Yo Aoki knew that Fukuda couldn't play the mid-range game at all, but he just couldn't get into the paint. Frustrated, Fukuda swung his arm and bumped into Yo Aoki, who immediately collapsed.
"Beep--" The referee's whistle suddenly blew.
"Blue Team #13, pushing foul!" The referee's voice boomed in, accompanied by the whistle.
Fukuda stood frozen in place, his face flushed red.
Coach Taoka frowned, tapping his fingers on the edge of the chair. He wondered to himself, "That kid Aoki knows Fukuda inside and out. Should I switch him in with Ikegami?"
But then he changed his mind; if he really replaced Fukuda, that kid's pride would be shattered to pieces.
He gritted his teeth and shouted to the sidelines, " Ryonan team, requesting a timeout!"
The only option was to call a timeout. Coach Taoka stood up and walked towards the bench.
Fukuda slumped on the bench, his head hanging low, his eyes staring blankly at the floor, utterly devoid of spirit.
Coach Taoka patted Ikegami the shoulder. " Ikegami, you're up here."
Fukuda's ears twitched, and a wave of disappointment washed over him again. He thought to himself, "Don't switch me..."
Coach Taoka continued, "You'll replace Uekusa and help Fukuda keep an eye on Aoki."
Fukuda suddenly looked up, his eyes lighting up. "Not switching with me?"
Coach Taoka squatted down in front of him, his tone turning serious. "I've always believed you're a good player. You dared to challenge Sendoh and Uozumi as soon as you joined the team. Isn't that enough to prove you're not afraid of losing?"
He patted Fukuda's arm. " Fukuda, we believe in you!"
At that one sentence, Fukuda's shoulders twitched violently.
Taoka's encouragement had little effect; Fukuda was still helpless against Aoki's defense.
Takezato the offensive prowess of Aoki, Imamura, and Hojo, Takezato kept Ryonan under pressure. Fortunately, Sendoh was able to penetrate and pass effectively, Ryonan was only five points behind at halftime.
At halftime, the scoreboard showed 35-40, with Ryonan trailing by five points.
Hanamichi Sakuragi had always thought Aoki was formidable, but he never imagined that this guy was just as fierce as Sendoh. Right now, he was extremely anxious. Rukawa and Aoki were both first-year students, and to surpass them, he would have to train like crazy.
Kaede Rukawa's gaze was fixed solely on Sendoh, the opponent he had to defeat.
But Takezato's first-year student was able to arm wrestle with Sendoh. He could see that Sendoh was no longer the nonchalant guy he used to be when facing Aoki; he was genuinely serious.
Kaede Rukawa thought to himself, "I'm going to beat them up anyway, so one more won't make a difference!"
At halftime, Akagi called the Shohoku players off the court to stretch, but Coach Anzai didn't follow and stayed on the sidelines.
Beneath that nonchalant demeanor, he was pondering tactics for the upcoming matches against Takezato and Ryonan.
Coach Anzai muttered to himself, "This Yo Aoki... seems to be someone who knows how to play psychological warfare." Behind his glasses, his eyes gleamed.
" Ryonan is in big trouble now!" Nobunaga Kiyota exclaimed.
Coach Takato laughed, "Why do you guys think Ryonan is at a disadvantage now?"
Kiyota hesitated, "Because... because..."
Takato chimed in, "Because of Takezato's endless stream of outrageous actions?"
"The score is close so far; Takezato is only leading by five points."
Takato fanned himself again. "Actually, we were all fooled by Takezato. If Taoka- senpai hadn't realized it..."
In the locker room of Takezato, Coach Akai paced back and forth, wanting to say something to his players to hold onto their advantage until the very end, but the more anxious he became, the less coherent his words came out.
He clenched his fists and cursed himself, "Damn it, what am I going to say, Akai? Calm down!"
Yo Aoki spoke up, "Teacher, I have an idea I'd like to share with everyone."
Akai's eyes lit up, and he quickly suppressed his emotions, nodding, "You go first, and I'll give you the tactics for the second half later."
" Ryonan was stunned by our attack in the first half, but they will definitely strengthen their defense in the second half, and we may not be able to shoot as easily as we did in the first half."
"So we have to keep running to find opportunities, but here's the problem—our stamina can't keep up."
"Although we've been training really hard lately, we still can't beat Ryonan," Yo Aoki said seriously.
"Therefore, each attack must drag out the time, slow down the pace of offense and defense, conserve energy as much as possible, and at the same time ensure the success rate of each ball!"
After saying that, Aoki looked at Akai: "Teacher, I'm done talking. Is that alright?"
Akai pretended to think for a moment, then nodded. "Let's do as Aoki says."
In the locker room of Ryonan.
Coach Taoka sat in a chair with his arms crossed, glancing at the players. "What do you guys think of Takezato?"
Everyone kept their heads down, and no one spoke.
" Hikoichi, how many points are Takezato leading right now?"
"Five points," Hikoichi Aida quickly replied.
"Yeah, only five points, but you guys look like you're about to lose." Coach Taoka laughed.
"Actually, Aoki was the only really strong player in Takezato from beginning to end. He immediately shut down our inside game and demoralized us. Later, he also tried to stop Sendoh, making everyone think that Sendoh could be contained as well."
Coach Taoka scoffed, "In the end, they even specifically targeted Fukuda, undermining his confidence. This way, everyone will definitely think that Takezato has figured out Ryonan's strategy, Ryonan is doomed to lose."
He scanned each of the Ryonan players, slapping his thigh and saying, "This way, we can cover up Takezato's most fatal weakness—their defense is as fragile as paper!"
Although Kainan could have easily taken a 20-point lead in this situation, only Takezato Aoki. He simply created a false impression through his genuine skill.
" Fukuda, you'll start again in the second half! Don't doubt yourself; their ace is marking you, which means they value you. Your presence will draw Aoki's attention and relieve some pressure on Sendoh."
Fukuda is easily swayed by gentle persuasion but not by force; the more you flatter him, the more daring he becomes—this tactic works best on him.
Coach Taoka's encouragement did indeed help Fukuda regain his confidence.
"Yes!"
" Ikegami and Koshino, raise your defensive intensity even higher, and treat Takezato like a strong team like Kainan!"
"Yes!"
" Uozumi, Takezato's center can shoot threes, but that's not a big deal. He's just a second-best option because he can't beat you inside. Your performance in this game is crucial. Make up for the loss of face in the first half in the second half."
Uozumi eyes blazed with fury as he roared, "Teacher, just you wait!"
"Very good!" Taoka turned to Sendoh. " Sendoh, that hothead Takezato in the Takezato year is yours."
Sendoh smiled and nodded, "Don't worry, teacher."
"Think about it, everyone. How many nights have we stayed up, how much have we risked our lives for this game? Believe in yourselves, we are Ryonan!"
" Ryonan! Go for it!"
Just like that, Taoka saw through the illusion that Aoki had created in the first half.
As soon as the halftime whistle blew, the players from both sides headed back onto the field.
As soon as Uozumi entered the arena, he suddenly yelled at the Takezato Team: "Aaaaaaah!"
Hojo shrank back in fright.
Aoki chuckled and joked, "Is he trying to turn into Saiyan?"
Imamura scratched his head. "What's Saiyan?"
Aoki thought for a moment, "It's like the academic name of those ancient primitive people, right?"
After listening, Imamura looked as if he had just realized something.
The second half of the match has officially begun.
Uozumi pushed past Imamura and passed the ball to Sendoh.
Sendoh caught the ball but didn't rush to attack; instead, he slowed down the pace of the game.
Although Kainan and Shohoku didn't return to the stands after their warm-up, they both stood on either side of the court watching.
Miyagi held onto the ball, observing the situation on the field. " Fukuda is tightly marked by Aoki and has no chance to shoot; Uozumi being outmaneuvered by Imamura and is also unlikely to make any moves. Sendoh either needs to go one-on-one or pass to Ikegami and Koshino."
Mizuki's eyes were fixed on the ball in Sendoh's hand. Even such a simple dribbling move seemed to have a rhythm to him.
Mizuki's mind went blank for a moment.
But at that moment, Sendoh suddenly flicked his wrists and tossed the ball high into the air, which flew over Imamura and landed right in Uozumi the basket.
Uozumi received the ball and immediately unleashed a powerful two-handed dunk.
"Nice shot!"
" The Sendoh has been lost!"
The scoreboard shows 37:40.
Uozumi over and patted Sendoh on the shoulder. "Well done!"
Sendoh smiled and said, " Takezato mainly relies on Aoki and their cover and coordination. We need to figure out a way to break this tactic first."
He called out to Koshino and whispered a few words in Uozumi's and Koshino's ears.
Aoki stared at the field, his heart skipping a beat. "Did Ryonan figure out my move? They've all gotten back into form. This is going to be tough."
That last pass from Sendoh was brilliant, but it still required Uozumi and push past Imamura.
Uozumi had figured out Imamura's flank attack. Just now, he pushed Imamura's back and made Imamura lose his balance, allowing Uozumi to easily catch the ball.
During the transition between offense and defense, Takezato used pick-and-roll to advance the ball.
Imamura went up to Koshino, Hojo rushed towards the basket, Uozumi immediately came to help defend Hojo.
Hojo quickly passed the ball to Imamura.
Imamura was about to jump and shoot, he suddenly noticed that Sendoh and Koshino had switched defensive positions, and now Sendoh was guarding him!
Imamura was momentarily stunned, Sendoh intercepted the ball.
Ryonan launched a counterattack, with Sendoh leading the charge with his dribbling skills.
Aoki also started immediately, following closely behind Sendoh.
The two jumped up almost simultaneously. Just as Aoki was about to reach out to block, a scene from the manga flashed through his mind: when Ryonan faced Kainan, Shinichi Maki gave up blocking Sendoh at a crucial moment.
His heart skipped a beat. " Sendoh has this strength, I can't act rashly." So he symbolically raised his hand in the air and didn't dare to move again.
"Bang!" Sendoh slammed the ball into the basket.
"Ooh ooh ooh ooh!"
The audience erupted in cheers, chanting " Sendoh! Sendoh! Sendoh!" in unison, followed by a roar of " Ryonan is starting to show their power!!" As soon as the second half began, Ryonan ignited the passion of the entire stadium, and the team regained their confidence.
The scoreboard showed 39 to 40. Sendoh glanced at Aoki and said with a smirk, "One point less." Aoki paused for a moment, then laughed, "Then you'd better step up your game." Although Aoki appeared relaxed, he noticed a subtle shift in his teammates' mentality.
Takezato launched an attack, Aoki leaned against Fukuda, reaching out for the ball. After receiving the ball, he first moved to the left, then turned to the right. Seeing this, Fukuda thought to himself, "He's using that trick again? He underestimates me." But just as Fukuda moved to the right to block Aoki's turning path, Aoki suddenly stopped; it was a feint.
Aoki suddenly exerted force with his left foot, instantly turning to the left, shaking off Fukuda, and rushing into the basket for a dunk! The score became 39-42, the gap back to three points. Aoki gave Sendoh a thumbs-up, and Sendoh smiled back.