Holding Hanamichi Sakuragi in one hand, Jun Uozumi tossed him back over to the Shohoku Team's side.
The other Shohoku players could hardly bear to look. That red-haired monkey was too embarrassing.
Takenori Akagi was even angrier and punched Hanamichi Sakuragi on the head. He had only sat down to rest for a little while, and this guy had already gone off causing trouble again.
Still, it was only a practice game, so no one took Hanamichi Sakuragi's eavesdropping to heart.
A little later, rubbing his battered head, Hanamichi Sakuragi sidled up to Ryota Kudo and spoke in a secretive tone.
"Kudo, I took that beating for you! I already found out that they're going to target you! ..."
After hearing Hanamichi Sakuragi's account, Ryota Kudo could more or less guess the other side's next strategy.
"Thanks, Sakuragi. Great work!" Ryota Kudo knew better than anyone how to get along with Hanamichi Sakuragi.
As long as he praised him from time to time, Hanamichi Sakuragi would be more enthusiastic than anyone.
As for their plan to double-team him, Ryota Kudo did not dwell on it.
After all, this was not the first time he had been double-teamed. Ryota Kudo had plenty of experience breaking double teams.
Soon, the second half was about to begin.
The Combined Team changed its lineup, moving Akira Sendoh to point guard and Kenji Fujima to shooting guard.
Kazushi Hasegawa and Ryoji Ikegami filled the two forward positions, while Jun Uozumi remained at center.
Takenori Akagi and Jun Uozumi stood in the center circle for the second-half tip-off.
This time, Takenori Akagi leaped high with all his strength and tapped the ball toward Ryota Kudo.
Ryota Kudo had just started dribbling upcourt when Kazushi Hasegawa and Ryoji Ikegami closed in from either side to