At that moment on the field, Yo Aoki called his four first-year teammates to his side, stared into their eyes, and said, "My goal is to dominate the county, and then the country! Are you willing to risk your lives with me for the next three years?"
The impact of the tomahawk dunk completely stunned the four boys, who all shouted in unison, "Yes!"
Yo Aoki smiled confidently, "The first step is to win today's match!"
With Yo Aoki's encouragement, the four Nakako players were no longer flustered and were full of fighting spirit. Masakazu Yoshida even shouted at the second-year players, "Come on! Bring it on!"
This is Yo Aoki's first step—to ignite the fighting spirit of Takezato. Just like in the prefectural tournament in the manga, Takezato lost the first three matches decisively. Besides lacking strength, the key issue was that the whole team lacked motivation and couldn't even get close to the top four.
The second-year players at this point were exactly like those in the manga—they had long lost their fighting spirit. They had no idea how to deal with Yo Aoki, and everyone thought they were doomed to lose this match.
Hojo dribbled the ball up the court, and Nakako immediately closed in on him. Dejected, Hojo was only thinking about ending the game as soon as possible. Nakako, now brimming with confidence, seized the opportunity and reached out to steal the ball. He slapped the ball away with a "smack," but unfortunately, he used too much force, and the ball went directly out of bounds.
Mizuki blew his whistle, awarding possession of the ball to the second-year students.
"What a pity." Nakako scratched his head in frustration.
" Nakako made a beautiful break!" Yo Aoki shouted to encourage him. Upon hearing this, the previously dejected Nakako immediately perked up and threw himself back into the game.
Takeuchi stood on the sidelines and threw the ball in. He originally intended to pass the ball to Igawa, but his intention was impossible to hide.
Upon seeing this, Masato Matsumoto immediately lunged to intercept the ball, and then passed it to the onrushing Nakako.
Nakako dribbled the ball quickly forward into the attacking third. At this point, second-year students Akiyama and Igawa had already retreated to defend. He didn't dare to rush into the penalty area rashly, but instead controlled the ball and waited for his teammates to get into position.
Once his teammates were in position, Nakako passed the ball back to Yo Aoki.
As soon as Aoki got the ball, all the second-year players on the field tensed up, with Imamura putting all his effort into guarding him.
Aoki held the ball with both hands, his back against Imamura, using the strength of his back to gauge the opponent's reaction.
At this moment, Nakako and Matsumoto were still moving around, trying to create scoring space for Aoki, Matsumoto was moving closer to Aoki.
Aoki looked at Matsumoto, pretending to pass the ball, Imamura noticed and reached out to block him.
But as soon as he moved his foot, Aoki keenly noticed the deviation Aoki immediately turned around, darting past Imamura.
Imamura was about to reach out to stop him, Aoki slipped right past him. He immediately turned around to chase after him, but it was too late. Aoki had already driven to the basket and was dribbling the ball, preparing to make a layup.
Aoki's breakthrough attracted Akiyama to come over for help defense. Akiyama jumped up to try to block, but Aoki suddenly pulled back his hand holding the ball in mid-air and passed the ball under Akiyama's armpit to the unguarded Yoshida.
Yoshida got the ball and shot, the basketball bounced off the backboard and went in, making the score 9-0.
No one expected the game to start this way. Looking at the dejected second-year players, Mizuki felt troubled and walked over to Coach Akai, saying, "Coach, should we call a timeout?"
Akai was feeling conflicted. On one hand, Sendoh was happy to discover that Aoki was actually quite skilled, but on the other hand, he was angry that the second-year team members weren't putting in any effort. He seemed to be seeing the scene from last year's prefectural tournament when they were defeated by the first-year Ryonan.
He said to Mizuki with a stern face, "The 20-minute scrimmage is less than halfway through. Let them adjust on their own! They can't even get past their intra-team practice matches, how can they talk about advancing to the national tournament? You continue officiating!"
"Yes," Mizuki replied with a wry smile.
In the following game, Aoki changed his offensive approach. He stopped forcing shots and instead took over Nakako's role, starting to organize the offense.
Aoki signaled to his teammates to get moving and not just stand still. Just then, Yuichi Nakamura managed to shake off Takeuchi's defense with a run, Aoki passed the ball to him. Unfortunately, Nakamura didn't receive it well; the ball bounced in his hands before he could control it, wasting some time. Takeuchi had already caught up, and Nakamura had no chance to score, so he could only pass the ball to Yoshida.
Yoshida received the ball, turned and cut inside, and attempted a layup, but his shot was blocked by Imamura who was helping to defend.
Akiyama got the ball and immediately passed it to Hojo. Hojo was about to dribble when he noticed Aoki coming up to defend. Before Aoki could get into position, he quickly passed the ball to Igawa. Masato Matsumoto tried to block, but Igawa didn't give him a chance. He accelerated past Matsumoto and scored a layup. The second-year students finally got a point.
Aoki sighed, pursing his lips.
Although Aoki tried his best to organize the attack, his teammates' shooting percentage was too low, wasting many scoring opportunities and only scoring a few goals. Moreover, he forgot that not everyone has the same stamina as him. The first-year players kept running and positioning themselves, and soon ran out of energy. The second-year players took the opportunity to launch counterattacks. Fortunately, Aoki defended a few shots and stabilized the situation.
For the remainder of the match, both sides traded blows, with each side having their own offensive and defensive maneuvers. With the sound of Mizuki's whistle, the match ended. The final score was 15-14, with the first-year students narrowly winning.
Akai had been frowning ever since Aoki switched to fighting for the organization. He muttered to himself, " Aoki certainly values the team, but Takezato..."
After the match, everyone was bent over, hands on their knees, panting heavily. Nakamura and Matsumoto, both first-year students, even sat down on the ground.
Aoki watched as everyone grew exhausted after only 20 minutes of play. He thought to himself, "If we really face a strong team like Kainan, we have no chance of winning." He thought to himself, "Besides the lack of fighting spirit, stamina is a huge problem. This is truly hell mode!"
At that moment, Akai jumped onto the field. He had clearly noticed the players' fatigue issues as well, and he waved his fist and shouted, "This is outrageous! You're exhausted after only 20 minutes! Looks like I was too lenient with your training!"
He gathered all the official players together and addressed them. "In today's scrimmage, everyone showed some promise, but it also exposed many problems, the most obvious being physical fitness. Mizuki, from now on, training will focus on physical fitness!"
"Yes," Mizuki replied.
Akai nodded in satisfaction. "Five-minute break, then we'll begin today's training!"
Perhaps it was Aoki's outstanding performance that aroused Akai's ambition. He had Mizuki put the team members to physical strain in various ways, and the Takezato team members were exhausted and groaning every day.
After training that day, Imamura walked up to Aoki and said, " Aoki, I'd like to ask you some questions."
Aoki nodded. "No problem, Imamura- senpai."
Imamura moved closer to Aoki, speaking in a low voice.
" Aoki, I faced off against that Uozumi from Ryonan in the final round of last year's prefectural tournament."
He paused, then continued, "I was a substitute at the time and didn't get much playing time, but that feeling is still stuck in my throat—I was completely crushed by that guy on both offense and defense. Afterwards, I kept thinking about it, but I just couldn't find a way to beat him."
Aoki looked up and replied first.
"Is Imamura looking for advice on Uozumi methods?"
Imamura nodded immediately, his eyes fixed on him.
Aoki thought for a moment, then spoke tactfully.
" Imamura- senpai, you should talk to the coach about this."
Imamura sighed, "I asked the coach, and he said it's fine. Uozumi is two meters tall, it's normal that we can't beat him."
Aoki couldn't help but twitch his lips, inwardly grumbling.
Coach Akai's reason is too perfunctory.
However, what Imamura said next did change his mind.
"But your performance during practice that day made me realize that the height barrier isn't insurmountable, so I'd like to ask you to teach me."
Aoki remained silent for a few seconds before speaking.
"I watched last year's match too. Actually, Imamura- senpai, you weren't that passive."
Imamura was stunned. "You went to see it?"
Aoki nodded. "In that game, Uozumi his height to shut down Takezato's interior defense. You tried to attack the paint several times but didn't get any advantage. However, you weren't idle on the defensive end either. You were agile and went around in front of him, and you also exploited Uozumi's weakness in offense, stopping several shots."
Imamura waved his hand, "That was just causing a little trouble."
After observing Aoki for the past few days, Aoki realized that Imamura was the type to take all the blame for the team's losses, which put him under so much pressure that he underperformed. Aoki hadn't wanted to get involved, as he had only recently joined the team and was already coaching others, fearing that his coaches and teammates would think he was arrogant. However, Imamura was a promising talent, and Aoki's suggestion would significantly increase Takezato's chances of participating in the national tournament, so he agreed.
He never believed that he could lead Takezato to national glory on his own; basketball is a team sport.
Aoki laughed, "That Uozumi guy, two meters tall, strong, is a formidable center, but he has quite a few weaknesses—he's clumsy, can't turn his arms properly, his offense is terrible, and he's easily angered."
Imamura immediately asked, "So how exactly do I do it?"
Aoki pointed to the basketball court, "Let's do a simulation. I'll be you, and you'll be Uozumi."
"Okay!" Imamura agreed without hesitation.
Later, only the two of them remained in the entire arena. Aoki had Imamura stand in the three-second zone, saying, "Let's practice our offense first, you guard me."
Imamura closed in, Aoki watched his defensive moves closely.
"I've been watching you play these past few days. Your offense consists mostly of turnaround jump shots and hook shots with cuts. These moves work well normally, but they're ineffective against players with that kind of height and strength."
Imamura nodded. "Yes, I wouldn't dare charge in if it were Uozumi."
Aoki said, "To deal with a center like that, you have to pull him out of the paint."
After saying that, he stood near the free-throw line. "I'm standing here now, how are you going to defend me?"
Imamura was in a dilemma. If he went up, the paint would be open, Aoki could cut inside directly. If he didn't go up, Aoki could shoot. It was a difficult choice.
He smirked. " Aoki, but my shooting and driving to the basket are terrible. This style of play isn't for me."
Aoki patiently said, "I don't think so. Shooting and driving can be trained, but your footwork and coordination are natural. This style of play suits you perfectly."
Imamura squatted there for a long time, thinking without saying a word.
Aoki squatted down beside him, dribbling the ball, waiting for his decision.
After a while, Imamura looked up and said, " Aoki, I want to try."
Aoki laughed, "Okay, let's solve the shooting percentage problem first."
Imamura's eyes lit up. "If we can solve this, we'll be halfway there. Aoki, do you have any ideas?"