The entire Ryonan team was already seated in the stands. Hiroaki Koshino expressed his concern for Shohoku: " Shohoku won't have a good game today. Their opponent is last year's runner-up. Judging from the stats these past two days, Hakata Shodai's Twin Stars are no ordinary team."
Uozumi said confidently, "Isn't Shirasawa even more extraordinary? I don't think those Twin Stars can stop him."
Hikoichi Aida gleamed with pride. "I also believe Shohoku can win! Their top scorer, Ken Hoshino, is going to face Sakuragi- senpai!"
Uozumi, however, poured cold water on the idea. " Sakuragi is indeed good, but his opponent this time is too strong. Sakuragi is very likely to become a liability on the court." Realistically speaking, this was highly probable, but as soon as he finished speaking, a cold voice immediately refuted him.
Kaede Rukawa looked up, his attitude unusually firm. "He won't."
The referee blew the whistle, and the starting players for both sides officially entered the field. The starting lineup for Hakata Shodai Affiliated was: PG Hajime Chiba, SG Yutaka Ishida, SF Ryoji Matsubara, PF Ken Hoshino, and C Ryutaro.
Hajime Chiba smiled and greeted Shirasawa: " Shirasawa, we meet again! You haven't disappointed me!"
Shirasawa replied with a smile, "You'll be disappointed in a moment." Why disappointed? Of course, because he'll lose the match and be eliminated in the top 8.
Hajime Chiba eyebrow. "Interesting."
As for Ken Hoshino, he didn't even glance at Hanamichi Sakuragi, which made Sakuragi's prepared glare miss its mark, making him clench his fists in anger.
Takenori Akagi and Ryutaro stood in the center circle. The two looked to be about the same height and build, but Ryutaro's muscles looked very hard... he probably wasn't as agile as Akagi.
Yasuda scoffed, "They look even stronger than in the videotapes." He knew they were strong, but he didn't expect them to be this strong.
Kogure, however, remained calm. "No problem, they can handle it!" After all, he had just finished watching Hiroshi Morishige, and now these inside players seemed like ordinary fitness enthusiasts to him.
The referee tossed the ball up, and the game officially began. Takenori Akagi and Ryutaro leaped into the air, their hands clasped together. Akagi clearly had the advantage in athleticism, and he passed the ball to the backcourt, giving Shohoku their first possession of the game.
In the stands, Nobunaga Kiyota excitedly slapped his thigh. "It's starting! It's starting! Today's match is going to be a good one!" He and Shinichi Maki had become regulars at Shohoku. Shinichi Maki had taken him to watch Hakata Shodai's match during the prefectural tournament, and since then, Hakata Shodai had listed Kiyota Commercial as an absolute powerhouse.
Nobunaga Kiyota's mind was completely occupied with whether Shirasawa and his teammates could pull off something spectacular, ideally some jaw-dropping stats. Of course, if Shirasawa couldn't perform, Kiyota thought Shohoku's chances in this game were slim.
Shinichi Maki shook his head and said, "In this match, Hanamichi Sakuragi is the key."
" Maki, everyone knows that!" Nobunaga Kiyota curled his lip, looking disdainful. "Didn't all the other teams fall to that power forward? I don't believe that Red-haired Monkey can amount to anything."
"Just you wait and see," Shinichi Maki said confidently, "Don't forget how unfathomable Sakuragi's potential was when he played against us last time."
On the court, Shirasawa controlled Shohoku's first attack.
He dribbled to the top of the arc, where he was directly matched up against Hajime Chiba.
The moment the two faced off, Hajime Chiba bent down and reached out, trying to catch the ball off guard!
Shirasawa's eyes narrowed, and he reacted extremely quickly, switching the ball from behind his back to his left hand. If he had been even a fraction of a second slower, the ball would probably have been stolen.
Hajime Chiba's defense is not only highly offensive, but he is also exceptionally agile.
This steal attempt failed, but he immediately adjusted his center of gravity, took a step back, and steadily returned to Shirasawa's side with incredible speed. Keep in mind, Hajime Chiba is the steals king of this tournament, and that's no empty title.
Shirasawa lowered his center of gravity even further, tossing the ball left and right a few times, while Hajime Chiba, like a Cheetah, was ready to pounce at any moment.
Sudden,
Shirasawa slammed the ball down with his right hand, simultaneously feinting a move to the left. Hajime Chiba's eyes narrowed, and he immediately judged: left!
But just as he was about to move to defend, Shirasawa suddenly took a jump shot!
He took a shot directly from beyond the three-point line, right in front of Hajime Chiba's defense!
The basketball swished through the net!
They scored three points for Shohoku right from the start.
Hajime Chiba smiled and said, "That's amazing." His eyes gradually became excited.
Shirasawa's three-pointer instantly ignited the fans' enthusiasm. Judging from this momentum at the start of the game, Shirasawa is going to have a big game today!
Shirasawa made a three-pointer right at the start of the game, and he even made it over Hajime Chiba. Everyone thought this was definitely a winning start for Shohoku.
but,
As is Shirasawa's usual practice, he would typically pass the ball to his teammates a few times at the start of the game to help everyone get a feel for the match. However, Hakata Shodai's defense disrupted his plan.
Hajime Chiba's desperate defense against Shirasawa is actually a microcosm of Hakata Shodai's entire defensive strategy. Whether with or without the ball, as long as they are on the court, Hakata Shodai players will constantly apply pressure, and relentlessly at that! They will always ensure that there is a defender between the Shohoku players and the basket, and at the same time, they will use their strong bodies to constantly engage in physical confrontations, which makes Shohoku play somewhat restricted.
As a result, Shohoku's most effective off-ball cutting tactics were temporarily rendered ineffective. Even Takenori Akagi was engaged in a fierce physical battle with Ryutaro for position.
That's why Shirasawa couldn't find a good passing opportunity and had to go it alone. From this perspective, this start was at best a timely help for Shohoku, not a good start at all.
The players on the field may not have fully realized this yet, but Coach Anzai on the sidelines saw it clearly.
" Hakata Shodai's defense is putting a lot of pressure on us," Coach Anzai remarked softly.
The game involves a transition between offense and defense.
Hajime Chiba dribbled the ball past midfield and began to organize an attack.
" Maki, is their pick-and-roll tactic coming?" Nobunaga Kiyota asked expectantly.
"Yes," Shinichi Maki nodded, "They must rely on scoring to compete with Shirasawa, otherwise they'll lose their advantage."
Hajime Chiba dribbled the ball to the left wing beyond the three-point line. He dribbled very low and at a high frequency, which made Shirasawa hesitant to reach out and steal the ball.
Just then, Ken Hoshino led Hanamichi Sakuragi to the high post, making the area around the left wing three-point line a bit crowded.
"Their Twin Stars pick-and-roll is coming!" Kogure clenched his fists anxiously on the bench. The players on the court might overlook this detail, but he saw it clearly from the sidelines. This was what Coach Anzai had called a local two-on-two tactic. The other players from Hakata Shodai had already begun to quietly move to the side, making room for them.
Hajime Chiba's gaze sharpened, and he suddenly changed direction, breaking through with a burst of speed!
As soon as Shirasawa moved, he crashed solidly into Ken Hoshino. Hanamichi Sakuragi's defensive rhythm was also interrupted. He quickly turned around to chase after Hajime Chiba, but Hajime Chiba was too fast. He had already taken two steps and then launched a throw-off.
Swish! Goal!
The score is now 3-2.
" Hajime Chiba's speed is incredible! From the start to the release, it feels like only a blink of an eye." Hiroaki Koshino, also a guard, couldn't help but exclaim in surprise upon seeing this. The last person whose speed impressed him was Ryota Miyagi.
"Yes, senior Koshino runner," Hikoichi Aida nodded and chimed in, "According to the information I've gathered, Hajime Chiba's sprint times are comparable to Miyagi's. Back in junior high, he was already known for his speed. I heard that several track and field teams tried to recruit him for three years. That speed he just showed was probably not even his full strength."
Hikoichi Aida doesn't even need to look through his notebook to say these things now; he already has the information on those famous players memorized.
"You managed to collect all of these? Hikoichi, you're amazing!" Hiroaki Koshino said with some admiration.
"Hehehe, no, not at all," Hikoichi Aida scratched his head sheepishly. "These are just basic information; you can collect them if you put your heart into it." He had already decided to continue down this path, so everyone's praise was a very important encouragement to him.
The offensive and defensive play continues.
Shirasawa dribbled the ball and advanced past midfield again.
Shohoku continued to face Hakata Shodai Hajime Chiba pressuring Shirasawa. If it were an average point guard, they probably wouldn't have been able to withstand it, given Hajime Chiba's top-tier speed and reflexes.
Inside the three-point line, Hanamichi Sakuragi tried several times to get rid of Ken Hoshino's defense without the ball, but all his attempts failed.
This was the first time Hanamichi Sakuragi had encountered an inside player who could keep up with his speed. Trying to shake him off? It was practically impossible.
"Damn it! This guy's like a piece of leech, I can't shake him off!" Hanamichi Sakuragi stomped his feet in frustration, grumbling under his breath.
Ken Hoshino's face remained expressionless, only a faint smile on his face, "This is just the beginning."
"Quite the boast!" Sakuragi snorted defiantly.
"Whether you're all talk or not, you'll find out once you try." Ken Hoshino remained as calm as ever.
The pace of the game was so fast it was almost suffocating.
Shirasawa changed direction, trying to force his way through Hajime Chiba's defense. After entering the paint, he quickly glanced around and found that all his teammates were tightly marked, with no chance to pass the ball.
At this critical moment, Hajime Chiba's hand suddenly reached out from behind Shirasawa, attempting a sneaky layup. However, Shirasawa reacted quickly, immediately gathering the ball and standing up, sending the ball into the basket with a left-handed layup.
Hakata Shodai is on offense. Hajime Chiba dribbles the ball up the court and moves to the right wing beyond the three-point line to organize the attack. Ken Hoshino moves up again, creating a local two-on-two situation.
The two worked together so well they were like two peas in a pod. The moment one of them made a move, the other would immediately know which direction to go. You couldn't tell at all whether they blocked first and then disarmed, or disarmed first and then blocked.
This time, after Ken Hoshino made the screen, he immediately broke away, Hajime Chiba promptly passed the ball to him. Hanamichi Sakuragi had no time to get back on defense and could only watch helplessly as Ken Hoshino got up and attacked the basket. Seeing Takenori Akagi, Ryutaro had no choice but to abandon his defense on Ryutaro and jump up to try to interfere with Ken Hoshino.