The game between Xiangbei High School and Ryonan High School finally came to an end. In the end, Xiangbei won the game with a two-point advantage of 105:103 and successfully advanced to the final of the national competition.
After the game, Coach Takeo led the Ryonan players into the player tunnel and went to the rest area to pack up their things. However, when they were going to the locker room, the Ryonan players were stopped by reporters.
"Coach Tanaoka! I'm a reporter from the Sports Daily. Can you accept our interview?"
"Coach Tiangang, Coach Tiangang, please stay, please stay!"
A group of reporters blocked the Ryonan team like wolves and tigers, and several microphones were directly pointed at Coach Takeo's mouth.
Facing these reporters, Coach Tiangang, who was already in a bad mood, took several deep breaths before calming down, forcing out an ugly smile and responding:
"I am available for an interview with you."
"But my teammates are not very available. If you have any questions or want to know anything, just ask me."
While Coach Tiangang was speaking, he winked at the Ryonan team leader who was traveling with him, and waved his hand to signal the players to go first.
After hearing what Coach Tiangang said, the reporters looked at the players behind Coach Tiangang for a while and then nodded.
"Coach Tanaoka, as last year's national champion, why do you think Ryonan High School lost to Shohoku this time?"
"Ryonan's trump card, Shinomiya Tano, failed to stop Jinguji Budou's attack at the last moment. Does this mean that Jinguji Budou is better than Shinomiya Tano?"
As a female reporter was speaking, the microphone was already handed to Coach Tianoka, and the camera behind the reporter was quickly aimed at Coach Tianoka.
"Um?!"
When Coach Tiangang heard these two questions, his face suddenly darkened. If looks could kill, the reporter who asked the question would have been killed a thousand times by Coach Tiangang's eyes.
At this time, Shimoya Tano, who was walking towards the locker room with his teammates, stopped and turned to look at the reporter who asked the question.
The female reporter noticed that Shimono stopped and turned around, and a smile immediately appeared on her face.
Coach Tiangang took a deep breath, pulled his clothes, and said:
"Shohoku High School is an excellent team."
"Both Ryonan and Shohoku are from Kanagawa Prefecture. We at Ryonan are very clear about the capabilities of Shohoku High School."
"The reason we lost to Shohoku High School this time is not because Ryonan High School is not good enough, but because Shohoku High School is good enough."
"In this national competition, if even Ryonan can't stop Xiangbei High School, then no team can stop Xiangbei."
"As for the main reason why we lost Ryonan, it was not the fault of my players."
"The responsibility lies with me. There was a problem with my on-the-spot command."
"The two freshmen at Xiangbei High School showed quite terrifying potential."
"Next year's Xiangbei will be more terrifying than this year!"
After saying that, Coach Tiangang nodded to the reporters, turned around and prepared to leave.
But the reporter obviously didn't get the answer he wanted, so he quickly grabbed Coach Tiangang's arm and asked:
"Wait a moment, please wait a moment."
"It was previously rumored that the Kanagawa Twins were Shinomiya Tano-san and Jinguji Takeuchi-san. Now, has there been a gap between the Kanagawa Twins?"
The reporter had no intention of letting Coach Tanaoka off the hook and kept asking questions.
Coach Tanabe, who was being held back, looked at the reporter with a frown on his face, his chest burning with rage. He grabbed the microphone and was about to curse, but Shinomiya Tanano had already come to Coach Tanabe's side.
He naturally took the microphone from Coach Tiangang and said:
"Let me answer this question."
"I think I should have the most say."
Seeing Shinomiya Tanno taking the microphone, the reporters' cameras were all aimed at Shinomiya Tanno. The female reporter also looked at Shinomiya Tanno with anticipation, expecting Shinomiya Tanno to say something explosive.
"Without a doubt, Jinguji Budo is the strongest opponent I have ever encountered, bar none."
"No one would object to saying he is the best high school student in the country."
"I can't defend him now."
"But... the road to basketball is very long. He and I are only sophomores in high school."
"In the days ahead, I will use my grades to prove that I, Shinomiya Tano, am the strongest high school student."
After saying that, Shinomiya Tano nodded to the reporter who asked the question, handed the microphone back, and then turned around and walked towards the lounge under the gaze of everyone.
When Coach Tanaoka saw that Shimono could say these words calmly, his anger subsided a lot at this moment.
He pushed aside the reporters surrounding him and followed Shinomiya Tano's footsteps towards the lounge.
After receiving this answer, the reporters did not chase after him to ask any more questions. After looking at each other, they quickly left the place to prepare for the report.
As the champion of last year's national competition, Ryonan High School had such a high opinion of Shohoku High School. From the coaches to the players, no one in Ryonan used words like "luck" or "lucky" to seek comfort for their failure.
However, it was Ryonan High School's attitude that made reporters realize that Shohoku High School was able to win by relying on its own hard power.
There are very few professional sports journalists in this era, especially female journalists, whose understanding of basketball is still quite superficial.
Just seeing that Xiangbei High School didn't secure the victory until the last second of the game, some reporters who don't know much about basketball would subconsciously think that Xiangbei was able to win by luck.
But only those who truly understand basketball know how terrifying the quality of Xiangbei's handling of the ball was in the last moment.
Takeshi Jinguji was able to control the ball, and when the team was trailing, he waited until the last second to shoot, and he successfully scored the ball. Such terrifying psychological quality and personal ability have long exceeded the category of "high school student".
There is no doubt that Xiangbei, which defeated Ryonan High School, is very likely to be the next national champion!
...
While reporters were interviewing the Ryonan players backstage, the Shohoku High School side seemed much quieter. Except for Sakuragi Army and Haruko who came from the stands to congratulate Shohoku on their victory, no other reporters came to interview Shohoku.
After leading the players back to the locker room to pack up their things, Coach Anzai walked towards the stands, intending to take the players to watch the next game between Hakata University of Commerce High School and Aiwa College.
The game between these two teams will be the last game of the semi-finals, and the winning team will meet Xiangbei High School in the final.
At this time in the stadium, the conference staff had already begun to clean the stadium. In the rest areas on both sides of the stadium, the players of both teams had already changed their jerseys and were preparing to play.
Both Hakata University of Commerce High School and Aiwa Gakuin are considered to be old and strong schools, and the teams have very good historical performance. For example, Aiwa Gakuin's best result in the national competition was runner-up, and the same is true for Hakata University of Commerce High School, whose best result is also runner-up.
The match between these two teams attracted a lot of attention. After watching the match between Shohoku and Ryonan, most of the audience in the stands did not leave, but stayed to watch the game, wanting to see who would make it to the finals.
After nearly half an hour of waiting, the two teams finally finished their warm-up. The players returned to the rest area to make final adjustments and then walked onto the court.
As the players from both teams entered the field, the stands suddenly became lively.
Mitsui Shou pulled out a magazine from his backpack and began to compare the players on the field with the booklet.
"Hakata University of Commerce affiliated! And Aiwa, these two teams are very strong."
"Hey, Budo, which team do you favor more?"
Mitsui Shou patted Jinguji Budo's shoulder and asked with a smile.
Wu Dao looked at the two teams on the field, shook his head with a lack of interest, and said casually:
“It doesn’t matter who wins.”
"After Ryonan High School lost to us, no team can stop us."
"As for the outcome of this match... who knows? The strengths are similar."
Budou has watched both the Hakata and Aiwa games. Both teams have outstanding players, but compared to their Shohoku High School, their level is a little lower.
Not to mention him, these two teams probably can't stop the coordinated attack of Mitsui Hisashi and Rukawa Kaede.
While the Xiangbei players in the stands were chatting and analyzing the game, the game on the field officially started with the referee's whistle.
The basketball was thrown into the air, and the centers of both teams shouted in unison and slapped the basketball.
At the center position, the center from Bota University of Commerce High School had an advantage in height and explosive power. He was the first to step under the basketball and pushed the ball to his own half.
After Bodo's point guard got the ball, he quickly dribbled towards the frontcourt. After entering the frontcourt, he quickly accelerated and broke through under his teammate's high pick-and-roll, instantly passing the defensive player and easily breaking into the basket for a layup.
But at the moment when Bota's point guard made a layup, Zhu Xingdai arrived in time to make up for the defense, jumped up and slapped the ball down.
As the basketball fell, it hit the instep of the Bodo point guard directly, and then rolled out of bounds.
With a beautiful chase-down block, Dai Moroboshi not only helped the team block the opponent's attack, but also won the ball for his own team.
Between offense and defense, Aiwa Academy launched a counterattack under the organization of Moroboshi Dai.
Aiwa Academy is a team formed with Dai Moroboshi as the offensive core, and the whole team's style of play is small, fast and agile.
In just a few seconds, Aiwa Academy, led by Dai Moroboshi, pushed all the way to Hakata's half.
After a simple outside screen and pick-and-roll, Zhu Xingdai, who had the ball, dribbled sideways quickly, and after two steps, he jumped directly and shot a three-pointer.
The basketball flew quickly from Zhu Xingda's hands, then crossed half court and fell steadily into the net with a crisp sound.
“Swish!”
The crisp sound of the net hitting the net made the audience in the stands cheer, and Aihe and the substitute players on the sidelines also cheered enthusiastically.
The scoreboard ticked and the score between the two teams reached 3:0.
Moroboshi's beautiful goal also set the tone for the game. Aiwa Academy's small and fast tactics were played quite well, and the basketball flowed very smoothly between the players.
About 10 minutes into the first half, Aiwa College successfully took a 6-point lead over the opponent and took the lead with 21:15.
The situation on the field is very good.
In the stands, Mitsui Shou watched Aiwa Academy's advantage gradually consolidate, a smile appeared on his face, and he said to the players:
"It looks like the outcome of this game is starting to become clear."
"Our next opponent should be Aiwa Academy."
"In this case, we are now a sure winner!"
Mitsui Hisashi had played against Aiwa Academy before, and the opponent's strength seemed to be very strong, but it depends on who they are compared with. Compared with Shohoku, Aiwa Academy is obviously not good enough.
"Don't be too happy too soon. I always feel that the affiliated school of Bota University of Commerce still has a chance of winning."
"Look at their players. When the team was behind, their form did not fluctuate at all."
"The players adjusted quickly during the transition between offense and defense. It's not easy to defeat such an opponent."
Akagi Takenori watched the game on the field and shook his head. He did not quite agree with what Mitsui Shou said.
After hearing Akagi's rebuttal, Mitsui Shou looked at the status of the players affiliated with Hakata University of Commerce on the court, nodded slightly, and then patted Jinguji Takeshi's shoulder, asking for Takeshi's opinion, and asked:
"Budo, who do you think will win?"
However, what responded to Mitsui Shou was the sound of steady and light breathing.
At some point, Jinguji Budou fell asleep and didn't even watch the game. The occasional cheers from the stands didn't affect Jinguji Budou's "sleep" at all.
Mitsui Shou found that Jinguji Takeshi was actually sleeping at this moment. He did not choose to wake Jinguji Takeshi up, and muttered, "He actually fell asleep?"
"Did the match with Ryonan High School just now cost him a lot of energy?!"
"Or is the match between Aiwa and Hakata so boring?"
Mitsui Shou's murmurs reached Akagi's ears. Akagi glanced at Jinguji Budo who was already asleep and said softly:
"You're probably tired. You've never faced Shigong Tianye's attack. You don't know how terrifying his power is."
"It's normal to be tired when defending against a guy like that. During the national tournament, Wu Dao played almost every game, so it's normal to be tired."
The two chatted and did not disturb Wu Dao's rest. Instead, they turned their heads to watch the game on the court.
At the end of the first half, Aiwa College led the opponent by 8 points with 46:38.
Just when everyone thought that Aiwa College was sure to win, in the second half of the game, Bota University of Commerce Affiliated School replaced a defender, and after that defender came on the court, the situation on the court suddenly changed.
In less than 10 minutes, Hakata University of Commerce Affiliated High School wiped out its previous disadvantage and directly tied the score between the two teams to 65:65.
As the game progressed, Bota University of Commerce Affiliated School overtook the opponent and gradually consolidated its advantage.
On the court, a tall young man wearing a white No. 10 jersey received the ball outside the three-point line. After a tentative step, he quickly landed the ball, passed Zhu Xingdai with just one step, quickly broke into the inside, and then made a reverse layup under the opponent's defense, and easily sent the ball into the net.
As the basketball went into the net, there was warm cheering from the stands.
The player number 10 wearing a white jersey was substituted into the game in the second half for the Bota University of Commerce affiliated team.
Ahmadi Johnson, a European-Japanese mixed-race, is 193cm tall and weighs 83kg. He plays as a point guard!
Under the leadership of Hamadi Johnson, the affiliated team of Bodo University of Commerce quickly stabilized the advantage and maintained it until the end of the game!
88:81, Hakata University of Commerce Affiliated School finally defeated Aiwa Gakuin by 7 points and qualified to challenge Shohoku High School.
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