"The player wearing the blue jersey is Jun Uozumi, number 4 from Ryonan High School."
Several gasps of surprise rippled through the audience: "Wow, that's incredibly tall!" "That physique is amazing!"
"Number 5, Ryoji Ikegami."
Yo Aoki glanced at Fukuda on the Ikegami and thought to himself, " Ryonan is starting Ikegami; they clearly don't want to be exposed in front of Kainan and Shohoku."
"No. 6, Hiroaki Koshino, No. 8, Tomoyuki Uekusa."
Yo Aoki frowned, muttering to himself, "In the manga, Koshino defended against Hojo so well, I wonder if he'll be able to handle it today."
"Number 7, Akira Sendoh."
The entire arena erupted instantly, with shouts of " Sendoh! Sendoh! Sendoh! Sendoh!" so loud they nearly lifted the roof off the stadium.
Yo Aoki clenched his fists, his whole body trembling with excitement, silently chanting, "Finally, I can face you. Stay calm."
"The player in the white jersey is from Takezato High School, number 4, Masanobu Mizuki." The announcement ended, and only a few scattered claps came from the stands, lacking any real energy.
"No. 5, Tatsu Shindo."
"No. 6, Tomoya Imamura."
"Number 8, Shunya Hojo."
"Number 10, Yo Aoki."
Coach Akai stood shoulder to shoulder with Yo Aoki, patting him on the back. " Aoki, it's all up to you now."
Yo Aoki grinned, his arrogance impossible to conceal. "I'm going to crush them."
The players from both sides entered the field as the whistle blew, and the match officially began.
The referee tossed the ball into the air, and Uozumi, taking advantage of his height, steadily passed the ball to his Ryonan teammate.
Uekusa dribbled the ball across half-court and was about to pass it to Sendoh when he saw a Takezato player sticking tightly to Sendoh's side, his hands waving back and forth, completely blocking the passing lane.
That guy was right next to Sendoh, deliberately trying to disrupt him when he was passing the ball, never letting his guard down for a moment.
Seeing this, Yo Aoki immediately moved close to Sendoh, intending to completely sever Sendoh's connection with his teammates.
Yo Aoki knew that this kind of defense would be physically demanding, but he didn't care at all, as physical fitness was his forte.
Hikoichi Aida: "He's playing this hard right from the start, can he even make it to the second half?"
Moichi Taoka smiled and said, "They're trying to disrupt Sendoh's rhythm, but this isn't a match that can be decided in five minutes. Ryonan isn't just Sendoh."
Since Uekusa Sendoh didn't have a chance, he didn't force a pass and instead passed the ball directly to Uozumi in the paint.
Uozumi backed down and pushed against Imamura towards the basket. Imamura tried his best to push, but Uozumi still managed to push his way in step by step.
Once under the basket, Uozumi turned and shot. Imamura's height difference was too great, and he couldn't stop him at all. The ball went in steadily, and the score quickly became 2-0.
When it was Takezato's turn to attack, Hojo dribbled the ball past half-court.
Yo Aoki made a run to receive the ball, then gripped it with both hands, bent his knees into a bow, leaned his upper body forward, and took a step forward with his right foot, assuming a stance to break through.
Sendoh immediately moved slightly, Yo Aoki instantly pulled his foot back. Sendoh reacted quickly and returned to his original position.
Yo Aoki grinned. "That's really something."
On the Shohoku side, Kiminobu Kogure pointed at Yo Aoki and said to the people around him, "This guy is the one who appeared during our practice match against Ryonan last time."
Takenori Akagi nodded.
Hisashi Mitsui was also stunned. "It's him?"
Ryota Miyagi, observing the situation on the field, remarked, "This first-year student actually wants to go head-to-head with Sendoh?"
Takenori Akagi thoughtfully, "Without Rukawa's skills, he wouldn't have been able to beat Sendoh at all."
But Hanamichi Sakuragi suddenly exclaimed, "This guy's pretty strong!"
Miyagi asked with a smile, " Sakuragi, do you know him?"
Sakuragi didn't reply, his eyes fixed on Yo Aoki.
Takenori Akagi suddenly realized. "This guy from Takezato, could he be the one who taught Sakuragi how to play basketball?"
Yo Aoki knows Sendoh too well; there's no way he can beat him now, but it won't be easy for Sendoh to defend against him either.
Yo Aoki's eyes narrowed, and he slammed his left foot into the ground, lowering his center of gravity to an extremely low position. With explosive force, he shot out like a cannonball, skimming along the ground!
He's determined to break through to the Immortal Sendoh!
Sendoh was startled, clearly not expecting Yo Aoki to have such explosive power, but Sendoh was a top player after all, and he instantly closed in, trying to stop Yo Aoki.
In a battle between masters, the moment is fleeting. At this moment, Yo Aoki's left shoulder had already surpassed Sendoh's, giving him the upper hand.
Sendoh dared not move again, for even taking a single step could result in a foul. He could only watch helplessly as Yo Aoki brushed past him. Yo Aoki's breakthrough force was too great, forcing Sendoh to retreat several steps.
"He's past!" "Foul! Foul!" The Ryonan bench erupted in cheers, the shouts deafening.
The referee was watching closely. Yo Aoki's breakthrough wasn't a case of Sendoh first positioning himself and then charging in; the previous collisions were all legitimate physical confrontations.
But now only Uozumi is left under the basket.
Coach Taoka jumped up and down on the Ryonan bench. " Uozumi, watch out for his pass!"
But Uozumi was inexplicably certain that this kid wouldn't pass the ball; he just wanted to take the layup himself.
"You arrogant fool!" Uozumi snorted and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Come on! Come on!"
But he abandoned Imamura and rushed towards Yo Aoki. As expected, Yo Aoki didn't pass the ball and jumped right in front of Uozumi!
Yo Aoki put all his strength into this shot; it was the first time he had ever played so hard since his transmigration. He had been training at a high intensity for over a year, waiting for this moment to explode!
But the moment Yo Aoki landed and was about to jump, Sendoh sensed something was wrong. By the time he tried to warn Uozumi to be careful, it was too late.
Yo Aoki and the Uozumi collide in mid-air.
Nobody on the field believed their eyes; this was outrageous!
Uozumi, who is 2.02 meters tall and weighs 90 kilograms, was sent flying backward by the impact!
Bang! Squeak!
Yo Aoki swung the ball with both hands and slammed it into the basket. Thump! Uozumi landed hard on the ground!
This is a crushing, thunderous dunk!
The entire basketball arena fell into a deathly silence at first, then erupted in an instant!
"Waaaaaah!!"
"Oh My God!!"
Countless people held their heads in their hands, their eyes nearly popping out of their sockets, completely unable to believe what was happening before their eyes!
At that moment, a spectator in the first row pointed at the basketball hoop and shouted, "Look at the basketball hoop! Look at the basketball hoop!"
impossible!
Uozumi, still dazed as he lay on the ground, tried to get up, but none of his Ryonan teammates helped him up—they were all looking up at the basket!
Uozumi looked up, his pupils suddenly contracted, his breathing became rapid, and his face was filled with disbelief!
He noticed that the basketball hoop was warped and deformed!
Whistle! The referee blew his whistle and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Play is suspended!!"
The technicians at the technical desk snapped out of their daze and quickly told the staff to change the basketball hoop.
Yo Aoki walked over and extended his hand. "Sorry, I used too much force."
Uozumi snorted, slapped his hand away, and got up on his own.
Yo Aoki smiled, not bothering to argue with him, and turned to walk towards Takezato Takeru bench, where he bumped into Sendoh. He smiled at Sendoh and nodded.
Sendoh paused for a moment, then returned a smile.
In front of the bench at Takezato, Coach Akai, as if he were on steroids, jumped high with his 200-pound body. " Aoki, that's it! That's it!"
Yo Aoki said awkwardly, "Teacher, the competition has only just begun."
Coach Akai steadied himself and shouted again, " Aoki, keep this up, go all out, and crush Ryonan's interior defense!"
Yo Aoki nodded with a smile, "Of course I will, it was part of the plan."
Coach Taoka sat down next to Uozumi, feeling a pang of sympathy for his beloved player's frustrated expression.
" Uozumi, as the captain, anyone can fall, but you can't."
"Teacher..." Uozumi up.
Taoka immediately perked up, laughing as he said, "Don't be scared by that ball, everyone."
He was brimming with confidence. "That number 10 may have great strength and explosiveness, but he's just a guy who only knows how to brute force. This is basketball, not football!"
The referee signaled for play to continue, and as soon as the players entered the court, he issued a follow-up call, "Blue team's number 4 committed a blocking foul, White team's number 10 gets one free throw."
Wow, it's 2+1!
"What's the name of this No. 10 Takezato?" a spectator asked the person next to him, who shook his head and didn't know.
Just then, he heard a voice behind him. He turned around and saw a middle-aged man in his forties sitting behind him, his hair slicked back and covered in hair wax—it was Hisaishi, the coach of Eda Middle School. Next to him sat a team member from Eda.
" Aoki- senpai is a monster!"
"Coach, did Aoki- senpai really only join the team in his third year?"
Hisaishi touched his hair. "Of course, he's so good because of all the training I gave him!"
"Your training volume now is less than half of what he used to be! If you want to become like him, you have to train like crazy, you hear me?"
"What? Our training volume is less than half of Aoki- senpai's? I can't take it anymore!"
"He's not even human!"
"I've made up my mind, I'm going to play ball in Takezato!" said a student with a buzz cut.
Yo Aoki walked to the free-throw line, took a deep breath, and calmly made the shot.
The score is now 2-3.
" Takezato! Takezato! Takezato!"
" Ryonan! Ryonan! Ryonan!"
Yo Aoki's strong performance quickly drew the attention of the neutral spectators on the sidelines, who spontaneously cheered for Takezato. The match resumed.
Ryonan served from the baseline. Just as Sendoh was about to start his run, Yo Aoki was already right there, keeping a close eye on him and preventing him from making an easy run. "Aren't you afraid your legs will give way in the second half?" Sendoh asked, staring at Yo Aoki. "What's there to be afraid of? I'm just looking to test my limits," Yo Aoki replied with a smile.
"That arrogant guy." Sendoh laughed as well. He didn't force the ball, but simply led Yo Aoki towards the frontcourt. After all, the game had just started, and to go toe-to-toe with Aoki right now would just be falling into Takezato's trap.
Uekusa passed the ball to Koshino, who tried to force his way Shindo, but Koshino was firmly positioned and Koshino couldn't get past him. Koshino stopped the ball and raised Shindo above his head, preparing to pass it to Uozumi under the basket, but he underestimated Imamura.
Imamura had been watching Uozumi closely. When he saw Koshino raise his hand, he immediately moved to the side and intercepted the ball before Uozumi. Hojo caught the ball and immediately tried to launch a fast break, but Ryonan's defenders were too quick to recover, and the three players were already in position.
Hojo clicked his tongue; this speed was outrageous. Left with no other option, he could only organize a positional battle. Koshino pressed forward, his eyes fixed on Hojo. In the past, Hojo would have panicked, but this time he just smiled. His defense was far inferior to Yo Aoki's.
Hojo moved to the side, protecting the ball. Shindo understood and came up to block him. Hojo immediately shook off Koshino's defense and was open! Uekusa, who was defending Shindo, quickly moved over to cover, but Koshino didn't give up and rushed towards Hojo, trying to double-team him with Uekusa.