"He...was he just guessing?"

Kiyota Nobunaga absolutely refused to believe that the red-haired monkey Sakuragi Hanamichi possessed the ability to shoot three-pointers.

As the sharpshooter, Jin Soichiro said with a serious expression, "Sakuragi's three-point shooting form is very standard, it's obvious that he has undergone a lot of training! It's definitely not a random shot on a whim!"

Just moments ago, Kiyota Nobunaga was concerned about Sakuragi Hanamichi, urging him to pass the ball quickly. But now, he gritted his teeth and stubbornly said, "Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

Although Kiyota Nobunaga agreed with Jin Soichiro's words in his heart, he just wouldn't admit it.

This was his last act of defiance!

Coach Takato exclaimed in shock, "It's Sakuragi Hanamichi again! It's him again at the crucial moment!"

Coach Taoka was equally shocked: "Sakuragi! He's actually learned to shoot three-pointers? How did this happen?"

Immediately afterward, Coach Taoka grabbed Aida Hikoichi's arm and asked anxiously, "Hikoichi! Tell me! What happened?"

Aida Hikoichi looked completely innocent. "You're asking me? Who am I supposed to ask?"

Coach Taoka then looked in Coach Anzai's direction: "Coach Anzai! What exactly did you do to Sakuragi Hanamichi? Why does he always manage to do things that are completely unexpected!"

"Um, Coach..." Aida Hikoichi weakly interrupted Coach Taoka.

"Hmm?" Coach Taoka responded with a puzzled look.

Aida Hikoichi analyzed, "Coach, is it possible that Sakuragi just guessed and made that shot?"

"Bang bang!"

Coach Taoka gave Aida Hikoichi two hard raps on the forehead: "Guess? Show me how you guess! The national tournament finals, someone who's never shot a three-pointer before, dares to just casually shoot a three-pointer? Huh? Is he out of his mind?"

The benchwarmer, Hikoichi Aida, innocently scratched his head, unable to understand why he was always the one who got injured!

A ruthless glint flashed in Coach Taoka's eyes as he said sternly, "Hikoichi! Didn't you aspire to become an excellent basketball reporter? Well, I'll give you that opportunity now! After this game, you won't need to come to team training anymore."

"Huh?" Aida Hikoichi was completely dumbfounded.

No longer need to come to team training?

Did they just fire me outright?

Aida Hikoichi hurriedly said, "Coach! Why won't you let me come to the team for training? I'm working really hard!"

Coach Taoka said impatiently, "Let me finish! I don't mean to fire you. I mean, from now on, you'd better bring your little stool to the Shohoku basketball gym and watch carefully how they train every day. Figure out what Coach Anzai assigns them every day, especially the training content related to Sakuragi Hanamichi!"

Aida Hikoichi's eyes widened.

So this is sending him to be a spy!

Wouldn't he get beaten to death by the delinquents of Shohoku?

I'd rather die than go!

Aida Hikoichi said hesitantly, "Coach! I don't think it's necessary! I believe our Ryonan team is no worse than Shohoku team, we just had a little bit of bad luck."

"Hmm? What do you mean by that?" Coach Taoka seemed intrigued.

Aida Hikoichi analyzed seriously, "Coach, look, in the semifinals we faced Sannoh Industrial, while Shohoku faced Meihou Industrial. If we had faced Meihou Industrial in the semifinals and Shohoku had faced Sannoh Industrial, then wouldn't the final two teams to compete in the finals be Ryonan and Sannoh Industrial?"

These words immediately struck a chord with Coach Taoka.

Facts speak louder than words, because Ryonan defeated Meihou Industrial when they were vying for third place.

Therefore, if Ryonan's opponent in the semifinals is Meihou Industrial instead of Sannoh Industrial, then Ryonan will definitely advance to the finals.

Ryonan team just lacked a little bit of luck, didn't they?

Moreover, it was only after being reminded by Aida Hikoichi that Coach Taoka realized that he had just lost his composure.

I'm the head coach of Ryonan High School, the third-ranked team in the nation! How could I send a spy to Shohoku to steal their skills?

If Coach Gao from the Hainan team found out about this, wouldn't he laugh his head off?

In an instant, Coach Taoka regained his former charisma. He patted Aida Hikoichi on the shoulder with satisfaction and said, "Hikoichi, you did very well! My efforts in training you were worthwhile! I was actually testing you just now! You did very well and withstood the test! Our Ryonan team is no worse than any other team, and our training is nothing short of grueling! Next year, next year we will definitely have a chance to make it to the finals!"

Aida Hikoichi gave an awkward smile, unsure of how to respond.

Sakuragi Hanamichi's stunning three-pointer brought the score between Shohoku and Sannoh to 48-44.

The gap between the two teams has widened to 4 points.

Shohoku team did not give Sannoh team a chance to overtake.

Matsumoto Minoru was still quite shocked: "Based on the analysis I did when watching the videotape before the game, Sakuragi Hanamichi definitely doesn't have the ability to shoot three-pointers! But why did I feel that he was certain the ball would go in even before he released it? Yeah, it's confidence! He acted very confidently! He wasn't the kind of person who would try his luck with a three-pointer to break the deadlock when he was desperate."

Not only was Matsumoto Minoru shocked, but the rest of the Sannoh team were also a bit bewildered for a moment.

They never expected that the person who broke through Shohoku's full-court press defense was Sakuragi Hanamichi, and that he did so by shooting a three-pointer!

At this point, in order to stabilize morale, Fukatsu said, "Don't worry about it! Whether he's bluffing or not, let's continue with our planned tactics!"

Sawakita Eiji also said, "That's right! It's just a three-pointer! No need to make a fuss! Who cares if he just guessed!"

"come on!"

The members of the Sannoh team roared in unison.

Meanwhile, the Shohoku team's morale was greatly boosted by Sakuragi Hanamichi's three-pointer.

In the two minutes of the second half, the Sannoh team scored a whopping 12 points, and the Shohoku team was completely dominated.

To be honest, the mentality of Akagi Takenori, Mitsui Hisashi, and Miyagi Ryota was indeed greatly affected.

I can't serve.

He's dribbling, but he can't get the ball out.

He caught the ball, but it was intercepted by someone else.

It's fair to say that those first two minutes of the second half completely stunned the Shohoku team!

Coach Anzai almost got up to go find the referee and call a timeout!

Fortunately, Sakuragi Hanamichi stepped forward!

Ryota Miyagi approached Sakuragi Hanamichi with a grin: "Hanamichi! You're something else! When did you learn to shoot three-pointers?"

Mitsui praised, "Sakuragi! You shot brilliantly!"

Akagi Takenori: "Sakuragi! Is this the secret training camp Coach Anzai arranged for you?"

Rukawa Kaede: "Good shot!"

Faced with the praise from his good brothers and seeing them all regain their fighting spirit, Sakuragi Hanamichi was overjoyed.

But he scratched the back of his head, gave a simple, honest smile, and said modestly, "I just guessed! I just guessed!"

Off the court, in the Sannoh team's rest area.

Coach Domoto, who was squatting on the ground, frowned: "That Sakuragi Hanamichi actually made a three-pointer! We've watched all of Shohoku's videotapes, and we've never seen him shoot a three-pointer before!"

Coach Domoto looked in Coach Anzai's direction with a serious expression: "Could it be that this is your Shohoku team's secret weapon?"

But then Coach Domoto turned his attention to the Shohoku team on the court: "You think you can break through our full-court press with just a three-pointer? Don't even think about it!"