Hojo glanced up at Imamura, making up his mind to pass the ball. He jumped up, his eyes fixed on Imamura, his hand still in the motion of passing. Uekusa, Koshino, and Uozumi were all ready to intercept the ball, but he didn't pass! Using the momentum of his jump, he flicked his hand downwards, and the ball flew directly past Koshino's head.
This no-look pass completely stunned Koshino. Koshino was about to turn around when the ball was already in Shindo's hands. "Good shot!" someone shouted from the sidelines. But Shindo had just come on and hadn't warmed up yet; the shot went too far.
The ball bounced off the rim, and Shindo shouted for the rebound, while Takezato bench groaned in despair. Under the basket, Uozumi and Imamura were huddled together, both trying to get a good position, looking up at where the ball would land, but Uozumi the upper hand.
Just as the ball was about to land, Uozumi was about to jump when he felt someone jump behind him first. It was Yo Aoki! Uozumi cursed inwardly, jumping so early must mean... But what he saw next stunned him. Yo Aoki jumped up from behind him, hovering in mid-air as if glued to it, waiting for the ball to fall to his hands, then slammed it into the basket with both hands.
"That's high!" Shiozaki and Yasuda of Shohoku shouted at the top of their lungs. "That hang time is incredible!" Mitsui yelled anxiously. It's that monster Aoki again! Sakuragi slapped his thigh and shouted, " Gorilla, was that a foul?"
Akagi suppressed his shock. "He... didn't foul." Jumping from behind to grab a rebound is likely to result in a foul by touching someone, but Aoki had enough core strength to adjust his posture and avoid touching Uozumi. Akagi looked at Uozumi, who had his head down, and felt a tightness in his chest.
Taoka finally realized that Takezato's tactics were all aimed at Uozumi. Should they replace him or not? If they did, Uozumi would definitely be hit hard, and no one in Ryonan could handle him. They had to make him stand up on his own.
Taoka cursed himself inwardly, "I underestimated Takezato. We were so focused on Kainan that we didn't take Takezato seriously and didn't do our research beforehand. Now we're doomed." " Sendoh, now we can only rely on you."
Sendoh scratched his head in exasperation. Yo Aoki was like Sticky Candy, sticking to him relentlessly. Sendoh took two steps forward, then suddenly stepped back and leaned back, reaching out for the ball. The movement was ridiculously exaggerated.
But Yo Aoki couldn't even catch up.
Seeing that Sendoh had an open space, Koshino decisively passed the ball to him.
This was the first time Sendoh had the ball in the game.
Sendoh's knees were slightly bent, and he held the ball protectively in front of his waist with both hands.
Yo Aoki was pondering how to Sendoh —should he pass, charge, or surrender?
Sendoh's three-threat pose was even more deceptive than Yo Aoki's, leaving Yo Aoki in a difficult position.
When Sendoh doesn't have the ball, close marking is fine, but as soon as he gets the ball, Yo Aoki struggles.
If he were to get close, Sendoh's speed would definitely allow him to get past him; but if he leaves a half-step open, Sendoh would either have to throw or pass.
Yo Aoki had no choice but to stand an arm's length away from Sendoh to defend himself.
Unlike Sendoh, Fujima is 190cm tall, so from this distance, Yo Aoki simply couldn't cover his shot.
Yo Aoki was thinking from Sendoh's perspective. If he were Sendoh, to break the deadlock, he would either let Uozumi score and get back into form, or he would make a layup to boost morale and tell the whole team that with him there, they could stay calm.
So Yo Aoki took the gamble, betting that he would break through to Sendoh.
Sendoh raised the ball above his head and made a shooting fake.
"It's fake! "Yo Aoki immediately judged.
But what happened next stunned Yo Aoki: Sendoh actually surrendered.
Yo Aoki was still stunned when the ball swished cleanly into the basket.
With the score at 4-5, the entire Ryonan team gathered around to celebrate, their previous confusion completely gone.
Yayoi Aida of Shohoku stared wide-eyed.
Sendoh! Sendoh! Sendoh! The audience began chanting Sendoh's name.
"Another assumption?" Yo Aoki sighed. Just one ordinary shot, and Ryonan's morale was restored. Sendoh's influence is amazing.
The current Sendoh reminds Yo Aoki of Sannoh's Fukatsu. Back then, after Sakuragi's Alley-oop pass dunk, Fukatsu used a regular shot to steady himself.
If Sendoh could compete in the national tournament, what a huge storm that would cause!
Takezato launched an attack.
Yo Aoki received the ball with his back to Sendoh, and glanced at the commotion on the field.
Ryonan's defense was incredibly tight, leaving Yo Aoki no opening for a pass.
He wasn't planning to pass; he just wanted to see if anyone was double-teaming him.
Seizing the opportunity, Yo Aoki dribbled with his back to the basket, using his weight to push towards the basket.
In terms of strength, Yo Aoki has the advantage.
As he approached the basket, Yo Aoki subtly increased his strength, shifting Sendoh's center of gravity, and then turned and kicked off a fadeaway jump shot.
Sendoh quickly adjusted his balance as soon as he lost it, and seeing Yo Aoki turn and jump to shoot, he immediately leaned to the side and reached out to block.
However, Yo Aoki's core strength was too explosive, and his backward lean was so extreme that Sendoh couldn't even touch the ball.
Yo Aoki controlled his hands, flicked his wrists slightly, and the ball swished cleanly into the basket.
The score is 4-7, that shot was way too difficult!
Hanagata is also skilled at fadeaway jump shots, so he naturally knows that it's impossible to do without exceptional coordination.
Nagano asked, "Did Aoki use this move when he fought us?"
Hasegawa and Takano, who were standing nearby, thought for a moment and then shook their heads.
How did this guy even do that?
The roles are reversed; Ryonan on the offensive.
With the ball past half-court, Uekusa quickly looked for an opportunity to pass the ball to Sendoh.
But Yo Aoki was still clinging to Sendoh, and there was nothing that could be done.
Uekusa looked towards the inside line again, and Uozumi was completely blocked by Imamura's flanking maneuver.
Just as Uekusa was about to pass the Koshino, Sendoh called out, " Uekusa, over here!"
Sendoh was being closely guarded by Yo Aoki, so he moved to the right, Yo Aoki immediately moved closer.
Suddenly dodging to the left, Yo Aoki reacted incredibly quickly, blocking the path to receive the ball with a few quick steps.
Fujima was very familiar with this scenario; Yo Aoki had defended against him in the same way during the warm-up match.
Fujima was fast enough that it took three changes of direction to shake him off, which shows how fast he can move laterally and react.
Sendoh couldn't shake off Yo Aoki, so he had to take a step back to get the ball.
As soon as Sendoh withdrew, Yo Aoki closed in and cut off his route again.
Yo Aoki had been watching Sendoh's move closely for a while.
"They're on guard so tightly!" Hikoichi Aida wrung his hands nervously.
Ryonan's Ikegami tried to set a screen for Sendoh, but Yo Aoki had sharp eyes. Just as Ikegami ran over, Aoki Yo sidestepped and blocked Ikegami from getting out of the way.
Separating the two players ruined the pick-and-roll.
Nobunaga Kiyota stared wide-eyed and said: I originally thought Kaede Rukawa was my number one rival, but now there's Yo Aoki as well.
Coach Takato Gao Tou's hand, which was fanning himself, was almost flying off its feet as he pondered how to treat Yo Aoki.
Aoki Yo Aoki has a powerful impact and incredibly solid defense; he's a real handful. As for Maki, in terms of strength, you're probably the only one who can keep him under control.
Shinichi Maki's face showed a rare seriousness as he said, " Yo Aoki's characteristics are the complete opposite of the Sendoh. If we don't keep him firmly under control, we might suffer a great loss."
At this moment, Soichiro Jin suddenly laughed out loud, "I think Sendoh and Yo Aoki are exactly the same as Maki and Fujima were back then."
Kiyota immediately raised his voice. "Impossible! Absolutely impossible! How can that guy compare to the captain?"
Shinichi Maki laughed along, " Yo Aoki... looks like me? That's interesting!"
On the court, Sendoh saw that Yo Aoki had Ikegami tightly marked, so he immediately decided to cut in. Yo Aoki still defended closely, but Ikegami subtly nudged him. Although the action wasn't a foul, it still made Yo Aoki lose his balance by half a point.
Seeing this, Sendoh suddenly stopped and ran back. Yo Aoki, who was off balance, could no longer stick to him this time. Sendoh finally shook off Yo Aoki and received Uekusa's pass steadily.
Without hesitation, Sendoh dribbled the ball towards Ikegami.
Yo Aoki quickly adjusted his stance, trying to maintain his defensive position, but was blocked by Ikegami, who was standing still.
Sendoh sprinted towards the basket, his body pressed close to the Ikegami.
Imamura saw Sendoh rush over and immediately covered for him.
Seeing Imamura blocking his way, Sendoh remained calm and composed, elegantly using his left hand to dribble the ball behind his back, and with a flick of his wrist, delivered a behind-the-back pass directly to Uozumi.
With no one guarding Uozumi, Uozumi suddenly slammed the ball down with both hands, shaking the basketball hoop violently. After the ball went in, he roared to the sky, releasing all the energy he had been holding back.
6 to 7.
The referee stared at the swaying basketball hoop and muttered, "How come these kids are so strong these days?"
Coach Taoka crossed his arms, pleased with the beautiful attack, but still feeling a heavy weight on his mind.
"While Sendoh can orchestrate attacks, it takes up too much of his stamina," Coach Taoka said, frowning. "Even if we beat Takezato, it will come at a significant cost."
Coach Taoka made up his mind. "I originally wanted to keep Fukuda and let him play against Kainan."
When it was Takezato's turn to attack, Yo Aoki dribbled with his back to the basket, using the exact same method, and scored 2 more points against Sendoh.
6 to 9.
At that moment, Coach Taoka turned to him and said, " Fukuda, get ready to go on and help Sendoh relieve some of the pressure."
Upon hearing this, Fukuda immediately stood up. He was incredibly excited; he had waited far too long for this day.
Just as Ryonan was about to inbound the ball, the referee called out, "Blue team, make a substitution! Number 5 is off the court, number 13 is in!"
Yo Aoki, seeing that Ryonan had finally substituted Fukuda into the game, actually breathed a sigh of relief and smirked, "The last piece of the puzzle for Ryonan has finally come into play."
Kiccho Fukuda is 1.88 meters tall and weighs 80 kilograms. His off-ball movement and ability to score with drives to the basket are top-notch.
However, Fukuda is a key part of Yo Aoki's plan against Ryonan.
Upon seeing Fukuda enter the arena, Soichiro Jin exclaimed in surprise, "Is that Fuku?"
Kiyota asked, " Jin, is he very powerful?"
Jin replied, "I played with him for a few months. He was a beginner back then, but he improved incredibly fast."
Fukuda stepped onto the stage, eager to prove himself to everyone.
But Fukuda suddenly froze; he realized that the person defending him was none other than Takezato's number 10!?
"Shouldn't he be guarding against the Immortal Sendoh?"
Everyone on the field found it unbelievable.
The audience members whispered among themselves, "Was that guy from Ryonan really strong when he came on?" "Shouldn't he be guarding against Sendoh? Ryonan's number 13 is even more dangerous than Sendoh?"
Coach Taoka exclaimed in surprise, "What is Takezato doing? Why is he ignoring Sendoh and focusing solely on Fukuda?"
Miyagi from Shohoku was also puzzled. "If Aoki doesn't guard against Sendoh, it's like giving Sendoh a huge amount of space. Is Takezato going to give up?"
Shirota was also full of questions. He asked Coach Akai, "Coach, why did Aoki do that?"
Coach Akai was also puzzled, but for now he trusted Aoki's judgment. So he said mysteriously, "Don't rush, observe slowly, you have to trust Aoki."
Anyone who has read the manga knows that Kiccho Fukuda has three prominent characteristics: First, he is strong under the basket, has a good jumping ability, and can often put on a morale-boosting performance with dunks and Alley-oop pass; second, he has obvious technical weaknesses, is weak in defense, and is not good at mid-to-long-range shooting; and third, he is sensitive.