Just after blocking one set, Imamura rushed over from the side and set a second screen for Yo Aoki.
Shinichi Maki had no way to avoid Imamura, so he could only try to squeeze through the gap between the two.
Imamura's positioning was extremely tight, and despite Shinichi Maki's best efforts, he couldn't gain even half a step of space.
That's incredibly powerful!
Imamura was almost pushed aside by Shinichi Maki, but he gritted his teeth and held on.
Taking advantage of two screens, Yo Aoki shook off Shinichi Maki's defense and drove to the basket.
In fact, Yo Aoki's best option against Shinichi Maki is to use his height advantage to shoot, or to post up and attack under the basket.
Neither of these two methods could cause any real damage to Kainan, so Yo Aoki had Mizuki and Imamura run pick-and-rolls continuously.
Yo Aoki had already reached the basket, Takasago immediately stepped forward to cover.
Coach Takato, " Takasago, watch out!"
Without the slightest hesitation, Yo Aoki jumped up to face Takasago.
But Takasago hesitated for a moment, clearly unsure of what to do. He didn't dare to jump, but simply stood under the basket, raising his hands to shield himself.
Seeing Takasago's move, Coach Takato breathed a sigh of relief. "Yes, that's how you play Takasago. Don't try to fight him head-on!"
Yo Aoki leaped high and slammed the ball into the basket. Even though Takasago didn't jump, the impact sent him staggering back several steps! The score suddenly became 4-8!
Four goals right from the start! Four dunks! And every single one of them was a hard-fought, physical play!
That kid's too fierce!
Kainan's center doesn't even dare to jump anymore!
A team that's been undefeated for sixteen years—their reputation is about to be shattered!
Hearing these taunts, Kiyota's anger flared up. He jumped up from the bench and Takato, "Coach, let me play! I'm really fine!" He then clenched his left arm and waved it twice, as if he wanted to rush onto the field immediately.
Coach Takato remained calm. " Kiyota, have you forgotten how Ryonan and Shohoku suffered defeats at the hands of Takezato? This is Takezato's psychological warfare!"
Kiyota panicked, "Coach, I understand, but our Kainan is not the same as Takezato's '973'!"
"That's precisely why Takezato is so fixated on this point." Takato gripped his paper fan tightly, his tone steady.
"Coach..."
" Kiyota, you need to learn to be patient! That's the key to victory!"
Hikoichi Aida scratched his head and asked, "Coach, I think even if Kainan replaces all its starters and only keeps Maki, they can still go toe-to-toe with Takezato, right?"
Koshino nodded in agreement, "Yeah, no matter what level the teammates are at, as long as Maki is there, with his skill, this team won't be bad."
Coach Taoka laughed, "You really think so?"
Uozumi up, "I think if Kainan really does that, then he doesn't deserve to be the king of Kanagawa."
"That's right, the pride of the Kanagawa kings would never allow such a thing to happen." Taoka paused, then continued, "But that's only the first reason."
Secondly, if Kainan really does this, it's tantamount to announcing to everyone that the tactics employed by the Takezato have succeeded. What will the substituted key players think? How will they compete in future national tournaments if they encounter similar situations?
"Thirdly," Taoka said in a deep voice, "And most importantly, I don't believe Takezato Kainan can beat Maki alone! Takezato is no pushover!"
After switching sides, the Kainan Team began their attack, with Shinichi Maki dribbling the ball up the court.
Just as Shinichi Maki was about to launch an attack, he suddenly paused, because Yo Aoki was already right in front of him.
Takezato has also changed its tactics.
Did these two plan this?
Maki, charge! Block him!
Kainan! Maki! Kainan! Maki!
Yo Aoki stood face-to-face with Shinichi Maki, his feet apart, knees slightly bent, upper body leaning forward, eyes fixed on Shinichi Maki, arms outstretched to maximize his defensive area.
At the same time, Yo Aoki was also watching Soichiro Jin's passing route. As soon as Shinichi Maki showed any sign of moving towards Soichiro Jin, he would immediately raise his hand to interfere and never let the ball pass to him.
Shinichi Maki looked at Yo Aoki and suddenly smiled, "You seem quite confident in your defense!"
Yo Aoki didn't reply, his eyes remaining completely still. Unlike Sakuragi, who would chime in on everything, he had to be fully focused when facing Shinichi Maki.
Shinichi Maki suddenly shifted his weight, switching the ball from between his legs to his left hand. Yo Aoki immediately moved to the side to follow up, but as soon as Shinichi Maki touched the ball with his left hand, he made a bounce pass, then switched back to his right hand to dribble, and directly changed direction to accelerate and break through to the right.
Yo Aoki was startled. Maki's movements were swift and decisive, his first step maximizing his speed advantage!
Even Yo Aoki couldn't keep up.
Unlike Shinichi Maki, Maki Fujima doesn't like to dangle. He doesn't make any unnecessary movements; he relies on the extreme speed of his first step to break through!
"Ah! Aoki got beaten!" Sanada shouted, slapping his thigh in exasperation!
"Too fast! This is the fastest breakthrough I've ever seen!" Nakako clutched his head in disbelief.
Shinichi Maki flashed to the basket and jumped to prepare for a layup.
But Yo Aoki's explosive power is in no way weaker than Shinichi Maki's!
Yo Aoki caught up instantly, leaping to the side to block the shot!
Seeing Yo Aoki jump, Shinichi Maki's lips curled into a smirk, secretly thinking, "He's fallen for it after all!"
He's trying to entice Yo Aoki to commit a foul!
The expected physical contact did not occur. Instead, everything went black before Shinichi Maki's eyes as a hand suddenly covered his eyes.
Yo Aoki had read " Slam Dunk " countless times and knew Shinichi Maki's "2+1" move inside and out, so when he jumped, he went straight up and down without any intention of making any physical contact with Shinichi Maki.
He then used Battier's famous blindfold defense. Shinichi Maki, whose mind was half on Yo Aoki, immediately lost his aim when his eyes were covered.
But he was a seasoned pro. In mid-air, he instantly changed his layup stance to a pass, tossing the ball towards the Takasago and swishing it into Takasago's hands. Takasago caught the ball and immediately jumped for a shot, the ball swishing through the net, making the scoreboard 6-8.
Sanada slapped his thigh and exclaimed, " Maki can even pass like that? Is his body made of iron?!" Nakako clutched his head and yelled, "These two rounds are actually tied?"
Yo Aoki glanced around the court. He knew how Takasago him. If he continued to force his way into the paint, Kainan probably had a countermeasure. He would have to change his tactics.
When it was Takezato's turn to attack, Miyamasu guarded Hojo, Muto kept an eye on Mizuki, Soichiro Jin defended Shindo, Takasago guarded Imamura. Apart from Shindo, the others were basically fine, making it a perfect time for pick-and-roll.
Yo Aoki immediately dribbled Shinichi Maki towards the sideline, creating space for Hojo. Seeing that Aoki had no intention of attacking, Hojo raised his hand to signal, Imamura went up to set a screen for Hojo.
Coach Takato shouted urgently, "Watch out! Their screen play!" Miyamasu immediately stuck close to Hojo, while Takasago followed Imamura to the perimeter. It seemed Kainan had studied pick-and-rolls quite a bit, but Miyamasu was hardly up to the task.
Hojo stuck to Imamura and cut inside. Miyamasu was stuck between the two, but he was too weak and couldn't move Imamura at all. With a bump from the players, Miyamasu was directly pushed away by Imamura and Hojo, Hojo successfully cut inside.
Takasago was still guarding Imamura on the outside, leaving Kainan's inside defense open. Hojo scored a layup, making the score 6-10. Hikoichi Aida exclaimed, "The others in Takezato can also score!" Coach Taoka added, "Everyone pay attention, this will be useful for us!"
The offense switched to defense, Kainan launched an attack. Shinichi Maki charged directly towards Yo Aoki, but Yo Aoki was no weaker than Shinichi Maki, and this time Maki couldn't shake him off.
But Shinichi Maki wasn't in a hurry. He suddenly stopped, flicked the ball to the left, and passed it to Soichiro Jin. Shindo was guarding Soichiro Jin, but the god-like pitcher calmly raised his hand and threw the ball. His posture was so beautiful it looked like slow motion. Swish! It went in cleanly, making the score 9 to 10.
Kiyota jumped up and shouted, "Great shot, Jin!" Soichiro Jin is 1.89 meters tall, the same height as Yo Aoki, but he plays small forward. Apart from Yo Aoki and Imamura, everyone else in Takezato is at a height disadvantage in front of him, and they are all mismatched.
Yo Aoki frowned. Soichiro Jin was too much of a threat on the field, and he had to find a way to get him off. He glanced at Riki Takato on the bench and had an idea.
Takezato attacked, Hojo then set a pick and roll, Imamura came up to set another screen, Miyamasu tried his best to block, but he was not good at guarding pick and rolls, and as expected, he was blocked. Takasago could only help guard Hojo.
As soon as Takasago arrived, Hojo immediately bounced the ball to Imamura. Just as Imamura was about to shoot, Soichiro Jin ignored Shindo and ran over to defend him. Hojo smiled and said, "You guys think Imamura can shoot?"
Imamura Hayate spotted Soichiro Jin and, as soon as he got close, immediately passed the ball to the unmarked Shindo. Shindo adjusted his position and shot, and the ball went in, making the score 9-13.
Someone in the stands shouted, " Takezato made a three-pointer too! He's playing with gritted teeth!" Someone next to him chimed in, "I didn't expect the other players from Takezato to be so good too!" Beep! The white team called a timeout. Takato saw that he couldn't stop Kainan's pick-and-roll and immediately called a timeout.
" Kosuge, switch to Miyamasu!" Takato spoke first. " Kosuge, stick close to number 8 and separate him from number 6. Do it like you've practiced, got it?"
"Yes, Coach!" Kosuge nodded in response, then turned to Takasago, " Takasago, keep a Takato eye on Aoki. Don't try to fight him head-on when he breaks through; take care of yourself first!"
Takasago Takato, then shouted to Shinichi Maki and Soichiro Jin, " Maki, Jin, we need to widen the score gap! Takezato can't catch up!"
On the Takezato side, Coach Akai pulled Aoki aside and asked, "How's it going? No problems, right?"
Aoki smiled and said, "Don't worry, teacher!" Akai happily replied, " Kiyota's gone downstairs, your plan worked, right?"
"No," Aoki said. " Soichiro Jin is a huge threat on the field."
Shirota leaned closer to Aoki and asked, " Aoki, with that move you made to charge into Kainan, they're definitely not going to let Soichiro Jin face you off. How are you going to deal with him?"
Yo Aoki grinned. "Isn't that simple? Just use pick-and-roll."
Timeout time is up, game resumes!
Just as Takezato saw Kosuge enter the arena, Yo Aoki patted Hojo's arm. Hojo twitched his lips and shook his head—he had to go keep an eye on Shinichi Maki again.
Standing next to Soichiro Jin, Yo Aoki stared at the handsome young man and thought to himself: This kid has plenty of tenacity and fighting spirit.
When Takato saw Yo Aoki and Soichiro Jin sticking together, his heart almost jumped out of his chest. Fortunately, Shinichi Maki reacted quickly, made a crossover and broke through for a layup, making the score 11-13.
Yo Aoki advanced the ball, and Kainan still assigned Shinichi Maki to defend him closely. Just past the frontcourt, Imamura came up to set a screen for Aoki, Aoki immediately started moving. Shinichi Maki followed the tactic and closed in. Although Imamura did not block Maki, he slowed him down a bit, giving Aoki some space.
This time, however, Aoki didn't head towards the inside; instead, he ran towards Shindo's side.
Shindo instantly understood Aoki's intention and immediately stepped in to shield Aoki from the attack. Out of position, Shinichi Maki dared not confront him directly and could only watch as Shindo blocked him, resulting in a successful screen-and-roll mismatch!
"Don't switch!" Coach Takato shouted. Soichiro Jin immediately switched to guard Aoki, Aoki grinned and drove straight into the paint.
But this time he was too slow, and Soichiro Jin was able to keep up completely.