So Mikoshiba capitalized on this, constantly passing the ball to his teammates inside, allowing them to shoot from the perimeter. Unfortunately, their shooting percentage wasn't very high. However, Kanagawa's lineup was inherently weak at rebounding, which gave Shizuoka many more second-chance opportunities.
Fortunately, Kanagawa's offense was too strong, so they maintained their advantage. Before the end of the first half, the score was 51-36, with Kanagawa leading by 15 points. However, Shizuoka had the advantage in rebounds, 9 to 15.
Coach Miura of the Osaka Team laughed and said, " Kanagawa is strong, but their weakness has finally been exposed!" It's a pity that the Toyotama High School players weren't sitting with them, otherwise they would have definitely reminded Miura that there was a tough rebounder on the Kanagawa bench.
In the Kanagawa locker room, Coach Takato stood calmly, gently waving his paper fan, exuding confidence. "Everyone performed well in the first half, basically meeting expectations. I'm making changes for the second half! Uozumi, Kaede Rukawa, Kiyota, Sakuragi, and Yo Aoki! You five will start in the second half!"
Everyone looked at each other, their heads filled with question marks, wondering what Coach Takato was up to. "Hahaha!" Sakuragi burst into laughter as soon as he heard he could play in the second half! "You just wait and see how powerful this genius is!" Akagi roared, " Sakuragi! Behave yourself!"
Coach Takato smiled at Akagi, indicating it was alright. He then continued, " Uozumi play center, Sakuragi power forward, Kaede Rukawa small forward, Kiyota shooting guard, and Yo Aoki will be point guard!"
Yo Aoki smirked, "Teacher, you want me to learn from Sendoh- senpai?" "That's right. And one more thing, once you're on the court, you absolutely cannot score. You can only pass and defend. Can you do that?" "Understood." Aoki found it amusing; Coach Takato was really going to implement this deceptive tactic to the fullest extent!
Coach Taoka, standing to the side, smiled slightly; he had already figured it out. "So, Takato was planning to use Aoki as his trump card!"
The second half began quickly. When the two teams entered the field, everyone was shocked— Kanagawa had made a substitution! "Look! Kanagawa has made a substitution!" Reporter A shouted.
Reporter B exclaimed in surprise, "They've made a complete substitution?!" " Kanagawa is really underestimating Shizuoka; they seem to think they've already won!" "Underestimating the opponent is a major taboo in matches, and Shizuoka had already gained momentum in the latter part of the first half. Making substitutions at this point is really inappropriate."
"No, Kanagawa isn't underestimating their opponent." It was Yayoi Aida late, having just come from another game. Reporter A asked, "Are you Aida from * Basketball Weekly *?" Reporter B asked, "Isn't Kanagawa substituting Maki at this point considered underestimating their opponent?"
Yayoi Aida chuckled lightly, "You'll see whether you're right or not." Because of the bizarre lineup that Kanagawa fielded, the Shizuoka players didn't know who to defend and could only simply match up against each other.
The player responsible for the jump ball for the Shizuoka Team immediately looked down when he saw Uozumi's physique. After all, they had been tormented by Akagi in the first half, and now Kanagawa had sent on ten players who were a size bigger than the average player.
The referee tossed the ball into the air, Uozumi, using his height advantage, easily caught it. With Uozumi deflected the ball back, and Yo Aoki squeezed past Shizuoka's defender and grabbed the ball firmly.
Before the Shizuoka players could react, the ball had already flown out, and Kaede Rukawa caught it. Kaede Rukawa moved with lightning speed, rushing to the basket in the blink of an eye, taking a running start, jumping, and swinging his arm to dunk. With a muffled "thud," the ball slammed into the hoop. The scoreboard jumped to 53-36! The sidelines erupted in cheers.
Sendoh's performance in the first half ignited Kaede Rukawa's anger, and the kid was itching for revenge. Sakuragi gritted his teeth and yelled at Aoki, "Hey! Why didn't you pass to me? We can't let that guy have all the glory!"
Yo Aoki patted him on the shoulder, "Don't worry, next time I'll definitely make sure you pin him down." Sakuragi grinned, "Okay! You said it!"
The game transitioned from offense to defense, Shizuoka received the ball and advanced. The player on the perimeter dribbled the ball, Mikoshiba, who was close to Kaede Rukawa, suddenly turned and drove towards the basket. Kaede Rukawa wasn't paying attention, and he slipped away in an instant.
The teammate with the ball seized the opportunity, pushed the ball with both hands, and sent a low shot down the middle, trying to find Mikoshiba who was cutting in. But Yo Aoki on the other side was prepared, turned around and pounced, "snap" and intercepted the ball.
Miyagi's eyes widened. "You can intercept like that?" Mitsui was also astonished. "That's outrageous!" Coach Takato nodded in approval. " Aoki was using his peripheral vision and his brain to anticipate the opponent's passing routes. The moment Mikoshiba moved, he had already started his attack."
Yo Aoki lay on the ground and passed the ball to Kiyota, Kiyota sprinted towards the frontcourt. "So fast!" Kiyota reached the basket, leaped into the air, and shouted at the top of his lungs, "I am the number one rookie in Kanagawa!" With a "thud," the ball slammed into the hoop. The score jumped to 55-36! Another gasp rippled through the crowd from the sidelines.
Reporter A and Reporter B then understood what Yayoi Aida meant, " Kanagawa is too amazing!"
Kanagawa's two dunks ignited the passion of the spectators on the sidelines. Everyone was cheering for Kanagawa at the top of their lungs. Now it was Shizuoka's turn to attack.
The crowd roared, "Defense! Defense!" Shizuoka's number 6 player cursed, "Damn it! They actually look down on us!" Yo Aoki immediately moved to defend.
Seeing Aoki's large build, player number 6 figured he couldn't be as agile as himself and immediately tried to break through. He dribbled the ball and feinted to the left, pretending to pass him on the right. But Aoki saw through it immediately—the kid hadn't shifted his center of gravity; it was a fake move.
Sure enough, number 6 pushed off with his left foot, preparing to change direction to the right. Just then, Aoki had already moved a step to the left, blocking his path. Number 6 reacted quickly and braked, otherwise he would have been called for a charge.
Unable to change direction, he took a step back to try and regroup, but Aoki suddenly reached out and poked the ball away. "Ouch!" Number 6 cried out, the ball already in Aoki's hand.
Yo Aoki called out, " Sakuragi!" "Coming!" Sakuragi responded, instantly increasing his speed to even faster than Rukawa and Kiyota had been, charging forward like a Cheetah.
Mikoshiba shouted anxiously, "Get back on defense!" and chased after him first. But Aoki was fast too, and in the blink of an eye he was past half-court. He glanced at Sakuragi's position, and based on his knowledge of Sakuragi, he immediately found the right angle to pass the ball forward.
The ball flew even higher than the pass Shohoku made to Sakuragi during Sannoh's game against Miyagi. Sakuragi ran up and looked up, shouting anxiously, "You passed it too high!" Aoki laughed, " Sakuragi! Jump harder!"
Sakuragi used his legs to propel himself up into the air. "Wow!!" The spectators on the sidelines went wild; no one expected this red-haired kid to jump so high. With a "snap," Sakuragi caught the ball with one hand, his arm leaning back slightly due to inertia.
He recalled Aoki's tomahawk dunk, twisted his waist and abdomen to steady himself, and had only one thought in his mind: to slam the ball into the basket!
Facing the basket, Sakuragi swung his arm and slammed the ball toward the hoop like a giant axe.
"Clang!"
The ball went into the net with a thud, and the mid-air pass and spike were successful.
After landing, Sakuragi looked up at the swaying basketball hoop, completely bewildered. He stared down at his palm and muttered, "Did I do it?"
But the cheers that erupted around him instantly brought him back to his senses.
"That red-haired kid is too fierce!"
"Another mid-air pass and dunk!"
" Kanagawa is full of monsters!" one audience member exclaimed, clenching his fist and staring wide-eyed.
Shinichi Maki on the sidelines was also stunned. He had said earlier, "It's basically hopeless to get Sakuragi to do another mid-air dunk," but who would have thought that in such a short time, Sakuragi not only did it, but did it with such a high level of difficulty.
Uozumi on the court was so stunned by the dunk that he couldn't speak, his mind filled with all the unpleasant things that had happened before.
Kiyota's jaw nearly hit his toes. " This Red-haired Monkey can actually do this?"
Kaede Rukawa also had a tense expression; even he himself might not be able to execute such a difficult mid-air pass and dunk.
Yo Aoki smiled, only he knew that Sakuragi was capable of greatness. " Sakuragi's talent is truly undeniable!"
Once he recovered, Sakuragi immediately became smug again, hands on his hips, and shouted, "See what I'm capable of? Haha!"
He hopped up to Kiyota and showed off, "You bragging monkey, what do you think? This is my style!"
Kiyota rolled his eyes. "You just got lucky!"
Sakuragi laughed so hard he slapped his thigh, "Hehe, you're just jealous of me! Jealous of me! Jealous of me!"
Kiyota was so angry that his veins were bulging, and he was about to explode when Sakuragi turned around and rushed in front of Kaede Rukawa.
Kaede Rukawa turned his face away, too lazy to even acknowledge this idiot.
"Hahaha!" Sakuragi laughed so hard he could barely breathe.
Yo Aoki stepped forward and patted Sakuragi on the shoulder, "Not bad."
Sakuragi puffed out his chest, "Of course! I'm a genius!"
The two of them gave each other a high five.
Coach Miura, standing in the stands, had lost all his composure and his expression changed drastically.
"Teacher, I'm quite concerned about number 15," Jun Tsuchiya said, staring at Yo Aoki.
"Yes, I noticed that too," Miura frowned. "His defensive ability is outstanding; you'll have to keep a close eye on him in the next game."
"Yes." Jun Tsuchiya nodded seriously.
The game continued, Shizuoka Team's number 6 player dribbled the ball and initiated the attack.
Yo Aoki was a meter away from him, but his hands kept waving up and down. Every time the ball landed, he would symbolically reach out and grab it, disrupting No. 6's dribbling rhythm.
Number 6 was like a rice dumpling wrapped up in vines, unable to move an inch.
"What kind of defense is this? He's so far away, but I feel like he's completely covering me, I can't breathe!" Number 6 thought to himself, unable to dribble, he could only pass the ball.
Yo Aoki's eyes were fixed on number 6's movements. The moment he made the pass, Aoki leaped up, reached out, and intercepted the ball.
After landing, he raised his index finger and smiled, "Ready to attack!"
"Wow!!" A gasp of amazement rippled through the crowd.
Yo Aoki dribbled the ball across the frontcourt, but didn't rush to attack, his eyes constantly scanning the positions of his teammates.
Upon spotting Uozumi, Aoki's gaze hardened. The guy guarding Uozumi was only 190cm tall; he couldn't possibly hold his own against him, and there was no need to go around him.
"This is practically a free point!" Aoki thought to himself, and with a push of his hands, he passed the ball directly to Uozumi the basket.
Uozumi dribbled with his back to the defender, took a step, turned around, jumped, and slammed the ball into the basket over the defense.
"My God, this kid is so tall!" A spectator exclaimed, covering his mouth in surprise.
Not only tall, but also so strong!
"I've never seen a player like this before!"
Coach Taoka stared intently at Uozumi on the field, his expression grave.
After switching sides, the Shizuoka Team reorganized their offense, with number 6 still dribbling the ball.
Aoki bent his knees and arched his back, spreading his arms and shifting back and forth with his center of gravity, still maintaining a distance of one meter.
But now number 6 dared not pass the ball; he felt it was a trap, waiting for him to fall into it.
"I can't drive, I can't pass, and I can't shoot. What should I do?" Number 6 was sweating profusely with anxiety.
Aoki didn't give him much time to think, instantly stepping forward and forcing Number 6 to turn around.
In that split second, Aoki circled around behind him and swatted the ball away.
Aoki received the ball and threw it directly towards the frontcourt from where he was standing.
Everyone was stunned; there was nobody in the attacking third at all!
Before anyone could react, a figure rushed into the front field—it was Kaede Rukawa!
Actually, after Aoki got the ball, he caught a glimpse of Rukawa's position out of the corner of his eye, which is why he dared to pass the ball so boldly.
Aoki dared to make that long pass because he was betting on Rukawa's reaction and speed.
"Thwack!" Kaede Rukawa caught the ball steadily in front of the penalty area, took a step and jumped into the air, hanging on the rim as he slammed the ball into the net.
The players from Osaka, Aichi, and Fukuoka in the stands were completely stunned, their minds racing—if they were facing Aoki's defense, could they stop this move?
In the transition between offense and defense, Shizuoka Prefecture reorganized their offense. This time, number 6 simply stopped touching the ball, and shooting guard number 8 took over to set the pace.