When strong teams collide with each other, once they find that they cannot limit the opponent's offense, the first thing they need to consider is to ensure the offensive efficiency of their own team.
On the Xiangbei side, Rukawa Kaede and Mitsui Shou failed to attack one after another, causing Xiangbei to lose some of the advantages it had built up before. If this attack fails to succeed, Ryonan High School is likely to seize this opportunity and turn the disadvantage around in one go.
Therefore, Xiangbei will become more cautious in attacking choices. Mitsui Shou himself wanted Jinguji Budou to execute this attack, but now seeing Jinguji Budou's prompt, Mitsui Shou no longer hesitated, and immediately set an off-ball screen for Rukawa Kaede after entering the frontcourt.
Seeing the opportunity, Rukawa quickly broke through. However, an unexpected situation occurred. Facing the breakthrough of Rukawa, Ryonan High School did not choose to switch defense immediately. Sendoh and Fujima continued to target their own people, while Hanagata Toru, who was standing in the middle distance, immediately let go of Sakuragi Hanamichi and moved forward to fill the position.
At the same time that Hanagata intercepted Rukawa, the chasing Fujima also quickly came to Rukawa's side, forcing Rukawa to stop the ball. After a quick stop and dribbling the ball to his left hand, he accelerated again and tried to slip into the inside from Hanagata's right side.
Rukawa's rhythm changes and back-to-back changes of direction are quite smooth, but Hanagata is not the kind of slow and bulky inside player. He still responded defensively to Rukawa's advance in the first place, using his body to block Rukawa's side and limit Rukawa's speed.
"Ryukawa, pass the ball!"
Seeing that Rukawa was losing speed and was about to be double-teamed by Fujima and Hanagata, Mitsui Shou hurriedly shouted to Rukawa. However, as soon as he finished speaking, Sendoh blocked him directly, supporting Mitsui Shou's chest with his left arm and blocking Mitsui Shou with his right arm, preventing Mitsui Shou from catching the ball.
"Damn it! This guy!" Mitsui turned around hurriedly, trying to get rid of Sendoh's pursuit, but without anyone to pick him, it was impossible for Mitsui to run out of the open space in a short time.
During the time that Mitsui was running, Rukawa was double-teamed.
Rukawa was forced to stop the ball, grabbed the ball with both hands, and swayed on the spot with his left foot as the axis, avoiding the steals from Fujima and Hanagata, while also trying to find a gap in the attack.
Yes, at this time, Rukawa was still thinking about how to attack, rather than how to pass the ball!
Sendoh’s previous words gave Rukawa some reminders.
Yes, why is Jinguji Budo's attack so difficult to defend? The unreasonable timing of the shot often makes the defenders unable to react. This is the secret of Jinguji Budo's attack. If Sendoh can imitate it, why can't he? !
Although Rukawa now plays as a point guard, he has never given up the idea of surpassing Jinguji Budo. Imitating, strengthening, and surpassing are the goals Rukawa has set for himself.
He faked a dribble with the ball facing the basket, then turned his back and shook the ball with his shoulder. At the same time, Rukawa looked at Jinguji Budo who was rushing towards the inside.
"It's Jinguji Budo! This guy is coming across the field!"
"He can pass the ball! We have to guard against his passing!"
Fujima and Hanagata noticed Rukawa's gaze almost at the same time, and also noticed Jinguji Budo who was rushing towards them rapidly.
At the moment when Wudao and Rukawa crossed paths, Rukawa flashed the ball in front of Wudao's eyes and then quickly took it back. This action startled Wudao, who had already reached out to catch the ball.
The next second, Rukawa Kaede, who was harvesting the opportunity, turned around and made a jump shot.
"What?!"
"Fake?! No pass."
At this moment, both Fujima and Hanagata focused their attention on Jinguji Takeshi. Even Jinguji Takeshi himself raised his head and looked at the basketball in the air with some surprise.
Even he was fooled by Rukawa's fake move!
“Pah~”
“Dang~”
“Gululululu… swish.”
The basketball hit the backboard and bounced back onto the basket, making a slight sound, then rolled twice along the inner circle of the basket and fell into the basket.
Basketball net, the audience in the stands let out exclamations.
No one expected that Rukawa Kaede would choose to shoot by himself even when being double-teamed, ignoring Jinguji Budo who had already run to his side to receive the ball.
"I really can't believe that a guy like that is only a freshman at Xiangbei?!"
"He ignored the ace who wanted the ball, and still took the shot himself when the team lost two goals in a row. This freshman is really..."
Hikoichi Aida, who was sitting next to Coach Tanaoka, held a notebook and a pen, staring blankly at Rukawa Kaede on the court. As a freshman, Shohoku's freshman was already active on the court and performed amazingly.
Meanwhile, Hikoichi Aida could only sit on the bench, watching his fellow first-year students shine like a lackey. At this moment, Hikoichi Aida was surprised at Rukawa Kaede's amazing performance, but he also secretly envied the other party for having such a strong strength.
Coach Tanaoka sensed Hikoichi Aida's emotion, turned his head to look at Hikoichi Aida, shook his head, and said:
"Yanyi, you can't learn to play basketball like Rukawa Kaede in the future!"
"You know what the most valuable quality in a player is?"
On the court, the players of Xiangbei High School began to return to defense. Coach Tiangang looked at the players of both teams running on the court and asked.
"Most valuable quality?"
"Of course it's talent and strength!"
"Strong offensive abilities like Shinomiya Tano and Sendoh-senpai, and superb talents like Jinguji Budo."
"These are the most valuable qualities of a player!"
When Aida Hikoichi said this, his eyes revealed a strong yearning, and then he seemed to think of his own conditions, and the light in his eyes dimmed.
"These are certainly important, but for the players, they are not the most important."
"A player must clearly know what role he plays on the court."
"A player who can't find his position has no way to survive on the court."
"Ryukawa Kaede..."
"He is indeed a talented player, but if he comes to our Ryonan, I will never allow him to play like this!"
"People who don't know themselves are not qualified to survive on the court."
Coach Tian Gang shook his head and said earnestly.
Rukawa's ability is indeed quite outstanding, but in the eyes of Coach Tiangang, Rukawa seems to have forgotten that he is a point guard. His responsibility is to find ways to help his teammates break through the opponent's defense, not to shoot those unreasonable balls himself.
Yes, Rukawa scored a goal. His technique was very good and his timing was very tricky. No one expected it.
But can Rukawa guarantee that every shot can be scored? ! Indeed, no one who plays basketball can guarantee that every shot can be scored. That is why the team has an ace. The ace often means that his efficiency is much higher than that of other players!
For a point guard, being a qualified point guard is to let the ace receive the ball in the most comfortable position while making as few mistakes as possible!
On the court, Fujima entered the frontcourt with the ball and quickly cut in after Sendoh's pick-and-roll. However, after his cut in attracted Shohoku to switch defense, he decisively smashed the ball under his crotch and passed it in the opposite direction to Sendoh behind him.
After getting the basketball, Sendoh raised the ball and faked it, followed by a tentative step, and then broke through to the mid-range directly to his left. With Rukawa chasing him, Sendoh made an emergency stop and shot.
Sendoh's shot had little power and was obviously short.
However, just when everyone thought that Sendoh had missed all three shots, Shinomiya Tano's figure had already jumped into the basket at some point. Looking at the basketball flying above his head, he jumped up and grabbed the basketball in the air, then dunked the ball into the basket.
Jinguji Takeshi, who was chasing behind Shinomiya Tano, lagged behind the opponent by one position. Facing the opponent's alley-oop, he was unable to intercept it in the first time.
"Bang!" The sound of Shinomiya Tano's dunk resounded throughout the stadium. The supporters of Ryonan High School banged the empty plastic bottles in their hands, making a deafening sound.
At the side of the court, Coach Tanaoka nodded with a smile, pointed at Sendoh on the court, and said to Hikoichi Aida beside him:
"You see, players like this are indispensable talents for the team!"
"Our Sendoh is far from being comparable to the first-year students of Xiangbei!"
Aida Hikoichi looked at Sendoh Akira who had made an assist on the field, tried hard to control his urge to cheer, and nodded excitedly.
As Ryonan High School counterattacked and scored the ball, the players of Shohoku High School suddenly felt the pressure increase.
There was not much time left until the end of the first half, but the gap between the two teams did not widen. On the contrary, because of Xiangbei's two failed attacks, the gap was narrowed by Ryonan.
In a fierce game, even if the leading team is in a tight race with their opponents, the pressure they will have to bear will be terrifying.
After looking at the scoreboard on the sidelines, both Akagi Takenori and Sakuragi Hanamichi breathed heavier.
"Everyone, cheer up! Get ready to attack!"
On the court, Jinguji Budo noticed that his teammates seemed to be running lazily, so he clapped his hands and shouted to his teammates. Facing a team like Ryonan, Xiangbei can only have a chance of winning if they can unite everyone.
It would be impossible for Jinguji Budo to win against Ryonan led by Shinomiya Tano by himself!
The only two players on the Xiangbei side who were affected by the pressure were Takenori Akagi and Hanamichi Sakuragi. Akagi was the kind of person who demanded very high demands on himself, and often such people, while being more mature mentally, also bear far greater pressure than other players.
As for Sakuragi Hanamichi, although this guy is an optimist, he still has too little experience in major competitions. He has rarely faced this kind of situation, so such pressure will also affect his actions.
Apart from the two of them, the rest of the Xiangbei High School students were much better. Rukawa Kaede was the type of person who got stronger with each battle, and the huge pressure could make him perform even better. Mitsui Shou, a senior, had a lot of experience in tournaments and had traveled to the United States, so such pressure could not overwhelm him at all.
As for Jinguji Budou... His mentality has always been good. Now that the team is still leading, he is not panicking at all.
Between offense and defense, Rukawa quickly dribbled the ball into the frontcourt. This time, Budo did not give Rukawa space to play freely. After Rukawa entered the frontcourt, he immediately ran towards him and shouted at him to pass the ball.
At the moment when Takeshi Jinguji and Rukawa's figures intersected at the top of the arc, the basketball was already in the hands of Takeshi Jinguji. Takeshi Jinguji, who had the ball, stood behind Rukawa and raised the ball directly to prepare for shooting.
At the moment when Jinguji Takeshi raised his hand to hold the ball, Shinomiya Tano on the side quickly jumped up and stretched out his hand to cover the basketball.
However, at the moment when Shimono Tano jumped, Jinguji Takeshi quickly caught the ball, moved sideways, and raised the ball again.
“Xian Dao!
"Shinomiya Tianye was unable to catch up, and seeing this scene he could only turn his head and shout at Budou. As soon as he finished speaking, Sendoh Akira responded to Shinomiya Tianye's shout, gave up Rukawa Kaede directly, and rushed towards Jinguji Budou who was holding the ball and preparing to shoot.
"Is it coming!" Wudao said secretly in his heart, and saw Xiandao flying in front of him, and he gently gathered the ball with both hands.
"Fake?! Impossible, this guy has already touched the ball, he can't be dribbling again."
"Is it a pass?! The target is Rukawa Kaede?"
Sendoh in mid-air clearly saw Jinguji Budou receive the ball, but he did not shoot it immediately. He thought to himself, and couldn't help but look at Rukawa Kaede who was not far behind him.
However, at this moment, Takeshi Jinguji, who had received the ball a second ago, actually jumped up on the spot towards the defending Sendoh, and his body collided directly with Sendoh in mid-air. At this moment, the basketball in Takeshi Jinguji's hand was thrown directly, flew quickly past Sendoh and flew towards the basket.
Jinguji Takeshi who fell back to the ground seemed to have suffered a heavy blow. He staggered and fell directly to the ground, and even slid for one meter. It felt as if Sendoh took the initiative to push him.
"!
!”
Seeing this scene, Xiandao's heart was shocked and he quickly turned his head to look at the basket. He happened to see the basketball thrown by Wudao falling from the air and steadily landed in the net with a crisp "swish" sound.
At the same time, the linesman leaned over and pointed his finger downward to indicate that the goal was valid. After standing up, he put the whistle in his mouth and blew it.
“Beep!
”
After a quick whistle, the referee pointed at Sendoh and shouted:
"Blue team number 7! Foul!"
"The red team's goal is valid, one penalty kick!"
The referee's decision was heard on the field, and the loud voice also reached the audience.
In an instant, the entire audience was boiling, and when Jinguji Takeshi, who was lying on the ground, heard the penalty, he finally smiled. Without anyone's help, he climbed up from the floor by himself, patted his butt, glanced at Sendoh, and walked towards the free throw line.
"Three....three plus one?!"
"All of a sudden... it's possible to score 4 points directly?!"
"Is this Jinguji Budo a devil?!"
"In that ball just now, he deliberately seduced Sendoh. With his ability, if he wanted to shoot, he could just fade away and jump shot after shaking off Shinomiya Tano. There's no chance for the opponent to foul!"
"What a terrifying ability... Is this the strength of the top high school students in the country?"
There was a lot of discussion in the stands, and some discerning viewers analyzed Jinguji Budo's behavior just now.
However, Jinguji Budou, who scored 3+1 on the court, stood at the free throw line with a calm face. He turned his head to look at the scoreboard with a slight smile on his face.
“4 points... only...”
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