But just as Kaede Rukawa took two steps back, Yo Aoki suddenly sped up, charging towards Kaede Rukawa, forcing Rukawa and Sakuragi to continue running alongside him, managing to drag the two to the left side of the court. Imamura Imamura, and shot a three-pointer that swished through the net, making the score 13-2.
On the sidelines, someone shouted, " Imamura, you're awesome!" Another person yelled, " Shohoku's center, he's tall and strong but he's just a decoration!" Uozumi heard this, his face turned green and his veins bulged.
Just as Akagi ran back under the basket, Takezato scored the point. Ayako anxiously whispered to Coach Anzai, "Coach, Captain Akagi isn't playing well today," but Coach Anzai just kept staring at the court and didn't say a word.
As Shohoku launched their attack, Miyagi immediately spotted Akagi. Akagi was locked in a fierce battle with Yo Aoki, Akagi was pushing hard towards the basket, while Yo Aoki lowered his center of gravity and used his body to block him, keeping him outside the restricted area.
Seeing that Akagi had no chance, Miyagi had no choice but to pass the ball to Rukawa. Miyagi Rukawa the ball and faced Mizuki. He took a step to the right with his right foot, and watching Mizuki's defensive movements, he suddenly lowered his center of gravity, pulled back his right foot, and changed direction, rushing past Mizuki's left side with a crossover step.
"Wow--!!" Rukawa's speed was ridiculously fast, and the sidelines erupted instantly. Imamura had no choice but to leave Sakuragi to help defend, Sakuragi, seeing that his side was unguarded, yelled at the top of his lungs, " Kaede Rukawa, pass it over here!"
Rukawa ignored him completely, and seeing Imamura rushing towards him, he jumped up and drove straight for a layup. Rukawa originally intended to trick Imamura into committing a foul, but Sendoh Imamura a 2+1 at the last moment last time, and when defending, he only raised his hands and made no extra movements.
Rukawa, facing Imamura, flicked the ball with his wrist, sending it swishing through the net, making the score 13-4. Kiyota muttered, "If Yo Aoki doesn't mark Rukawa, no one in Takezato can stop him."
Shinichi Maki chimed in, "But if Aoki goes to defend against Rukawa, Akagi will be completely unleashed." Shinichi Maki added, "That's right, Takezato, apart from Yo Aoki, none of the others in Takezato are any good."
Coach Takato closed his paper fan and said with a smile, "So, as long as Shohoku plays steadily, this game is a foregone conclusion." Takezato attacked, Hojo dribbled the ball, intending to run a pick-and-roll.
But just as he raised his left hand to signal to Imamura, Rukawa seized the opportunity and stole the ball. Hojo tried to grab it, but it was too late; the ball was in Rukawa's hands. After getting the ball, Rukawa quickly dribbled forward, Yo Aoki reacted quickly, immediately chasing after him.
Within seconds, the two were under the basket. Yo Aoki was thinking that Rukawa would definitely drive to the basket. Suddenly, Rukawa stopped abruptly under the basket, turned his back to Yo Aoki, leaned against him, turned around to create distance, and then took a fadeaway jump shot.
This move is exactly the same as the turnaround fadeaway used by Yo Aoki and Sendoh before! Moreover, Rukawa's fadeaway is even greater than Aoki and Sendoh's! But Yo Aoki couldn't defend against it at all, and could only stare at the basket and pray that the ball wouldn't go in. With a swish, the ball went into the net, making the score 13 to 6.
After scoring, Rukawa beckoned to Yo Aoki. Yo Aoki smirked and muttered, "Is he trying to show off to me and Sendoh? What you guys can do, I can do too, and I'm better at it than you? Interesting." Seeing this, Sendoh laughed, "What a show-off."
As Yo Aoki dribbled the ball, he shouted, "Let's get this point!" When he got to the frontcourt, Yo Aoki saw that Rukawa was still guarding Hojo, so he immediately raised his hand to call Imamura. Imamura understood immediately and quickly ran over to set a screen for Aoki.
Shirota chuckled and muttered, "I bet Shohoku doesn't know yet, but this pick-and-roll tactic of ours was first used by Yo Aoki and Imamura -senpai." Imamura took his position, completely blocking Sakuragi, and Yo Aoki shook off Sakuragi and cut inside, sticking close to Imamura.
Akagi saw Aoki cut inside and immediately rushed to defend. Seeing Akagi leave the basket, Yo Aoki a little disappointed. If Akagi had stayed under the basket, he would have ended Uozumi.
Yo Aoki faced off against Akagi. Without any fancy moves, he jumped up, raised the ball above his head with one hand, and flicked it with his wrist, launching it with an exaggerated arc. Akagi couldn't even touch the ball, and the score became 15 to 6.
The coach of an Nadaka, watching Aoki's lob shot, muttered to his players, "Wow, that shot again! This move is a giant killer! You guys need to learn it well, then you won't be afraid of tall teams anymore!" The players patted their chests and shouted, "Don't worry, coach, we'll definitely learn this move!"
On the court, during the transition between offense and defense, Miyagi quickly passed the ball to Rukawa, Rukawa jumped and shot a three-pointer right in front of Mizuki. Mizuki tried her best to stop him but couldn't, and the ball went in, making the score 15-9.
" Kaede Rukawa is amazing!" "Of course, he's handsome too!" " Kaede Rukawa! Kaede Rukawa! We love you!" Rukawa's fan club erupted in cheers from the stands.
Kaede Rukawa was infuriating! Sakuragi was seething with anger seeing him steal the spotlight again. Even though Miyagi was trying to pull him back, he wouldn't listen.
When it was Takezato's turn to attack, Yo Aoki and Imamura executed their usual pick-and-roll. Sakuragi, in a fit of rage, somehow managed to shake off Imamura and charge straight at Yo Aoki. Seeing Sakuragi's erratic behavior, Miyagi yelled, " Sakuragi, you idiot!"
As expected, Akagi and Sakuragi came from both sides, and Yo Aoki tossed the ball to Imamura, who was in the open. Imamura jumped up and shot. After passing the ball, Yo Aoki, afraid that Imamura would miss, quickly rushed to the basket to grab the rebound.
Yo Aoki stretched out his body, putting all his strength into blocking Akagi behind him. Clang! Imamura's shot went wide of the basket. Just as the ball bounced off the rim, Yo Aoki was about to jump up and grab it, but the momentum from his struggle with Akagi delayed his jump.
Sakuragi leaped up and snatched the ball over Yo Aoki's head. " Sakuragi's so cool!" Ishii and Kuwata shouted from Shohoku bench. Kakuta chimed in, " Sakuragi's amazing! He managed to steal the rebound from Yo Aoki!"
Sakuragi grabbed the rebound and passed it straight to Miyagi, who was making a fast break. Miyagi used his speed to shake off everyone from Takezato and scored with a layup. The score became 15-11.
When it was Takezato's turn to attack, Miyagi intercepted the ball from Shindo, dribbled across half-court, and passed it to Mitsui. Mitsui caught the ball and immediately jumped to shoot. Looking closer at Mitsui's movements, Yo Aoki couldn't help but mutter, "That form is pretty standard."
Swish! The ball swished through the net. Mitsui pumped his fist and shouted, "Awesome!" Sendoh thought to himself: Shohoku has finally started its counterattack. How will Takezato respond next? The score became 15-14.
The referee blew his whistle. "Red Team requests a timeout." Coach Akai clapped his hands. "You guys played well, don't be discouraged!" Yo Aoki said, "It's impossible to completely shut down Shohoku. As long as the score doesn't get too far ahead, we still have a chance in the second half."
Coach Akai breathed a sigh of relief. The current situation was one of the scenarios Yo Aoki had analyzed before the game. " Sanada for Mizuki, Akiyama for Imamura." Coach Akai began making substitutions. Yo Aoki smiled, "After Imamura- senpai goes off the court, I'll run pick-and-rolls for him and Hojo- senpai."
" Hojo- senpai is organizing the offense, everyone don't overthink it, just shoot whenever you have an opening. Sanada and Akiyama, once they're on the court, stick to the Shohoku players guarding you and wear them down as much as possible." Akai nodded. " Aoki, that's the weakness of Shohoku's man-to-man defense, isn't it?"
"That's right, teacher. All five starters from Shohoku are strong, and man-to-man defense is their forte, but now they have to..." Akai chuckled, " Nakako, Kawai, after the timeout, you two go warm up." "Yes, teacher!"
Akai and Aoki exchanged a glance. "We have to wear them down, even if it means attrition." On the Shohoku side, Coach Anzai was giving instructions. " Miyagi, focus on attacking the inside of the Takezato next." Miyagi nodded.
" Akagi has already tied up Yo Aoki on offense. You drive inside to draw attention and then pass the ball to Akagi or Rukawa to score." "Understood!" "Dad, what about me?" Sakuragi asked anxiously.
" Sakuragi, you're in charge of rebounding. With Akagi keeping Yo Aoki occupied, he can't go all out. You need to secure every rebound." Even though Yo Aoki had Akagi locked down, Coach Anzai's words made everyone in Shohoku feel that Akagi was the one holding Yo Aoki back. It both reassured the team and boosted Akagi's morale.
"You all need to remember this..." "We are the best!!" Coach Anzai chuckled. The game resumed.
Ayako noticed the substitution by Takezato and quickly reminded Coach Anzai. "Oh?" Coach Anzai was surprised. "The match has only been going on for a short while, and Takezato is already making two substitutions?" "Is this psychological warfare, or some other arrangement?"
After Sanada and Akiyama entered the game, Yo Aoki moved to the inside, and Hojo organized the offense. Aoki stood by the paint line, and Sakuragi immediately closed in. But Akagi waved to Sakuragi, " Sakuragi, you guard number 9, Akiyama. I'll take care of Aoki!"
Sakuragi laughed, "Dad assigned me to guard Aoki, you go guard number 5, Gorilla." Haruko looked at Akagi and Sakuragi with concern. Unable to persuade Sakuragi otherwise, Akagi could only go and keep an eye on Sanada.
Akagi suddenly felt his steps become very heavy. He was holding back his anger, but he couldn't vent it. Hojo was still guarding Kaede Rukawa, afraid of Rukawa's strength. Hojo dribbled the ball sideways, not daring to give Rukawa a chance to steal the ball.
Yo Aoki noticed that Sanada's Mitsui and Akiyama were guarding Shohoku and Akagi, and immediately sensed an opportunity. Yo Aoki gave Sanada and Akiyama a wink, and the two understood instantly, immediately starting to run off the ball.
That's how man-to-man marking works; if you don't guard, someone will slip through. Without anyone to help, Mitsui and Akagi can only run after Sanada and Akiyama. Seeing Akagi chasing Akiyama, Yo Aoki burst out laughing.
"Let them run for a while," he gestured downwards to Hojo, indicating that Hojo should control the timing of the attack.
Akiyama dragged Akagi to the corner of the basket, Yo Aoki immediately raised his hand to ask Hojo for the ball. Hojo was afraid that a normal pass would be intercepted by Kaede Rukawa, so he passed a high lob.
But Sakuragi was right in front of him, and this kind of ball was too easy to intercept. Yo Aoki suddenly bumped Sakuragi with his back, and Sakuragi swayed and almost lost his balance. He took the opportunity to jump and snatch the ball into his arms first.
Sakuragi's eyes widened in anger as he roared, "Despicable!" He immediately rammed his body into Yo Aoki, the impact sending Yo Aoki staggering. The referee blew his whistle. "Whistle! White number 10, pushing foul!"
Kiyota slapped his thigh and laughed, "Hahaha, this idiot!" Sakuragi jumped up and down in frustration, "Why didn't I foul Aoki when he bumped into me!" Mitsui curled his lip and mocked, "Idiot, that's a technique for using proper force. Basketball isn't just about brute force."
Sanada inbounded the ball, intending to pass it to Yo Aoki, but just as he released the ball, Sakuragi suddenly darted out from beside Aoki, intercepting the pass. Sakuragi stole the ball and shouted triumphantly, " Aoki, don't get cocky! This genius isn't so easy to deal with!"
Miyagi urged impatiently, " Sakuragi, stop being so conceited, pass the ball over here!" Sakuragi puffed out his cheeks and muttered, "Tch, you're all just jealous of my skills." But he still passed the ball to Miyagi.
As per Coach Anzai's plan, Shohoku's offensive focus was on the inside. After Miyagi broke through Hojo's defense, he immediately looked towards the inside.
Kaede Rukawa was on the outside, Yo Aoki had Akagi cornered at the edge of the paint, and Akiyama was defending Sakuragi. At that moment, Akagi raised his hand to ask for the ball. But Miyagi hesitated. If he passed the ball to the captain, it would most likely be intercepted by Yo Aoki. So he decided to pass it to Sakuragi, who was bouncing around nearby.
Seeing this, Yo Aoki trash-talked Akagi: " Akagi- senpai, it seems your teammates don't believe you!" Akagi's face turned bright red, and he roared, "Shut up!"
Sakuragi, holding the ball and facing Akiyama, suddenly lowered his center of gravity, staring at the basket and making a shooting motion. Akiyama thought he was going to shoot and immediately jumped up to block. But Sakuragi didn't move. This move was a fake he had been taught by Miyagi. He took the opportunity to break through Akiyama and rush to the basket.