Akiyama replied, "Yes!"
Shirota scratched his head. " Aoki, where's the shamelessness in this tactic? I think it's perfectly fair and square!" The other team members nodded in agreement. "Yeah, yeah!"
Yo Aoki chuckled and shook his head, "Have you considered the audience's and Ryonan's reactions?"
The referee blew his whistle, and the timeout was over.
Coach Taoka smiled as he saw Akiyama enter the game, "Hmm? Takezato made a substitution? Just as I thought, their stamina has collapsed. This match is a foregone conclusion."
Reporter Nakamura, taking photos from the sidelines, turned to Yayoi Aida and asked, " Aida, do you think Takezato can catch up?"
Yayoi Aida shook her head. "If it were Kainan Team, I'd say it's possible, but not Takezato. Basketball is a team sport; even the strongest individual has their limits." She added, " Ryonan has a balanced offense and defense, which is typical of a strong team. Takezato wants to catch up, they have to defend Ryonan first, but their biggest weakness is defense. Preventing Ryonan from scoring is too difficult!"
Nakamura slapped his forehead, suddenly realizing, "That's right!"
Akiyama moved closer to Uozumi at 1.8 meters tall, he seemed rather insecure. Although he swallowed hard, he still spread his arms and assumed a defensive stance.
Ryonan was about to inbound the ball when Sendoh glanced around and noticed that Yo Aoki wasn't marking him, but instead standing next to the referee. "That guy, he's really unpredictable."
Yo Aoki sidled up to the referee and nudged his arm. "Teacher, we need to Uozumi." The referee was stunned, not having heard him at all. "What did you say?"
Who would proactively remind the referee that they're about to commit a foul? Yo Aoki thought the referee hadn't recognized Uozumi, so he repeated, "We're going to foul the blue team's number 4. The white team started fouling as soon as they took the ball inbounds."
The ball was served from the Ryonan, heading straight for Sendoh, Akiyama immediately pounced on him and grabbed Uozumi.
"Beep--!" After being reminded by Yo Aoki, the referee immediately called a foul on Takezato. "White Team #9, blocking foul!"
"This guy's way too nervous!" "I thought he was going to dance ballroom with Uozumi, haha." The audience on the sidelines immediately started making noise.
Yo Aoki gave Akiyama a look, signaling him to continue, and Akiyama gave him an OK sign. Yo Aoki then moved closer to the referee. "Teacher, we still need to foul White Team's number 4, okay?"
The referee's face darkened. "What are you guys up to? If you're playing passively, I'll report this to the technical table immediately and disqualify you!"
Yo Aoki chuckled inwardly, "Is this some kind of scare tactic?" But outwardly he cheerfully replied, "Judging is your duty. I'm just keeping a close eye on things for you. Don't be nervous, teacher."
Ryonan inbounded the ball again, but before it reached Sendoh, Akiyama lunged at him and grabbed Uozumi. "White team number 9, blocking foul!" the referee shouted, pointing at Akiyama.
At this moment, the scorer's table gave a signal to the referee, who nodded in understanding and announced to the entire court, "The white team has accumulated more than 8 fouls in the second half, and the blue team's number 4 player will have a free throw."
The scoreboard showed 70-54, with Ryonan leading and 8 minutes remaining. Yo Aoki and Sendoh stood outside the penalty area line. Sendoh asked curiously, "What are you guys planning to do now? Are you thinking of forfeiting?"
Yo Aoki smiled mysteriously, "You'll find out soon enough."
Uozumi was indeed disappointing, missing both free throws. With Uozumi gone from under the basket, Yo Aoki easily grabbed the rebound. He immediately launched a fast break, rushing to the three-point line in three seconds. Before his Ryonan teammates could get into position, he leaped up and shot.
Hasegawa's eyes narrowed. "Here it comes! Yo Aoki is about to start catching up!" Hasegawa was deeply impressed by Yo Aoki's playing style, and it also refreshed his understanding. He had tried this style of play in private, but it requires super strong core strength, balance and coordination, otherwise you will rush forward, which is definitely not something that can be mastered in a short time.
Upon seeing this Yayoi Aida immediately said, "That shot was too hasty! Even if you need to save time, you can't be so reckless!" But the ball went in! The score jumped to 70-57, still 13 points behind.
"Fantastic!" the Takezato Team shouted at the top of their lungs when they saw the three-pointer!
Ryonan served again, but before the ball could reach a teammate, Akiyama lunged forward and grabbed Uozumi. "White team number 9, blocking foul! Blue team number 4, free throw!" the referee shouted again.
" Takezato that guy Buri doing?" "Does he even know how to play ball? How are we supposed to watch this game?" The audience started to protest in an uproar.
Uozumi could only walk to the free-throw line again, preparing to shoot. Uozumi made the first shot, making the score 71-57. Uozumi missed the second shot.
Yo Aoki immediately grabbed the rebound and sprinted towards the frontcourt again. This time, Sendoh kept up, and the two were both fast, reaching the frontcourt in the blink of an eye, but Yo Aoki didn't slow down.
Coach Taoka shouted urgently, " Sendoh! Guard him, watch out for his drive!" At the left 45-degree angle of the three-point line, everyone thought Yo Aoki would dribble to the basket, but he suddenly pushed off with his left foot, dissipating the momentum, and jumped up to shoot.
Sendoh was shocked: This guy actually stopped and jumped at that speed? "Swish!" The ball went in again! The score became 71 to 60.
" Aoki!! Well done!!" Coach Akai started gesturing wildly again. Reporter Nakamura exclaimed in surprise, "That kind of shot again!?"
Yayoi Aida shook her head. "That play was outrageous! He completely disregarded his teammates; it was pure individualism!" But the Takezato Team didn't see it that way. They rushed over and patted Yo Aoki on the back. " Aoki, that tactic was brilliant! We're catching up!"
Yo Aoki waved his hand with a smile, "This move works as long as the Uozumi on the field, but if he leaves the field..."
Seeing the excitement on the faces of the Takezato Team, reporter Nakamura turned to Yayoi Aida and asked, " Aida, why does Takezato seem so happy right now? They don't seem to mind Aoki pitching like that?"
Yayoi Aida frowned and retorted, "He made the shot now, but what if he had missed both?" She pointed at Sendoh, "Look at Sendoh, he's the complete opposite of Yo Aoki, he's always mobilizing the whole team, that's the right way to play."
Taoka stared at the substitution on the sidelines, his brows furrowed, his mind racing. "Could it be that the new substitution brought on by Takezato was nervous and that's why he Uozumi?"
No sooner had he finished speaking than Takezato made a substitution, replacing Akiyama with Takeuchi.
As Takeuchi, he immediately stood right next to Uozumi. Taoka stared at the figure, then suddenly slapped his thigh. "Could it be?!"
Just as Ryonan was about to serve, Takeuchi rushed up and bumped into Uozumi's waist, causing him to stumble and sending him to the free-throw line.
Yayoi Aida, staring at the actions on the sidelines, suddenly slapped her thigh. "I finally understand Takezato's tactics!"
Nakamura leaned closer, camera in hand. " Aida, are you talking about Aoki's incredibly accurate shooting?"
Aida slung his camera around his neck. "Forget about shooting, why are they fixated on Uozumi's fouls!"
Riki Takato gripped his folding fan, slapping the fan against his knee with a "smack": "The moves in this Takezato are really underhanded. It seems that Akai has indeed improved quite a bit."
Nobunaga Kiyota leaned closer. "Coach, what kind of dirty tricks Takezato?"
Takato pointed at Uozumi at the free-throw line with his folding fan. "They deliberately fouled Uozumi, just to make him shoot free throws."
Shinichi Maki smirked, "Because Uozumi's free throw accuracy is poor, this move wasn't hard to come up with."
After hearing this, the group from Kainan said "Oh," and they all understood.
Nakamura turned to Aida and asked, "So Takezato did this so that Uozumi free throws?"
Aida frowned. "That's right, they've exploited Uozumi's poor free throw shooting, deliberately fouling him to the free throw line. And once Uozumi to the free throw line, Ryonan loses a tough rebounder, allowing Takezato to dominate the boards."
This would both disrupt Ryonan's scoring rhythm and waste Ryonan offensive time, giving Takezato enough time to catch up.
Nakamura scratched the back of his head. "That's a pretty underhanded trick, but something just doesn't feel right."
Aida curled his lip. "Doesn't this ruin the entertainment value of the match? I wonder who Coach Takezato is to come up with such a dirty trick. I have to interview him after the match."
Nobunaga Kiyota shook her head. "Even if this move can limit Ryonan, it's useless Takezato can't score."
Shinichi Maki chuckled, "It seems that Takezato really has confidence in their trump card."
Sendoh kept an eye on the commotion on the sidelines and figured out Takezato's plan.
This tactic is quite interesting. Sendoh's lips twitched; this was an excitement he hadn't seen in a long time. Takezato's performance today had given him a pleasant surprise.
Yo Aoki leaned closer, chuckling as he nudged Sendoh's arm. "Have you figured it out?"
Sendoh: "Your coach is really something."
Yo Aoki said seriously, "Of course, our coach knows Ryonan his hand, he even knows how many times you go to the toilet every day."
Sendoh rolled his eyes and turned to look elsewhere. This guy, he's really good at talking nonsense.
The Takezato Team were jeering from the sidelines, and Uozumi's face turned green. He raised his hand to take the free throws, but both shots went wide.
Yo Aoki grabbed the rebound and sprinted towards the frontcourt. Uozumi, staring at his retreating figure, finally realized, "These guys are targeting me again?"
Fast break! Yo Aoki moved with lightning speed, Sendoh close behind, the two about half a body length apart. Taoka yelled from the side, "Watch out, he might shoot a three-pointer!"
In the blink of an eye, they were at a 45-degree angle to the left of the three-point line.
Yo Aoki suddenly stopped and assumed a shooting stance, Sendoh immediately jumped up to block the shot.
But Aoki didn't actually jump.
Sendoh's heart skipped a beat, "A feint?"
Sendoh missed his target in mid-air and was falling when Yo Aoki jumped up again, flicked his wrist, and the ball went into the net cleanly.
The score is now 71-63, with the difference between the two teams reduced to just 8 points.
Ryota Miyagi's eyes widened. "How can this guy be so accurate with three-pointers?"
Mitsui Hisashi frowned. "He must have practiced this kind of shooting specifically, and for quite a long time. It requires too much physical skill; how could a high school student master it?"
Kiminobu Kogure sighed, "This guy has almost no weaknesses on either offense or defense."
Hanamichi Sakuragi chuckled, "You're just like me!"
Mitsui, Miyagi, Takenori Akagi all laughed, pointing at Sakuragi: "What kind of style are you? The idiot style?"
Sakuragi jumped up and retorted, "I'm the impact type!"
The Shohoku team laughed until they cried. Kaede Rukawa didn't go over; his eyes were fixed on Sendoh and Aoki. These two were now on his list of people he had to defeat.
"Blue team requests a timeout!" The referee's voice had barely faded when Taoka slapped his thigh and stood up, calling for a timeout.