Mizuki led the shouts, "Down with Shoyo!"
The crowd echoed, "Down with Shoyo!"
"Alright, get on stage!"
On the court, both teams were in position. Aoki looked and, just like in the manga, Fujima from Shoyo wasn't playing; instead, he was replaced by Taku Ito, a second-year student.
The players from Takezato and Shoyo stood in the center circle, their matchups already decided: Imamura was guarding Hanagata, Aoki was guarding Takano, Mizuki was guarding Nagano, Shindo was guarding Hasegawa, and Hojo was guarding Ito.
The referee blew the whistle, and the jump ball decided the outcome. Imamura jumped but couldn't even touch the ball, Shoyo gained possession first. Ito dribbled the ball across half-court, taking advantage of his height and completely disregarding Hojo's defense, directly passing the ball to Hanagata. Imamura closed in, Hanagata only dribbled twice before driving towards the inside, turning and hooking the ball in. The ball grazed the rim and went in, making it 2-0.
Imamura clenched his fists and cursed, "Damn it!" His face fell. Aoki, watching from the side, Hanagata, thinking to himself that Hanagata didn't even need to lean back; he was really underestimating Imamura. He leaned over and patted Imamura on the back. "It's okay, senpai, we'll get our revenge."
When it was Takezato's turn to attack, Hojo dribbled the ball up the court and quickly passed it to Imamura. Imamura received the ball and tried to back down Hanagata, but Hanagata's defense wasn't as explosive as his offense, but it was still tough enough. He used his height alone to block Imamura under the basket, making him unable to move.
Imamura dribbled inside twice, but there was no space to shoot, so he had to pass the ball back to Hojo. But his pass was too obvious, and it was intercepted by Ito as soon as he released the ball. Ito dribbled straight to the basket and made a layup, making it 4-0.
Hojo passed the ball to Mizuki on the baseline. Mizuki raised his hand and faked a shot, and Nagano immediately rushed to block it. But Nagano was fooled, Mizuki took the opportunity to slip into the paint. Just as he was about to make a layup, he looked up and saw Hanagata coming to help defend. Mizuki was very steady and passed the ball to Imamura who was open.
The bench erupted in cheers. "Great shot! Mizuki is awesome!" Then, with a loud "bang," Imamura's shot was blocked— Shoyo, who is 193cm Shoichi Takano, from Shoyo, has a vertical leap that is higher than the backboard! Takezato bench was filled with groans of despair.
Ito got the ball, but instead of launching a fast break, he settled into a set position. Shoyo all got into position, and Ito passed the ball to Hanagata again. Imamura marked him tightly, Hanagata tried to back down to the basket, Imamura's positioning was excellent, Hanagata couldn't penetrate.
At that moment, Nagano ran over to ask for the ball, Hanagata handed it to him. Imamura focused on Nagano, but when he tried to cover, he realized that Nagano didn't have the ball in his hand!
Imamura thought to himself, "Oh no! Hanagata is up to something!" He had just turned around when he saw Hanagata half-turn and jump, dunking with both hands, making it 6-0.
Yo Aoki saw this play perfectly – it was the same old tactic Shoyo used against Shohoku. After Hanagata finished his dunk, the audience roared, chanting " Shoyo!" " Shoyo!"
Fujima, watching from the sidelines, breathed a sigh of relief: Hanagata is far superior to the opposing number six, Takezato's inside game ruined, only their outside game can threaten us! He stared at Kazushi Hasegawa, thinking to himself: Today, it all depends on you, Hasegawa!
Shoyo uses a zone defense, a tactic that perfectly complements their height advantage and compensates for their lack of agility.
Hojo dribbled the ball to the left, facing Ito's defense. Ito is 180cm tall and excels at defending high balls, so Hojo didn't dare to pass the ball carelessly and could only look for opportunities.
Tatsu Shindo ran over for the ball, Hojo, remembering the outside shooting they'd practiced a few days ago, immediately passed it to him. Shindo adjusted and took a jump shot, but suddenly a large hand slapped the ball away, blocking it completely—it was Kazushi Hasegawa! Someone on the bench shouted, "That defense is too tough! The prefectural runner-up really lived up to his reputation!"
Shirota hurriedly asked Coach Akai, "Coach, should we call a timeout?" Coach Akai's face darkened, and after thinking for a moment, he shook his head. " Shirota, trust your teammates!" Shirota responded, turned back to the court, and stared at Yo Aoki, thinking to himself: Aoki, think of something quickly!
Seeing his team being pressured from the start, Yo Aoki couldn't sit still any longer: if they waited any longer and Fujima didn't come out, this warm-up game would be a waste! He knew there were many ways to break the zone defense, such as shooting from the outside or driving to the middle, but he insisted on going for the tougher side! Aoki ran to the outside to receive the ball from Hojo, signaled his teammates to spread out, and prepared to break through for a score.
Shoyo's zone defense operates on a man-to-man basis, and he's currently being guarded by Taku Ito. Fujima, sitting on the sidelines, immediately sees through his intentions: Trying to break through? This rookie is too naive!
The lineup that Shoyo assembled this year was specifically designed to counter Shinichi Maki's breakthroughs against Kainan Team, but Yo Aoki insisted on forcing his way through, which just happened to be Shoyo's target.
Fujima, standing on the sidelines, glanced at number 10 on the court and a slight smile appeared on his lips. This kid was different from the others; there wasn't a trace of fear on his face. He didn't know whether to praise him for his daring or laugh at his ignorance.
Yo Aoki gripped the ball, shifted his weight downwards, bent his right leg into a bow, and shuffled his left leg forward half a step—a probing smokescreen for Taku Ito.
Seeing that Yo Aoki had moved, Taku Ito didn't dare to move too much, but his body still instinctively leaned to the left, which was enough for Yo Aoki to slip in!
Yo Aoki pushed off the ground with his right foot and darted past Ito in one step. Taku Ito's pupils shrank, and he was about to raise his hand to stop him Yo Aoki had already passed by. He was secretly shocked: This speed!
As soon as he rushed in, Takano rushed over to help defend, Yo Aoki turned around and shook him off, driving straight to the basket.
With only Hanagata left under the basket, Yo Aoki leaped for a layup. Hanagata darkened, and he snorted. Where did this kid get the audacity to attempt a layup right in front of him?
Hanagata leaped up to block Yo Aoki's shot, and the two collided mid-air with a dull thud. Hanagata was startled; where did this kid get such strength? He swayed and almost fell over.
Hanagata instinctively clung to Yo Aoki, trying to stop the ball by fouling him, but he miscalculated. The expected result didn't happen; Yo Aoki was still floating in the air, and Hanagata felt himself being pushed up an inch.
Yo Aoki flicked his wrist, and with a "whoosh," the ball spun and went into the basket. The referee blew his whistle and shouted, "Goal! Green team's number 5 committed a foul, one free throw!" A murmur rippled through the crowd, with someone yelling, "Impossible!"
How could Yo Aoki, carrying the 83-kilogram Hanagata, still manage to score? The Takezato bench erupted in cheers, chanting " Aoki!"
Coach Akai jumped to his feet, pumped his fist, and shouted, "Good shot!" Then he yelled, " Aoki! That's the kind of energy Takezato needs!"
Fujima, standing on the sidelines, was stunned. This kid actually resembled Shinichi Maki. He murmured, " Yo Aoki..."
Yo Aoki walked to the free-throw line, took a deep breath, raised his hand to shoot, and the ball fell steadily into the basket. The score became 6-3.
Hanagata yelled at his teammates, "We only scored one goal, don't panic, we'll get the next one!" Fujima wasn't playing, so he had to shoulder the entire responsibility.
Hanagata blocked Imamura, reached out to receive Ito's pass, and Shoyo relentlessly attacked that spot. Just as Hanagata was about to attack, Yo Aoki immediately dropped from his position defending Takano and came over to double-team him.
Hanagata saw Yo Aoki approaching and was about to pass the ball to Takano when Yo Aoki blocked the passing route.
Just as Hanagata was about to pass, Yo Aoki swung his arm, quickly and accurately knocked the ball away, then snatched it back and intercepted it!
Yo Aoki glanced up and saw that Shoyo's Ito and Hasegawa were retreating quickly on defense, so without a fast break opportunity, he passed the ball to Hojo. Hojo dribbled across the frontcourt, and Yo Aoki came up to ask for the ball.
Shoyo immediately rushed up to intercept Hojo's pass. Hojo didn't rush to pass to Yo Aoki, but first tried to break through Ito. Ito quickly retreated to defend. But Hojo faked a breakthrough and then passed the ball to Yo Aoki by turning sideways.
Yo Aoki had the ball on the perimeter, guarded by Hasegawa. Yo Aoki gave Imamura a wink, Imamura immediately understood and came up to set a screen. Yo Aoki waited for Imamura to get into position before driving towards the baseline from the side.
This was Imamura's first official game using a pick-and-roll. He didn't completely block Hasegawa, Hasegawa followed up with Yo Aoki, and Nagano came over to help, with the two of them double-teaming Yo Aoki.
Imamura yelled, "Watch out!" Yo Aoki was double-teamed, but he wasn't flustered at all. He wanted to draw the defense and create opportunities for his teammates.
Yo Aoki didn't look at Hasegawa, but glanced at his position out of the corner of his eye. Taking advantage of Hasegawa's unsteady footing, he suddenly circled the ball behind his back, flicked his wrist, and passed it diagonally from below. The ball went right through Hasegawa's legs!
Imamura was standing on the outside, his view completely blocked by Hasegawa. Just when he thought he was about to make a mistake, he saw the ball fly between Hasegawa's legs.
Imamura received the ball and almost forgot to shoot. Shindo called out to him, which brought him back to his senses. Fortunately, Hanagata and Ito didn't come over to help. Imamura took a jump shot from the spot.
Hanagata glared at Imamura. A center shooting a three-pointer? Are you kidding me! But just as he was about to grab the rebound, there was a "swish," and the ball went in! The score was 6-6, tied!
Yo Aoki gave Imamura and Hojo a high five and said, "Well done." The group exchanged smiles.
The score had barely been tied when the Shoyo players' mentality crumbled. They were all as anxious as ants on a hot plate. After all, Shoyo was aiming for the national tournament and was determined to break Kainan's 17-year county championship record. How could they possibly afford to be stuck with a team like Takezato?
Ito then launched an attack, with Imamura immediately marking Hanagata and cutting him off completely, giving him no space to pass the ball. After searching for a while without finding an opening, Ito had no choice but to bypass Hanagata and pass the ball to Nagano.
But he underestimated his opponent. Although Hojo was not as tall as Ito, his reaction was incredibly fast. He raised his hand to intercept, but although he only grazed the ball, the ball's trajectory was off by half an inch, and Mizuki caught it with quick eyes and hands.
Takezato seized possession of the ball and began to play a set-piece game.
Both sides settled into their positions, and Takezato once again resorted to his old tactic of high pick-and-roll. Imamura went up to screen for Yo Aoki, but this time Hanagata had learned his lesson; Imamura moved to the high post, Hanagata followed.
This time, Imamura completely blocked Takano behind him, Yo Aoki took advantage of the situation to drive into the paint. Hanagata was still struggling to decide who to guard, but Yo Aoki had already used his speed to rush into the paint, pushed off with his legs, twisted his waist and abdomen to straighten his body, and slammed the ball into the basket with both hands. 6 to 8, Takezato took the lead!
Fujima stared at the sidelines and calmly said, " Takezato's teamwork on this play has built up momentum. We need to break their pick-and-roll to regain the initiative."
Takezato's enthusiasm was completely ignited, and his defensive intensity was pushed to the limit. Without Fujima, Shoyo had no way to break the deadlock. With the shot clock running out, Ito had no choice but to force a three-pointer.
Unfortunately, the ball bounced off the rim. Yo Aoki used his body to block Takano, Takano strength was no match for him. Yo Aoki easily grabbed the rebound and dribbled the ball up the court.