Taoka glanced at Yo Aoki: "The fact that Aoki made this suggestion means he understands this tactic. Shoyo is known for its zone defense, and Fujima and Hanagata are definitely familiar with it. As for Sendoh, Aoki believes that even if he doesn't understand it, his brain can figure it out immediately. So Aoki's seemingly casual remark actually reveals a lot of thought behind it." Uozumi his tongue. "Could it be a coincidence?"
Taoka frowned. "I also hope it's a coincidence, otherwise..." He didn't finish his sentence, not wanting to voice his concerns.
After intercepting the ball, Fujima first secured it and only dribbled forward after confirming there was no danger. Just past half-court, Fujima suddenly accelerated to full speed and charged forward! "Wow, so fast!" the whole stadium shouted. Fujima pushed his speed to the limit, and Shinichi Maki could only stick close to him and try to force him to slow down.
The two rushed to the three-point line in the blink of an eye. Fujima slammed his left foot to a stop, his shoes scraping the floor with a screeching sound. He adjusted his position, pulled the ball back with his left hand, and then dribbled between his legs, making a swift crossover! The entire arena erupted in cheers. Fujima's crossover was so dramatic that even Shinichi Maki was thrown off balance!
Just as Shinichi Maki was about to chase after him, "Bang!" Yo Aoki blocked his way—it wasn't Aoki's deliberate screen, but rather Fujima's change of direction that happened to brush against Aoki's position, thus stopping Shinichi Maki.
Fujima cut into the paint, and before Takasago could help defend, he jumped and swished a mid-range jumper into the net! The score became 23-32.
Takato, clutching his paper fan, clicked his tongue in amazement. "I never expected this! Senior Taoka didn't choose Sendoh or Aoki as the core, but instead chose Fujima?" Uozumi also exclaimed, "This is too surprising! Fujima is so much stronger than before, even Shinichi Maki couldn't defend against him!"
Taoka smiled and nodded, "After losing to Shohoku, that desire to win the championship forced Fujima to keep improving!" He then turned to Uozumi: "You should learn from him!" Uozumi scratched his head, his face turning a little red.
Uozumi a child, a promise he made with his father when they were young. They agreed that Uozumi would officially become a chef under the " San-Go-Nana " culinary school when he turned eighteen, but he hadn't reached the age of eighteen during the winter selection, so starting to learn now doesn't count as breaking a promise.
Taoka always felt that Uozumi's sudden retirement was mostly due to losing to Shohoku and being defeated by Akagi, which caused him to lose his spirit. Therefore, he used Fujima as a target to criticize Uozumi.
After scoring, Fujima turned to his teammates and yelled, "Stay calm! We have to stop the next one!"
Teammates responded in unison, "No problem!"
Looking at Aoki 'Fujima energetic spirit, Aoki couldn't help but chuckle, "He's usually as gentle as a piece of jade, but once he steps onto the field, he's like he's been injected with chicken blood! Fujima and Haruko Akagi together are the two most visually appealing characters in Slam Dunk."
As the game transitioned from offense to defense, Shinichi Maki of the Yellow Team continued to advance the ball, and the White Team immediately set up a 1-2-2 zone defense. Fujima was the first to stick close to Maki, looking incredibly smug. Maki was stunned for half a second, then he also grinned. The duel between Kanagawa's two top point guards had begun.
Shinichi Maki dribbled the ball with his right hand, then suddenly took a half-step forward with his left foot, passing the ball from his right crotch to his left hand, his body swaying slightly. Fujima quickly moved to the right, trying to block Maki's breakthrough, but Maki pulled back with his left hand, the ball going directly from in front of him to his right hand, shifting his weight and suddenly changing direction to the right.
After transforming, he charged straight at Maki, his explosive power instantly leaving Fujima behind. "That move again! How come it always works!" Miyagi shouted from the sidelines.
Maki's speed was ridiculously fast; Aoki and Sendoh couldn't keep up with his help defense and could only watch helplessly as he drove into the paint. Sakuragi saw Maki reach the basket and immediately lunged at him. Yo Aoki yelled at the top of his lungs, " Sakuragi, watch out! Don't commit unnecessary fouls!"
Maki leaps to the basket, right hand holding the ball, left hand protecting it. Sakuragi slaps him hard across the left hand, but Maki flips Maki right wrist, and the ball falls steadily into the hoop. "Beep--" White team fouls, the basket is valid, one free throw! The referee blows the whistle immediately.
"Damn old man!" Sakuragi huffed, raising his hand in remorse, admitting he'd fouled. Yo Aoki patted him on the shoulder, saying, "It's okay, it's okay, you can switch back next round!"
"That's right! This genius is going to dunk on him! An eye for an eye!" Sakuragi shouted, sticking his neck out.
"Teacher, why can't this coordinated defense stop Maki?" Uozumi asked, scratching his head.
Coach Taoka said in a deep voice, "According to the 1-2-2 zone defense, when Maki gets the ball, either Aoki or Sendoh should come up and double-team Fujima, but neither of them dares to move."
If Sendoh goes to double-team, Sakuragi has to defend Kaede Rukawa; if Aoki goes, Sakuragi has to cover Takasago's position. Sendoh and Aoki both know that Sakuragi doesn't have the defensive awareness, so they can only stay in place. In other words, this zone defense is useless.
Taoka smiled and said, "Even with Maki's skill, he can't consistently make such high-quality breakthroughs."
"Hehe! So this zone defense forces Maki to make high-difficulty breakthroughs every time!" Uozumi, scratching the back of his head.
Shinichi Maki easily made the free throw, making the score 26-32, and the White Team began their attack. Fujima continued to use Aoki and Sendoh's height to block Maki Shinichi Maki, once again leaving Maki behind.
Seeing this, Kiyota, who was near the baseline, immediately abandoned his defense on Sakuragi and rushed towards Fujima. Kiyota came up to help defend, Fujima paused for a moment, then suddenly flicked his head towards Sakuragi at the baseline, "Pass the ball?" Kiyota, who was rushing over, immediately stopped, and Sakuragi also reached out to catch the ball.
Suddenly, Fujima accelerated and, before Kiyota could react, broke through along the original route. "Ah!" Kiyota cried out in surprise. Fujima had reached the basket and was about to shoot when Takasago quickly jumped up to block the shot.
But Fujima didn't shoot! A fake move! "Thwack!" He Hanagata the ball off the ground and passed it to Hanagata, who was unguarded. Hanagata jumped up and dunked, making the score 26-34!
"Great!" Fujima high- Hanagata Fujima, and Aoki and Sendoh joined in. Sakuragi walked over angrily. "Candidate, why did you lie to me!"
Before Fujima could speak, Aoki said seriously, " Sakuragi, stop pretending. We all know you were just making that receiving motion on purpose to cooperate with Fujima- senpai. You really fooled Kiyota. You're a genius!"
Although Sakuragi didn't understand what Aoki was saying, he knew it was a compliment, and his anger immediately turned to joy. He patted his stomach and laughed, "That's right! My genius's actions were all under control! Haha!"
The person taking photos over there muttered, "It was worth coming today!" Yayoi Aida kept taking notes, "The duel Kanagawa's Twin Pillars was truly spectacular!" "The White Team's lineup is practically an upgraded version of Shoyo! Fujima can finally play freely!" Nakamura exclaimed, "This year's Kanagawa Representative Team is just as strong as Akita and Aichi!"
Coach Takato previously said that the team's goal was to give it their all in every game; that's such a lack of ambition.
Aida rolled his eyes and rubbed his temples. " Nakamura, what's wrong with your brain?"
Nakamura scratched his head, looking completely bewildered. "What does that mean?"
Aida sighed, "Didn't Takato say they were preparing for five matches?"
Nakamura was even more confused. "So what?"
Aida was completely too lazy to argue anymore. " Kanagawa is a seeded team; they need to reach the finals to play a full five games!"
Nakamura suddenly realized, "Ah! I get it! Kanagawa's goal is the finals, or even winning the championship!"
The situation on the court was just as Taoka had predicted. No matter how strong Shinichi Maki was, he couldn't pull off high-difficulty breakthroughs every time. The 1-2-2 zone defense completely shut him down.
In this attack, Fujima marked him very closely, and Shinichi Maki couldn't find a way to break through, so he could only pass the ball to Kaede Rukawa.
As soon as Rukawa got the ball, Fujima and Sendoh immediately rushed up to him.
Seeing Kiyota Rukawa up and down in panic, shouting, "Pass me! Pass me!"
But Rukawa completely ignored him and suddenly accelerated towards the inside.
Sendoh and Fujima immediately closed in, squeezing his dribbling space smaller and smaller.
But Kaede Rukawa suddenly stopped and threw the ball.
Sendoh reacted quickly, swatting the ball away, but unfortunately it went out of bounds, and the Yellow Team gained possession.
Logically speaking, Kaede Rukawa, who has started to emphasize teamwork in national tournaments, shouldn't be so reckless. But Yo Aoki knows that Rukawa's solitary nature hasn't changed at all.
Coach Anzai had previously told Rukawa during his match against Sawakita that Rukawa's two passes were just a smokescreen; deep down, he still wanted to go it alone.
This is the difference between Kaede Rukawa and Sendoh. Sendoh loves to pass the ball and connect plays, prioritizing the team. This is what a top-level star should be like.
If Kaede Rukawa doesn't realize this, he'll never be as good as Sendoh.
"Beep--" The referee blew his whistle, and Takato, seeing the situation was not going well, immediately called a timeout.
Kiyota returned to the bench with his head drooping, muttering to Kaede Rukawa, " Kaede Rukawa, why didn't you pass to me? Do you think you're the boss?"
Kaede Rukawa turned his head away, not wanting to pay him any attention.
Shinichi Maki immediately stopped Kiyota, "That's enough! You're a team member now! Behave yourself!"
Takato looked at his disciple and shook his head helplessly.
Shinichi Maki and Kaede Rukawa had absolutely no chemistry, Kiyota was still full of hostility towards Rukawa. He turned to look at Coach Taoka.
At this moment, Fujima was talking to Sendoh and Aoki, who were listening attentively and nodding from time to time, clearly focusing on Fujima.
Takato thought to himself, "Taoka- senpai really has a keen eye. Sendoh and Aoki are both players who are willing to sacrifice for the team."
He turned back to look at his own side. Now, only Miyagi was left to replace him, but even if he replaced him with Miyagi, he still couldn't break through Taoka's defensive formation.
They really found a weakness in us. It felt exactly the same as when we fought Takezato last time. Takato smiled helplessly.
"Huh? Takezato?" Takato was suddenly taken aback.
He came to his senses; this tactical arrangement was Taoka's style. Could it be Yo Aoki?
Takato had a nagging feeling that perhaps Yo Aoki was influencing Taoka's tactics, and maybe he was just overthinking it. It seemed he'd have to have a chat with Taoka- senpai after the match.
On the white team's side, Coach Taoka pondered for a moment and said to Yo Aoki, " Aoki, why don't you go off the court and rest for a bit?"
Fujima and Sendoh were both stunned. "Switching to Aoki now? That's incredibly unwise."
Yo Aoki didn't say anything, just replied, "Okay, Taoka- sensei."
" Fukuda, you take Aoki's place."
"Yes".
Taoka turned to Yo Aoki and asked, " Aoki, with this lineup, can we still use zone defense?"
Yo Aoki shook his head. " Fukuda- senpai is strong offensively but weak defensively, plus Sakura..." He swallowed the word "ki" back, not wanting to provoke Sakuragi.
"So, what good ideas do you have?" Taoka seemed to have other plans.
Yo Aoki glanced at Coach Taoka. "Next, we can rely on Sendoh's organization and attack using Ryonan's style of play. Everyone, try your mid-range shots more often. It's okay if you miss; we have a rebounding genius here."
Sakuragi immediately jumped out, patting his stomach and laughing, "Hahaha! As expected, we still have to rely on me!"
"Okay, let's do as Aoki says!"
At this point, Taoka asked Yo Aoki, " Aoki, what tactics do you think the Yellow Team should use to break through their current predicament?"
Yo Aoki thought for a moment, "Actually, the best solution for Team Yellow right now is to bring on Akagi and replace Kiyota, let Maki and Kaede Rukawa stand at the top of the arc, and have Akagi and Takasago insert..."
Inside the penalty area, Jin was crouching on the byline, looking for an opening to break through, which completely negated the effectiveness of the 1-2-2 zone defense.
"We can substitute either Maki or Rukawa. If we substitute Maki, we'll use the same strategy as Shohoku; if we substitute Rukawa, we'll use the Kainan style of play. Both will be effective."
"Oh." Coach Taoka stroked his chin and started scratching his head.
But just then, Yo Aoki spoke up with a smile, " Taoka- sensei, are you satisfied with my suggestion?"
Fujima and Sendoh exchanged a glance but remained silent. Coach Taoka nodded cheerfully, "Very good!"
Yo Aoki nodded slightly, saying nothing more. In fact, Yo Aoki knew perfectly well what that old man Taoka was up to; he simply wanted to figure out his methods so that he could deal with Takezato in the future.
The game restarted, but the Yellow Team showed no intention of making any substitutions. Coach Takato stubbornly clung to the original lineup. He wanted to find as many problems as possible in the team so he could correct them in future training.