But Shohoku has no intention of giving them that chance.
If anyone's going to give way, it should be during the substitutes' timeout.
Otherwise, the competition would lose its meaning.
You have five minutes to let those kids see their own problems.
Coach Anzai said with a smile.
This statement also implies that the outcome must be decided within five minutes!
Once the starters are substituted and the substitutes come on, the point difference needs to be so large that the substitutes can easily win no matter what they do...
This was the time that Coach Anzai and Kazuharu Takizawa had agreed upon beforehand.
The Shohoku team nodded in agreement and stepped onto the court with the aura of champions from Kanagawa.
Kazuharu Takizawa gave Yokota the completely opposite instructions.
"Hold on for five minutes, no matter what!"
This Yokota basketball team never imagined that they would collapse in five minutes.
Even if the opponent is Shohoku, it shouldn't be this bad...
Is the coach underestimating us?
The team members were all burning with rage, determined to prove themselves.
Seeing this, Kazuharu Takizawa felt a pang of sympathy.
Because he knew that these proud and arrogant young people were about to be hit hard by reality.
But this is a hurdle they absolutely must overcome!
The match begins.
Ayako temporarily took on the role of referee.
Takenori Akagi used his absolute advantage to move the jump ball forward into the third, directly converting it into an assist!
Shirasawa up to receive the ball, turns around to get past the defender, and drives straight to the basket.
Then he tossed the ball onto the backboard, as if to complete an offensive play, and turned to walk back to the backcourt.
The basketball bounced off the backboard, and Hanamichi Sakuragi, who was following up, suddenly took off Alley-oop pass the ball for an alley-oop dunk!
boom!!
The basketball hoop shook violently, and Yokota's players' hearts skipped a beat.
With just one goal, they experienced what it meant to feel pressured.
However, the real terror has only just begun.
Yokota serves the ball from the baseline.
Before the point guard had even crossed half-court, Miyagi appeared like a ghost and stole the ball.
The opposing team clearly saw Miyagi coming, but before they could react, the ball was already lost...
In the blink of an eye, Miyagi had already penetrated to the three-point line.
Facing Yokota's help defense inside, he flicked his wrist and sent the ball back.
Mitsui received the ball on the left side of the three-point line and jumped to shoot.
A three-pointer swished through the net!
It's only been fifteen seconds since the start.
Shohoku has already taken a 5-0 lead.
Akagi hesitated for a moment.
Should we just go for a full-court press...?
Isn't doing this a bit too harsh...?
Just then,
Kazuharu Takizawa called out to him.
Akagi looked over and saw Coach Takizawa nod firmly at him.
If we're going to use drastic measures, let's do it all at once!
If it hurts, it hurts completely, so you won't have to suffer from it later!
Coach Anzai nodded in agreement.
Since that's what they've said, Akagi no longer hesitated.
"Full-court press! Show Shohoku's fighting spirit!"
Takenori Akagi let out a loud roar from the backcourt.
Shirasawa, Miyagi, and Mitsui instantly pressed forward onto the front line.
The pressure of the defense surged towards the opponent like a tidal wave.
Yokota's team struggled to even get the ball past midfield, let alone advance the ball.
Mitsui reacted quickly, slicing the ball out of Ichiro Mizusawa's hand and tossing it to Shirasawa at the top of the key.
Shirasawa received the ball and, at the same time, made a feint with Mitsui.
He pretended to lob the ball inside, while Mitsui feigned a cut to the left.
In that instant, Yokota's already fragile defenses were completely thrown into chaos.
With a flick of his wrist, Shirasawa sent the ball back to Mitsui's hands.
Mitsui, standing beyond the three-point line, pulled up and shot without hesitation.
In the first five minutes of today's game, they clearly had no intention of leaving their opponents any way out!
boom!
Shirasawa slipped in from the baseline, turned sharply at the basket, leaped into the air, and slammed the ball into the hoop.
Shohoku adds two more points.
At this moment, only four minutes and fifty-five seconds had passed.
The Yokota bench was deathly silent.
The team members stared wide-eyed, their faces filled with disbelief.
The scoreboard clearly showed 21-0.
Shohoku didn't give them a chance to breathe at all. Every time they scored, they immediately started a full-court press, sticking to them tightly.
The five people on the Yokota field were on the verge of collapse, unable to even find a moment to catch their breath.
The best they can do is hold the ball tightly in their arms after serving to avoid being directly intercepted.
But what's the use of that?
It only took a few more seconds.
Yokota serves the ball from the baseline again.
Hanamichi Sakuragi stood in front of the server, his long arms waving incessantly, completely blocking the opponent's view.
With five seconds left, the server gritted his teeth and tossed the ball high into the air—whoever could catch it would get it; taking a gamble was better than making a direct mistake.
But when it comes to grabbing high balls, that's Shohoku's forte.
Shirasawa leaped high and easily caught the ball.
Without even looking after landing, he casually made a bounce pass.
The basketball weaved through the crowd, precisely finding Hanamichi Sakuragi, who had already slipped under the basket.
Sakuragi, that hothead, didn't think twice after getting the ball. He jumped up and slammed it down on the head with another powerful dunk!
In the final five seconds, they delivered the final, decisive blow to Yokota.
As soon as the ball went in, Coach Kazuharu Takizawa immediately called a timeout.
To be honest, he felt a little sorry for him.
Fortunately, their opponent was Shohoku, the dominant force in Kanagawa, so the match was never on the same level. He had given his players a heads-up before the game.
Otherwise, those five minutes alone would have been enough to break the children's spirits.
Even so, the players were panting heavily and covered in cold sweat when they left the field, clearly having been pushed to their limits on the court.
If it were just one more minute, I'm afraid I really wouldn't be able to hold on.
Coach Takizawa quickly provided psychological support to the team members, and after some encouragement, they finally calmed down.
"Coach, we understand." Ichiro Mizusawa wiped his sweat, his tone earnest. "We're still a long way from being a truly strong team. To become stronger, we need to aim higher... Although I hate to admit it, outside of the junior high school league, we're really nothing."
These were truly heartfelt words. At this point, he completely understood the coach's good intentions.
Coach Takizawa wanted them to know that the world of basketball is vast, and the junior high school league is just the beginning. If they are satisfied now, they will definitely suffer greatly when they enter the high school arena.
Just like those five minutes ago.
Now that they've suffered this blow, they still have a chance to regroup.
But if this happens again in a formal high school competition, no matter which team they're on, they'll probably spend all their time on the bench.
By the time you realize it, it will be too late.
"Thank you, Coach! Please be stricter with us from now on!"
"Thank you, Coach!"
The team members all spoke up.
Kazuharu Takizawa breathed a sigh of relief; the goal of this "drastic measure" had finally been achieved.
"Alright, everyone, cheer up, the game isn't over yet."
" Shohoku will be fielding their reserve lineup next, but don't let your guard down! Even if they're on the second team, they're still part of a championship team!"
"Guys, let's get the score back!"
Coach Takizawa extended his hand, and one by one, the players reached out their hands to him.
" Yokota!!"
"Come on!!"
The following matches finally started to show some back-and-forth action.
Having gone through that "dark five minutes," Yokota's team members became much calmer.
Ichiro Mizusawa took up the offensive mantle, and his scoring ability really gave Shohoku's substitutes a headache.
How to put it... it's a bit like a budget version of Hisashi Mitsui?
At least that's what Kiminobu Kogure thought on the field.
Kogure and Yokota team were determined to uphold Shohoku's honor and fought tooth and nail against Yokota.
The match lasted forty minutes.
With Shohoku's main players starting with a 23-0 run, the final score was 89-75.
Shohoku won.
However, their substitutes lost by 9 points.
This result is acceptable considering the top junior high school teams in Kanagawa.
This season, although Shohoku's substitutes didn't get many playing opportunities, they didn't dare to slack off in training at all.
Furthermore, with the team currently enjoying great success in Kanagawa, they feel even more confident.
Overall, the progress is quite significant.
If it were the same bench lineup from the beginning of the season, they probably would have been crushed by Yokota long ago.
The match ended, and both teams took a break.
Yokota's players seized the opportunity and sought out their seniors in each position at Shohoku to learn from them.
Players like Mitsui, Miyagi, and Akagi would personally demonstrate the movements.
As for Hanamichi Sakuragi... he mainly relies on "talk-no-jutsu" (a form of verbal persuasion).
The central idea is roughly this: Mortals, look up to this genius! Want to become stronger? Maybe you'll have to be reborn into a better family in your next life...
Coach Kazuharu Takizawa then approached Shirasawa once again.
Kazuharu Takizawa leaned close to Shirasawa and shared the idea he had been pondering for a while.
" Xiao Bai, how about this? From now on, when your management team goes to training and matches, could you bring Ichiro Mizusawa along? I'll definitely cooperate and give him the green light anytime."
A few days ago, I went to Takizawa's house for dinner, Shirasawa casually mentioned the plans for the management team.
Shirasawa has always been completely open and honest with Kazuharu Takizawa, never hiding anything from him.
I said this at the time to put Coach Takizawa at ease and let him know that I already had plans for the future.
But the sheer size of the management team still left Takizawa completely bewildered.
Just the lineup of members is intimidating enough.
That's practically a galactic battleship!
Takizawa felt at that moment that his Yokota team was practically child's play compared to theirs...
After much deliberation, he finally made up his mind.
Let Ichiro Mizusawa train with Shirasawa's team.
If he hangs out with those celebrities all the time, won't that kid's progress rate double?
Of course, when I come to Shohoku, I should still ask Mitsui for advice.
By learning from both, they'll be an immediately useful asset when they join Shohoku!
Besides, Kazuharu Takizawa did indeed think highly of Ichiro Mizusawa.
What coach doesn't hope their students will have a bright future? It'll be something to brag about over drinks later on...
Ultimately, Coach Takizawa wanted to gather more helpers for Shirasawa.
There was no need to spell it out; Shirasawa already understood.
"That's fine, but the contract can't be signed until he shows results. He can only learn alongside you." Shirasawa nodded. "You need to make that clear to him."
"What's there to say!" Kazuharu Takizawa. "If that kid knew he could work with you guys, he'd be ecstatic!"
His eyes darted around, and he leaned closer. " Xiao Bai, how about... you take a few more?"