"What's the point of just looking at the roster on paper? We might as well just compare who has the bigger cards! "Akashi scoffed.
But Tokito didn't think that way. Shimizu pouted, Akashi looked up to see Tokito, the coach of the Chiba Team, and two technicians, frowning as they flipped through the documents in their hands.
The Coach Tokito his thirties. A few years earlier, he had taken over the reins of Urayasu Commercial and, with his excellent coaching ability, had led the team to improve year after year. The players all called him "Big Brother" and respected him greatly.
He stared at the player data from Kanagawa. Out of 15 players, 7 were third-year students, 4 were second-year students, and 4 were first-year students. The age structure was very stable.
Moreover, Kainan University Affiliated High School has 4 players, Shohoku High School has 5, so the starting lineup will basically have to come from these two teams.
The starting lineup will definitely include Shinichi Maki and Kaede Rukawa. Maki is a nationally renowned player, and Rukawa has even made it into the national youth team. Both of them are the most famous players in Kanagawa.
The center position will most likely be Takenori Akagi from Shohoku. Hisashi Mitsui from Shohoku is not physically fit and will probably have to sit on the bench.
Nobunaga Kiyota, a freshman from Kainan, is on a roll and has secured a starting spot. The last starting spot was originally intended for Soichiro Jin, but Hanamichi Sakuragi from Shohoku's rebounding skills are too eye-catching.
For a team like ours that relies on outside shooting, rebounding is our lifeline. So what Kanagawa considers an odd lineup is, in our eyes, our most reliable starting lineup.
However, this is not the fault of the Coach Tokito. With the information technology available in that era, teams like Ryonan and Takezato, who didn't even make it to the national preliminaries, were unlikely to attract attention. It's normal that he didn't know the strength of Yo Aoki and Sendoh, among others.
There was a sudden knock on the door of the Kainan Team's coaching room.
"Come in, "Coach Takato looked up, smiled, and asked, "Maki, how's it going?"
Shinichi Maki pushed the door open and came in: Aoki suggested that Sakuragi be the offensive core, and the whole team should pass the ball to him.
Takato paused for a moment, then asked, "What are the others' opinions?"
Most people disagreed, only Fujima explicitly supported it, and Sendoh and Rukawa hadn't given up yet. Shinichi Maki replied.
"Yes, I understand. Thank you for your hard work. "Takato nodded.
Maki asked suspiciously, "Teacher, are you trying to test Aoki?"
In the basketball gym of Kainan High School, Yo Aoki was leading the team in warm-up exercises, waiting for the Chiba Team to arrive.
The match was still a while away, but the stadium was already quite full of spectators. Takato had kept the team in closed training, so no one had ever seen their full lineup. As soon as they heard that they were going to warm up, the spectators all rushed over.
That's Yo Aoki? The guy who broke our 16-year unbeaten streak back then.
"Sendoh That spiky-haired Sendoh, isn't that him?" a boy nudged his companion.
"Fujima is so handsome!" The girl next to her covered her mouth and screamed, only to be immediately countered by another girl. "Kaede Rukawa is the most handsome!" The two girls almost started arguing.
Takato Coach Taoka stood side-by-side on the sidelines. Taoka suddenly asked curiously, "Takato, what exactly is your purpose in arranging this lineup?"
Takato waved his fan: There are three reasons why I put together this lineup. First, I don't want to reveal too much of our strength in front of the public, since today is an open tournament.
Second is Sakuragi. Every time I watch him play, I can feel his improvement. Taoka- senpai, you feel the same way, right?
Taoka reluctantly hummed in agreement.
So I'm really looking forward to seeing what surprises Sakuragi will bring, he said, closing Takato paper fan.
As for the last point, I want to see if Aoki can handle my arrangements.
"So that's why you said you wouldn't devise any tactics for them?" Taoka asked.
Yes! Takato.
Taoka frowned: Just for these few reasons? Are you planning to forfeit this match?
"Does the senior player care a lot about this warm-up match?" Takato asked rhetorically.
"Of course, we should take every match seriously," Taoka said.
Takato smiled without saying a word, and after a while, Taoka added, "What tactics did Aoki propose?"
Aoki's tactic was to use Sakuragi as the core of the attack. Takato replied.
What? Taoka was taken aback. He understood your purpose?
"I don't know either," Takato shook his head.
Just then, the basketball court door was pushed open with a "whoosh," and the Chiba Prefecture Representative Team arrived.
The team members said in unison: Excuse me!
Just as Coach Takato was about to move aside to speak, he saw a red-haired kid loudly interrupt him.
"You guys are Chiba's gang? You'll see what this genius is all about soon!" Sakuragi shouted as he charged forward.
Who is this guy?
"Don't the people of Kanagawa have any manners?"
"You red-haired weirdo, you want a beating, huh?"
The group from Kanagawa all turned their heads, pretending not to see Sakuragi.
Yo Aoki suppressed a laugh, thinking to himself that Sakuragi's praise was going way too far.
However, Genta Shimizu was quite polite, stepping forward to extend his hand and saying, "Then I look forward to working with you in the future."
Sakuragi also extended his hand, grinning, "Don't worry, I won't use my full strength!"
The Coach Tokito walked up to Takato Taoka, bowed deeply, and said, "I'm sorry to have troubled you two seniors!"
Takato smiled and waved his hand, "Don't mention it, Tokito."
Taoka urged from the side, "Alright, you guys go change your clothes and warm up first."
The Tokito bowed again and led the team members toward the locker room.
A while later, the stadium door was pushed open, and the people from Takezato arrived.
"We're finally here!" Coach Akai said, stretching his back.
" Kainan is really far from us." Hojo glanced into the stadium.
"Great, the competition hasn't even started yet!" Shirota shouted at the top of his lungs, " Aoki!"
Yo Aoki turned his head and saw that the entire Takezato team had arrived. He immediately ran over to them, saying, "Hello, teachers! Thank you for your hard work!"
Coach Akai smiled and nodded, "Yeah, how have you been lately?"
Aoki scratched his head. "The team has been training at a high intensity, and I feel I've improved a lot."
Coach Akai patted him on the shoulder. "Alright, let everyone see how powerful the Takezato Ace is!"
Aoki smiled sheepishly.
Coach Akai added, "Everyone's here to cheer you on, so play seriously and help the team win!"
Aoki answered loudly, "Yes, teacher!"
"Alright, we won't hold you up any longer, focus on the game!" Akai said, then led the whole team away.
Ten minutes later, the referee came over and asked both teams if they could start. After receiving an affirmative answer, he blew his whistle. "Players from both teams, please come out!"
Kanagawa's starting five— Shinichi Maki, Akagi, Sakuragi, Kaede Rukawa, Kiyota —walked onto the court in their white team uniforms.
Shirota in the stands, leaned closer to Aoki and asked in surprise, " Aoki, you didn't make the starting lineup?"
Imamura gasped, "How could Aoki, with his strength, possibly..."
Nakako lowered his voice. "Did Aoki offend the coach?"
Coach Akai's face darkened. "Don't talk nonsense. Aoki not starting might be a tactical decision. Just keep watching."
Akagi stood in the center circle, a head taller than Chiba's center Akashi.
Akashi swallowed hard. "He's really big."
The referee shouted, "The match between Chiba Team and Kanagawa Team is now starting!"
Both players salute.
Please give me your guidance!
"Whoosh!" The referee tossed the ball up! Akagi and Akashi jumped at the same time, and the match officially began.
Chiba Team wore blue uniforms, and their starting five were: No. 4 Genta Shimizu (shooting guard, 183cm), No. 5 Daisuke Akashi (center, 190cm), No. 7 Kotaro Uemura (point guard, 175cm), No. 8 Kenichi Ono (small forward, 185cm), and No. 9 Hiroshi Kikkawa (power forward, 187cm).
Except for number 9, Kikkawa, who comes from Tomifusa High School, the rest are all players from Urayasu Commercial.
"Drink!" Akagi shouted, soaring over Akashi in mid-air to grab the ball first, then flicking it back.
Shinichi Maki leaned forward and grabbed the ball, giving Kanagawa the lead in the attack.
Shinichi Maki dribbled the ball to the frontcourt, and Chiba Team's number 7 Kotaro Uemura, went up to defend him.
The Coach Tokito the sidelines was worried for Uemura. Uemura was under the most pressure in this game. If he could stop Shinichi Maki, the team would have a chance.
Shinichi Maki glanced at Chiba's defensive formation, which was a man-to-man marking tactic, and smirked. "Quite confident in yourself, huh?"
After he finished speaking, he stopped dribbling, raised his hands high, and shouted, " Akagi!"
Using his height advantage, he made a straight pass to get the ball to Maki! On his first offensive possession, Shinichi Maki didn't force a drive but attacked from the inside.
After Akagi received the ball, he turned his back to Akashi and dribbled towards the basket.
Akashi was no match for Akagi's strength and could only retreat.
"Damn it!" Akashi cursed inwardly.
Akagi dribbled the ball twice with his back to the basket, then suddenly turned to look at the hoop. Akashi, thinking he was going to shoot, quickly adjusted his position and raised his hand to block.
Akagi sensed Akashi's defensive weight shifting to the left as he leaned back, and immediately pivoted on his right foot, turning clockwise to shake him off.
Akagi jumped, banked the ball in, and made a clean layup. His movements were incredibly smooth and fluid.
The score is now 0-2.
Shinichi Maki smiled and patted Akagi on the shoulder, "You're in good shape!"
Akagi smiled and extended his hand; the two gave each other a high five.
Just as the stats described, Takenori Akagi was indeed a good center. The Coach Tokito thought to himself, "Akashi is in trouble now..."
Sakuragi suddenly ran up to Shinichi Maki and Akagi on the court, yelling at the top of his lungs, "Uncle, why didn't you pass to me? I'm the offensive focal point!"
Akagi cursed, "Idiot, even if we center the team around you, we can't pass the ball to you every time!"
"You did this on purpose!" Sakuragi snapped.
Kiyota chuckled and poked Sakuragi: "You're shameless enough..."
Kaede Rukawa sighed softly, Sakuragi instantly bristled.
Seeing Sakuragi still standing there, Akagi immediately yelled, " Sakuragi! Go back and defend!"
Genta Shimizu turned to Akashi and winked, "See? The magazine's writing is correct, isn't it?"
Akashi just gave a nasal "humph" and didn't reply.
Akashi slapped his thigh and shouted at the top of his lungs, "It's our turn to attack! Let's show them what we're really made of!"
Akashi immediately nodded in agreement, Akashi bent down to pass the ball from the baseline to Uemura, officially starting Chiba Team's offensive turn.
As soon as Uemura dribbled the ball past half-court, he ran into Shinichi Maki blocking his way. His expression instantly tightened, and he instinctively hugged the ball even tighter.
After all, Shinichi Maki is a well-known name in the national high school basketball scene, and Uemura was bound to be intimidated when facing him for the first time.
"This pressure is terrifying!" Uemura could sense a different aura emanating from Shinichi Maki compared to other players, and he immediately declared, "If you dribble any further, you'll get the ball stolen!"
He immediately passed the ball to Genta Shimizu the three-point line.
Genta Shimizu received the ball and was about to shoot when Kiyota, who was guarding him, knew that his three-point shooting was incredibly accurate, so he immediately rushed over.
But it was a feint. Shimizu stopped shooting, turned sideways and passed the ball to Kenichi Ono on the sideline, then took a step back.
Seeing that Shimizu had retreated, Kiyota felt he was no longer a threat and turned all his attention to Ono.
Unexpectedly, as soon as Ono caught the ball, he suddenly pushed it back!
With a "smack," Genta Shimizu caught the ball again, and to Kiyota's astonishment, he raised his hand and shot!
"What? You dare to shoot from that far?" Kiyota tried to block the shot again, but it was too late; the ball had already flown out!