Akagi let out a low growl and waved for his teammates to quickly return to defense.
After missing the jump ball, his entire demeanor visibly diminished.
Even Jun Uozumi in the audience noticed it.
"What's Akagi doing?" Uozumi, arms crossed, looking annoyed. "He'd be better off sitting down! He's a disgrace to my opponent!"
No sooner had he finished speaking than Hikoichi Aida jumped up, pointing at the arena and shouting, "Look! Shirasawa has moved!"
While everyone else from Shohoku was retreating to defend, Shirasawa did the opposite.
The moment Ito received the ball, he darted away like an arrow!
They immediately began to closely mark Ito in the attacking third!
This sudden pressure caught Ekin off guard.
Shirasawa's two long arms acted like chains, instantly blocking all of his shooting angles.
Before Ito could decide his next move, he suddenly felt his hand go empty.
The ball has been precisely sliced away by Shirasawa!
As the figures darted past each other, Shirasawa effortlessly blew past Ito, grabbed the basketball, and charged towards the empty paint!
He leaped into the air as soon as he crossed the free-throw line, raised one arm high, and slammed the ball into the basket with a tomahawk dunk!
Clang!
A deafening roar echoed.
In just five seconds, Shohoku went from being on the defensive to taking the initiative!
No one expected Shirasawa to go all out right from the start.
Going all out from the start!
This powerful dunk instantly ignited the entire arena, and the cheers from the stands exploded.
The fans breathed a sigh of relief – Shoyo is strong, but we have Shirasawa!
The players on the Shohoku team, especially Takenori Akagi, felt much more at ease.
After securing a successful start, Akagi breathed a long sigh of relief.
Luckily, we have this monster in our team.
" Shirasawa is on fire today!" Hikoichi Aida exclaimed excitedly from the stands, gesturing wildly. "He opened fire right from the start! Shoyo can't stop him at all!"
Coach Moichi Taoka, on the other hand, was much calmer, stroking his chin as he analyzed the situation.
"That first goal was crucial for Shohoku, so they definitely stabilized their mentality. Shirasawa is no ordinary guy; he boosted the team's morale in the most extreme way."
On the field, Ito raised his hand in frustration, indicating that the ball was his fault.
But for a brief moment, he was truly overwhelmed and helpless by their defenses.
Toru Hanagata walked over and patted him on the back. "It's okay, you only conceded one point. Cheer up."
Shoyo serves from the baseline.
Shirasawa then leisurely retreated back to the vicinity of the center line.
Because of their overall height advantage, Shoyo's fast breaks are ineffective; they can only capitalize on their strengths in set plays.
Ito dribbled cautiously forward, waiting for his teammates to get into position.
But just as he stepped across the center line, Shirasawa moved again!
They pounced again like tigers!
In Ito's eyes, the charging Shirasawa was like a ferocious tiger baring its fangs, its imposing presence terrifying.
"Has Shirasawa gone mad? Why is he coming again?" Jun Uozumi looked on in astonishment.
Whether Shirasawa has gone mad or not is unknown, but Ito is definitely panicked!
He instinctively took half a step back.
Kazushi Hasegawa recently shouted anxiously, "Watch out! I'm about to log back in!"
Ito's heart tightened, and Shirasawa was already upon him.
In desperation, he could only throw the ball high towards Hasegawa.
Although he deliberately increased the arc, he still underestimated Shirasawa's jumping ability and explosiveness!
Shirasawa leaped to the side, his long arm sweeping out to intercept the ball mid-air as if plucking the moon!
The Shohoku bench erupted in cheers.
"Good job, Xiao Bai!"
"Score one more! Charge!"
After landing, Shirasawa turned around smoothly and swiftly passed Ito was standing there stunned.
He charged straight for the empty basket again!
This sprint covered enough distance; he stepped into the paint zone and jumped with all his might, soaring into the air.
With both hands swinging in a wide arc, a windmill dunk once again stunned the entire arena!
With a forceful split, Mount Hua is cleaved in two, its momentum as powerful as a rainbow!
Two consecutive steals followed by two powerful dunks ignited the entire stadium!
The Shoyo team doesn't seem to be in the game yet.
Apart from Ito, no one else even touched the ball.
Shirasawa landed, raised his arms, and stirred up the emotions of the entire audience.
" Shirasawa! Shirasawa!"
The cheers grew louder and louder.
On the bench, the substitutes jumped and cheered excitedly. Coach Anzai adjusted his glasses and said with a smile, "Hmm... you played very well."
4 to 0.
Less than twenty seconds into the film.
Ken Ito delivered two consecutive "assists," but unfortunately, both were given to the opponent.
Everyone guessed that Shohoku would break the deadlock, but no one expected it to happen in this way.
Shirasawa practically ripped open the opponent's point guard's position!
Fujima remained seated, neither calling a timeout nor requesting a substitution. One or two times could be considered coincidences, since Shirasawa's attacks were all sneak attacks. But sneak attacks can't go on forever. He decided to give Ito one last chance.
Amid cheers, Shirasawa retreated to the backcourt, giving each of his teammates a high-five. Takenori Akagi grinned, clearly back in form. "Well done, Xiao Bai." A glint flashed in Shirasawa's eyes. "Not enough."
Shoyo inbounded the ball again. Shirasawa immediately waved his hand. " Miyagi, Mitsui, come with me and push forward! Don't let those big guys dribble the ball comfortably." The two were stunned at first, then nodded, immediately understanding Shirasawa's plan.
They're going to keep grabbing them!
The ball had been passed to Ito. Those four tall guys from Shoyo weren't exactly known for their dribbling skills. Ito quickly looked up to see what was happening, and saw three Shohoku players charging towards him like wolves. Shirasawa was the first to charge forward, while Miyagi and Mitsui occupied the left and right wings, each marking their assigned player.
" Shoyo's biggest weakness has precisely run into Shohoku's sharpest weapon: the gap in point guard," Shinichi Maki remarked from the sidelines. " Fujima probably didn't expect that Shirasawa could be so strong as to completely overpower Ito. This possession will likely force Fujima to make a move."
Seeing that Shirasawa was about to rush in, Ito hurriedly passed the ball out. Kazushi Hasegawa received the ball, and Hisashi Mitsui immediately pressed him. Hasegawa had no choice but to lob the ball high to Mitsuru Nagano. Nagano was blocked by Ryota Miyagi, and the two were more than 20 centimeters apart in height, so Nagano absolutely dared not pass the ball.
However, he held the ball very high, and Miyagi couldn't reach it. One was tall and the other short, and they were stuck like that. However, the shot clock was ticking away, and it looked like the eight-second violation was about to happen. Seeing this, Hasegawa quickly shook off Mitsui and ran over to ask for the ball. Nagano hurriedly passed the ball to Hasegawa, who was running.
Shoyo finally managed to get the ball across half-court.
Just then, Ito, who had followed, suddenly shouted, "Watch out behind you!" Hasegawa glanced out of the corner of his eye and almost jumped out of his skin— Shirasawa had somehow switched places with Mitsui and was pouncing on him! Hasegawa quickly grabbed the ball, thinking that he was safe now.
However, Shirasawa didn't care about any of that! He rushed over, his large hand like an iron clamp grabbing the basketball from Hasegawa's arms! The movement was fast and ruthless!
With a whoosh!
They practically pried the ball out of his hands!
Hasegawa was completely stunned. He had never seen a steal like that in his life. How was this any different from a blatant steal? The power and momentum were so overwhelming that he couldn't even muster the thought of resisting. The Shohoku bench erupted instantly. That steal was so inspiring, it felt just as good as a brutal block!
Having regained possession, Shirasawa floored the accelerator and zoomed past Ito. His explosive speed was absurd; Ito only saw a blur before his eyes, and when he looked back in astonishment, Shirasawa had already entered the penalty area and taken to the air!
He held the ball with his right hand at full power, then swung his entire body towards the basket like a battle axe.
boom!!!
The backboard groaned, then a tomahawk dunk!
(agfc) The roar from the entire arena almost lifted the roof off. "Awesome! Absolutely awesome, Shirasawa!" "Three steals and three dunks in a row! He single-handedly destroyed Shoyo!" "That's terrifying! I've never seen anyone play like that before!"
Shirasawa's three consecutive lightning attacks fueled Shohoku's momentum. Every player on the court was raising their arms and roaring, as if to announce to the world: Shohoku is here!
"That's incredible! Absolutely incredible!" Hikoichi Aida's eyes shone with excitement. " Shoyo has already been utterly crushed by Shirasawa! And it's only been a few dozen seconds!" His praise for Shirasawa was absolutely heartfelt.
The one who truly understood the power of Shirasawa's defense was Tomoyuki Uekusa from Ryonan. He had personally experienced what it was like to be marked by Shirasawa. "It's not that I look down on Ito," Uekusa murmured, "But he's no match for Shirasawa. If this continues, Shoyo will collapse soon."
On the court, the Shoyo players looked dejected and utterly pathetic. These first few seconds were probably the darkest moment of their basketball careers. Toru Hanagata looked at Shirasawa with complicated emotions, and had to admit that the opponent had given him a solid slap in the face with his strength. It wasn't that he was bad; it was that he couldn't even touch the ball.
Ito, the backup point guard, became the biggest hole on the court.
beep--!
The referee blew the whistle. Kenji Fujima stood up from the bench and called the first timeout of the game. The black jacket he had been wearing was now off and neatly folded on the bench.
Clearly, he didn't intend to let the situation continue to spiral out of control.
After three consecutive fatal mistakes, Fujima could no longer sit still. Shirasawa glanced at the sidelines, a satisfied smile playing on his lips. It seemed... it was a little faster than he had anticipated, two minutes.
The Shoyo players slumped back onto the bench in frustration. Ken Ito was completely panicked; the situation had deteriorated to this point, and he couldn't escape being blamed. But he couldn't be entirely blamed, after all, he was just a backup point guard. But the opponents... were ridiculously strong.
Fujima, on the other hand, remained calm. He clapped his hands, drawing everyone's attention.
"What's wrong? You're already losing interest after just starting out?"
Fujima glanced at his dejected teammates, but his voice carried a hint of amusement.
"We're aiming for the championship this year."
He paused, then added.
"Besides, the current situation isn't your fault; it's my fault as the coach for miscalculating. Now... I'll personally step in and make amends."
Upon hearing this, Hanagata immediately raised their heads, and most of the dejection in their eyes dissipated.
In their minds, Fujima's appearance was like a completely different team; it was as if they themselves had just been sent onto the field, and they felt like they had come back to life.
" Fujima, I'm sorry." Hanagata lowered his head, his voice full of self-reproach.
Regardless, he, as the vice-captain, certainly failed to hold the team together on the field.
Fujima shook his head.
"I told you it was my fault. Everyone, pull yourselves together. The real Shoyo... is only just beginning."
He turned to Ito, who was standing there in a daze, and patted him on the shoulder.
" Ito, don't take it too hard. Shirasawa... he's top-tier."
These words sounded like both a consolation and a confession.
However, this was the first time Fujima had publicly acknowledged Shirasawa's strength.
The last person he respected so much was Shinichi Maki.
The timeout ended, and both teams returned to the court.
In less than a minute, the atmosphere on Shohoku's side had completely changed.
The game is finally back on track.
Sure enough, Fujima also stepped onto the field wearing his team uniform.
This entire design was completely exposed by Shirasawa in just one minute.