Since Sanno Industrial changed its defensive strategy, the competition between the two teams has become more intense.
When Shohoku High School attacks, Jinguji Budo will have at least two players defending, and sometimes as many as three.
Seeing that Jinguji Takeshi was facing such strong defensive pressure, Miyagi Ryouta had to reduce the number of passes to Takeshi on the offensive end.
Originally, Sanno Industries thought that as long as they could curb Jinguji Budo's scoring, they would be able to use their powerful offensive power to slowly turn around the disadvantage.
But what surprised them was that after Jinguji Budou reduced his attack, Sakuragi Hanamichi, a freshman from Shohoku, stood up at this time.
He actually withstood the pressure from Sanno and made many mid-range shots. What was even more unexpected for Sanno Industry was that Sakuragi Hanamichi actually withstood the combined efforts of the Kawata brothers in the fight for rebounds by himself.
If there are 10 rebounds on the court, Sakuragi Hanamichi can get at least 4. It is precisely because of Sakuragi Hanamichi's sudden outbreak that Xiangbei High School is still able to successfully suppress Sanno Industrial even when Jinguji Budou has reduced his shots, and bring the advantage to the late stage of the game.
13 minutes into the second half, the score between the two teams was 71:63. Xiangbei High School was leading its opponent by 8 points and still had possession of the ball.
On the court, Shohoku High School was organizing a new round of offense. Jinguji Budou was engaging the defense of Sawakita Eiji and Kawata Masashi and was sinking towards the bottom corner.
Miyagi Ryouta dribbled the ball into the frontcourt at a fast pace, observing the defense of Sanno Industrial.
At this time, Sakuragi Hanamichi quickly pulled out from the inside and ran to the mid-range, ready to receive the ball. At this time, Sanwang Industrial's mid-range defense was completely useless.
Mikio Kawata stood under the basket, guarding Koichiro Minamigo near the paint area, while Minoru Matsumoto was being taken to the left corner of the court by Ichiro Katsume at this time and had no time to look at Sakuragi.
Sakuragi Hanamichi, there is a big empty space.
Miyagi Ryouta felt that Sakuragi Hanamichi had a good chance, so he changed his dribbling rhythm and quickly accelerated to break through. After successfully engaging Kazunari Fukatsu's defense, Miyagi Ryouta made a back pass while breaking through and sent the ball to Sakuragi Hanamichi. After passing the ball, Miyagi Ryouta did not stand there stupidly, but quickly cut into the inside.
Sakuragi Hanamichi received the ball from the side of the free throw line. Fukatsu Kazunari glanced at Sakuragi Hanamichi, then quickly glanced at Miyagi Ryouta who cut into the inside, and immediately pounced on Sakuragi Hanamichi.
Since Sanno changed his defense, Sakuragi Hanamichi has successfully made 4 mid-range shots in the second half. All of them were open shots, with a hit rate of 100%.
Such scoring efficiency surprised the players of Sanno Industrial. They vaguely remembered that Sakuragi Hanamichi's mid-range shot percentage in the first half was not high. They expected that Nango Koichiro would shoot a mid-range shot and that Katsume Ichiro might use his teammates' pick-and-roll to get an open mid-range shot opportunity.
The only thing no one expected was that Sakuragi Hanamichi, a "standard blue-collar" player, actually got an open shot and successfully seized every opportunity.
With the preparation made by Sakuragi Hanamichi before, at this moment, Fukatsu Kazunari did not dare to leave Sakuragi alone. He could only ignore Miyagi Ryouta who cut into the inside and stepped in front of Sakuragi.
"Finally, you no longer underestimate this genius!"
When Sakuragi Hanamichi saw that Kazunari Fukatsu's defense was in place, he was not panicked or afraid at all. Instead, he smiled confidently and raised the ball quickly, intending to shoot in front of Kazunari Fukatsu.
"!
" Seeing this, Kazunari Fukatsu raised his eyebrows slightly and reached out to the basketball cover in Sakuragi Hanamichi's hand.
However, at this moment, Sakuragi Hanamichi suddenly took the ball, accelerated to his right side, and successfully passed Fukatsu Kazunari and rushed towards the inside.
"breakthrough?!"
“This brat!”
Kazunari Fukatsu was fooled by Sakuragi's fake move, and he couldn't help but pause, and then quickly started to chase Sakuragi Hanamichi. Kazunari Fukatsu was very fast, but Sakuragi Hanamichi was also not slow, and soon, Sakuragi had already approached the basket. He held the ball with both hands and jumped up.
Mikio Kawata under the basket was focusing all his attention on Koichiro Nango at this moment. He never thought that Kazunari Fukatsu would be broken through by Hanamichi Sakuragi. Therefore, when Sakuragi made a layup, Mikio Kawata was unable to react at all.
The defending Kazunari Fukatsu had already jumped high when Sakuragi Hanamichi jumped for the ball, and blocked the basketball in Sakuragi's hands with both hands.
"How can such a defense possibly stop the attack of this genius?!"
Sakuragi Hanamichi was suspended in the air with the ball, and he slightly retracted his hands holding the ball, easily avoiding the block by Kazunari Fukatsu. He looked at the basket with a firm gaze, thinking in his heart that when Kazunari Fukatsu began to fall, Sakuragi Hanamichi was still maintaining a considerable height, and when he was gliding near the basket, he gently lifted the ball with his right hand and sent it directly into the basket.
“Bang!”
“Swish!”
The basketball hit the backboard and went into the net. In the one-on-one duel with Kazunari Fukatsu, Sakuragi Hanamichi actually broke through Kazunari Fukatsu's defense and scored the ball with a beautiful layup.
Hearing the sound of the basketball entering the net, Kazunari Fukatsu was stunned.
"I... was attacked by this freshman from Xiangbei?!
”
Sakuragi Hanamichi, who scored the goal, pounded his chest and cheered loudly. Sakuragi, who succeeded in breaking through and scoring a layup, now feels very good about himself.
At the moment of scoring the goal, Sakuragi Hanamichi felt that all his shins were clear and he felt indescribably happy!
Ignoring the astonished Sannoh team, Sakuragi happily high-fived Miyagi Ryouta when he returned to the court, his face full of excitement.
Unlike scoring from open shots, this kind of scoring makes Sakuragi even more excited.
Wudao followed his teammates back to the court. When he saw Sakuragi score the ball in this way, he couldn't hide the smile on his face.
It turns out that, I don't know when, Sakuragi Hanamichi has grown to this level. Even Sanno Industrial's Kazunari Fukatsu can be surpassed by Sakuragi. Although it was because the other party was careless, Sakuragi was already good enough to do this.
Wudao will never forget that Sakuragi Hanamichi has only been playing basketball for a year and a half.
And Kazunari Fukazu is the best point guard in the country!
The difference between the two teams reached double digits, a full ten points.
This score difference put some pressure on the Sanno players, making them unusually cautious when dribbling the ball.
After a few seconds, Kazunari Fukatsu slowly crossed the center line with the ball. He advanced very slowly and waited patiently for his teammates to get into position.
Budo was still responsible for marking Zebei Rongzhi. After Fukatsu Kazunari arrived at the frontcourt, Zebei Rongzhi did not stay where he was and began to cut and run. Facing Zebei, Budo did not relax either. He followed up and intercepted meticulously, not allowing Zebei Rongzhi to have a comfortable chance to receive the ball.
After observing the Shohoku defense for a while at the top of the arc, Kazunari Fukatsu chose to break through with the ball.
Facing Miyagi Ryouta's defense, Fukatsu Kazunari did not try any fancy ways to break through. He just accelerated, engaged in physical confrontation, and relied on his physical advantage to create opportunities for himself to break through.
It was not easy for Kazunari Fukatsu to dribble away Ryouta Miyagi. Although Ryouta Miyagi was thin, he was fast and had quick reactions. Playing fancy tricks to break through in front of him was undoubtedly setting difficulties for himself.
It will be much easier if you use your body to attack!
Sure enough, under the physical confrontation of Kazunari Fukatsu, Ryouta Miyagi could not catch up with him using the crab step, so he changed his pursuit posture. As soon as Ryouta Miyagi changed his pursuit posture, Kazunari Fukatsu had an opportunity.
With a sudden stop and pull back, he easily created distance between himself and Miyagi Ryouta. Fukatsu Kazunari made a slight adjustment in the mid-range and made a direct jump shot. Although Miyagi Ryouta wanted to block it, his height was not enough to support him to intercept Fukatsu's shot in that position.
“Swish!”
The basketball went into the net, and Kazunari Fukatsu relied on his personal strength to force a shot and score.
"Damn it!" Miyagi Ryouta cursed in his heart, but remained expressionless. He walked silently to the backcourt and received the serve from his teammate.
After getting the basketball, Miyagi Ryouta dribbled the ball forward and quickly crossed the center line. This time, he did not approach the top of the arc, but instead approached the right corner.
At the same time, Jinguji Budou still went to the right corner, Katsume Ichiro was in the left corner, as for Nango, he was still standing under the basket on the right side, and Sakuragi was under the basket on the left side.
There are still two players of Sanno Industries defending against Budou Jinguji. Up to now in the game, they still sent two players to guard Budou Jinguji.
After a quick observation, Miyagi signaled Sakuragi Hanamichi with his eyes.
Sure enough, after receiving a signal from Miyagi, Sakuragi moved to the left side of the free throw line, ready to receive the ball.
Mikio Kawata in the inside hesitated for a moment, glanced at Sakuragi, and stood in the center of the paint area. While staring at Nanxiang, he also made it convenient for Sakuragi to cover for the ball.
Although he does not have much playing experience, Kawata Mikio is not a fool and is aware of the threat posed by Sakuragi Hanamichi.
Miyagi Ryouta used the same trick again, and broke through to the right side with a rapid drop ball, and his body directly hit Kazunari Fukatsu without any hesitation. Although Miyagi was weak in confrontation, he was never afraid of confrontation.
Kazunari Fukatsu's breathing was stagnant when Miyagi pushed him, but his speed was not affected, and he still maintained his position. Miyagi Ryouta's breakthrough not only did not approach the inside line, but was forced by Fukatsu to the bottom corner where Masashi Kawata and Eiji Sawakita were defensively located.
Seeing that Fukatsu was pressing so hard, Miyagi Ryouta felt relieved and passed the ball behind his back again, directly giving the ball to Sakuragi Hanamichi on the side of the free throw line.
At this time, five people had gathered in the bottom corner on the right side of the court, and they all looked at Sakuragi Hanamichi who had got the basketball.
"Mikio, go guard him! Don't let him shoot!"
"Watch out for fake moves!"
Masashi Kawata shouted, and was about to go to cover Nanxiang in the inside line, when he saw Jinguji Budou in the bottom corner suddenly start and quickly move towards the corner. Kawata, Zebei and Fukatsu were all shocked by Jinguji Budou's move and hurried to chase him, but at this moment, Jinguji Budou suddenly ran back and returned to the bottom corner.
At this moment, Sakuragi, who had the ball, had already made a move. Facing the 210cm tall Kawata Mikio, Sakuragi Hanamichi was not at all afraid. He still raised the ball for a fake move, and when the opponent raised his hand to block his sight, he quickly dropped the ball and accelerated forward.
Mikio Kawata's speed is not as fast as Kazunari Fukatsu's. Similarly, he is also far slower than Hanamichi Sakuragi. It was just that his center of gravity was a little higher when defending. Sakuragi had already passed Mikio Kawata and went straight to the basket. He combined his hands to dunk the ball directly into the basket.
The powerful two-handed dunk made the audience in the stands exclaim in surprise, followed by a tsunami of cheers.
Sakuragi held the basket with both hands, growled, and then fell back to the ground, looking at Kawata Mikio who was passed by him with contempt. He said to himself:
"The old guy has retired!"
"From today on, Xiangbei will be ruled by this genius!"
"Hey, guys! Come on, follow me!"
The consecutive scores made Sakuragi Hanamichi a little too proud of himself, and he had forgotten that Jinguji Takeshi and Miyagi Ryouta were still on the field.
Wudao's eyes twitched when he saw Sakuragi's arrogance, but in order not to undermine Sakuragi's self-confidence, Wudao did not do anything in front of so many people, and just quickly returned to the Xiangbei half.
When their figures crossed paths with Miyagi Ryouta, the two looked at each other tacitly and nodded at the same time.
Just as Shohoku completed its attack, Sanno Industrial's counterattack came. The basketball was quickly passed into the inside and into the hands of Mikio Kawata. There was no beautiful dribbling move or any chic turnaround shot.
Yes, there are only solid back-to-the-basket shots and monotonous turn-around hook shots.
With Mikio Kawata easily scoring the goal, the difference between the two teams returned to single digits.
"Miyagi, I'll take a shot."
When Xiangbei was advancing with the ball, Wu Lu passed by Miyagi and whispered something to him.
Miyagi actually had the same thought in his mind. This Sakuragi kid was a little too crazy to be at his wits' end.
Xiangbei High School, it’s far from this kid’s turn to act big!
Without waiting for Budou to cross half court, Miyagi Ryouta quickly passed the ball to Jinguji Budou.
As soon as the basketball was in hand, several players from Sannoh quickly looked over. Zebei Rongji originally wanted to defend after he got into position, but when he saw Takeshi Jinguji get the ball, he hurried over and did not dare to let Takeshi Jinguji get close to the three-point line. The same was true for Kawata Masashi. The moment he saw Takeshi catch the ball, he quickly rushed over.
"Let me see how strong the double team you two can be!"
Takeshi Jinguji got the ball, accelerated quickly, and encountered Zebei's defense first two meters outside the three-point line. Without any extra movements, Takeshi Jinguji lowered his body, turned sideways, and stuck directly to Zebei Rongji's body, forcing his way to the three-point line.
At this time, Kawata Masashi had no way to defend because Zebei retreated too fast. If he went forward, there was a high possibility that he would collide with Zebei. Kawata Masashi could only bypass Zebei and try to steal the ball from behind Jinguji Budo.
However, his double-team movement defeats the purpose of double-teaming.
Suddenly, after dribbling the ball with his right hand, Takeshi Jinguji grabbed the ball and jumped to the left, breaking out of the double-team of Masashi Kawata and Eiji Sendo. He tilted his body back, touched the floor outside the three-point line with the toe of his left foot, raised the ball with both hands above his head, and made a shooting gesture.
While jumping sideways on one foot, he quickly threw the basketball in his hand.
Under the astonished gazes of Masashi Kawata and Eiji Sawakita, the basketball flew through the air and landed steadily in the net.
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