, he immediately chose to let go of Nango Koichiro and rushed towards Sakuragi Hanamichi while shouting. Sakuragi saw that Uozumi Jun was rushing towards him, so he slowed down a little, directly gathered his strength with the ball, and after two steps, jumped up.
Sakuragi Hanamichi, holding the basketball high in both hands, seemed to be preparing to dunk in front of Jun Uozumi.
"How dare you look down on me!"
Uozumi Jun was furious, his eyes fixed on the basketball in Sakuragi's hands. He raised his arms high, jumped up, and blocked the basketball in Sakuragi Hanamichi's hands.
"Don't force the attack, Sakuragi, pass it out!"
"You're going to be blocked, idiot! Go get the ball!"
When Ichiro Katsume and Nobunaga Kiyota saw Hanamichi Sakuragi actually attack the basket guarded by Uozumi, they immediately cheered.
Seeing that Yuzumi was about to block Sakuragi Hanamichi, Sakuragi Hanamichi, who was holding the basketball high, suddenly curled up in the air, grabbed the ball with both hands, and suddenly shrank into his arms.
Yuzhu’s huge hat was instantly taken out.
"What!"
The figure of Sakuragi Hanamichi quickly passed by Yuzumi's eyes, and in the blink of an eye, it was right under the basket. Sakuragi Hanamichi, who avoided Yuzumi's block, raised his head and looked at the basket with a solemn expression.
"visible!"
"I saw his movements clearly!"
While murmured, Sakuragi Hanamichi hooked the ball with his backhand. The spinning basketball rose rapidly, brushed the bottom edge of the backboard, and then spun back directly along the backboard.
“Bang!”
“Swish!”
After a slight sound of hitting the backboard, the basketball actually spun into the basket, making a barely audible sound of the net.
“?!”
Sakuragi landed, and the basketball immediately fell to the ground, making a light "bang bang" sound. At this moment, all the players in the court looked at Sakuragi Hanamichi, Kiyota Nobunaga and Nango's faces were full of disbelief, and Katsumi Ichiro was also slightly stunned.
"Not bad, idiot."
Rukawa Kaede looked at Sakuragi Hanamichi who scored the goal, wiped the sweat from his chin, murmured something, and turned around to defend.
“Goal!
!”
"That red-haired first-year actually scored in front of Yuzumi!"
"Pull the lever! That kid also knows how to pull the lever!"
After a long time, the audience in the stands burst into cheers. Some Xiangbei fans also pointed at Sakuragi Hanamichi and shouted excitedly. Sakuragi Hanamichi's performance still exceeded their expectations of Sakuragi. They thought that Sakuragi was just a blue-collar player who could grab rebounds, have good bounce, and shoot open shots.
I didn’t expect that someone like Sakuragi actually has this kind of “skill”.
Sakuragi Hanamichi, who scored the goal, seemed to be a little unconvinced of what he had done. He lowered his head and looked at his palms. After a moment of daze, Sakuragi clenched his fists excitedly.
"really!"
“I’m a genius!”
After mumbling, Sakuragi turned his head to look at Yuzumi and said provocatively:
"Hey, Boss Monkey, come and try to stop this genius!"
"I am! I am the strongest newcomer in Xiangbei - the genius Sakuragi!"
Sakuragi Hanamichi gave himself a thumbs up, and his arrogant look made Uozumi Jun's veins jump.
After saying that, Sakuragi Hanamichi turned around and ran towards his own half of the court. His serious look lasted less than five seconds. On the way back, he waved his hands happily in Haruko's direction, shouting, "Haruko, did you see the performance of this genius? Hahaha." and similar words.
His eccentric appearance made it difficult for Ryonan's substitutes to figure out what kind of player Sakuragi Hanamichi was.
"This won't work!"
"We have to find a way to suppress this kid."
Coach Takeo on the sidelines finally noticed the player Sakuragi Hanamichi. Looking at Sakuragi's back, Coach Takeo reached out and touched the stubble on his chin, and a trace of solemnity flashed between his brows.
Only now did Coach Takeo begin to take this rebellious freshman from Shohoku seriously.
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