Takezato continued with a pick-and-roll, but this time Imamura didn't stay on the perimeter after setting a screen for Yo Aoki; instead, he turned and drove to the basket. Yo Aoki drew Takano and Hanagata over, and finding an opening, he passed the ball between them to Imamura. Imamura banked the ball in. 6-10!
The spectators were stunned. Shohoku, the runner -Shoyo up in Kanagawa and a contender for the national championships, was being completely dominated by Takezato?
The referee blew his whistle and called out, " Shoyo team requests a timeout!"
Yo Aoki and the others returned to the bench. Coach Akai slapped his thigh with a smile, "Good job! Keep it up!" Turning to Yo Aoki, he said, " Yo, you need to work harder on your offense. Don't just focus on passing."
Shirota chimed in, " Yo, I was just telling the coach I wanted a timeout, but before I could even finish, Shoyo called it first." Yo Aoki laughed, "That's right, we need to force Fujima onto the court quickly."
On the other side of the Shoyo bench, Fujima smiled and swept his gaze over everyone, "Why are you all looking so down? Takezato is also one of the top four in the prefecture. If we can't even beat them, what's the point of this warm-up match?" He looked at Hasegawa: "That number 10 from Takezato is no pushover; he's the tactical core. If we can lock him down, their tactics will be useless. Kazushi, can you handle him?" Hasegawa patted his chest. "Leave it to me!"
Fujima nodded: " Hanagata, if Kazushi gets blocked, double-team him immediately, don't let him pass. Takano, if Hanagata leaves the Hanagata, immediately cover for him. If Takezato's center doesn't cut in, stick to him tightly. Ito, keep an eye on the openings Takano leaves. Takano, Nagano, you two stick with Hanagata to protect the rebounds." "Understood!" the entire Shoyo team responded in unison. "Alright, get on the court!"
The game resumed, Hanagata's fadeaway jump shot helped Shoyo stabilize their morale. When it was Takezato's turn to attack, Yo Aoki noticed that Shoyo had set up a screen, and in his half of the court, besides Hasegawa and Takano, even Nagano was moving towards him.
Yo Aoki thought to himself: Although he could defend the pick-and-roll, wouldn't that leave Mizuki and Shindo open? He raised his hand to signal Imamura to come up and set a screen. Before Imamura could even get into position, Yo Aoki passed the ball to Shindo. The Shoyo players had just thought Takezato was going to run a pick-and-roll, but who would have thought Yo Aoki would actually pass the ball! Shindo didn't hesitate, raised his hand and shot, a three-pointer that swished through the net! 8-13!
Shoyo is a team known for its defense. Without Fujima, their offense relies entirely on Hanagata's one-on-one plays in the paint, while the other players grab offensive rebounds for second-chance points. However, Takezato currently on fire with a high shooting percentage, and with the pick-and-roll between Yo Aoki and Imamura, the score gap is widening. At halftime, Shoyo Takezato by 9 points, 32-41.
At halftime, Coach Akai was extremely satisfied with the team's performance, slapping his thigh and laughing, " Shoyo is second in the prefecture. If we can beat them, we can be on par with Kainan!" Yo Aoki looked at the excited coach and thought to himself: Fujima hasn't even played yet, the coach is getting a little carried away.
As the break was about to end, Coach Akai said to Yo Aoki, " Yo, attack more in the second half, don't just keep thinking about passing!"
Yo Aoki thought to himself, "Is this coach trying to push me towards becoming a lone wolf?"
The referee blew the whistle, signaling for both teams to enter the field, and the second half of the game began immediately. Although the audience had been stifled by the score deficit, they were now shouting at the top of their lungs as if they wanted to lift the roof off the stadium.
Yo Aoki grinned; Fujima, this great god, had finally made his appearance.
As soon as Fujima stepped onto the court, the players from Takezato immediately realized what was going on; the suffocating pressure from Shoyo was back.
The game begins with a jump ball. Hanagata gets the ball and passes it to Fujima. Shoyo gets their first attack opportunity in the second half.
Fujima dribbled the ball, facing Hojo's defense. He dribbled the ball with his left hand and broke through to Hojo's right side. Hojo was about to move to block, but Fujima suddenly changed direction with a crossover step, nimbly cutting to the left side with a clean and decisive move.
He drove into the paint, leaped up for a layup, and slammed the ball into the basket. The score became 34-41.
Hojo stared blankly at the basket; he hadn't moved an inch while Hojo was defending, and Hojo couldn't even keep up with the reaction. Yo Aoki quickly went over and patted him on the shoulder.
"Senior, don't take it to heart, it's our turn to attack."
After switching sides, Hojo dribbled the ball, and Fujima came up to defend him closely. Hojo panicked as soon as he saw Fujima and tried to pass the ball, but Fujima didn't give him a chance at all, sticking to him tightly. Hojo dodged left and right, and was in a flurry of activity.
Yo Aoki stepped forward to help Hojo out of the predicament, but Fujima reacted quickly and snatched the ball away.
After Fujima the ball, Fujima immediately launched a fast break, rushing to the basket to prepare for a layup. At this moment, Yo Aoki arrived and jumped up to block the shot.
"Watch out!" shouted the Shoyo substitutes from the bench.
Fujima didn't shoot at all. He faked a layup, anticipated that Yo Aoki would come after him, gathered the ball, and passed it to Hanagata, Hanagata it in. The score became 36-41, a difference of 5 points between the two teams.
"Whistle!" The referee blew his whistle. Coach Akai called a timeout.
" Shindo, you and Hojo will double-team Fujima. You must stop his breakthrough!" Coach Akai shouted, giving tactical instructions to resolve the immediate problem.
But Hojo kept his head down, showing no fighting spirit whatsoever; he had already been defeated by Fujima.
The pause time is up.
Takezato still didn't improve after the timeout, and could only rely on Yo Aoki to carry the team. He kept passing the ball to create opportunities for his teammates, trying to bring the team's momentum back.
But the accuracy they showed in the first half disappeared in the second half; the Takezato players didn't even have the courage to shoot. Shoyo, on the other hand, showed their true abilities. Fujima came on and made up for their lack of agility. They relied on their height to charge into Takezato's defense, and the already weak defense couldn't hold on any longer.
The score gradually widened.
Yo Aoki felt he could score points too, easily getting forty or fifty, but just like Sendoh had said about Kaede Rukawa before, it might not be a good thing for the team.
He knew that to turn the tide, every player needed to contribute, but things weren't as easy as he thought.
" Imamura!" Yo Aoki shouted, Imamura quickly came to set a screen, but...
"Whistle!" The referee blows the whistle, "White team's number 6 commits a moving screen foul."
"What's going on?" Yo Aoki kept asking himself. He thought that his arrival would improve the team, but Takezato was still as weak and frail as in the comics.
He practiced pick-and-rolls with Imamura, made training plans with Mizuki, and investigated intelligence with Shirota, but now it all seems to have been in vain.
"Maybe I really shouldn't have come to Takezato!"
"White team requests a substitution!" the referee announced. "Number 7 comes on, number 10 goes off!"
"What?" Yo Aoki looked at Coach Akai in disbelief. "Substituting me? Are you giving up on the game, or do you think I didn't play well?"
He walked off the field with his head down, then squatted silently on the bench.
Coach Akai stood up and sat down next to Yo Aoki.
" Aoki, what do you think Takezato needs most?"
Yo Aoki was anxious, but he still took a deep breath. "Teacher, isn't this not the time to talk about this?"
At this moment, Shoyo intercepted Shindo's pass again, Fujima scored on a fast break.
" Aoki, look, everyone is giving it their all, but at crucial moments, our team lacks the belief to defeat our opponents."
"Does Coach Akai mean I should go on the field and give them a pep talk?" Yo Aoki was completely baffled.
"And then you want me to play one-on-one? Basketball is a team sport, not a one-man show!"
Yo Aoki's basketball education from a young age taught him that victory cannot be entrusted to any one person, and that the team cannot be sacrificed for personal gain.
Do you know the difference between you, Fujima, Maki from Kainan, and Sendoh from Ryonan?
Yo Aoki squatted down, lost in thought, without saying a word.
Although it was just a practice match and winning or losing wasn't that important, I substituted you not because I wanted to give up on the game, but because I wanted you to observe Shoyo's playing style from the sidelines.
As soon as Fujima entered the game, Shoyo's offense immediately went smoothly. Everyone revolved around him, each doing their own job, and no one ran around aimlessly.
Immediately afterwards, Fujima spun around and got past Hojo. Hojo's defense was as flimsy as paper and couldn't stop him at all. After cutting into the paint, he attracted two players from Takezato to help defend, and then made a behind-the-back pass, accurately finding Takano who was unguarded. Takano raised his hand and dunked the ball into the basket.
The score quickly widened to twelve points. Fujima smiled and encouraged each of his teammates. Everyone played with great enthusiasm, and even the substitutes on the bench breathed a sigh of relief, feeling very reassured.
Could it be...? Yo Aoki stared at the game on the sidelines, a thought suddenly popping into his head.
He recalled the manga he had read before about Ryonan's victory over Kainan. After Uozumi fouled out five times, Ryonan didn't panic; instead, they fought even harder because they had Sendoh supporting them.
It was only then that Yo Aoki realized he had misunderstood the situation drastically. His situation was completely different from Kaede Rukawa's; he didn't have ruthless players like Akagi or Mitsui by his side, Takezato wasn't Shohoku —it was a truly weak team.
He always thought of himself as a time traveler, and with his outstanding basketball skills, his teammates should naturally treat him as their leader. But in reality, everyone just saw him as a first-year rookie. Although he was quite good and had helped the team build a lot, he hadn't grown to the level of Shinichi Maki or Fujima. He wasn't a pillar of Takezato at all, and in fact, his teammates didn't fully trust him.
Although he is selfless, what Takezato needs most right now is someone who can step forward and use their strength to build confidence in everyone. This is not a solo effort; it is a responsibility that a leader should shoulder. And he has to step up and prove it.
So this is what Coach Akai was talking about, what Takezato needs most.
After figuring it out, Yo Aoki's eyes lit up like light bulbs, and he jumped up and went to Coach Akai's side.
Teacher, let me go on stage!
Coach Akai looked up at him, smiled, nodded, and patted him on the shoulder. "Have you figured it out?"
Yo Aoki grinned and gave a thumbs-up. "Mm!"
"My coaching skills can't compare to those of Takato Moichi Taoka from Kainan, but no one understands these kids from Takezato better than me." Coach Akai looked at Yo Aoki, his hands trembling slightly. "You are a once-in-a-decade talent. Selflessness is a good thing, but being too selfless is not good. Boldly show your strength and be everyone's support."
Yo Aoki returned to the court, didn't say a word to his teammates, and went straight to the backcourt to ask for the ball, taking over dribbling from Hojo.
He dribbled the ball to the frontcourt, where Shoyo had already set up their defensive positions. Although the most effective way to deal with a team with such strong inside strength is like Shohoku, relying on Mitsui's long-range shots to create space, Takezato doesn't have a player as ruthless as Mitsui, and Yo Aoki doesn't intend to play that way either.
Hasegawa stayed close to him, constantly shaking his arm to apply pressure, making it difficult for him to break through.