Shota Sugiyama was a seasoned veteran; such a simple trick couldn't fool him.
"Hey, Shota, don't take it too seriously. Experience takes time to accumulate, and talent is something that God gives you." Kazuo Karasawa chuckled, trying to smooth things over. He was quite optimistic about Akagi's potential.
On the court, Akagi raised his hand in frustration, acknowledging the foul.
Getting a foul so early in the game is not a good sign.
People are always wise after the event. Now that Akagi has calmed down and thought about it, he realizes that he was indeed impulsive just now.
But it's too late to say anything now. I can only remind myself to be careful from now on.
Dai Moroboshi walked to the free-throw line and calmly sank both shots, bringing the score back to even.
Shohoku inbounds the ball from the baseline, and Shirasawa calmly dribbles it across half-court.
Dai Moroboshi just hit him on the head twice, now it's his turn to get one back.
Not only was the match between Shirasawa and Daiei Academy in full swing, but the game between Ryonan and Daiei Academy had also started on the other side of the court.
Akira Sendoh also encountered a tough opponent— Atsushi Tsuchiya, the "Tower Commander" from the Daiei Academy.
Atsushi Tsuchiya's style is somewhat similar to Sendoh's, even their unhurried pace is similar. He manages Daiei's offense very clearly, and their defense is not so easily broken down by Kaede Rukawa.
Their tactics involved settling into position and slowly grinding the game down, trying to exhaust the entire 24-second clock with every attack. This made it particularly difficult for Ryonan's defense; the slightest lapse in concentration would allow Daiei to capitalize and score.
Atsushi Tsuchiya's individual offensive prowess is also formidable; he excels in dribbling, shooting, and passing, making it difficult for Sendoh to defend against him.
Just as Moichi Taoka tournament, Ryonan's first tough opponent in the national tournament was Daiei Academy.
The match started very close, with neither side gaining an advantage.
" Sawakita, if you were to face Dai Moroboshi, are you confident you could defend against him?" Sannoh Industrial High School's captain, Kazunari Fukatsu asked.
Sannoh hasn't met Aiwa yet, but with their discerning eye, they can see Dai Moroboshi's prowess at a glance, unlike Nobunaga Kiyota who takes things for granted.
"His playing style takes a lot of getting used to; it's all about figuring out his rhythm quickly." Eiji Sawakita thought for a moment, then added, "But if it were me, I might give him a piece of my mind on offense."
He had barely finished speaking when
Shirasawa on the field then made a move.
Shirasawa made a clean and decisive scissor step, followed by a large pendulum change of direction, which stunned Dai Moroboshi into standing still.
He just rushed past Dai Moroboshi cleanly!
After breaking through, Shirasawa headed straight for the inside and jumped up to face Takayuki Otomo, who was helping to defend!
Takayuki Otomo also gritted his teeth and jumped to block, but Shirasawa's unstoppable momentum made him inexplicably afraid. He originally wanted to block properly, but when it came to the moment, his body involuntarily wanted to shrink back...
But it was too late; Shirasawa had already flown over!
The two collided solidly in mid-air. Compared to Shirasawa's powerful impact, Takayuki Otomo looked like a tiny speck. He lightly patted Shirasawa's arm, and as the referee's whistle blew, Shirasawa's slam dunk slammed into the basket!
A loud crash!
Takayuki Otomo was knocked flying and staggered back several steps after landing, looking exactly like a victim, and was penalized for a foul.
"Hey, that was a beautiful shot!"
Eiji Sawakita couldn't help but give a soft thumbs-up. He was certain that if he had been on the field just now, he would have made the same choice as Shirasawa. This was the most brilliant counterattack!
Dai Moroboshi's lips curled into an excited smile. He had shown his true skills from the start and naturally hoped that Shirasawa could have a good match with him. In his view, this game should be a battle of offense between him and Shirasawa, and whoever was stronger would lead their team to victory!
Of course, all of this is based on one premise: Takenori Akagi's huge advantage in the paint. If the situation were reversed between the two teams, Dai Moroboshi would not hesitate to feed the ball inside.
Therefore, Aiwa's primary task now is to find a way to remove Takenori Akagi from his position!
How to do it? Of course, they can't resort to underhanded tactics like Toyotama's. They have a smarter way—drawing fouls!
Shirasawa stepped to the free-throw line and easily made the free throw, completing the 2+1 play.
Dai Moroboshi continued his attack with the ball, using the same old method of changing his rhythm to break through.
To be honest, this trick doesn't look fancy, but it's damn effective...
His footwork was so unpredictable, it was even harder to figure out than rock-paper-scissors. You thought he was going to go left, but he went right; you thought he was going to break through, but he suddenly retreated... He just never let you guess what he was doing.
This time, Dai Moroboshi executed a combination of retreating and charging forward, seizing the opening in Shirasawa's defense to rush in. The moment he stepped into the three-second zone, he had only one target in his eyes... Takenori Akagi!
However, Takenori Akagi had just learned his lesson and wasn't so easily fooled again. He knew perfectly well that if he started the game with two fouls, what was the point of playing? So he didn't jump rashly again, but simply stretched out his arms to try and interfere.
But this interference was like a tickle to Dai Moroboshi; with a flick of his wrist, he launched another shot, the basketball grazing the rim and rolling in, two points in his hands. He started the game with 6 points in a row, his momentum was strong.
Turning around, Shirasawa dribbled the ball beyond the three-point line, then suddenly stopped and jumped to shoot. The basketball arced through the net with a "swish"... three-pointer in! He had just shown off his breakthroughs, shooting, and passing skills in front of Dai Moroboshi, putting even more pressure on the opponent's defense.
In the next possession, Dai Moroboshi played the same old game. He moved to the left 45-degree angle, turned, faked a shot, then turned back, took a step, and made a low layup, his rhythm still incredibly confusing. But this time, Shirasawa had anticipated it! He suddenly turned and jumped, delivering a resounding block!
Miyagi swiftly retrieved the loose ball and immediately launched a fast break. The ball was passed to Shirasawa, Dai Moroboshi was making a run down the middle. Moroboshi Dai was close behind. Shirasawa entered the three-point line, flicked his wrist, and the ball circled behind him before being passed horizontally. The basketball seemed to have eyes, heading straight for the left three-point line.
Hisashi Mitsui was perfectly positioned, caught the ball, jumped, shook off his defender, took a step to the side, and released the shot... "Swish!" Another three-pointer! It sank in!
Despite being blocked by Shirasawa, Dai Moroboshi remained calm and composed, playing more cautiously. Since drawing a foul on Akagi in the short term was difficult, he began looking for opportunities for his teammates on offense.
On the court, Aiwa's players started running off-ball screens, disrupting Shohoku's defense. Whenever there was an open shot, they were more determined than anyone else to take three-pointers. They were used to not getting rebounds, so they didn't think about that when they shot; they just shot decisively. And because of this, their shooting percentage was actually quite high.
After several rounds, the two teams were evenly matched. Basically, Shirasawa and Dai Moroboshi each led a team, either taking on the offense themselves or passing the ball to their teammates depending on the situation. Relatively speaking, Shohoku's play was more reasonable, while Aiwa and the other team were simply playing irrationally!
Aside Dai Moroboshi Takayuki Otomo is responsible for running around setting screens and creating shooting space for his teammates.
After more than seven minutes of play, the score was 28-25, with Shohoku leading by 3 points. Both teams were scoring quite well, making it a true offensive battle.
Kuwata, watching from the sidelines, stared wide-eyed and couldn't help but exclaim, "Wow, Aiwa's three-pointers are so accurate! It feels like there are several Mitsui- senpai standing on the court..." He truly couldn't believe it. Several times the defense had blocked his face, yet the opponent still managed to make the shots. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that a weakened Mitsui had used cheat codes.
Kogure stared intently at the court, analyzing, "This is Aiwa's old trick; they excel at this kind of play. Aiwa's offense almost entirely lacks mid-range shooting; it's either a layup or a three-pointer."
He paused, then continued, "That's why they score quickly. If they miss a shot in one possession, they can make it in the next, scoring 3 points and making up for the points they lost in no time."
"They don't have a top-tier shooter like Mitsui- senpai on their team; everyone's pretty good at three-pointers, so they're players who rely heavily on their shooting touch. If they're not shooting well, their offense will be in trouble." Kogure frowned and sighed worriedly. "But today, they're clearly on fire!"
Indeed, Aiwa has only missed one three-pointer so far, his shooting touch is incredibly hot. This gives Dai Moroboshi more options on offense, temporarily relieving the pressure – after all, Shirasawa's defense is putting increasing pressure on him.
Aiwa Academy's head coach only has three tactics: first, Dai Moroboshi plays; second, the whole team shooting three-pointers; third, if they miss, then Dai Moroboshi's isolation plays. Therefore, their lineup must meet two conditions: one is that they must have Dai Moroboshi, and the other is that they must have a group of three-point shooters.
This is similar to Toyotama, where everyone shoots three-pointers, but Toyotama only makes it to the quarterfinals at best, Aiwa Toyotama to reach the semifinals. What's the difference? It lies in Dai Moroboshi. Both are five-star high school students, but Dai Moroboshi's individual ability is much stronger than Tsuyoshi Minami's. When the team is struggling, he can definitely stabilize the situation with his unstoppable one-on-one plays until his teammates regain their touch.
But this is also why they've been eliminated in the semifinals year after year. At that level of competition, there's basically no absolute disadvantage on either offense or defense. If you have a top-tier shooter like Mitsui or Jin, they'll create their own opportunities, and when they're in form, they're unstoppable. With players Aiwa and these shooters, once the defensive pressure gets too much, their strength drops significantly, and in the end, they can only rely on Dai Moroboshi- handedly score a few dozen points before being eliminated in the semifinals.
Aiwa is currently shooting smoothly, partly due to their good shooting touch, and partly because Shohoku's defensive pressure is simply insufficient. This is also a problem of experience that Shota Sugiyama has been emphasizing – Shohoku lacks experience in major tournaments, Aiwa's explosive start today has caught them off guard. Just as Kuwata thought, it feels like everyone on the court is like Hisashi Mitsui...
Fortunately, Shohoku's offense is still keeping up with the pace, and they're still holding a slight lead. Although Aiwa and the shooters are going crazy with their shots, Shohoku also has its own super weapon— Shirasawa. With him on the court, the offense is unlikely to falter, but on defense, Shirasawa can only cover his own area.
With 7 minutes and 55 seconds left in the game, Dai Moroboshi used a screen to shake off Shirasawa and plunged into the paint, leaping high on his first step, assuming a floater stance! Takenori Akagi, jumping vertically, thinking, "This time he won't lunge forward, he'll just go straight for it, right?" But to his utter surprise, Dai Moroboshi played a trick again—he wasn't really going to shoot; that high jump was all a feint! Akagi watched helplessly as he landed, then suddenly leaped up again, crashing headlong into him...
As soon as the whistle blew, Dai Moroboshi drew Akagi's second foul! Even Ryota Miyagi is usually the best at feinting, couldn't see through this play. Dai Moroboshi Dai's unpredictable pace was indeed baffling. Akagi slapped his hand hard, his face full of frustration—after all, if he gets three fouls in the first half, he will most likely have to sit out. Aiwa has already completed two-thirds of his mission to get him off the court.