Mitsui didn't get a response, and Akagi seemed not to have felt the pat on the shoulder.
" Akagi, Akagi, what are you daydreaming about?" Mitsui nudged him again, Akagi finally snapped out of his reverie.
"Ah, it's nothing. I'm just a little tired from getting up so early today. Let's get ready to go back."
Takenori Akagi gave a perfunctory reply, then got up and told everyone to pack up and leave. Mitsui frowned slightly, immediately noticing that Akagi was hiding something. He hadn't expected even a tough guy like him to be intimidated.
With today's matches concluded, the top four in the nation have finally been determined. The area in front of the electronic screen at the main venue is no longer as packed as before; now only a few fans remain, and there are no players left. Only three matches remain in this national tournament, and the champion will be decided in three days!
The most talked-about match was between Shohoku Meihou Industrial, mainly due to the presence of two super rookie stars, Shirasawa and Hiroshi Morishige. Their stats in every group stage game were outrageous, and everyone was curious to see what kind of "god-like" stats they would produce when they faced off. After all, impressive stats would surely guarantee an exciting game.
In contrast, the other semifinal match – Sannoh Industrial High School vs. Ryonan – has generated far less discussion. Ryonan has indeed shown considerable strength, but that doesn't mean they can challenge Sannoh. 95% of people believe Ryonan will be eliminated in the semifinals, while the remaining 5% think there's a 0.1% chance of an Ryonan... Some betting odds have already quietly begun to exert their influence.
That afternoon, the entire Shohoku team returned to the guesthouse area and held their usual team meeting. After reviewing the game, they began preparing for the next match. Shohoku had ample funds and the necessary training facilities, but Coach Anzai wouldn't schedule training during such a high-intensity schedule—that would be absolute physical and mental torture for the players.
After all, Shohoku is not like Sannoh. Sannoh's main players only play for 10 minutes a game, as if they're just taking a stroll. Shohoku's main players, on the other hand, fight from start to finish. It's already a miracle that they can maintain a good level of performance after these three games. Therefore, theoretical discussions became Coach Anzai's only option.
"That's roughly the situation with Meihou Industrial." Kogure closed his notebook and gave everyone a brief overview. Because Meihou isn't a traditional powerhouse like Aiwa or Hakata Shodai Affiliated, there's very little video footage of their matches; plus, the team's core player is first-year Hiroshi Morishige, so past videos are basically useless for reference. Kogure could only combine Meihou's overall data with the half of the match he personally witnessed to make a summary.
"So that means that apart from Hiroshi Morishige, Meihou's other positions are pretty average?" Miyagi concluded immediately after hearing Kogure's summary.
"You could say that Meihou's offense and defense revolve entirely around Hiroshi Morishige." Kogure paused, then added, "However, while the other players aren't as outstanding, they're no pushovers to reach the semifinals, so we can't be careless." He hesitated for a moment, then continued, "Therefore, our inside game is of paramount importance in the next match."
The inside game is of paramount importance because they will directly face Hiroshi Morishige —in other words, Takenori Akagi. If Akagi can contain Hiroshi Morishige, Shohoku should win easily; but if he can't, and Hiroshi Morishige can play however he wants, then the game will be more difficult. Kogure doesn't want to put pressure on Akagi, but he has no choice; this is the first time he's felt there's a center whose ability surpasses Akagi's.
"I'm fine with it, just leave him to me," Takenori Akagi replied with a serious expression.
"Are you sure you're okay, Gorilla? If not, leave it to me, the genius!" Hanamichi Sakuragi grinned smugly, his arrogance soaring to new heights after defeating Ken Hoshino.
"Hmph, just do your own thing and stop running around on the field like an idiot!" Akagi retorted mercilessly, his face darkening.
As soon as he said that, everyone remembered the scene where Sakuragi dragged Ken Hoshino off the field. That scene was so funny that they couldn't help but laugh.
"Hahaha... Let's call it a day then. Everyone has worked hard these past few days, so let's use this day or so to rest and get back into shape." Coach Anzai said, ending the meeting. Not only were the players tired, but he was also a bit exhausted, so ending the meeting early was a relief for everyone.
Moreover, in Coach Anzai's eyes, Meihou Industrial is not enough to threaten Shohoku, and it is even easier than the previous games. The only difficult thing is Akagi's matchup against Hiroshi Morishige.
After the meeting, Kogure approached Akagi: " Akagi, do you want me to go for a walk with you?" He knew Akagi was under a lot of pressure— Akagi was one of the key players in the previous match, but the next match would be crucial in determining the outcome. It wasn't that Akagi couldn't shoulder the responsibility, but rather that Hiroshi Morishige's abilities were too exaggerated, and he felt a little uncertain.
"Let's skip the walk and go for a run instead." Akagi smiled, his expression much more relaxed than before, indicating he had been trying to calm himself down.
"Great! Come to think of it, we've always trained together since high school, but we've never actually run together." Kogure smiled, willing to do anything to help Akagi. After saying that, the two changed into their sportswear and shoes and ran towards the beach in the bright afternoon sun.
As fellow townsmen, Ryonan didn't have it as easy as Shohoku. They spent the whole afternoon watching Sannoh's game footage, and the atmosphere grew increasingly tense. In short, it all boiled down to one word: strong! Sannoh had almost no weaknesses on the court.
"This is Sannoh, our next opponent."
Retort emotionally.
After the meeting, Kogure approached Akagi: " Akagi, do you want me to go for a walk with you?" He knew Akagi was under a lot of pressure. Akagi was one of the key players in the previous match, but the next match would be crucial in determining the outcome. It wasn't that Akagi couldn't shoulder the responsibility, but rather that Hiroshi Morishige's abilities were too exaggerated, and he felt a little uncertain.
Moichi Taoka slammed the TV off and swept his gaze across the Ryonan team members with a stern face.
"I know everyone is exhausted from the competition these past few days, but we can't let our guard down for the next match."
"We've made it to the national semifinals, just two more games away from our ultimate goal."
" Sannoh is an unavoidable hurdle; I mentioned this to you before the county competition."
You should know what's going on by now, right?
The team members nodded in agreement. After all, any team aiming for the national championship, regardless of how realistic their goal might be, would ultimately consider Sannoh Industrial High School as their main rival.
Ryonan has Three Muskets, giving them an advantage against most teams. To put it bluntly, they have two five-star high school players holding their own – you can stop one, there's always the other; even if you stop both, there's the super sixth man Kiccho Fukuda, waiting in the wings; not to mention the formidable monster, Uozumi, in the paint... With this lineup, how can any opponent defend?
However, against Sannoh, Ryonan's advantage proved insufficient. Their confidence in roster depth vanished, which was Moichi Taoka's biggest worry. No matter how they arranged their lineup, they couldn't gain an advantage. Perhaps it was better to follow Shohoku's example—without many options, they simply went all out...
Uozumi the first to step forward. "Coach, we won't be intimidated by Sannoh! Before, our hypothetical opponent was Sannoh, but now it's more like Shohoku." In his opinion, Shohoku would definitely make it to the finals. He also knew that Hiroshi Morishige, but he didn't think the opponent could be stronger than Shirasawa.
" Uozumi is right! You all know Shohoku's schedule. They've won all the way to this point, so why can't we, Ryonan?" Moichi Taoka started to get fired up, taking advantage of Uozumi's words. "Having come this far, nobody wants to stop here. Let's put all that energy from 827 into the next game!"
His coaching style has indeed changed; he no longer focuses solely on pre-game strategies but prioritizes player morale. And Shohoku is undoubtedly the best target for motivating the players.
After glancing at the players' condition, Moichi Taoka nodded and continued, "To maintain their competitive edge, I've rented a gymnasium for team training tomorrow morning, from 8:00 AM to 10:30 AM."
The team members were stunned as soon as he finished speaking. Given Taoka's personality, arranging training sessions wasn't unusual, but arranging it so early was excessive! They had played matches for four consecutive mornings! Couldn't they be allowed to sleep a little longer on this one day of rest?!
Taoka clearly sensed everyone's thoughts, and coughed twice to cover his embarrassment. "It's not that I'm heartless, it's just that the venue is cheapest in the morning..."
That evening, in Coach Anzai's room.
Takenori Akagi sat opposite Anzai with a complicated expression. "Coach, what did you want to see me about?" Anzai had asked him to meet in his room after dinner, and Akagi had a rough idea of what it was about—it was probably related to the next game.
As Anzai poured tea, she pushed it towards Akagi: " Akagi, you and Kogure went to watch Meihou Industrial's match, right? How did it go?"
Akagi's expression was serious. "Yes, their ace rookie, Hiroshi Morishige, is very strong. Coach, I've played against Jousei, and I can directly feel his strength."
Anzai took a sip of tea and suddenly asked, "So, who do you think is stronger, him or you?"
This question left Akagi speechless for a moment. Saying that Hiroshi Morishige would be a bit of a blow to his own pride, and he didn't necessarily think he was worse than Morishige; but saying that he was stronger didn't give him much confidence.
Just as he was hesitating, Anzai gave his answer, "In my opinion, you are the strongest center." He put down his teacup and looked at Akagi meaningfully. He knew that Akagi was definitely concerned about this matchup; just looking at Hiroshi Morishige's performance in the last few games, anyone would be concerned.
But that's how things are; the more you care, the more likely problems are to arise. If Akagi's mentality collapses, even if Shohoku wins the game, they will suffer heavy losses. So Anzai must first encourage Akagi —he genuinely believes that Akagi is no worse than Hiroshi Morishige, not in terms of pure individual ability, but in terms of contribution and influence to the team.
Akagi was somewhat flattered. "Coach, thank you for your recognition." This was the first time in his three years with Shohoku that he had received such high praise from Anzai. The words "strongest" carried immense weight, especially coming from the mouth of this former national team player.
"I believe your teammates think so too," Anzai continued. " Akagi, first and foremost, you need to have absolute confidence in yourself. You need to think of ways to beat your opponent, such as using fronting defense to prevent him from receiving the ball, or finding ways to force him away from the basket."
These words enlightened Akagi. He had been thinking about Hiroshi Morishige's destructive power and the difference in strength between the two, but he hadn't really thought about how to fight. For example, Anzai's suggestion of flanking and defending was a key point.
"I understand, Coach! I will treat Hiroshi Morishige as my strongest opponent and fight him to the bitter end!"
Coach Anzai nodded. That's right. The strongest opponent is either someone whose strength is equal to yours or someone even stronger. Even if you lose to such a formidable opponent in the end, it's not a bad thing; at least you can learn something valuable from the defeat. Takenori Akagi has this awareness, then there's nothing to worry about!
"Hahaha, that's the Akagi! Lead the team to the finals!" Coach Anzai raised his teacup and downed it in one gulp.