Hanamichi Sakuragi fell completely silent.
The cheers from the crowd actually calmed him down.
Only now did he realize just how many points Fukuda had taken from him.
Even more tragically, he committed three fouls!
There's nothing more to explain; from any angle, he was completely outmatched by Fukuda...
When they played against Kainan, Akagi wasn't there, so Sakuragi held up Shohoku's inside game. He wasn't even afraid of Shinichi Maki.
But now, they've been utterly thrashed by Ryonan's relatively unknown substitute number 13.
This matter weighed heavily on Sakuragi's mind, like a fishbone stuck in his throat.
" Sakuragi! You..." Akagi was about to curse, but when he saw Sakuragi's dazed look, he swallowed his words and let out a heavy sigh.
As Akagi predicted, Coach Anzai didn't hesitate at all and immediately substituted Sakuragi.
Kiminobu Kogure was once again forced into a difficult position.
He knew perfectly well that he was completely outmatched at this level of competition. But there was nothing he could do; he was the only one on the bench who could step up.
Sakuragi walked downstairs with his head down, looking utterly disheveled. Kogure reached out to give him a high five to cheer him on, but his hand landed on nothing.
Sakuragi was no longer in the mood to care about that.
His mind was now filled with images of being blown up, and it was buzzing.
What's worse, his beloved Yoko Zi was watching from a corner of the audience.
Sakuragi thought that Yoko must be completely disappointed in him by now...
Only when Shirasawa stepped in front of him did Sakuragi reluctantly raise his eyes, " Xiao Bai..."
Shirasawa's face remained expressionless, and his tone was indifferent. "Sit down and watch the game properly. Sakuragi, winning against a big shot and losing to a nobody are actually about the same thing."
All your previous efforts could be wasted because of one mistake.
"Think it over yourself. Do you want to get back up and continue being a powerful figure admired by everyone, or do you want to just fade away and become a laughing stock? It's all up to you."
After saying that, Shirasawa patted him on the shoulder, turned around and left.
Explaining those convoluted principles to Sakuragi is completely useless.
It would be better to just give him a multiple-choice question.
Shirasawa believed that Sakuragi was not a coward at heart, and as long as he could overcome this hurdle, his mentality would be completely transformed.
When Sakuragi moved back to the bench, Coach Anzai said something similar to him.
"Sit down and watch the game carefully," Coach Anzai chuckled. "See how your teammates deal with the opponent."
Sakuragi's mind was in turmoil, filled with the multiple-choice question Shirasawa had just thrown at him.
Now even Coach Anzai is saying this, he wants to see what they really want him to see.
On the court, Fukuda calmly made the free throw, bringing his personal score to 11 points.
At the same time, the point difference between the two teams was narrowed to just 2 points, which is just one round away.
When Shohoku replaced Sakuragi with Kogure, their offensive and defensive capabilities visibly dropped significantly.
Now, the situation has finally returned to the track that Coach Moichi Taoka had envisioned.
This gave him great confidence for the upcoming matches.
Any plan is bound to encounter some unexpected events, but these unexpected events are at most like adding a few thorns to the road, and ultimately they cannot change the overall direction.
Now, we can free up our hands and focus on dealing with Shirasawa.
If they can shut him down, Shohoku is basically finished.
" Kogure, do your best!" Akagi tried to make his voice sound strong, because in his heart, Kogure was definitely not as weak as he appeared.
As long as he gives it his all, at least he won't become an obvious liability on the field.
Kogure adjusted his glasses and nodded seriously. He didn't dare to ask for any credit; he only hoped that he wouldn't make any mistakes or hold anyone back.
Shohoku inbounds the ball from the baseline.
Moichi Taoka stood at the sidelines and made a clear gesture.
Ryonan's defensive formation immediately changed accordingly.
After the battle turned into positional warfare, Ikegami kept an eye on Mitsui, Uozumi against Akagi, and Fukuda followed up against Miyagi.
But there was no one in front of Kogure.
Kaede Rukawa and Akira Sendoh, one on each side, were keeping a close watch on Shirasawa!
" Ryonan and the others..." Hanamichi Sakuragi opened his mouth, but didn't finish his sentence.
Coach Anzai chuckled, " Sakuragi, because of your departure, Xiao Bai was double-teamed by two players. Why do you think that is?"
Hanamichi Sakuragi glanced at Kogure, who was completely lost in thought, and hesitantly replied, "Because they look down on Four-Eyes, right? Dad, you mean, just like I look down on Fukuda, Four-Eyes will teach them a lesson?"
Coach Anzai chuckled twice and shook his head.
"No. This just proves that you are very strong."
"In the minds of those guys at Ryonan, you're the first target they have to do everything they can to take down."
Only when you, the 'armed bodyguard,' are involved will they dare to attack Xiao Bai without restraint.
Coach Anzai's words left Sakuragi completely stunned.
He had just felt like a complete failure, but he never expected to hear this explanation.
Bodyguard with a sword...
I'm actually the person Ryonan went to great lengths to eliminate first?
And he actually fell for it, leaving Xiao Bai to fight two opponents at once.
"Dad, am I... am I really that strong?" Hanamichi Sakuragi asked, somewhat incredulously.
Even a genius like him, who has always been inexplicably confident, could ask such a question, which shows that his self-esteem was truly hurt by Fukuda.
Coach Anzai's method of counseling seems to be working.
"Of course," Coach Anzai affirmed, "But Sakuragi, a true champion, never underestimates any opponent. I'm going to show you how Xiao Bai will deal with Fukuda."
As soon as he finished speaking, Sakuragi's eyes widened suddenly.
It turns out that this happened just before Sakuragi was substituted off the court.
Coach Anzai had already subtly given Shirasawa a look, and Shirasawa understood immediately.
The task is clear, and this approach is very " Anzai ".
In short: an eye for an eye.
You want to use Fukuda as a breakthrough point to attack us? Then I'll just be decisive and cripple you, Fukuda!
Therefore, it doesn't matter if there's a price to pay.
At the same time, it will also allow Sakuragi to see how our Shohoku ace deals with this Ryonan substitute he looks down on.
What is the right way to deal with opponents you underestimate?
On the court, Shirasawa faced a double-team defense from Kaede Rukawa and Sendoh.
The defensive prowess of this duo is truly terrifying.
It was even more troublesome than the combined attack of Shinichi Maki, Nobunaga Kiyota, and Tadashi Muto from the Kainan Team.
Kaede Rukawa also temporarily set aside his arrogance. He knew in his heart that he couldn't defend against Shirasawa on his own, so he didn't mind using the power of the Sendoh.
As for his retaliation against Shirasawa, he planned to save that for the offensive end.
Shinichi Maki stared at the arena, shook his head, and said, "Those two lads' double-teaming is really tough; last time they almost brought me down."
He recalled his time fighting Ryonan, when the Twin Stars teamed up to surround him. He had a particularly tough time during that period, and he had become their whetstone. After that battle, the Twin Stars ' teamwork became even better.
Now, the encirclement against Shirasawa is even tighter than before, especially with Kaede Rukawa, who has learned an aggressive defense from somewhere and keeps applying pressure, while Sendoh blocks their retreat from behind.
"You being double-teamed by them was one of the reasons we lost, so whether Shirasawa can hold on for those few minutes is crucial for Shohoku," Jin analyzed earnestly.
But Shinichi Maki waved his hand, "No, it's not the time for a direct confrontation with Shirasawa yet."
"Because Shohoku still has an advantage on the court!"
Nobunaga Kiyota, who had been pondering the situation, widened his eyes upon hearing this.
" Takenori Akagi!"
Shinichi Maki nodded in agreement. He was quite pleased with Kiyota's progress; in the past, the kid would never have thought of this.
"This might not be fair to Takasago... but Akagi can definitely dominate Uozumi in the paint."
"If Akagi gets going, Shirasawa won't have to carry the whole team by himself, since there are still 20 minutes left in the second half."
No sooner had he finished speaking than Shirasawa moved.
Shinichi Maki could see that Akagi was the advantage, so Shirasawa, as a teammate, was even more aware of it.
With Sakuragi off the court, there's more space in the paint. The simplest way to break a double team is to let another player explode, forcing the defense to cover both areas.
Shirasawa could certainly go toe-to-toe with the Twin Stars, but since he has an advantage, there's no need to exhaust himself.
Otherwise, the situation would become 5 against 1, which would be absolutely disadvantageous for the team. If the defense falls apart, it would be difficult to turn the tide.
Having made up his mind, Shirasawa began to take action.
He took two steps back to create space, then made a sharp change of direction to pull the ball to the right, followed by a behind-the-back deception, bursting out from the right side!
"Whether it's Shinichi Maki or Shirasawa, they won't have an easy time against our Twin Stars. They'll be lucky to escape with their lives!" Moichi Taoka said viciously.
Clearly, he's betting everything on this, thinking the same scenario as the game against Kainan will repeat itself.
Shirasawa, leading the Twin Stars, rushed to the corner and then drifted and jumped up from the three-point line!
" Shirasawa is too confident! He drifted three points over two people?!" Hanagata shouted in disbelief from the audience.
Fujima's gaze sharpened; as an observer, he saw through Shirasawa's intentions.
"No, he's going to send it!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Shirasawa swept the ball horizontally with his right hand in mid-air, showcasing his signature skipping pass!
The basketball bypassed Sendoh's body, spun rapidly, bounced off the ground, slightly changed its trajectory, and flew precisely into Takenori Akagi's hands!
At this moment, only Akagi and Uozumi under the basket, creating enough space for both of them to attack and defend!
Akagi received the ball, turned and slid past the baseline. Compared to Uozumi, Uozumi clearly much less agile.
He hadn't expected Akagi to not fight back head-on; all his strength had been wasted.
Akagi successfully brushed Uozumi, and without pausing for a moment, used the time difference to slip along the baseline and make a reverse layup.
As Uozumi forward, the ball was already released and went in through the backboard!
This also provided an assist for Shirasawa Ji.
In this battle of the giant beasts, Akagi used softness to overcome hardness and emerged victorious.
Uozumi frowned, looking at Akagi with dissatisfaction.
" Akagi, are you afraid to fight me head-on?"