Coach Anzai stared intently at the court, speaking slowly and deliberately, "Hooray! From now on, we'll rely on our shooting. Three-pointers are the killer weapon for this lineup. Two-pointers aren't worth the risk."
After the ball possession changed, Shohoku got possession of the ball in the frontcourt, and Shirasawa became the inbounds player. He was incredibly reliable and there was absolutely no chance of him making a mistake like Mikio.
Shohoku's entire team made runs, and the ball ended up in Ryota Miyagi's hands in the corner. After several exchanges, it was Masashi Kawata who ultimately stuck to Miyagi's defense.
The advantage of being smaller over bigger was instantly maximized. With a simple change of direction, Miyagi left Kawata far behind. At that speed, Kawata couldn't even catch up!
Kawata can indeed defend guards, but he's a scorer! Players like Miyagi, who are short, strong, and fast, are the bane of big men; matching up against them in the paint is simply bullying.
Shohoku had this plan all along: off-ball movement and positional switching were designed to create opportunities for Miyagi. And Miyagi didn't disappoint; even the best center has to concede to speed!
Miyagi suddenly crossed the Kawata and found himself in a wide-open space. Just as he was about to attack the basket, Kazunari Fukatsu up to delay him.
Miyagi was not greedy for credit and kept Coach Anzai's words in mind: attack when there is an opportunity, pass when there is no opportunity, and never hesitate.
Seeing Fukatsu coming over, Miyagi instantly passed the ball to Shirasawa on the right wing!
Shirasawa received the ball at a 45-degree angle on the right wing. Kawata and Fukatsu quickly switched positions and rushed over, but Kawata was clearly half a beat too slow.
Seeing this, Sawakita immediately followed. He knew that Shirasawa was the most dangerous person in Shohoku, and no one could let him go.
As a result, Shirasawa didn't even look at Sawakita. When he dribbled towards the basket, he suddenly flicked the ball backward, and the basketball passed right through the gap between people and into Kogure's hands outside the three-point line!
Just as Kawata was about to reach Kogure's side, Kogure didn't hesitate, his eyes fixed on the basket, and he raised his hand to shoot!
"Senior Kogure!" someone on the bench shouted instantly, their palms sweating.
Takenori Akagi's eyes were gleaming, his fists clenched tightly; he was convinced the ball would go in!
Kogure always says that Akagi influenced him, that Akagi made him persevere until now, but in reality, Akagi was the same.
They've been playing basketball together since junior high. When they joined Shohoku, their teammates changed batch after batch. Of all the Shohoku, only Kogure stayed, except for Akagi.
If Kogure had also given up, Akagi didn't even dare to think if he could have held on until now; the basketball team might have disbanded by then.
Kogure is just an ordinary person, and even more so on the field. But Akagi, today is the moment for this ordinary person to make a comeback, because he has faith!
Kawata was a step too slow and missed Kogure's ball.
Sakuragi collided with Mikio was coming over, under the basket, and they were vying for position. Sakuragi showed his fighting spirit to the fullest. He didn't forget his duty; rebounding was his job!
Just as Mikio was about to grab the rebound, he suddenly felt a blur before his eyes, unsure if it was just his imagination.
When Mikio faced off against Sakuragi, he could clearly feel that the latter's strength had increased again. Although this red-haired kid was incredibly talkative, he was truly the most formidable inside player Mikio had ever seen, aside from his brother, Masashi Kawata. Sakuragi's relentless charging under the basket made Mikio's heart pound.
Kogure held his position after shooting, his eyes fixed on the ball in the air. With Akagi off the court, he, as the vice-captain, had to step up and couldn't let the team down. He muttered to himself, "Go in, go in!"
Everyone stared at the arc of the ball, and with a "swish," it landed smoothly in the basket. Kogure yelled, "It's in!!!" The bench erupted, everyone jumping high to celebrate the three-pointer. This shot was crucial; for the first time, the gap between Shohoku and Sannoh had widened to double digits, now the score was 49-39, with Shohoku leading by 10 points!
Kuwata exclaimed excitedly, "That's amazing! Kogure- senpai is incredible!" Another teammate chimed in, "I never expected Kogure -senpai to be so composed, he has such a strong mentality!"
Akagi watched Kogure on the court, a smile involuntarily creeping onto his face. He knew that Kogure had never slacked off in training since he first started playing basketball. Opportunity always favors the prepared, and this saying was perfectly applicable to Kogure; this was exactly the kind of performance he deserved!
Shohoku had just launched a 5-0 run, including a service violation by Sannoh, a mistake they had never made before. The 10-point difference became the turning point of the game.
On the sidelines, Goro Domoto frowned and thought for a while, but ultimately didn't call a timeout. He felt that even a 10-point deficit was within a manageable range, and the players would perform better under pressure than if a timeout was called.
The intensity of this game was greater than any of Sannoh's games this year, and even comparable to their away game last year, finally getting the players motivated. Domoto waved a few gestures and said a few words on the sidelines, probably adjusting the defensive strategy.
Hikoichi Aida's eyes widened, and he exclaimed, "It's a full-court man-to-man press!" In his view, Shohoku was playing like they were in the last minute of the game, not the first half. They were going all out! But he quickly realized that Shohoku wanted to take advantage of this momentum to widen the gap.
This time, Sannoh didn't let Mikio serve. That kid lacked too much experience in matches, and he was already mentally unstable after being distracted by Sakuragi. Instead, Masashi Kawata served himself.
The ball was passed to Kazunari Fukatsu, who wanted to pass it to Sawakita, but Sawakita was currently the most difficult player to receive the ball on the court!
The moment Sannoh served, Sakuragi sprinted back. His defensive task was the most demanding, as he had to guard both Kawata brothers simultaneously! Although the genius was covered in sweat, his focus was at an unprecedented level, which made Coach Anzai on the sidelines grin from ear to ear. In his mind, he gave Sakuragi a perfect score; he was the defensive core of this lineup.
Shirasawa is marking Sawakita, Ichinokura, who was originally a nightmare for the guards, now has Ryota Miyagi following him around like a shadow! Miyagi has never run a marathon, but no one dares to say that he can't run fast. In terms of endurance, he has no rivals in the team.
Moreover, he is fast. Although he can't become a defensive stalwart like Ichinokura, since that requires talent and the ability to read the enemy's offense, which Miyagi is still lacking, he can easily chase Ichinokura for several minutes.
This caused a problem for Kazunari Fukatsu. Mitsui was initially guarding him alone, but before they even crossed the halfway line, Kogure suddenly rushed over, forming a double attack that entangled Fukatsu, rendering him unable to move.
" Shohoku's defense is too fierce! I didn't realize they could defend like this!" Koshino exclaimed. He added that if Shohoku played with this intensity against Ryonan, Ryonan probably wouldn't last until the second half.
On the sidelines, Moichi Taoka crossed his arms and suddenly realized that all these changes stemmed from Sakuragi's successful defense. He admired Coach Anzai and felt that everything had changed since then.
A few months ago, Sakuragi was a complete novice. He couldn't do anything except run and jump. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that he was a complete novice when it came to basketball. He had no manners, was bad at playing basketball, but was a good fighter.
Yet this delinquent youth is now shining on the stage of the national finals. In Taoka's view, this is where Coach Anzai's gamble truly lies.
Anzai dared to recruit someone like Sakuragi, and was able to spot his hidden potential, which was even deeper than Kawata's broad shoulders.
Although Sakuragi didn't even know the rules of basketball at first, he managed to go from a complete novice to one of the top 20 high school players in the country in just a few months. After the finals, won't his ranking skyrocket?
Moichi Taoka was truly impressed by that old man Anzai at this moment.
Whether he was a devil in the past or a Buddha now, Mitsuyoshi Anzai is still Mitsuyoshi Anzai, no doubt about it.
The camera pans back to Sakuragi standing at the free-throw line, flanked by the two lovable characters, Big Kawata Little Kawata.
Judging by their stance alone, Sakuragi was not inferior to the two of them by even a fraction! But the halftime was truly exciting, with Kazunari Fukatsu, ranked fourth in the nation, being relentlessly harassed!
Hisashi Mitsui gritted his teeth, unleashing all the defensive energy he had accumulated in his life to lock down Fukatsu.
But Kiminobu Kogure has completely gone mad today! His usual mild-mannered demeanor is gone, replaced by a fierce and menacing look, as if he's about to devour Fukatsu. He's been desperately trying to steal the ball, and if he misses even once, he just turns around and goes for it again!
Kogure's defensive talent is indeed average, but Akagi said that this guy hasn't stopped training in the past few years and is always striving to climb higher.
His current defensive style, to put it bluntly, is just recklessly tearing at people. Frankly, it looks a bit foolish, like a clueless newbie who's never touched a basketball but is incredibly Fukatsu outmaneuvered by Fukatsu. But Fukatsu has no idea how much pressure this guy is putting on him.
" Kogure! Let's do it!"
Takenori Akagi, sitting on the sidelines, couldn't sit still any longer. He jumped up and yelled at the field until his voice cracked.
This guy is usually just as mild-mannered as he is, but today he's finally showing his fangs! For the team, for his teammates, and for his own career, he's risking his life!
Bang! Fukatsu's arm collided head-on with Kogure's.
Kogure's slender body staggered from the impact. But just then, Masashi Kawata to ask for the ball, trying to break the deadlock.
After breaking through Kogure, Fukatsu finally had space, Masashi Kawata arrived just in time, taking control of the ball and stabilizing the rhythm.
It has to be said that the rhythm is now entirely in Shohoku's hands. To break the deadlock, they need to stabilize and play a positional game, and score a basket. Fukatsu then bounced the ball to Masashi Kawata.
Sakuragi didn't chase after them; he was still keeping an eye on Kawata from the free-throw line. He couldn't just leave Big Kawata.
One against two, every step must be flawless. Thud! The ball bounced near Mitsui's feet. Mitsui frowned; the double team was about to break through. Fukatsu, as expected of Sannoh's ace, was incredibly steady.
But at that moment, Mitsui's eyes suddenly widened!
Kogure, who had been knocked aside, lunged forward! At Fukatsu and Mitsui's feet, Kogure flew horizontally, heading straight for the basketball! His face screamed two words: fight to the death!
Thud! Kogure caught up and intercepted the ball with both hands!
He dialed the number to Mitsui, and bang! He fell to the ground, his glasses flying off. It was a heartbreaking sight.
Mitsui received the ball and didn't care about Kogure at all. This was a possession that Kogure had risked his life for, and only scoring would do him justice.
Mitsui charged forward, pushing against Fukatsu.
"They held on! Shohoku held on!"
Hikoichi Aida's eyes widened in disbelief. Everyone else did too! The fans on the sidelines erupted, their cheers shaking the arena. Kogure's passion infected everyone. This was what the Grand Finals should be like!
The Miyagi switched from defense to offense and charged forward in an instant.
Satoshi Ichinokura's explosiveness and absolute speed were far inferior to Miyagi's, making it impossible for him to immediately close the gap. Mitsui then passed the ball to Miyagi.
The roles reversed, and Shirasawa and Sawakita switched positions.
The two of them were fighting incredibly hard!
But no one expected that the matchup between these two aces would start right from the off-ball defense. Shirasawa wouldn't let Ze Sawakita receive the ball, and Sawakita wouldn't let Shirasawa touch the ball either. Neither of them anticipated that the starting point of their head-on battle would be such a relentless struggle off the ball.
Sakuragi's transition from defense to offense was incredibly swift; he leaped off the ground like an arrow, and by the time Mikio Kawata crossed the three-point line, he had already slipped past midcourt.
With his brain, he couldn't possibly remember any of the rules and regulations on the tactics board. He only believed in two principles: first, don't stop; second, keep a close watch on the Kawata brothers.