Many of the new students who joined Shohoku High School this year were familiar figures to Budo. In addition to Ryouta Miyagi and Satoru Kakuda, with whom he had played before, people like Yasuharu Yasuda and Tetsushi Shiozaki also showed up one after another.
When I was doing martial arts warm-up, I looked at the familiar faces and felt the blood in my body begin to boil.
Even if it is just a practice match, it has a different meaning for martial arts.
The fifteen-minute warm-up time passed quickly. On the freshman side, Mugure Mitsunobu arranged a group of first-year students, led by Jinguji Takeshi.
The other teammates are Ryouta Miyagi, Yasuharu Yasuda, Tetsushi Shiozaki and Satoru Kakuda.
First-year player Ryouta Miyagi is 163cm tall and weighs 57kg, and plays as a guard. Yasuda Yasuharu is 161cm tall and weighs 55kg, and also plays as a guard. Tetsushi Shiozaki, 168cm tall and 58kg, plays as a small forward. Satoru Kakuda is 177cm tall and weighs 70kg, and is the first-year player's starting power forward.
As for Jinguji Budo, he is 195.6cm tall and weighs 83.5kg. Of course, he is a center.
"Because I'm so familiar with this guy Wu Dao, I tend to overlook his talent."
"Now that he's standing next to these first-year students, we can truly see this kid's terrifying talent!"
After the warm-up, the players who were ready for the game lined up in the center circle of the court. Mitsui Shou looked at the Shin Company Budo standing in the freshman queue and couldn't help but sigh in his heart.
Of the five freshmen who started the game, three were less than 170cm tall, and standing next to Jinguji Budou, they were reduced to a background. The senior players focused their attention on Jinguji Budou, and as for the other freshmen, they didn't even look at them.
In a school like Xiangbei High School, it is really unfair for Budou, a freshman, to have such physical talent.
It is obvious that Wudao is a whole circle bigger than the other team members.
"Let's jump ball!" The referee was a senior student. After blowing the whistle, he asked the two teams to take their positions.
Takenori Jinguji and Takenori Akagi stood in the center circle. When Takenori saw Akagi's gorilla face, he couldn't help but smile.
Just as the game was about to start, footsteps were heard in the corridor connecting the gymnasium and the teaching building. Not long after, a group of Xiangbei students in school uniforms appeared in the stadium. After arriving at the stadium, they quietly scattered around the basketball court to watch the game.
Ever since Mitsui Shou joined the Xiangbei basketball team, the number of basketball enthusiasts in the school has increased. Many of the students who come to watch the game come for Mitsui Shou, and many of them are girls in the second and third grades.
With a handsome and sunny appearance and being the captain of the basketball team, Mitsui Shou is quite famous among the second and third graders, and is even the crush of many little girls.
"Shohoku High School basketball team!"
"Looks very strong."
Ayako stood in the middle of the crowd, looking at the players on the court curiously. Her eyes quickly swept over Miyagi Ryouta, and then her attention focused on Jinguji Takenori and Akagi Takenori who were jumping the ball in the middle.
There is no way, even on the basketball court, Wudao and Akagi's heights are quite eye-catching.
"Beep!" A sharp whistle sounded, and as the whistle fell, the basketball was thrown into the air.
"ah!
!
"At the moment the basketball entered the air, Akagi Takenori shouted and jumped up, wanting to hit the ball to Mitsui Shou. However, just when his fingertips were about to touch the basketball, a large white hand quickly surpassed him, grabbed the basketball before him, and hit the ball towards Miyagi's position.
"What!?" Akagi was shocked when he saw the basketball suddenly disappear. He had never imagined that he could lose the jump ball in the team practice game
"Ryouta~ pass the ball~" Jinguji Budou ran to the front court the moment he won the jump ball, shouting for Miyagi to pass the ball as he ran.
However, unlike the three-on-three situation, Miyagi Ryouta did not give the ball to Wudao immediately. Instead, he gave the basketball to Wudao after he crossed the center line.
But when he passed the ball to Wudao, Mitsui Hisashi and other senior team members had already completed their defense and successfully got into position.
Mitsui and his team used a conventional 2-1-2 zone defense, with Takenori Akagi standing in the paint area under the basket, and the remaining four players standing outside the bottom of the paint area and on both sides of the free throw line.
This kind of zone defense formation is generally to better protect the rebounds, consolidate the defense of the restricted area, and prevent the opponent from breaking through. If the martial arts master with the ball tries to attack, he will face a double team of two or even three people.
However, it is different from the traditional 2-1-2 position. Mitsui Hisashi's position is closer to the three-point line. The reason why he stands so far away is that Jinguji Takeshi is approaching the three-point line with the ball.
"This guy Wudao is different from ordinary freshmen. Not only do we have to prevent him from breaking through, but we also have to prevent him from shooting three-pointers."
"Akagi and the others are helping in the paint. When I'm defending, I focus on disrupting Wudao's shooting and driving him into the paint without losing his position."
"There's no need to pay attention to the other first-years for now. Let's suppress their martial arts first!"
Mitsui Shou thought so in his heart, and then he raised his hand and tried to block Wudao's sight.
"2-1-2 zone defense, the most common defensive positioning in the NBA."
"If we were facing an average junior high school student, this kind of zone defense would be enough to stifle the opponent's offensive firepower."
"Generally speaking, it is easy for scorers to be affected in efficiency when facing such a defense."
"But... ..this is based on the assumption that the double-team can be formed perfectly!"
Jinguji Takeshi held the ball and observed the positions of all the players. When he saw Kakuta Satoru heading inside, he immediately shouted loudly.
"Tsunoda! Clear the space near me, don't interfere with my attack!"
In this case, if Wu Dao shouted it out to his teammates on the baseball field, he would definitely be greeted warmly. Usually, only those who play basketball alone would say such words.
But on this court, after hearing Wu Dao's words, Kakuta Satoru immediately said "sorry" and then ran out of the paint area along the baseline, appearing to be quite obedient.
Just as Kakuta Satoru left the paint area, Jinguji Budo changed the rhythm of his dribbling, lowered his center of gravity, and started a breakthrough.
Mitsui Hisashi intended to let Takeshi enter the inside so that he could form a double team with Akagi, Chiba Oishi and others, but when Takeshi successfully broke through, although Mitsui Hisashi wanted to catch up, he was left behind by Takeshi for a considerable distance.
"The breakthrough speed is so fast! Even faster than the previous three-on-three situation!" Mitsui Shou was shocked. He didn't dare to hold back any more and chased with all his strength.
Seeing Takenori Akagi in the paint and Daishi Chiba at the baseline break through, they left their original positions and double-teamed him. However, he didn't give them a chance to form a siege, and when he reached the mid-range, he made a quick stop and jump shot.
"Ding~" No matter what kind of pitcher it is, the hit rate can never be 100%. Look, Jinguji Takeshi's jump shot with full confidence missed, and the basketball hit the basket and burst out.
"rebound!"
Mitsui saw it clearly and quickly reminded his teammates, while rushing to the inside to grab the rebound. Akagi Takenori and Chiba Daishi, who were closer to the basket, quickly joined forces to block the position and protected the three-point area under the basket. Kakuda Satoru, who wanted to grab the rebound, was blocked outside by Akagi before he could enter the paint area.
Chiba, who had an absolute advantage, successfully caught the rebound. However, just as he got the basketball with his hands, a thin figure flashed before his eyes. The next second, Chiba Daishi felt his hands were empty. The basketball he had just received disappeared before he could even warm it up.
"When did he come here?!" Chiba Daiishi looked intently at Miyagi Ryouta who had completed a steal and was preparing to shoot not far away. He was surprised and quickly pounced on Miyagi.
"Hehe!" Seeing Chiba Daishi flying over, Miyagi's little black face showed a bright smile. His raised hand quickly fell and the basketball hit the ground and passed out.
"Fake move?!" Chiba quickly turned his head and saw that Jinguji Takeshi had already moved near the paint area and successfully received the pass from Miyagi.
Wu Dao received the ball with both hands, with his back against Akagi Takenori. He turned around instantly after receiving the ball and broke through to the basket.
This time, Takenori's starting speed was not fast, at least with Akagi Takenori's pace, he could keep up with him if he tried his best. However, just as Akagi accelerated, Jinguji Takenori who entered the basket suddenly stopped, made a fake move on the spot to deceive Akagi, then turned around and quickly increased the distance, and easily hit the ball into the net.
"Well done, Ryouta!" Jinguji Takeshi smiled and high-fived Miyagi Ryouta to celebrate, and then began to return to defense.
"Chiba, serve!" Mitsui Shou carefully savored the inside footwork that Wudao had just demonstrated, and shouted to Chiba Daishi with a serious expression.
Since the previous three-on-three half-court game, Takenori Jinguji and Takenori Akagi have faced off many times. After so many times, Mitsui Hisashi discovered that although both of them are tall guys over 190cm tall, Takenori Jinguji's footwork is more than one level more agile than Akagi.
Not to mention Akagi Takenori, even for Mitsui Hisashi, it is not an easy task to catch up with Budo.
You know, both Akagi Takenori and Mitsui Hisashi have already grown into famous basketball players in the county. The martial arts that can easily surpass both of them probably show that their personal strength has reached the national level, the national level of high school.
Wudao's goal did not affect the offensive rhythm of Mitsui and his team. After all, it had just begun.
The one defending Mitsui Hisashi was Miyagi Ryouta. Although the short Miyagi was indeed very fast, he was at a huge disadvantage standing in front of Mitsui Hisashi.
Mitsui Shou did not play any fancy tricks, just used his body to force Miyagi Ryouta, without any pressure. After successfully entering a comfortable distance, Mitsui Shou directly shot the ball himself and tied the score instantly.
Wu Dao in the interior looked at Mitsui Shou who scored easily, then looked at his four teammates, and his mood suddenly became much heavier.
They are too short! These teammates of Wudao are really too short. It is too difficult for them to defend against the attacks of the senior team.
The offense and defense switched, and it was the first grade team's turn to attack.
When Wu Dao realized that it was difficult for their team to defend against the offense of the senior team, Wu Dao immediately changed his playing style. In the new offensive rounds, Wu Dao no longer pulled out to the outside to receive the ball and attack.
After all, mid-range shots have a hit rate, and Budo needs to use a more certain scoring method to score for the team.
Miyagi Ryouta advanced to the frontcourt with the ball, and Takeshi took advantage of the situation to enter the inside. Chiba Oishi and Akagi Takenori formed a siege on Takeshi. Chiba even wanted to defend in front and did not want to give Takeshi a chance to receive the ball.
However, Miyagi Ryouta's pass was obviously faster than Chiba's running. Before Chiba started to move, Wudao had already received the basketball in the interior.
"Boy! Come on!"
Akagi Takenori seemed to be provoking, or encouraging himself. After saying this, Akagi's chest pressed directly against Wudao's body. Wudao, who was holding the ball in the paint, glanced at Chiba's position, and while blasting the ball on the spot, he pressed his body hard against Akagi Takenori's body, testing Akagi's strength.
Don’t say it, gorillas are gorillas after all, they are very strong!
After one attempt, Wudao no longer had the idea of a forceful attack. It was not that he could not score with a forceful attack, but if he wrestled with Akagi, his physical energy would be greatly consumed. Akagi could just defend and leave the attack to Mitsui Hisashi and others, but Wudao could not do that.
Not wanting to wrestle with Akagi, Wudao still used the old method. After another tentative attack, he turned around instantly and passed Akagi Takenori in another step. He then raised the ball and wanted to shoot. This time, Akagi was finally smarter and just maintained a high center of gravity and did not jump directly.
But this time, Wudao's move was not a fake. He switched from holding the ball with both hands to holding it with one hand, and with a small hook shot under the basket, he sent the basketball directly into the net.
“Tsk tsk tsk~”
"I can't keep up! My friend, you can't keep up!"
Wu Dao, who scored the goal, retreated while shaking his finger at Akagi, making a slight sound with his mouth and speaking to Akagi with a smile.
Sarcasm, naked sarcasm.
Although Akagi Takenori was angry, he had no way to deal with it through martial arts.
His speed is indeed not the slowest among the big centers, but Wu Dao's speed is too fast. Although he is also very tall, his speed is much faster than his.
"Akagi, calm down."
"Martial arts has always been very fast, so don't mind it. I will continue to assist in the next defense. This kid won't be so proud for long."
Although Chiba Daiishi's relationship with Akagi was very tense at the beginning, after spending so much time together, their relationship has long been eased.
Chiba Daiishi said something to comfort him, went to the baseline and passed the ball to Mitsui Hisashi.
"Come on! Let's score another goal!" Mitsui seemed to have noticed that Akagi's condition had changed slightly, so he slowed down the pace of attack and shouted loudly to his teammates.
The offense of the senior team was indeed much easier. Chiba Daishi went to the high position and set a pick-and-roll for Mitsui Hisashi. Kakuta Satoru and Miyagi missed Mitsui Hisashi because they did not switch defense in time. Mitsui Hisashi took an open three-pointer and scored three points for their team with ease, successfully overtaking the score.
"Uh..." Wudao looked at Mitsui Shou who scored easily, and for a moment he had no words to say. He looked at Akagi who was returning to defense from a distance, and thought to himself:
"I can only give Akagi military training. I'm afraid we can't win the game. We must vent our anger!"
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