Taking advantage of his height, Akagi touched the ball first and then flicked it back, Shinichi Maki caught.
Kanagawa has gained the right to attack.
Shinichi Maki received the ball and prepared to launch an attack. The number six player from the Shizuoka Team immediately closed in, keeping a close eye on his movements.
"To win this game, I must stop Maki!"
But his thoughts were completely wishful thinking. With his defensive skills and physical strength, he posed no threat whatsoever to Shinichi Maki.
Shinichi Maki dribbled forward, his movements as relaxed as if he were strolling across a playground.
"What's going on? It didn't work!" Player number six was taken aback, but quickly regained his composure. "If brute force doesn't work, then let's go for speed!"
He suddenly accelerated, trying to overtake Shinichi Maki, and bent down to reach for the ball.
But just as his fingertips touched the ball, Shinichi Maki pulled back with his right hand, and the ball seemed to be welded to his palm, moving backward as well.
Immediately afterwards, Shinichi Maki turned around using his left leg as a pivot, easily leaving the number six player behind.
"That was such a fast reaction!"
After shaking off the defender, Shinichi Maki didn't rush to break through. Instead, he held the ball forward with both hands and sent it forward.
At that moment, Mikoshiba, standing at the edge of the penalty area, froze for a moment, "This is... bad!"
Before he could figure it out, he felt the guy with the spiky hair behind him disappear.
He quickly turned his head to look, only managing to catch a glimpse of a white figure charging towards the basket.
"Bang!" Sendoh stomped his right foot on the ground and leaped into the air.
He opened his arms and steadily caught the ball passed to him by Shinichi Maki.
Sendoh twisted his body in mid-air to stabilize his center of gravity, and then used his arms to slam the ball into the basket.
The spectators in the stands nearly popped their eyes out.
The game had only been going on for a little over five minutes, and the score was already 26 to 6.
Kanagawa had already built a full twenty-point lead, and what caused the entire arena to erupt in chaos was Sendoh.
On the court, Sendoh controlled the ball at the top of the three-point arc, while Shizuoka Team continued to use their preferred zone defense.
He quickly glanced at the situation on the court. Fujima was standing at the 45-degree angle to the left three-point line, Shinichi Maki was to his right, Soichiro Jin was at the 45-degree angle to the right, and Akagi was near the free-throw line.
He instantly calculated the attack route in his mind.
Shinichi Maki suddenly started his run towards the inside, preparing to receive a pass and launch a strong attack, while Soichiro Jin also moved to the right corner to receive the pass.
At that moment, Sendoh's eyes narrowed, and "Swish!" the basketball instantly flew out of his hands.
This was a long pass that went almost diagonally, but his target wasn't Shinichi Maki, but Soichiro Jin in the bottom corner.
As soon as Soichiro Jin landed in the corner, he felt the basketball flying towards him.
"Snap!" He instinctively raised his hand and caught it.
"Didn't you pass it to Maki?" Soichiro Jin was taken aback. "You wanted me to pass it to him?"
He immediately looked at Shinichi Maki, only to find himself completely empty-headed.
The Shizuoka player who was originally marking Soichiro Jin was actually blocked by Shinichi Maki.
It turned out that Sendoh had already noticed that Shinichi Maki's cut to the basket had drawn the opponent's attention, and the player who was originally defending on the baseline instinctively moved towards the basket.
That's why he passed the ball decisively, and the result was exactly as he expected.
Soichiro Jin assumed a standard shooting stance, and "swish!" the basketball swished through the net.
The score is now 29 to 6!
Soichiro Jin walked over and held out his palm, "That was a brilliant transmission!"
Sendoh smiled and clapped his hands.
At this point, neither the audience members nor the reporters could remain seated.
He's already dished out ten assists!
"That's outrageous!"
"The game had barely started when they Alley-oop, and then they kept feeding the ball to their teammates!"
"His timing, angle, and power are always perfect when he passes the ball, making it incredibly comfortable for the receiver!"
"Just who is that hedgehog-headed guy?"
In the following minutes, there were countless such passes.
Sendoh, with his broad vision and excellent overall understanding, tightly linked the team's offense.
With Shinichi Maki, Fujima, Soichiro Jin, and Akagi all scoring, the Shizuoka Team simply couldn't keep up.
In the stands, Daiei Academy's head coach, Miura, pointed at Coach Tsuchiya and said, " Tsuchiya, Kanagawa's number 11, Sendoh, has a style just like yours!"
"They do look somewhat alike," Coach Tsuchiya laughed.
There was a hint of mutual appreciation in that smile.
On the other side of the stands, Coach Shioya stroked his chin, his eyes fixed on Sendoh. "This number 11 has such strong skills but isn't very famous. This might be an opportunity. I need to make contact with him as soon as possible."
Sitting next to him, Fukami glanced at Shioya and read the meaning in his eyes.
Fukami clenched his fist and looked at Mikoshiba, "Go for it, Mikoshiba! You have to believe in yourself!"
Mikoshiba received the ball from his teammate, Sendoh stepped forward to defend.
Mikoshiba turned his back to Sendoh and drove towards the basket, then suddenly spun around on his right foot, pushed off with his left foot, and jumped to shoot.
But his actions were immediately seen through by Sendoh.
Sendoh immediately adjusted his pace and followed, raising his hand to jump and slap the ball away.
"Ah!" Mikoshiba's face turned pale.
"Whistle!" The referee blew his whistle, indicating that the ball had gone out of bounds and that it was Shizuoka Team's possession.
The referee then loudly announced, " Shizuoka Team requests a timeout!"
Mikoshiba shuffled back to the bench, plopped down on a chair, clutched the towel his teammate handed him, and didn't even lift his hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead that smacked the floor.
He hung his head, staring at the floor and muttering, "Is this it? Is my basketball career over?"
This feeling of frustration was even more intense than when I was Hiroshi Morishige overwhelmed by Morishige Hiroshi before.
Yo Aoki turned to look at Mikoshiba and sighed, "That kid really has some skills, what a pity."
However, those ridiculous settings suddenly popped into his head—although in the manga version of Slam Dunk he had transmigrated into, Mikoshiba didn't have these kinds of antics at all, the things the anime did to drag out the runtime were really annoying.
When he first met Shohoku in the anime, he immediately confronted Akagi, saying, "I heard you guys were going to have a good time with Kainan?" Then he sneered, "Looks like Kainan University this year." He even boasted that he would beat Shohoku to a pulp in three practice sessions. Even the plot that brought him back together couldn't wash away that arrogance.
Coach Aso leaned over and patted him on the shoulder. "Don't overthink it, just play freely."
But Mikoshiba's spirit was nowhere to be seen; he merely nodded mechanically, without even glancing at her.
Fukami, standing in the stands, was currently preoccupied with the image of his one-on-one basketball game with Mikoshiba in the park yesterday.
Although he was a sophomore, he couldn't gain the slightest advantage against Mikoshiba. After more than ten minutes, Fukami with his hands on his knees, still laughed and said, "Your strength has improved again."
Mikoshiba pouted, "So what? We still can't beat that monster."
Fukami him, "Don't be discouraged. This National Sports Festival is your chance to prove yourself."
Mikoshiba scoffed, "Prove yourself? That old Shioya is probably giving me my last chance this time, isn't he?"
Fukami's eyes widened. "How did you know? Did he contact you?"
Mikoshiba kept his head down and didn't speak, which was taken as tacit agreement.
Fukami asked urgently, "What did he say to you?"
Mikoshiba said nonchalantly, "He told me about Shizuoka University and a few players he likes."
Fukami cursed, "Damn it! He's clearly saying you're not the only one!"
Mikoshiba shrugged and said, "Tomorrow's game against Kanagawa is just my farewell exhibition match for basketball."
Fukami stared at him. "This shouldn't be your fate."
The timeout countdown ended, Mikoshiba's mind was a complete mess. She stumbled onto the field, dazed, forgetting even what she was supposed to do.
Just then, a voice drifted into my ear. "Are you thinking of giving up?"
He turned his head; it was Akagi. Akagi asked again, "You want to forfeit?"
Mikoshiba clenched his fist, then let it fall limply.
Akagi said to himself, "I've been in the same predicament as you. Back then, I always felt that if we lost, the team would collapse, which resulted in the team missing several scoring opportunities."
"Later, my teammates enlightened me: basketball is a team sport. What does it matter if I lose? As long as the team wins, that's all that matters."
Akagi laughed, "Do you really care about your team?"
Mikoshiba froze instantly.
This is a conversation between two captains, carrying far more weight on their shoulders than others. Both have fallen from glory, and both are passionate about basketball.
Akagi Nobumiko Mikoshiba was able to wake up.
Mikoshiba turned and glanced at the Shizuoka team members. Their faces were all pale, like wilted eggplants, and they all looked panicked.
He suddenly realized, "My team is counting on me; I can't afford to collapse for their sake."
Even if I don't get into Shizuoka University, it's okay. Today, I'm going to fight to the very end for my teammates.
He breathed a sigh of relief, finally regaining some confidence, and asked Akagi, " Akagi, why are you helping the enemy?"
Akagi laughed, "Even though we're rivals, we're also partners. Besides, this is what makes it more interesting to fight."
The two looked at each other and smiled.
The match resumed, Shizuoka served the ball out of bounds.
Mikoshiba leaned against Sendoh and raised his hand for the ball. "Give it to me!"
Without a word, his teammate passed the ball directly to him.
After receiving the ball, Mikoshiba tried to back down Sendoh, first arching his body towards the basket, then suddenly shifting sideways as if to hook the ball when he was almost at the rim.
Sendoh reached out to seal it.
But Mikoshiba's move was a feint; with a flick of his wrist, he sent the ball towards the baseline.
The Kanagawa Team had their eyes all on Mikoshiba, waiting for him to shoot, but no one expected him to suddenly pass the ball out. The ball landed right in the hands of Shizuoka's number 5 at the baseline, and he raised his hand and shot!
With a whoosh, the three-pointer went in! The score was now 29-9!
Mikoshiba yelled at the top of her lungs, "Great pass! Everyone, perk up! Hold them off!" Seeing that Mikoshiba had regained his composure, everyone perked up, and their earlier listlessness vanished.
Coach Aso, watching the changes on the court, his eyes lit up. "Great! You've finally broken through!" He immediately rushed to the sidelines, shouting at the top of his lungs, "Don't mess up your footwork! Don't lose your defensive position! Hands up!"
Led by coaches Mikoshiba and Coach Aso, Shizuoka's defense suddenly improved. This caught Kanagawa off guard, Sendoh had no choice but to pass the ball to Akagi in the paint. But just as Akagi was about to shoot, Shizuoka's center interfered, and the shot missed!
At this moment, Sendoh and Maki were both on the perimeter and couldn't get back to the basket to grab the rebound. Only Soichiro Jin was crouching under the basket waiting. But he was no match for Mikoshiba's strength. Mikoshiba used his body to block Soichiro Jin tightly, seized the opportunity, jumped up suddenly, and steadily grabbed the rebound.
"Fast break!" Mikoshiba shouted, passing the ball to his point guard and heading straight for the basket! But just as he reached the mid-court line, Maki and Fujima had already retreated to their defensive positions!
"That's fast!" Mikoshiba couldn't help but exclaim.
Seeing no opportunity, the Shizuoka point guard had no choice but to pass the ball back to Mikoshiba was following up. Everyone thought that Mikoshiba would calm down, but to everyone's surprise, he immediately raised his hand and shot from beyond the three-point line!
"Three-pointer?" Swish! The ball went through the net!
In order to counter Kanagawa, Shizuoka specifically devised a "centerless" tactic. Coach Aso didn't field his team's traditional center this time, but instead arranged for two power forwards who could shoot three-pointers to fill the paint. He wanted to use these players' outside shooting abilities to disrupt Kanagawa's defensive positioning and create opportunities for Mikoshiba's inside isolation plays.
Initially, Mikoshiba was tightly marked by Sendoh, making this tactic impossible to execute. However, now that Mikoshiba has regained his form, he has revived the tactic. By sheer chance, this tactic has forced Akagi to reveal his weakness— Akagi can't defend outside shots!