With a diving save, he managed to retrieve the ball before Shirasawa could react.
He casually tossed the ball outwards, but landed hard on the floor himself.
This distraction has come at a real price!
Nagano got the ball, a close call, and he immediately lobbed it to Hanagata in the Hanagata.
With Hanagata's back to Akagi, Nagano resorted to his old tricks, running over and pretending to offer his hand.
But when Hanagata turned around to throw this time, Akagi's feet seemed to be rooted to the spot, and he didn't move an inch!
He calmed down and made a clear judgment.
Then, he shifted his body to the side, blocking Nagano's path as he jumped!
Just as Nagano was about to get up and dunk, he suddenly felt a darkness above his head.
Akagi's huge hand loomed over like a dark cloud!
A solid, hard block!
Akagi used his left hand to forcefully push the ball down!
"It's here! The captain's fly-swatting hotpot!" The bench erupted in screams and howls.
But before they could even finish celebrating, the situation on the field changed again.
The ball, swatted away, landed squarely in Hanagata's hand!
The mood of the people on the bench was like a rollercoaster ride, then suddenly plummeted again.
Hanagata caught the ball, raised it, and then smoothly made a one-handed toss.
In that split second,
A flash of red suddenly appeared before his eyes!
Sakuragi roared and jumped up, his arm outstretched, smack!
A sizzling smack of smack on Hanagata!
" Sakuragi! Well done! King Kong No. 2 the basket!"
"They won't be able to break through our twin towers easily!"
Shoyo also fought for every ball, and Hasegawa, taking advantage of his height, managed to snatch back the basketball that had been swatted away.
As soon as Miyagi landed, people from Shoyo rushed at him.
Seeing this, Fujima quickly shouted at the top of his lungs, "Watch out!"
Unfortunately, the warning came a little too late.
Miyagi wasn't tall, but he was incredibly strong. He was quick and ruthless, snatching the ball away and tossing it to Shirasawa, who was charging forward.
Shirasawa received the ball and kept charging forward.
Fujima gritted his teeth and chased after him, his mind hardened: he had to stop this ball no matter what, even if it meant committing a foul!
The two rushed into the penalty area one after the other. Fujima's eyes were fixed on the ball in Shirasawa's hands, calculating the right time to shoot.
Now!
Fujima timed Shirasawa's dribbling rhythm perfectly and made a cut—his calculations were spot on, making it a sure thing.
Just as his fingertips were about to touch the ball, Shirasawa suddenly flipped his wrist, his large hand firmly controlling the ball, and gently pushed it in the direction Fujima was coming from.
The ball flew out with a "whoosh".
Fujima's heart tightened; he knew this kind of passing technique all too well.
Sure enough, the ball went straight for the bottom corner— Hisashi Mitsui was already waiting there!
In the first ten minutes or so, Mitsui basically had no impact.
As Shohoku's most accurate outside shooter, he was heavily guarded by Shoyo's tall players, running so much that his legs were about to break and he was sweating more than anyone else.
Coach Anzai is right; playing against Shoyo will require at least twice the usual amount of physical exertion.
But this time, Mitsui finally found an opening during the fast break.
He caught the ball, stood up, and his movements remained as fluid and graceful as ever.
A three-pointer swished through the net.
After the ball went in, Mitsui let out a long sigh of relief and pointed at Shirasawa.
27 to 18.
Shohoku has widened the gap to its largest since the start of the game.
Fujima wiped the sweat from his face. He had been locked in a fierce battle with Shirasawa on both offense and defense for so long, especially the physical contact during defense, which left his whole body aching—the two were not even in the same weight class.
Looking at my teammates, they were all drenched in sweat after those two rounds.
Fujima understood that, logically speaking, their physical strength shouldn't be like this.
More than anything, they were psychologically overwhelmed by Shohoku's defensive style.
Regardless, the entire Shoyo team's performance is clearly declining right now, and if they continue playing like this, things could get really bad.
Fujima immediately switched to coach mode and raised his hand to call a timeout.
Both teams returned to their benches, and Shohoku's impending offensive was thwarted, prompting a collective sigh of regret from the audience.
Fujima's gaze swept over his teammates, who were sitting with their heads down, many of them still wearing expressions of frustration.
"What, you guys think we can't beat Shohoku?" Fujima asked in a flat tone.
These words struck a chord with the team members.
Shoyo is different from teams like Miuradai.
Miuradai has a loud voice; after shouting a few slogans, they really think they're a strong team.
But Shoyo is the undisputed second-best team in Kanagawa. If the team hadn't run into that mess last year, maybe... Many people think that Kainan's throne might not be so secure.
Of course, this is just wishful thinking.
But precisely because Kainan had been under his rule for so long, it had attracted a lot of "hatred," so Shoyo had always only had eyes on Kainan.
Now that Fujima has suddenly asked this question, it's as if he's negated all their efforts over the past three years.
Hanagata ripped off his glasses and said fiercely, " Shohoku? They're still a long way off!"
The other team members also raised their heads, their eyes burning with anger—not at Fujima, but at Shohoku.
Fujima nodded emphatically. "That's exactly the spirit we're looking for! That's the Shoyo!"
" Shohoku is a tough nut to crack, but they're still a long way from taking down our Shoyo!"
"Because we are Shoyo!"
These words were like a bucket of cold water poured over their heads, reigniting the team members' fighting spirit.
Finally, Fujima added fuel to the fire, completely igniting morale.
"Get the pick-and-roll right," he said, looking at everyone and emphasizing each word. "The real game is just beginning."
His meaning was clear: he wanted to take over personally.
The players from both sides returned to the field.
The Shoyo fans were banging on plastic water bottles, their shouts nearly lifting the roof off—they simply couldn't believe it would get dark so easily.
"After the timeout, Shoyo's morale looks different," Hikoichi Aida muttered on the sidelines. " Shohoku is tense too; now both teams are at their best."
Moichi Taoka, however, was more concerned about Fujima, and couldn't help but sigh, " Fujima's timeout was well worth it... With his abilities, he's more than capable as both a player and a coach. It's a pity, you can't have your cake and eat it too; the internal strife at Shoyo in the past two years really held him back."
On the court, Fujima dribbles the ball forward.
Just past midfield, Shirasawa closed in.
Fujima lowered his body, dribbling faster and faster, changing direction left and right, looking for an opening.
At the same time, everyone else in Shoyo sprang into action.
Nagano quietly moved to the free-throw line and set a solid off-ball screen for Hasegawa.
When it comes to pick-and-roll quality, Shoyo is definitely number one in Kanagawa.
The four tall men stood there like a human wall, completely solid and impenetrable.
Using the cover, Hasegawa twisted his body and slipped towards the top of the arc.
Almost simultaneously, Fujima's shoulder suddenly slumped, and he pulled the basketball from his right hand to his left, making a sharp change of direction as he charged inward!
He knew perfectly well that completely shaking off Shirasawa wouldn't be so easy.
What he was waiting for was for Hasegawa to stand up like that wall!
Shirasawa moved sideways to pursue and attack, crashing solidly into Hasegawa. Hasegawa was prepared and tensed his muscles, but the impact still made him grimace.
In the brief moment of the collision, Fujima had already created half a body length of space by changing direction.
Without hesitation, he pulled up and shot from beyond the three-point line.
Fujima isn't particularly tall, but his scoring ability is undeniably impressive. Firstly, his left-handedness makes his shot awkward, and secondly, his shooting speed is frighteningly fast!
Look at this shot, Hisashi Mitsui, who was covering, was practically right in front of him.
But the moment he raised his hand, the ball had already flown over his head and headed straight for the basket.
This shot completely signaled Shoyo's offensive intentions.
The basketball swished through the net with a crisp sound.
27 to 21.
At this crucial juncture, Fujima hit a three-pointer, giving Shoyo a much-needed boost.
" Fujima's started attacking on his own," Jin sighed from the sidelines. "It seems Shohoku's defense has forced him to step up."
Shinichi Maki crossed his arms and smirked, "This is getting interesting. I think these two teams will have to switch tactics."
"Exchange? What does that mean?" Nobunaga Kiyota scratched his head, looking puzzled.
"You'll understand once you keep reading."
Shohoku launches an attack.
Shirasawa dribbled the ball up the court, Takenori Akagi under the basket to receive the ball, while Hisashi Mitsui roamed outside the three-point line, looking for an opportunity.
Miyagi and Hanamichi Sakuragi were like two slippery eels, constantly weaving and running through the crowd, disrupting Shoyo's defensive formation.
The machine Shohoku was stopped for more than ten minutes has finally started up again with a roar.
Fujima was marking Shirasawa one-on-one at the top of the arc.
He lowered his center of gravity slightly, his eyes sharp as knives.
Shirasawa dribbled the ball at a leisurely pace, taking advantage of his height to keep his center of gravity low, giving Fujima no chance to steal the ball.
Sudden,
Shirasawa moved.
Tap tap tap!
With a series of crossover dribbles and left-right feints, Fujima couldn't predict his breakthrough route and couldn't gain the upper hand in physical confrontation, so he could only be forced to retreat step by step.
With a whoosh, Shirasawa suddenly accelerated, sidestepping Fujima and forcefully driving towards the inside!
He sprinted to the vicinity of the free-throw line, then suddenly stopped with his front foot and executed a clean and crisp crossover dribble!
Fujima was thrown half a body Takano immediately moved towards the penalty area to cover him.
Shoyo's momentum has just picked up, we absolutely cannot let Shirasawa fight so freely anymore!
The instant Takano moved, Shirasawa pulled the ball back to his right hand, then flicked his wrist, and the basketball flew out like a stone skipping across water, skimming the floor.
The ball struck the floor precisely at Takano's feet, bounced up, and landed perfectly in the hands of Hanamichi Sakuragi, who was cutting in along the baseline!
Sakuragi received the ball, took two steps into the penalty area, and then leaped up from the ground!
He swung his arm in a wide arc and slammed the ball into the basket!
boom!
The basketball hoop let out a painful groan.
Hanamichi Sakuragi's powerful dunk finally gave Shohoku their first point besides Shirasawa's.
Takano turned around and glared at Sakuragi, annoyed.
Hanamichi Sakuragi grinned broadly, his smile dazzling, "What are you looking at? You think you can stop this genius with your insignificance?"
Fujima remained calm, clapping his hands. "Ignore him, prepare to attack."
When it was Shoyo's turn to attack, their tactics were clear: just give the ball to Fujima.
Hasegawa and Nagano were setting screens for him relentlessly, and Shirasawa was delayed the whole way, making it very difficult for him to catch up.
Finally, Fujima shook off the defense near the free-throw line and, facing Hanamichi Sakuragi who was coming to help, deftly lobbed the ball high.
The ball flew past Sakuragi's fingertips and obediently fell into the net.
This kind of small-to-big technique left Sakuragi helpless, no matter how high he jumped, making him stomp his feet in frustration.
Turning around, Shirasawa immediately accelerated his counterattack.
Miyagi constantly changed speed and direction inside the three-point line, disrupting Shoyo's defense.
Shirasawa seized the opportunity, accelerated past Fujima in one step, and drove straight to the basket!
At the same time, Takenori Akagi made a convincing fake turn outside the three-second zone, tricking Hanagata into shifting his center of gravity and gaining a half-body advantage.
Shirasawa's pass arrived just in time, Akagi was perfectly positioned to receive it.
Clang!
Takenori Akagi slammed the ball down with both hands, displaying incredible power and completely overshadowing Hanagata beside him.
In the stands, Soichiro Jin smiled and said to Kiyota, "Do you understand now? This is what Maki was talking about earlier, the 'exchange strategy'."