Sakuragi finally managed to blurt out, "I'd like to ask you how to avoid getting ejected from the game."
Yo Aoki didn't expect Sakuragi to ask this. He remembered that in the original work, Sakuragi asked Akagi, Akagi said that even the best players can get penalized, and there are no shortcuts in defense.
Aoki didn't answer immediately, but asked, " Sakuragi, which school will your next opponent be?"
Sakuragi replied, "It's Tsukubu."
They've already arrived at Tsukubu; it seems the competition in Takezato is about to begin.
Yo Aoki said, "It's hard to explain over the phone. Let's meet at the park court tomorrow."
Sakuragi happily replied, "Okay!"
When Yo Aoki saw Sakuragi again, he found him looking dejected and walking with his head down.
Yo Aoki stepped forward and greeted him, "Hi, Sakuragi."
Sakuragi said weakly, " Aoki."
Seeing his reaction, Aoki didn't joke around and asked directly, " Sakuragi, have you been annoyed by fouls in the games lately?"
Sakuragi nodded repeatedly.
Aoki laughed and said, "Then let's demonstrate, and I'll see how you defend."
In just a few minutes, Sakuragi demonstrated all the standard fouls, including pushing, hitting, blocking, and pulling. Yo Aoki stretched his sore back and rubbed his slightly swollen hands before decisively stopping the demonstration.
He complained to Sakuragi, half-laughing and half-crying, " Sakuragi, are you trying to ruin me?"
Sakuragi's face turned bright red, and he stammered, unable to speak.
Although Sakuragi nodded vigorously, Aoki didn't rush to continue. Instead, he asked seriously, "When you're on defense, all you can think about is how to desperately get the ball back, right?"
Seeing Sakuragi nodding vigorously, Aoki smiled and explained the core of defense, "Defense is about disrupting the opponent's offense, throwing off their rhythm, and preventing them from scoring."
He bent his knees slightly, lowered his center of gravity, and spread his arms in a standard defensive stance.
" Sakuragi, do it this way once." Aoki pointed to his own movements.
Sakuragi pouted and said, "I know this well." Then he struck a pose.
Aoki raised an eyebrow. "Not bad. Why didn't you use it like that just now?"
Sakuragi waved his hand, hastily defending himself. "I did use it!"
Aoki pointed at Sakuragi's hand. "You're spreading your arms wide to increase your defensive range, not to reach out and steal the ball. Basketball defense relies on your feet, not your hands."
Although Sakuragi chuckled, Aoki didn't budge. "Besides, you're fast, so even if you lose your position, you can catch up immediately, right?"
Sakuragi smiled smugly, "Of course!"
Aoki nodded. "So, all you need to remember is not to reach out, just follow them."
Upon hearing this, Sakuragi immediately beamed with joy.
Seeing Sakuragi's confident expression, Yo Aoki suddenly stopped smiling and said seriously, "This might be okay against ordinary players, but against someone like Kaede Rukawa, it's simply not enough."
Sakuragi leaned closer. "Then what should I do?"
Aoki said solemnly, "Defense relies entirely on footwork. You'll have to practice your footwork like crazy now, the part you hate the most."
Sakuragi frowned. "How did you know I hate footwork practice?"
Aoki paused for a moment, then touched his nose. "Just a guess."
He immediately changed the subject. " Sakuragi, remember not to rush to steal the ball, just use your body to stay close to it."
Sakuragi patted his chest and said confidently, "Haha, don't worry! This genius will definitely impress them!"
Yo Aoki really wanted to see Shohoku play against Tsukubu, but the game against Takezato was just around the corner, and he couldn't afford to be distracted. Takezato Team's strength didn't allow for any slackening.
A few days later, the day of Shohoku's game arrived. Before the game, Sakuragi stood in front of the whole team and shouted at the top of his lungs, "I will absolutely not be fouled out of the game!"
No sooner had he finished speaking than Mitsui, Miyagi, and the others ruthlessly undermined him.
Sakuragi ignored him, secretly determined to make them look at him in a new light.
At the start of the game, Sakuragi adopted a defensive stance, swinging his arms back and forth, but this time he didn't reach out to steal the ball. He remembered Aoki's words: Don't use your hands, just follow.
The player he was guarding was only about 170 centimeters tall. Sakuragi was so tight that he couldn't shoot and had no choice but to pass the ball back. As a result, Miyagi intercepted the ball and scored on a fast break.
Miyagi ran back and patted Sakuragi on the shoulder. " Sakuragi, you defended well."
Sakuragi scratched his head and laughed, "This is nothing, it's too ordinary."
In the next few defensive plays, Sakuragi tenaciously clung to Tsukubu's offense without committing a single foul.
Akagi stared wide-eyed at Sakuragi's transformation. "He's becoming more and more like a serious player. Could this guy really be a genius?"
But he immediately shook his head, dismissing the absurd thought, "Impossible, absolutely impossible."
With ten minutes remaining in the game, Sakuragi was ejected from the court.
By then, he was completely out of control and crashed into someone, committing a standard offensive foul—charging.
Sakuragi pondered, chin in hand: I'll have to ask Aoki next time how to avoid offensive fouls.
"It's decided!" Shirota rushed excitedly onto the basketball court. "Our opponent for the quarterfinals is decided!"
Mizuki immediately leaned closer. "Which school?"
Shirota wiped his sweat. " The Hinode West, and they just narrowly defeated Kamitadai by two points."
The group gathered around the battle schedule and circled the Hinode West.
" The Hinode West?" Yo Aoki frowned as he tried to recall, but he had no recollection whatsoever.
He stared at the match schedule. Takezato was in Zone D for the quarterfinals. There weren't many strong teams in that zone, so even without him, they were pretty much guaranteed to make it to the semifinals.
Yo Aoki remembered that Ayako mentioned in the manga that Kainan and Ryonan had both advanced to the semifinals with overwhelming force, while Takezato was only mentioned briefly, clearly an easy opponent among the semifinalists. So, staring at the names of Kainan, Ryonan, Shohoku on the match list, he muttered to himself, "I'm about to face you guys."
Suddenly, a female voice drifted from behind. "Who are you fighting?" Yo Aoki turned around and saw that it was Oriyuki Iwasaki, who had somehow gotten behind him. He was taken aback and asked, "When did you get here?" Oriyuki Iwasaki replied with a haughty look, "Hmph, I'm not telling you." Yo Aoki was rebuffed and could only chuckle.
Shirota, who was standing nearby, caught sight of Iwasaki and immediately became furious. He angrily said, " Iwasaki -kun, isn't it your job as a basketball officer to find out about the game?" Oriyuki Iwasaki blinked blankly, "Why should I do it? The coach only tells me to record the players' training."
Shirota was furious. "Then you don't deserve to be a basketball officer!" Oriyuki Iwasaki also snapped, "Go talk to Coach Akai if you dare, you coward!"
Mizuki at this pair of clowns, Mizuki was at his wits' end. He quickly tried to mediate. "Alright, Shirota, Oriyuki just joined the team, it's normal that she doesn't understand. We'll teach her slowly. Besides, she's a girl, so you should be more lenient with her." But before he could finish speaking, Oriyuki Iwasaki couldn't sit still anymore. She glared at Mizuki: "Why should he give way to me? Am I the one who did something wrong?" Mizuki stammered, "Uh..."
Yo Aoki rubbed his forehead, inwardly sighing at the chaotic situation. He quickly tried to smooth things over, "Captain, let's get back to training! If Teacher Akai sees us, we'll be punished with another 5,000-meter run!" Mizuki, realizing what was happening, looked gratefully at Yo Aoki, "Right! Everyone, practice passing the ball to the four corners now!"
Mizuki Oriyuki Iwasaki seemed about to say something, Mizuki hurriedly shouted at the top of her lungs, "Can't you guys show some spirit? Shout with me: Takezato! Go for it!" " Takezato! Go for it!" everyone roared in unison. Oriyuki Iwasaki watched Mizuki dash back to the coach's Mizuki, her face flushed red, and turned to glare fiercely at Yo Aoki: "It's you again! Looks like you want to experience hellish training again!"
Yo Aoki was inwardly frustrated. Just because he tried to smooth things over, this little girl held a grudge against him again. During a training break, Yo Aoki approached Shirota: " Shirota, why are you so hostile towards Iwasaki?" Shirota retorted, "What? I'm telling the truth!" Yo Aoki grinned mischievously. "Do you like her and are you deliberately picking a fight?" Shirota jumped up. "No way! I just can't stand her spoiled princess attitude!"
Yo Aoki chuckled inwardly. It seemed Shirota either had feelings for Iwasaki or resented her taking up the position of executive member. This guy was quite immature. As training was nearing its end, Coach Akai came to the court and gathered everyone together. "You know our opponent is Hinode West, right?" Everyone nodded.
" Shirota, you tell us about the situation at Hinode West." Shirota, head held high and back straight, strode past Oriyuki Iwasaki and stood before Coach Akai. Yo Aoki almost burst out laughing. Shirota cleared his throat. "After these past few days of investigation, I have a very clear understanding of the situation at Hinode West."
Shirota said seriously, " Hinode West is good at fast breaks. Their average height is only about 170cm, so they are very fast. However, they are at a disadvantage in rebounding and physical confrontation. What we need to do is limit their speed and force them to play a positional game against us!" Coach Akai praised, "Well done."
Coach Akai laid out the tactics: " Hojo, Shindo, Aoki, you three are the fastest players on the team. You must retreat quickly on defense and not give them a chance for a fast break! Imamura, Mizuki, Sanada, you need to protect the rebounds! Does everyone understand?" "Understood!" everyone responded in unison.
Coach Akai clapped his hands. "Alright, starting tomorrow, we'll increase the intensity of training to ensure everything goes perfectly!" The next morning, the basketball gym was buzzing with activity. Mizuki shouted from the court, " Kawai, move faster! Matsumoto, your defense is too lax! Don't give Shindo any space to shoot! Aoki, concentrate! Don't let Hojo dribble so easily!"
Yo Aoki smiled, "Captain Mizuki's fighting spirit is very high." In fact, it wasn't just Mizuki; the entire Takezato team was full of energy. Their previous draw against Shoyo brought them new hope, allowing everyone to see a glimmer of light on the road to the national tournament. And so, Yo Aoki arrived in the world of " Slam Dunk," and his first official match was about to begin.
A brand-new bus was parked in front of Takezato High School. On the right side of the bus was written " Kanagawa Takezato High School," and on the left side, "Mind and Skill as One."
Everyone in Takezato was thinking to themselves, "Isn't that too ostentatious?" As agreed, the Ichibishi Group provided Takezato with a new car. The driver was now speaking respectfully to Oriyuki Iwasaki.