"Then there's Shohoku's outside shooter, Hisashi Mitsui. Aoki told us before that he was the MVP in middle school, but for some reason he gave up basketball and only returned to the team this year."
Shindo interjected, "Mitsui, Mizuki, and Sanada all know him. He came from Mitsui Takeishi Middle School and was indeed amazing back then, but I heard he went off to work in the underworld after high school and didn't touch a ball for two years. Can he still keep up with the game?"
Yo Aoki retorted, "You're wrong. We watched several Shohoku games with Shirota. Mitsui's shooting accuracy is ridiculously high. If no one is guarding him, his three-pointers are almost always right."
"100% accuracy on three-pointers?" Shindo's eyes widened. He himself was the shooting guard for Takezato and also shot three-pointers. If he could achieve a 50% success rate, that would be considered an exceptional performance.
"His shooting form is textbook perfect, and he's even more daring when it comes to crucial shots. Underestimating him will definitely cost you," Yo Aoki recalled the game he had watched earlier, his tone serious.
Shindo didn't say anything, but he was indignant: I may not have been as good as him in junior high, but high school is different from junior high, right? I'll make Mitsui pay for this.
Shirota continued, "Finally, there's point guard Ryota Miyagi. This guy is as short as a potato, but he's incredibly fast and has amazing passing awareness. If you're not careful, he'll dash in and score."
"And their ace, Kaede Rukawa, is a first-year student just like you."
Masato Matsumoto suddenly interjected, "I know Kaede Rukawa; I've fought him before."
Hojo asked with a smile, "Is he good? How does he compare to you?"
Matsumoto thought for a moment and said, "You're definitely better now, but Rukawa was already incredibly strong back then; he single-handedly took down our entire team."
Yo Aoki laughed, " Rukawa is on the same level as Sendoh, don't compare me to him."
Imamura exclaimed, "So you're saying Shohoku is stronger than Ryonan?"
Yo Aoki nodded. "In some respects, that's true."
Hojo pressed further, "So how exactly do we beat them?"
Yo Aoki smiled and said, "Let's think about how Shohoku will target us first."
Shirota interjected, " Aoki, they're definitely going to target you with their defense."
Hojo added, "Also, they'll definitely be studying our pick-and-roll."
Someone chimed in, "And there's our fouling tactics, and our weak defensive positions."
Yo Aoki still smiled, "If they're guarding me, they'll most likely double-team me; if they use pick-and-roll, they'll probably do what Ryonan did and have Rukawa guard Hojo."
Mizuki nodded. "Indeed, after our battle with Ryonan, there are no more secrets left."
Yo Aoki chuckled, "That's not necessarily true, we can always come up with a different strategy." With that, he pulled over the tactics board and began setting up the pieces.
"Pick and roll isn't just for scoring; it can also draw the opponent's attention and create openings for teammates." Yo Aoki said as he laid out a pick and roll formation on the whiteboard, then pointed to Hojo and Imamura.
"Now let's simulate Ryonan's tactics. After the pick-and-roll, Hojo is Uozumi, Imamura is guarded by Sendoh. Given their abilities, you definitely won't have a chance to score. But look," he placed a piece inside, "If Uozumi isn't inside, someone can cut in and create an excellent scoring opportunity."
"That's right!" Shirota exclaimed, then scratched his head. " Aoki, if that's the case, why didn't you tell us before the match?"
Yo Aoki waved his hand. "This inside cut looks simple, but it actually relies on the timing of the pass and movement. If the teamwork isn't good, it'll definitely get intercepted. We need to practice this. What we said before the game, not only will the teamwork not work out, but Shohoku and Kainan will also notice, and that would be a real loss."
Everyone nodded in agreement. Takezato hadn't had enough time to practice pick-and-roll. If they had been given six months, Ryonan wouldn't have been able to figure it out so easily.
Mizuki said, "Then for the next few days, we'll focus on practicing the changes after a pick-and-roll."
Mizuki looked at Yo Aoki and asked, " Aoki, if Shohoku keeps a close eye on you, what's your plan?"
Yo Aoki raised an eyebrow and smiled, saying, "That's exactly what I'm going to talk about next. This is how I plan to go about it."
The night before the game against Shohoku, Yo Aoki lay in bed, tossing and turning, going over every scene in his mind about the next day.
I wonder if Sakuragi will be late tomorrow, but judging from Akagi's seemingly uninjured foot, Sakuragi should be able to make it to the game. After all, he's the kind of guy who's always on a winning streak.
If Akagi gets injured and Sakuragi is late, how can Shohoku compete with Takezato? It seems this is truly fate.
The game schedule for today is posted on the notice board at the entrance of the Kanagawa Prefecture Basketball Stadium.
The first game starts at 10:00 AM, with Shohoku facing off against Takezato; the second game starts at 12:00 PM, with Kainan playing against Ryonan.
These two matches today are do-or-die games for Shohoku and Takezato; a loss would essentially eliminate them from the national tournament. But for Kainan and Ryonan, they are crucial matches for qualifying.
However, Yo Aoki was different. He had been looking forward to this game for a long time, and he had imagined playing against Shohoku a thousand times in his mind. Today, the game was finally going to come true.
Yayoi Aida and her colleague Nakamura entered the venue, they were stunned by the scene before them; the shouts of the audience nearly lifted the roof off.
" Shohoku! Shohoku! Shohoku!"
" Takezato! Takezato! Takezato!"
Nakamura leaned close to Aida's ear and shouted, " Aida, the audience is so enthusiastic today!"
Aida nodded. "Of course, the match between Shohoku and Takezato is a do-or-die game, and the match between Kainan and Ryonan is a qualifying game; both are crucial."
Nakamura shouted at the top of his lungs, "Yes, Aida!"
Aida was startled and asked, " Nakamura, why are you so excited today?"
Nakamura replied, "Of course."
Aida calculated in his mind that Shohoku's offense was among the best in the entire prefecture, and without a strong defense, they simply couldn't hold on. But Takezato's biggest weakness was its defense. Logically, Shohoku should win, but Takezato...
Once the shouts and screams from the audience subsided, the players from both teams entered the field one after another.
As soon as he entered the stadium, he heard screams from the stands. Yo Aoki looked up and saw a large group of girls in cheerleading uniforms cheering for Kaede Rukawa like crazy.
Yo Aoki couldn't help but sigh, "No wonder Sakuragi is always jealous of Kaede Rukawa."
"You're the only one who's envious." Oriyuki Iwasaki walked up to Yo Aoki at some point and said sarcastically.
Yo Aoki scratched his head and laughed, "No, I'm just a little surprised."
Oriyuki Iwasaki snorted, "You'll never get this kind of treatment in your life."
" Aoki! Aoki! Aoki!"
As soon as Oriyuki Iwasaki finished speaking, they heard cheers from girls in the nearby stands. They looked up and saw five or six girls in high school uniforms waving and shouting at Yo Aoki.
Yo Aoki immediately smiled and waved to them, then turned to Oriyuki Iwasaki and gave her a helpless look.
Oriyuki Iwasaki stomped her feet in anger, cursed "bastard," and turned to run towards the substitutes' bench.
As is customary, the starting players for both teams are introduced via broadcast before the match.
Both teams started the same lineups as the previous game: Shohoku started with Akagi, Sakuragi, Rukawa, Mitsui, and Miyagi; Takezato started with Imamura, Yo Aoki, Mizuki, Shindo, and Hojo.
However, the audience's reaction was much more enthusiastic this time than the last time, especially when Yo Aoki's name was called, the whole place was shouting loudly.
Shinichi Kiyota of the Kainan Team tugged at his ear and said, "This Yo Aoki is quite popular, huh?"
Shinichi Maki turned to Kazuma Takasago, Tadashi Muto, and Kiyota and said, "Keep an eye on that number 10 from Takezato. Be careful of his breakthroughs in tomorrow's match."
Takasago stared at Yo Aoki without saying a word, Tadashi Muto nodded seriously, Kiyota immediately patted his chest. "Captain, don't worry, I'm the number one rookie in Kanagawa!"
Coach Takato stared at the Takezato Team, wondering what tactics they would use to deal with Shohoku, and whether they would come up with any new tricks.
The starting lineups for both sides are in position, and the match is about to begin.
Yo Aoki looked at Sakuragi: " Sakuragi, today we're going to have a proper spar!"
Sakuragi laughed heartily, " Aoki, I'll definitely beat you!"
Aoki smiled and glanced at the rest of the Shohoku: " Akagi, Rukawa, Mitsui, Miyagi, it's great to be able to play with you guys!"
"Whistle!" The referee blew his whistle and stood by the center circle.
The jump ball was between Imamura and Akagi. The referee tossed the ball up, and the two jumped at the same time. Imamura was obviously at a height disadvantage, Akagi touched the ball first, giving Shohoku the first possession.
As soon as Miyagi received the ball, Kaede Rukawa started his run. Without thinking, Miyagi made a straight pass that went straight through the crowd of players at Takezato.
"Well done!"
Kaede Rukawa, who received the ball, took the lead and rushed to the basket in two seconds, ready to dunk.
"It's Kaede Rukawa!" Kiyota shouted.
Just as Kaede Rukawa was about to dunk, gasps came from the audience. Two large hands suddenly appeared in front of Kaede Rukawa and slammed the ball down.
Yo Aoki Kaede Rukawa's pupils shrank sharply, and they were about to stop their dunking motion. Although his flexibility was among the best in Shohoku, he was still thrown off balance by a huge force and was unable to complete the subsequent movements.
With a muffled thud, Kaede Rukawa's dunk was firmly blocked by Yo Aoki. Wow--! It's Aoki again! How can he block so well! Showing off this skill right at the start of the game, Yo Aoki immediately ignited the atmosphere in the arena.
Damn it! Kaede Rukawa's eyes burned with rage; Yo Aoki had completely ignited his fighting spirit. Sakuragi, seeing Rukawa get blocked, was actually amused, laughing out loud. That Stinking Fox finally fell! Once I beat Aoki, I'll prove I'm stronger than Rukawa!
"Sakuragi! Get back on defense!" Akagi's loud shout snapped Sakuragi out of his daze. The ball, blocked, fell into Hojo's hands. Instead of organizing a positional attack as usual, he passed the ball to Yo Aoki on the baseline in the backcourt.
After receiving the ball, Aoki raised his left hand and shouted, "Come on, it's our turn to attack!" Huh? The players from Shohoku, Ryonan, and Kainan were all stunned. What was going on? Aoki had switched to point guard?
Coach Taoka stared at Aoki, his eyes wide with disbelief. Why was this kid suddenly playing point guard? He pondered that Ryonan had tried countless tactics to beat Kainan, but hadn't quite figured it out until they discovered Sendoh's playmaking talent—wide vision, the ability to find open shots, and stable control of the game. That's when he came up with a bold idea: let Sendoh play point guard! This would allow them to utilize his playmaking abilities and also allow him to match up against Shinichi Maki. Only Sendoh could withstand the pressure from Maki on Ryonan.
That's a good idea, but if Sendoh plays point guard, won't his scoring drop? Luckily, we have Fukuda; his offensive firepower can fill the gap! This move is absolutely ingenious; only Sendoh in the entire high school nation has this ability. He puts Sendoh at point guard precisely because of this ability, and with Fukuda's scoring, who can replicate that?