"Everyone, pay attention, especially to Yamakawa. Make sure to double-team him closely and force him to foul."
He turned to Yamada: "Are you aware of Hiraide's abilities?"
Although Yamada was unwilling, he nodded. "His strength is above mine."
"This guy only knows how to use his height advantage to attack the paint. You just need to keep him on the perimeter."
Shirota Mika then asked, " Aoki, do you have any suggestions for our attack?"
"Your offense has been very good; just maintain the status quo."
The second half begins ten minutes later.
The Emperor Team won the jump ball and went on the offensive first.
Terashima originally intended to pass to Hiraide, but Yamakawa desperately wanted the ball, so he had no choice but to pass it to him instead.
At that moment, Xiao Wu, who was originally defending Terashima, suddenly abandoned him and rushed towards Yamakawa.
Yamakawa, who was still dribbling between his legs, was completely unaware.
The pincer attack succeeded, and Yamakawa was immediately taken aback.
The sudden, tight defense left him in a very awkward position.
Terashima quickly ran over to help. " Yamakawa, pass it over!"
But Yamakawa, who always kept to himself, never even considered passing the ball.
Frustrated by the two defenders' defense, he surprisingly chose to force his way through.
With a "thud," Yamakawa knocked down the defender in front of him.
"Beep!" The referee pointed. "Charging!"
"Why is it a blocking foul!" Yamakawa shouted at the referee, and the Emperor Team fans on the sidelines booed.
At this moment, Terashima came over and advised, " Yamakawa, you did indeed foul."
Yamakawa immediately cursed, "You bastard, which team are you on? Do you even want to play here anymore?"
Terashima remained silent, looking embarrassed.
"Hmph!" Yamakawa turned and left.
Yo Aoki witnessed this scene and muttered, "Looks like Terashima doesn't have a high status in the team."
Shirota then spoke up, " Aoki, you were right not to play."
But neither of them noticed that their conversation had been overheard by someone nearby.
Matsumoto Ryo was Shirota Mika's classmate in high school and had a crush on her for many years.
But Shirota's crush is Yamada for another school's basketball team.
While Matsumoto Ryo's feelings towards Mika aren't exactly love turned to hate, he is certainly full of dissatisfaction.
He gritted his teeth and thought, "I'm so good, why didn't you choose me!"
Yo Aoki and Shirota had previously approached Matsumoto Ryo, who was already furious and wanted to teach them a lesson, but Yo Aoki was a big guy, so he didn't dare to be too presumptuous.
Matsumoto Ryo came to the stadium today because he had already figured out the Fire Phoenix Team's strengths and weaknesses. At this moment, he felt the thrill of revenge surging through his bones and hoped to beat Yamada so badly that he couldn't lift his head!
He pushed through the crowd and approached Shirota Mika, wanting to say hello and accompany her to witness this spectacle.
He finally managed to squeeze to the front and just in time to hear Shirota speaking.
Matsumoto Ryo immediately scoffed, muttering, "What a bunch of arrogant fools! If the Emperor Team finds out, they definitely won't let them off easily!"
It's Fire Phoenix's turn to attack now.
Yamada planned to play a singles match Hiraide, but Terashima, who was watching Xiao Wu, suddenly retreated, rushed to Yamada in a few steps, and poked the ball away.
"Great shot!" Shirota exclaimed with a smile, " Terashima really knows his stuff!"
Players like Terashima are often inconspicuous on the field, but they have a good overall view of the game, don't like to show off, and just quietly do their own thing. Although they are not as dazzling as those star players, they are indispensable to the team.
Yo Aoki nodded to himself, thinking to himself: If only the Takezato Team had someone like that!
In the Takezato Team, neither Hojo nor Kawai has a good overall view of the game, so Yo Aoki has to control the rhythm of the game every time.
At that moment, Shirota suddenly spoke up, " Aoki, I heard that Terashima is also a first-year high school student."
"Which high school does he go to?"
"I don't know, but I heard he's transferring to Kanagawa."
Yo Aoki immediately perked up, "That's wonderful!"
Terashima dribbled the ball up the court, ignoring Yamakawa who was yelling for the ball, and passed it directly to the inside Hiraide.
After hearing Yo Aoki's reminder, Yamada held Hiraide, preventing him from getting close to the basket.
Seeing that the defenders hadn't double- Hiraide, Yo Aoki immediately shouted, "Double-team him!"
The Fire Phoenix players then realized what was happening and rushed over to Hiraide who had just crossed the ball.
Although Hiraide is the captain of the Emperor Team, he, like Yamakawa, doesn't like to pass the ball. When he is double-teamed, he also tries to charge in, just like Yamakawa!
Unfortunately, just as he got his footing on the ball, Yamada knocked it away, and the ball rolled to Xiao Wu's feet.
Xiao Wu picked up the ball and launched a fast break, scoring a layup in one go!
The score became 11-19, with Fire Phoenix narrowing the gap to two points.
"Well done!" Shirota Mika shouted in a loud voice.
"In the second half Fire Phoenix seemed like a completely different team; they got stronger!"
"That's right, they always have two people sandwiching someone from the Emperor Team."
"They must have planned a strategy. After all, the Emperor Team is strong, they can't do without some tactics."
Despite this unfavorable situation, the Emperor Team did not call a timeout and continued their attack.
This time, Yamakawa disregarded his position and ran up to Terashima to ask for the ball. Terashima had no choice but to pass the ball to him hand-to-hand.
Yamakawa got the ball and immediately pushed it outwards, letting Terashima create space for him.
Unwilling to admit defeat, Yamakawa started showing off his skills again, using crossover dribbles, behind-the-back dribbles, and cross-court dribbles, but he was still helpless against the double team.
"Beep! Foul! Charging!"
Yamakawa, who forced his way through, was fouled again. Yamakawa kept grumbling at the referee, but it was no use.
Instead, Fire Phoenix scored another goal thanks to the combination play between Yamada and Xiao Wu, making the score 13-19.
After switching sides, the Emperor Team attacked. This time, Yamakawa approached Terashima again to ask for the ball, but Terashima didn't pass it to him. Instead, he passed it to Iwai, who was in a better position.
However Iwai missed the shot, and Yamada grabbed the rebound.
"Damn it!" Yamakawa stormed over to Terashima and grabbed his jersey. " Terashima, why didn't you pass to me?!"
Terashima lowered his voice and explained, " Yamakawa, it's not that I don't want to pass it on to you, Fire Phoenix has already trapped you. Passing it on to someone else is the best course of action!"
Yamakawa immediately roared, "They're ganging up on me because they're afraid of me! You should be the one to pass on the message!"
Terashima was about to speak when Hiraide interrupted him, " Terashima, Yamakawa, the match is still going on!"
" Shuichi, replace him!" Yamakawa said angrily.
Hiraide smiled and advised, " Yamakawa, don't worry, you're the ace, Terashima will definitely pass it to you, right?" As he spoke, he winked at Terashima.
Terashima nodded helplessly, while Yamakawa snorted and turned to walk away.
After Yamakawa left, Hiraide whispered in Terashima's ear, "Tell us more about Yamakawa when you have the chance. After all, he's our benefactor, understand?"
"Okay, I understand."
In the subsequent game, Terashima tried to pass the ball to Yamakawa as instructed by Hiraide, but Yamakawa was still out of form. He played for about ten minutes in the second half before being ejected due to five fouls.
"Damn it! That referee's biased!" Yamakawa cursed as he left the field.
Taking advantage of this time, the Fire Phoenix launched a counterattack, bringing the score to 26-22 and taking the lead.
For the next ten minutes, both teams were exhausted and made frequent mistakes, but the Fire Phoenix still won the game by two points.
"Beep--! Time's up! The Fire Phoenix Team defeats the Emperor Team 31-29!"
"We won!!" Shirota Mika shouted excitedly.
The Emperor Team fans who had traveled from afar couldn't believe that the Emperor Team's nationwide expedition plan had failed in its very first stop!
Matsumoto Ryo's face was ashen, and his knuckles turned white as he clenched his fists.
He had just lost the game and was still fuming when he spotted Yo Aoki and Shirota standing next to Shirota Mika.
His eyes darted around, and he immediately came up with a terrible idea.
He pushed through the throng of people, approached Yamakawa who was squatting on the sidelines panting, and whispered a few words to him.
Yamakawa, who was already seething with anger, immediately jumped up and rushed to the court, yelling at the top of his lungs, "Who's Yo Aoki!"
Yo Aoki stopped in his tracks, paused for two seconds, then pushed through the crowd and walked to the sidelines, saying, "That's me. You were looking for me?"
With his hands on his hips, Yamakawa roared, "I don't care if we know each other or not, I've only heard that whenever you're on the field, I can't even touch the ball!"
Yo Aoki raised an eyebrow. "And then?"
Yamakawa clenched his fist. "I challenge you to a one-on-one fight!"
Yo Aoki retorted, "You want to challenge me?"
The Yamakawa roared, "Yes!"
Yo Aoki shook his head.
Yamakawa retorted, "Scared?"
Yo Aoki glanced at him. "You're no match for me." He then glanced at Terashima beside him and smiled, "You're alright."
Yamakawa's face flushed red with anger. "You dare look down on me? You're asking for death!" He then charged forward.
Yo Aoki ignored him and just chuckled.
Looking at the furious Yamakawa, Yo Aoki spread his hands. "Fine, I agree."
Standing on the sidelines, Matsumoto Ryo smirked maliciously. "They took the bait after all."
He knew perfectly well that Yo Aoki was no match for Yamakawa, and if he really lost, given Yamakawa's fiery temper, he would definitely cause trouble for Yamada.
He muttered to himself, "Heh heh, don't think everything's fine just because you won the game."
A fan next to him tugged at his companion's arm and shouted, "Who was that guy calling again?"
His companion peered over the railing and said, "It looks like Yo Aoki?"
A fan stood on tiptoe and clung to the shoulder of the person in front of him. "Let me see—oh! It really is Yo Aoki!"
Someone came over and asked, "Is this person famous?"
His companion's eyes lit up. "Of course! One of the top five tough guys in the county! Do you know Shinichi Maki?"
The fans nodded. "Who doesn't know Emperor Maki!"
His teammate slapped his thigh. "In the qualifiers a while ago, Yo Aoki led the Takezato Team to a complete rout of the Kainan Team!"
The fans stared in astonishment. "What? Kainan is one of the top four teams in the country!"
His companion rubbed his hands together excitedly. "We've hit the jackpot! We get to see him fight one-on-one today!"
On the court, Yo Aoki and Yamakawa stood facing each other.
Yo Aoki tossed the ball to Yamakawa: "You go first, so you won't miss a chance to even touch the ball later."
Yamakawa scoffed dismissively, "Let's see if you can still be so arrogant later!"
Just as he was about to dribble past someone, a hand suddenly slapped the ball away with a "thud."
Yo Aoki didn't try to steal the ball; instead, he stood still and said, "Just a heads-up, pay attention."
Yamakawa was so angry he gritted his teeth. "Damn it! I'll break through your limits right now!"
But he wasted three minutes on that "immediate" dribble, his forehead was covered in sweat, and he didn't even dare to do any fancy moves. He could only dribble sideways, and Yo Aoki's defensive pressure was ridiculously high.