"I never expected you to be so amazing." Sakuragi sat down as well.
The two remained on the court, Coach Anzai, unusually, began to reminisce about the past, leaving Sakuragi deeply moved.
In his understanding, his father from decades ago was the best defender in the country!
Sakuragi thought about it for a moment and gave Coach Anzai's strength an analogy: Shinichi Maki plus Hisashi Mitsui!
Why not Shirasawa?
Because his father said that although he was good, his jumping ability was only average and he wasn't very good at dunking.
This is clearly not the same as Shirasawa's style of fighting that involves flying all over the place.
" Sakuragi, now do you think... I'm qualified to teach you?"
Coach Anzai smiled slightly. He did all this to make Sakuragi willingly follow the special training.
It now appears that the desired effect has been achieved.
Sakuragi's eyes were practically sparkling.
"Tell me, Dad! What kind of special training is it?! This genius is ready!"
"Roar roar roar... This is the right state."
" Sakuragi, this coming week is going to be a real hellish training session. Even you'll probably be exhausted."
Hanamichi Sakuragi patted his chest confidently, "That sounds more exciting! Let's begin!"
"Hoo hoo hoo... I need to rest for half an hour, my legs are too weak to stand up..."
"Dad! Aren't you pretty amazing?"
"Hehe, that was in the past, we can't go back..."
The practice match between Shohoku and Jousei officially began.
Miyagi returned to the point guard position.
Tetsushi Shiozaki will replace him at shooting guard.
Kogure played small forward, while Hisashi Mitsui was forced to play power forward...
Shohoku has never used this lineup before, nor dared to use it.
But now there's really no other way.
Currently, besides Akagi, the only player Shohoku who can barely hold his own in the paint is Mitsui.
Although it's definitely a loss for them, it's much better than letting Kakuta take over.
Jousei High School has actually been declining this year.
Several key players from last year have graduated, so the roster is indeed not as strong as before.
However, a veteran powerhouse is still a veteran powerhouse; its foundation is still there.
The current Shohoku is still a step behind in terms of strength if they want to go head-to-head with others.
Akagi tipped the ball away during the jump ball, giving Shohoku the first attack opportunity.
In the first round, the ball was lobbed towards the inside without hesitation.
Akagi positioned himself in the low post, received the ball, turned, pushed past the defender, and delivered a powerful two-handed dunk!
"Not bad, Akagi, you're even stronger than last year."
Mikoshiba remained unhurried, his face showing no emotion.
"Come on, Mikoshiba!"
Akagi stared at him, his tone curt.
Mikoshiba perfectly well what level Akagi was at.
This guy's fighting style is a bit like Shinichi Maki's; they both rely on their physical strength to overpower opponents.
As a forward, Mikoshiba possesses remarkable strength, and his breakthroughs are particularly powerful.
Moreover, he follows the same approach as Shinichi Maki, always aiming to drive to the basket.
When fighting in Kainan, at least Shirasawa could somewhat limit Shinichi Maki.
But now? Who will replace Mikoshiba?
Mitsui's defensive technique is decent, but against players who rely solely on physical strength to clear the way, he falls short.
You knew perfectly well that he was going to dart to the right next, but you just couldn't stop him...
Mikoshiba was like a bulldozer on the field, rampaging and crashing through everything in his path.
Even when Akagi went head-to-head with him, he couldn't gain any advantage.
In addition, Jousei had the overall superior strength, and it didn't take long for them to take control of the game.
The match lasted ten minutes.
Shohoku trailed by 9 points, 18-27.
Of those 18 points, Akagi accounted for 12 of them.
In fact, Jousei figured out Shohoku's strategy within just two minutes of the game starting.
It's simple: surround Akagi and let Shiozaki go.
Mikoshiba single-handedly defended against Mitsui.
If Shirasawa were on the court, even if Akagi were surrounded, he would still have a way to put the ball in.
However, Miyagi lacks passing vision, making it difficult to deliver the ball comfortably to the inside.
Of Akagi's 12 points, 8 were scored on second-chance opportunities after he grabbed offensive rebounds.
After the first half,
Shohoku couldn't come up with any decent offensive strategy either.
They managed to hold on entirely thanks to the individual abilities of Mitsui and Akagi.
35 to 49.
Shohoku is down by 14 points!
This is the first time since the start of the county tournament that Shohoku has been in a losing position.
Akagi and Mitsui were exhausted.
Miyagi wasn't easy either; just setting up the ball for the two of them required a lot of thought and effort.
The second half continues.
The initial momentum of Shohoku has almost completely dissipated.
The reactions were most pronounced on the bench.
They had never really experienced this feeling of powerlessness before.
In the second half, Jousei attacked even more fiercely.
On the defensive end, they completely left Shohoku's backcourt open, focusing all their forces on blocking Akagi and Mitsui.
Miyagi had no choice but to shoulder the attack himself, relying on his speed to break through several defenses.
But the gap between the two teams kept widening, making people increasingly desperate.
The second half has reached the 15th minute.
The score became 56 to 83.
Shohoku was down by a whopping 27 points!
Everyone on the field looked exhausted, overwhelmed and struggling to breathe.
Looking at Jousei on the other side, it was as if he were seeing his own team from the county competition.
They finally experienced firsthand what despair felt like.
The substitutes on the bench couldn't cheer either; they all hung their heads, hating themselves for not being able to help and contribute to the team.
In the last five minutes of the game,
Jousei showed no sign of stopping.
Instead, they attacked even more fiercely.
It's obvious he just wants to vent his anger!
Mikoshiba once again drove into the paint, drawing Akagi's fifth foul and sending him off the court.
Before leaving the game, Akagi had already scored 28 points and grabbed 16 rebounds, impressive stats.
However, due to the immense pressure on the defensive end, he quickly incurred foul trouble.
Akagi's move completely crippled Shohoku.
The final score was 64 to 99.
Shohoku lost by a full 35 points!
The only slight consolation is that Jousei didn't score over 100 points...
" Akagi, don't say I didn't warn you. You guys definitely can't compete in the national tournament like this. You'd better train with us these next few days."
Akagi gritted his teeth, having suffered another defeat in front of Mikoshiba!
"Damn! Losing is so freaking painful!"
Mitsui punched the bench; he actually played quite well today.
He scored the second-highest points on the team with 23 points.
Miyagi also recorded a double-double with 11 points and 13 assists.
The three starters combined for 62 points.
Keep in mind, the entire Shohoku team only scored 64 points!
This match made them truly understand what powerlessness means.
I also understand more clearly what it feels like to lose.
In fact, the word "lost" has always been associated with Akagi.
But things are different now; he's won too much.
So much so that if he were to return to the loser's position, he would be absolutely furious.
At this point, he finally understood Coach Anzai's intention.
Losing is such a disgusting thing.
You felt it, didn't you?
If you don't want to go through this again, then you have to fight tooth and nail to win!
The news of Shohoku's defeat in Shizuoka Prefecture
Coach Anzai found out immediately.
The score was also roughly as he had predicted.
After inquiring about the team members' condition, he breathed a sigh of relief.
Nobody broke down because of this game!
They never want to lose again!
Okay, I need to practice like crazy for the next few days, figure out the tactics, and make sure I get my revenge in the next match!
"Okay, the team is in your hands now."
Coach Anzai's words reassured Akagi.
He really didn't have much more to say, and the team accomplished its mission quite well on this trip to Shizuoka.
Next, it was his turn to prepare a "surprise" for everyone.
As for Shirasawa, he plans to let him appear the day before the next practice match.
These next few days, the team needs to linger a bit longer in the bitterness of defeat.
The longer you soak them, the harder your bones will become.
Coach Anzai also casually mentioned the loss to Sakuragi.
This will make the kid understand how much the team needs him right now.
Want to really help? Then keep working hard to improve yourself.
When the national competition comes, we can't afford to lose a single game!
Hanamichi Sakuragi looks completely different these past few days.
The main change was to his head—that striking red curly hair was transformed into a smooth, red-skinned hard-boiled egg!
Sakuragi shaved his head!
However, it wasn't some kind of scene where someone shaved their head to show their resolve.
It was purely because of Coach Anzai's "Devil Week" plan that we were forced to do it.
Shooting practice is just an appetizer.
Even Sakuragi's most prized physical abilities have been given an enhanced package!
That training plan looks daunting; in Coach Anzai's opinion, only someone like Sakuragi could handle it.
Similarly, only Sakuragi was able to show real progress in just one week.
He wanted to use this week to further improve Sakuragi's abilities.
Prepare sufficient resources for the national competition.
so,
Sakuragi sweats so much every day, it's like he's been pulled out of the water...
That clump of red curly hair used to look like a heater.
On the hottest day, Sakuragi got angry, gritted his teeth, stomped his foot, and shaved his head into a buzz cut.
After finishing the haircut, he looked in the mirror and was stunned...
Looking at the pile of red hair on the ground, and then at the hard-boiled egg in the mirror, his nose stung, and he almost cried.
But as soon as he stepped out of the barbershop, a gust of wind blew by, and wow, that feeling... was so damn refreshing!
but,
Sakuragi isn't alone anymore; he still has Yoko.
He put on a hat and went to see Yoko with a mix of nervousness and anticipation.
When he took off his hat, Yoko was stunned.
Sakuragi swallowed nervously, eagerly awaiting Yoko's verdict.
Suddenly, Yoko smiled, reached out and ruffled the round, rosy head, and sincerely uttered:
"That's manly enough! I like it!"
At the same time.
Amidst the eager anticipation of many,
The second match of the Kanagawa 100-Point Battle kicked off on time.
The champion of this round is Michael Okita.
Those who come up to challenge,
It's Koichiro Nango, the rookie king of the Tsukubu team!
These two are not nearly as famous as Kaede Rukawa and Nobunaga Kiyota from the previous match.
But at least it's somewhat watchable.
At the beginning of the season, Tsukubu was at least a seeded team and received some attention, although they were sent home by Shohoku after only three games.
Rookie Koichiro Nango is averaging 18.3 points and 9.5 rebounds per game this season, which are quite impressive stats.
As for Michael Okita, he's a bit of a mystery.
He only showed off a few dunks in the last 100-Point Battle; nobody knows anything else about his abilities.
But looking at the quality of his teammates, I figured he couldn't be any worse!
Besides,
After the previous high-octane match, who would doubt that this head-to-head competition wouldn't be exciting?
The competition venue is the same as before, the sports park.
The number of people coming to watch the spectacle today is no less than that of the last event.
It seems that the reputation of this "100-Point Battle" has been initially established.
Sakuragi didn't come today, but Ichiro Mizusawa did.
These past few days, Mizusawa has been training with Fujima and the others, and everyone has a high opinion of the young man.