The match between Xiangbei High School and the youth training team ended with Xiangbei High School winning the match.
Although the youth team's lineup is really strong, it is still not enough in front of Jinguji Budou who is in great form.
Facing a player like Jinguji Budou, if there are not enough good players and a sufficiently targeted tactical system, it is impossible to let him go.
If they still want to win the game under such circumstances, the only way is to encounter a time when Jinguji Budo is in poor condition. Only then will the youth training team have a chance of winning.
But unfortunately, Jinguji Budo was in excellent condition today.
It was only 8:30 when the two teams finished their training match. There was still plenty of time in the morning. Coach Anxi didn't want to miss the opportunity to finally get in touch with the players of the youth training team.
After letting the players rest for nearly half an hour, they had a warm-up match with the players from the youth training team.
However, in the second game, there was a huge change in the players on the field of Shohoku High School. Takeshi Jinguji did not continue to lead the team, but instead formed a new team with a group of first-year students including Kiyota Nobunaga to compete with the youth training team.
Coach Otani did not reject Coach Anzai's invitation to the game. He even generously sent Sakuragi Hanamichi, Rukawa Kaede, and Miyagi Ryouta back to Shohoku High School, indicating that the three of them should return to Shohoku and form a team with Shohoku.
Seeing Coach Otani put their three players back, Coach Anzai did not hesitate to change the lineup and replaced the more tired Nango Koichiro and Kiyota Nobunaga.
Between them, one is the main center who needs to fight against Masashi Kawata under the basket, and the other is the main point guard who holds the ball frequently.
Replacing them and Jinguji Budou were Sakuragi Hanamichi and others who had returned from the youth training team.
A physical freak like Sakuragi Hanamichi still has plenty of energy after such a game, and although Rukawa Kaede also played for a long time, he is still able to play for a while after such a long rest.
As for Miyagi Ryouta, he had not played in any competition before and is now in his prime.
In response to the lineup of Shohoku High School, Coach Otani also sent out five players from the youth training team. The five people sent out this time were all outstanding players selected from other counties. Except for Mike Okita who returned to the court, Kawata and others did not continue to play.
The second round of competition was less intense than the first one.
Shohoku High School, led by sophomore player Ryouta Miyagi, showed great tenacity in this game, but under the performance of the elites of the youth training team, Shohoku led by Miyagi still lost to the opponent by 11 points.
After playing two games in a row, Rukawa's physical strength was almost exhausted, and Sakuragi Hanamichi was also greatly consumed. After the game, he lay directly on the floor and didn't want to get up at all.
After two consecutive training matches, Coach Anxi had no intention of letting go of the youth team. He selected a few players and asked Wudao to take them to feel the level of the youth players.
In the third practice match, Budo's teammates were center Kakuda Satoru, guards Shiozaki and Yasuda, and Oda Ryumasa who played as small forward.
In this game, although Jinguji Budo continued his hot shooting touch, the back line formed by Yasuharu Yasuda and Shiozaki was too weak.
Takeshi Jinguji broke free from his opponents' double-team countless times during the game, but his two teammates always missed the chance to pass the ball.
Being surrounded and blocked by so many people, Jinguji Budo's chances of passing the ball became very few, so that in the end Shohoku High School was defeated.
The practice match with the youth team lasted from morning to noon.
And the weather is getting hotter and hotter as time goes by.
The players' condition also declined significantly in this hot temperature.
At around 11:00 noon, the training match was finally called off. The players of the youth training team did not stay in Xiangbei High School for long and boarded the bus back to Green Wind High School.
The training ground of the youth team is at Midori Kaze High School, a private school with the best facilities in Kanagawa. Even the lunch meals are not comparable to those in the Shohoku cafeteria.
Although it is summer vacation now, the school cafeteria is still open, but there are far fewer open windows than normal.
Although it is a holiday, there are still many students participating in club activities during the holiday.
After lunch, Xiangbei did not continue training, but announced its disbandment.
...
“Squeak—squeak—”
In the afternoon, after lunch, Jinguji Takeshi lay down under the shade of a tree on the school lawn, put his hands behind his head as a pillow, and took a nap.
A breeze blew by, making the sweaty Jinguji Takeshi feel cool. The scent of green grass entered his nose, and he fell into a deep sleep while listening to the cicadas chirping in the trees.
The hot summer really makes people lazy no matter what they do.
After the morning training, no player planned to practice more in the gym in the afternoon.
In the evening, as the sun shifted, the shade of the tree where Wu Dao was lying moved. Wu Dao, who was awakened by the heat, stood up dizzily, and after flushing his head with cold water, he finally felt a little more awake.
Returning to the stadium, looking at the empty venue, Wu Dao couldn't help but sigh inwardly:
“Although the weather is quite hot, the players have finally relaxed a little after going through the national competition.”
"At this time last year, when Xiao San and the others were still on the team, how could there be no one at this time?"
Wu Dao said as he took off his shirt, walked into the gym, picked up a basketball at the sidelines, and then walked towards the basket.
"Because for most people, basketball is just a club activity."
"The national championship may be their goal. Now that they have won the national championship, for those mediocre players, whether they train or not is no longer that important!"
"After all, there are only a few people who plan to pursue a career in basketball."
"The vast majority of the team members are just... just ordinary people."
Just as Wu Dao was preparing to start his training, a figure appeared at the gate of the gym, blocking the sunlight from entering the gym.
Hearing the voice, Wudao turned his head and saw Mitsui Shou, who was wearing a loose sportswear, standing at the door of the gym, smiling at Wudao.
"Xiao San? Why are you here?"
Seeing Mitsui Shou, Jinguji Takeshi smiled and greeted him.
"It's a bit boring to be alone at home, let's go to the stadium."
"I didn't expect you were the only one."
Mitsui looked around the stadium and sighed.
"As you said, only a minority of people choose basketball."
"Besides, the weather is really hot, so it's normal for me not to want to train."
"We just played a match with the youth team this morning, and the training intensity was quite high."
Although Wu Dao felt that the team's atmosphere had deteriorated a bit, he could also understand the psychology of ordinary players and helped explain.
He is a hard-working person, but he also respects other people's choices and will not ask others to work as hard as he does. However, for those players who want to become stronger, Wu Dao will not be stingy with his experience and will give them some guidance.
But up to now, there are not many players with such ambition.
"Youth training team..."
"So you met Sakuragi and the others?"
"How are those guys doing in the youth training team? Are they making any progress?"
Upon hearing this, Mitsui Shou asked with some curiosity. In fact, before confirming to go to the United States to play, Mitsui Shou also yearned for the youth training team, but now he has a higher goal, and the youth training team is not so attractive to him.
At this time, he heard that Wudao had already fought with Sakuragi and others in the youth training, and he was curious about the improvement in the strength of Sakuragi and others.
Human beings are all like this. For example, Mitsui Hisashi has now decided to go to the United States to study and play basketball. In his heart, he actually hopes to hear words like "progress is so-so" from Wudao's mouth.
In this way, Mitsui Hisashi will be more confident in the choices he makes.
"Not bad. Whether it's Sakuragi, Rukawa Kaede, or Miyagi Ryouta, they have all made great progress."
"Rukawa has completely changed his mindset when it comes to playing basketball. Although Sakuragi's personality hasn't changed much, he's much more reliable on the court than before."
“There are fewer mistakes.”
"As for Miyagi, he seems to be developing his three-point shot during this period, and his long-range shooting ability has become stronger, but he still needs to work harder."
"Generally speaking, the effect of youth training is immediate."
Wu Dao's words made Mitsui Shou fall into silence. After a long time, Mitsui Shou nodded and smiled: "Really?!"
"That's really good!"
"I wonder if I can achieve such a huge improvement if I go?!"
When Mitsui heard that Sakuragi and the others had made progress, he was happy for them after all, but at the same time, he couldn't help but have some random thoughts in his mind.
"you?"
"It's difficult. Their thinking on the court is not mature enough. If someone guides them, they will improve immediately once they figure it out."
"But for someone like you, it's impossible to expect to make huge improvements just by relying on a few suggestions from others."
Wu Dao shook his head and directly rejected it. At the same time, he started shooting training while chatting with Mitsui Shou.
If you want to ensure your hit rate, training is absolutely essential.
"Yeah." Mitsui nodded, watched Takeshi start training, and did not disturb him again. He found a seat on the sidelines and sat down, quietly watching Takeshi Jinguji practice shooting.
After watching for a few minutes, Mitsui stood up, stretched his body briefly, found a ball on the sidelines, and went to the other half of the court to practice shooting and rebounding.
Watching the martial arts practice, Mitsui Shou felt that it was a bit inappropriate for him to just sit there and watch, so he joined in the practice.
For a moment, the stadium was filled with the sound of swiping nets and hitting iron, which lasted until sunset.
It was six o'clock in the evening and it was still bright.
After finishing his training, Jinguji Budo took a shower by the pool, then returned to the gym and looked at Mitsui Shou who was still training and asked loudly:
"Hey, Xiaosan, I'm getting ready to leave, are you still practicing?!"
"Let's go to dinner together? It's my treat as a thank you for practicing with me!"
Basketball is like this. Although Budo and Mitsui Shou practiced on their own and didn't talk much, as long as they practiced on the same court, they wouldn't feel lonely.
Wu Dou began to feel somewhat grateful to Mitsui Shou for accompanying him in his practice.
"I just don't want to waste my time."
"I don't mean to practice with you."
The three-pointer shot went straight into the net. Mitsui Shou was sweating all over, stopped training, leaned on his knees, and gasped.
"But you can treat me to dinner."
Looking back at Jinguji Budo who was standing at the door, Mitsui Shou suddenly laughed.
"Let's go..."
The sun sets in the west and the sky is filled with sunset glow.
Jinguji Takeshi and Mitsui Hisashi walked out of the school.
Suddenly, there was a whistling sound in the sky. Mitsui looked up and saw a plane flying over their heads, leaving a white cloud trail in the sky.
"Budo, I'm leaving the day after tomorrow."
"I have contacted a private high school in the United States and plan to play there for a year and a half."
"In addition to the second half of this school year, I will also play a senior year."
"I'm afraid he won't be back in a short while."
Mitsui Shou looked up at the plane that was gradually disappearing from his sight and suddenly said in a deep voice.
Jinguji Budo did not reply, but walked side by side with Mitsui Shou in silence. After a long time, he replied indifferently: "Yeah."
"I don't know how long it will take before I can see you again after I leave this time."
“I hope we’ll have another chance to play together in the future.”
Mitsui Shou turned his head to look at Wudao's profile and continued.
"There will be."
When Wudao heard the news that Mitsui Shou was leaving, although he had known about it for a long time, he still couldn't help feeling a little disappointed when the other party really left.
He has been playing basketball with Mitsui Shou since junior high school. Now that Mitsui Shou is leaving, he is really not used to it.
Although there is always a party that will last forever, it is inevitable to feel disappointed when the party ends.
During dinner, Jinguji Takeshi's mood seemed to have recovered a little. He ate with Mitsui Shou and talked about the past.
Mitsui Shou talked about his first impression of Takeshi when he met him. When he said that he thought Takeshi was a pervert who sneaked into Takeishi High School from outside the school, Takeshi couldn't help but chuckle.
The two of them ate for a long time and talked a lot, until the moon rose above the branches and there were fewer and fewer people on the road, and then they had less to talk about.
The street outside the window began to darken, and there were fewer and fewer guests in the hotel. Wudao and Mitsui Shou looked at each other and finally fell silent.
Finally, it was Mitsui Shou who broke the silence, stood up from his seat and said with a smile:
“Let’s go!”
Wu Dao did not respond to Mitsui Shou, and remained silent in his seat. Mitsui Shou could sense Wu Dao's disappointment, patted Wu Dao's shoulder, paid the bill at the bar, and left the restaurant.
On the way home, Mitsui Shou could no longer hold back his emotions. He covered his cheek with one hand, tears streaming through his fingers.
The farewell of young people is warm yet implicit.
Every young person will eventually progress and grow through gathering and separation.
A few days later.
Everyone from Xiangbei High School bid farewell to Mitsui Shou at the international airport, and after this day, Xiangbei High School officially embarked on a new journey.
... ... ... ... ... ... .