Sendoh leisurely dribbled the ball across half-court. Judging from his initiative to come on and respond to Kiyota's aggressive play today, this guy's fighting spirit is not low.
This is exactly the situation that Ryonan wanted to see.
On the field, players take their positions: Takasago faces Uozumi, Tadashi Muto marking Kaede Rukawa, Jin is watching Ikegami, Kiyota is looking for Koshino.
Shinichi Maki, without hesitation, stood directly in front of Sendoh.
Overall, both sides have their own advantages in terms of positioning.
Snap... Snap...
Sendoh dribbled the ball at the top of the arc, Shinichi Maki lowered his center of gravity, exuding an aura of dominance. They had faced off in the semifinals last year, and at that time, Sendoh was basically dominated by Shinichi Maki.
But at this moment, Shinichi Maki could sense that Sendoh was different.
Kaede Rukawa made a reverse run, shaking off Tadashi Muto, and reached for the ball at the top of the court.
Sendoh and Shinichi Maki glanced in that direction at the same time.
In that instant, Sendoh suddenly took a step forward!
He then stopped abruptly beyond the three-point line, pulled up, and shot!
The entire movement was clean and swift. Shinichi Maki was a beat too slow to react, and by the time he lunged to block the shot, the ball had already been released.
Ryonan's first attack was a clean and decisive victory.
Sendoh wasn't a pure shooter to begin with; three-pointers were just one item in his arsenal.
When the ball leaves his hand, he doesn't have the same "it's going in" confidence as Mitsui or Jin.
Long-range shots, in particular, are indeed the weakest link in Sendoh's offensive arsenal.
Even so--
The ball went into the net cleanly.
Sendoh maintained his attack stance, a slight smile playing on his lips.
Ryonan secured the most ideal start.
On the sidelines, Moichi Taoka excitedly pumped his fist. Winning the first round against Shinichi Maki was a huge boost to his morale!
Kainan was quite calm. Shinichi Maki clapped his hands, signaling his teammates to prepare for the attack.
He only scored one goal; it's not worth his time to worry about.
Shinichi Maki dribbled the ball forward, and as everyone expected, Sendoh came up to meet him just past half-court.
The two teams' star players started their rivalry right from the point guard position.
Shinichi Maki bent down to dribble the ball, Sendoh, being much taller than him, had to lower his center of gravity even further.
" Sendoh always seems a bit lazy on the court..." Moichi Taoka said confidently, arms crossed, "But it would be a big mistake to think he's a bad defender because of that."
For him, the game was like a game of chess, and all his moves were already prepared.
Watching the chessboard unfold as I anticipated gives me a sense of reassurance that I have everything under control.
Of course, he wasn't naive enough to think that Ryonan could immediately suppress Shinichi Maki.
But as long as the game stays true to his predictions, he won't lose.
Shinichi Maki immediately made a forward change of direction!
That's right, everyone knows he's about to break through!
Even if they knew, very few people could stop them!
Shinichi Maki's shoulder slammed into Sendoh's chest, forcing Sendoh to take a step back.
Immediately afterwards, he rushed over!
However, Sendoh was not left behind; he kept a close half-step distance, relentlessly pursuing him and creating a strong sense of pressure.
Shinichi Maki rushed into the penalty area, received the ball, and jumped. Uozumi immediately glared and, together with Sendoh, double-teamed him!
With Shinichi Maki on the court, there's never a shortage of physical clashes.
He carried Sendoh on his back and crashed straight into Uozumi!
That big Uozumi, was actually forced to take a step back!
Using the force of the struggle, Shinichi Maki twisted his waist and leaned back, trying his best to stabilize his body balance.
Avoiding the Sendoh's seal, he gently flicked his right hand—
Goal!
Even against two opponents, they still won!
Just like in last year's semifinals, Ryonan still couldn't do anything about him.
Uozumi rubbed his chest, which felt stuffy, and noticed that Shinichi Maki was even stronger than last year.
No wonder he could even knock Akagi over.
Riki Takato on the sidelines, quickly unfolded his folding fan.
His idea was similar to Shinichi Maki's breakthrough.
You know exactly what he's going to do, but you just can't stop him.
" Taoka," Riki Takato shook his head with a smile, "You don't really think you can contain Maki, do you? Your team doesn't have a player like Shirasawa."
Both coaches have strong cards to play; now it's a battle of tactics.
Ryonan launches another attack.
This time, Sendoh didn't look for Shinichi Maki; instead, he passed the ball to Kaede Rukawa, who had made a run into open space.
Kaede Rukawa vs. Tadashi Muto – Aside from Maki, Muto is arguably the toughest perimeter defender for Kainan.
In the game against Shohoku, Mitsui had a hard time even receiving the ball when he was being guarded, making him the perfect choice to deal with Kaede Rukawa.
But Kaede Rukawa received the ball and didn't stop. He turned around, feinted a shot, and pretended to go to the left flank.
Then pull back and make a strong attack from the right!
He pressed Tadashi Muto, driving into the penalty area, then turned and launched a short, floated shot.
Another one in!
This wasn't an assist from Sendoh, but it definitely added two points for Ryonan.
At this point, the offensive and defensive battle between the two teams officially began.
Kainan, relying on Shinichi Maki's overwhelming offensive power, repeatedly tore apart Ryonan's defenses.
Sendoh tried his best to stay close to her, but he was simply at a disadvantage in physical confrontations.
Compared to the level of restriction Shirasawa faced, his current situation is at most an interference.
However, Sendoh didn't seem to be using his full strength; in fact, there were several times when it seemed like he deliberately let Shinichi Maki in so he could find Uozumi.
This resulted in Uozumi committing a foul, allowing Shinichi Maki to score a 2+1.
On Ryonan's side, Sendoh didn't take a shot except for that opening three-pointer.
All the attacks were focused on Kaede Rukawa, with Sendoh simply feeding him the ball.
Tadashi Muto, Kainan's defensive linchpin, is in trouble.
Kaede Rukawa's fighting spirit burned fiercely; he attacked relentlessly, scoring again and again.
His gaze was icy cold, sending chills down Tadashi Muto's spine.
He was like an executioner, slowly and methodically cutting away his flesh, slice by slice.
The Uozumi inside, pressing down on Takasago, while Kaede Rukawa rushed in unimpeded.
After ten minutes, the score was 22-20.
Ryonan is leading by two points.
Considering the strength of the two teams, this score is quite low.
The scene lacked any smooth teamwork; it was purely a series of alternating attacks, with Shinichi Maki fighting first Kaede Rukawa.
The two players took turns scoring, each adding points for their team.
Of Ryonan's 22 points, Kaede Rukawa scored 15.
Of Kainan's 20 points, Shinichi Maki scored 18!
Riki Takato glanced at Taoka.
Taoka's plan was already quite clear— Ryonan had woven a net for Shinichi Maki.
They cut off Shinichi Maki's connection with his teammates, forcing him to crawl into the net again and again.
It's all about wearing him down.
On the offensive end, everyone knew that Ryonan had three guns, and everyone thought that they would have a variety of attacks, but Taoka chose to shoot one shot at a time.
Focus on attacking Kaede Rukawa to force Sendoh to conserve his energy.
This ebb and flow will gradually wear down Shinichi Maki. Even if Kaede Rukawa eventually collapses from exhaustion, it will all be worth it.
Seeing this, Moichi Taoka's Riki Takato was brilliant.
He just smiled faintly.
Are they using numbers to their advantage and employing a tag-team strategy?
It's really hard to say. Did you set the trap for Maki, or Maki set the trap for you?
Maki is a top-notch conductor and also an excellent ruler.
There's no way he wouldn't see through Ryonan's plan and blindly charge in.
He was perfectly capable of passing the ball to his teammates, but he didn't because that was exactly what he wanted!
Riki Takato snapped the folding fan shut with a "whoosh".
I heard that you, Moichi Taoka, always boast that Ryonan's training level is at the national level?
Ha... that's because you have no idea what the national standard is like.
We have no idea what kind of hellish training Maki goes through every day to build up his physical strength!
Trying to wear down Maki with physical strength? Nobody can do that.
Brother Taoka, thank you so much for opening the door for Maki.
Moichi Taoka, of course, also had his own calculations.
Seeing that Shinichi Maki was unstoppable, he was not in a hurry.
With a wave of his hand, he called Fukuda to his side.
" Fuku, it's your turn to shine," Taoka said in a low voice, "Let Kainan see your firepower."
Fukuda nodded confidently and walked to the sideline, ready to go on the field.
Moichi Taoka's lips curled into a slight smile.
Kaede Rukawa's side has almost finished its fight, and Maki's side has had its fill of going crazy. Moichi Taoka stroked his chin, thinking to himself: Brother Takato, I'm going to take control of this now.
As for whether Taoka or Takato is older, nobody can really say for sure. In the eyes of these two old rivals, the other will always be their younger brother.
Just then, the ball went out of bounds, Ryonan took the opportunity to make a substitution.
Kiccho Fukuda came on, replacing Hiroaki Koshino.
With Uozumi, Sendoh, Kaede Rukawa, Ikegami, and Fukuda on the field, that lineup was set up. Ryonan had never played like this before.
" Ryonan brought Fukuda up? Are they going to increase their firepower?" In the stands, Kiminobu Kogure his glasses, somewhat puzzled. "But Kaede Rukawa is clearly still capable of playing."
"According to their previous habits, Fukuda is supposed to be the sixth man, specifically filling the gaps when Sendoh and Rukawa are resting, ensuring that the output doesn't drop?" He muttered to himself as he pulled out a small notebook and carefully wrote it down—there was no way around it, the Shohoku guys said they came to watch the game, but they really just wanted to watch the excitement.
Hisashi Mitsui and Ryota Miyagi occasionally pointed and boasted that if they were in charge, things would have been much better.
Shirasawa was adept at navigating between the two beauties, Haruko and Ayako, chatting animatedly and happily.
Only Takenori Akagi, with his arms crossed and a serious expression, could still exchange a few words with Kogure.
Therefore, the heavy responsibility of analysis basically fell on Kogure's shoulders alone. Ryonan's roster depth is a bit frightening, and he has to help the team figure out their tactics, understand the advantages and disadvantages of each combination, so as to prepare for the next round.
If Moichi Taoka were in that position, he would definitely watch the game and then go home to analyze it carefully. Unfortunately, Shohoku's coach is the old man Anzai, who went home smiling after the first game... leaving all the pressure on the two captains.
Takenori Akagi shook his head. "It's not that simple. It's only the first half; Ryonan can't possibly be going all out on offense right now. Fukuda coming on must have some other purpose."
No sooner had he finished speaking than Fukuda answered with his actions.
Sendoh passed the ball to Fukuda, who caught it, turned around, and made a jump shot, easily scoring two points.
Immediately afterwards, the Ryonan fan section erupted in chaos!
After scoring, Fukuda didn't rush back to defend. Instead, he and Ryoji Ikegami stood near the midfield. Jun Uozumi, panting heavily, ran back to the basket without looking back.
Akira Sendoh then bypassed his opponent Shinichi Maki and ran to the baseline to interfere with Kainan's serve!
Kaede Rukawa stuck to Shinichi Maki in the backcourt, never leaving his side!
Full press?!
To the audience, this clearly indicated that Ryonan was about to launch a decisive battle ahead of schedule!
Kainan was clearly caught off guard by this sudden change. Nobunaga Kiyota had the ball on the baseline, but facing the tall and long-armed Sendoh, he couldn't find an opening to pass the ball for a while.
With the five-second violation imminent, Riki Takato shouted from the sidelines, "Pass it out! Throw it forward!"
It's easy to say, but he wasn't in Kiyota's shoes. Kiyota felt immense pressure, seeing only Sendoh's waving arms all around him.
Upon seeing this, Shinichi Maki shoved Kaede Rukawa aside and ran back to the baseline to receive the ball. Kiyota, as if he had found a savior, quickly passed the ball to him.
However, as soon as the ball left his hand, Sendoh immediately abandoned Kiyota and quickly retreated, forming a double team with Kaede Rukawa in the backcourt to intercept Shinichi Maki had received the ball!
"A double team in the backcourt?!" Kogure jumped to his feet in shock. " Ryonan's going all out! Aren't they ignoring everyone else?"