Chapter 51 Her Tactics

Although they are now being suppressed by Shohoku, it has also ignited their fighting spirit.

For a moment, the Xiangyang team members' eyes were sharp, and they performed exceptionally well!

Unfortunately, it was of no use; Shohoku was on a winning streak.

Possession of the ball kept changing hands, and the score gradually widened, with Shohoku taking a commanding lead.

[Yan Yi exclaimed: "Shohoku's firepower is really strong today!"]

Coach Taoka nodded and looked towards Shoyo's bench.

Shohoku is in danger, Fujima, aren't you going to play?

[Uozumi shook his head: However, starting too aggressively will deplete your stamina quickly.]

Sendoh looked at Sakuragi; in less than a month, his defense had improved significantly.

There is one minute left in the first quarter.

"Smack!"

With a crisp sound, the flower-shaped ball was once again swatted away by Sakuragi's help defense!

Fujima finally couldn't sit still any longer. He swiftly pulled off his coat, his eyes sharp and bright.

Wow! Fujima's about to make his appearance!

【Fujima! Fujima! Fujima! 】

The cheerleaders in the stands were also turned on, holding up bottles and cheering for the Xiangyang team at the top of their lungs.

Akagi stood up from the bench, clenching his fists. Fujima had finally entered the arena; the real battle was just beginning.

Fujima's appearance not only boosted morale but also significantly improved the strength of the Shohoku team.

The most important of these is the improvement in offensive efficiency.

Completely different from the previous situation where they were being dominated, as soon as they entered the game, Hasegawa's zone defense suppressed Mitsui, and Fujima casually threw out a three-pointer, giving Shohoku a shock.

With this shot, the Xiangyang team regained their confidence, and all the players gave it their all.

Turning around, it was Fujima's home court again. He cut inside, received a pass from Ito, and feigned a shot—

Miyagi immediately stepped forward to defend.

Fujima completely disregarded Miyagi's defense, jumped high, and threw the ball with great decisiveness.

"Swish~" Another hollow basket was put in.

The area directly above Miyagi's head was a defensive vulnerability, allowing Shoyo to operate with ease from above.

Facing the stiff Akagi, Hanagata was also relaxed and at ease, catching the ball, making a layup, and scoring!

Sakuragi questioned Akagi's actions: "Gorilla, are you nervous?"

Akagi's face flushed red, and he roared stiffly, "Idiot! Are you talking about yourself?!"

Everyone could see that something was wrong with Akagi the moment he stepped onto the field.

"Sakuragi—"

Miyagi passed the ball to Sakuragi.

"Leave it to me! Xiao Liang—"

Sakuragi sprinted forward, caught the ball, and quickly drove to the basket for a layup.

The ball went into the basket successfully.

Sakuragi, hands on his hips, beamed with pride, "Hahaha, did you see that? This is the power of the genius Sakuragi Hanamichi!"

The Shohoku bench erupted in cheers, "Sakuragi is amazing!"

Shohoku team: "Tch, what's so great about it? Just a regular layup!"

Sakuragi smugly ran to Akagi's side:

"Hey gorilla, did you see that? If you really can't handle this, just retire! Don't drag this genius down, hahaha~"

Akagi's forehead veins throbbed. If they weren't in the middle of a match, he would have punched him right away. He was ashamed that this rookie had underestimated him!

Before he could even adjust his emotions, the first quarter had already ended, with Shohoku leading by 10 points.

The five Shohoku players returned to the bench, and their teammates, holding towels and water, surrounded them, saying, "That was great! You all worked so hard!"

Sakuragi took the towel and water Haruko handed him, grinning sheepishly, "Thanks, Haruko... Hehe... Did you see the genius's performance?"

Haruko smiled: "You're welcome, Sakuragi! You defended the basket very well!"

Rukawa Kaede had just finished strenuous exercise; his back was soaked with sweat, and his jersey clung to his body, outlining his physique.

"Rukawa".

Rukawa Kaede turned his face to the side, fine beads of sweat slowly sliding down and hanging on his superior jawline. His breathing had not yet calmed down, and he was slightly panting.

"Towel, wipe your sweat."

Rukawa Kaede didn't answer and turned his gaze away.

Hanon paused, bewildered and straightforward: "Did I upset you?"

Rukawa Kaede didn't even glance at her, turning the back of his head directly at her.

The words were on the tip of her tongue, but Hana didn't say them.

In everything we do, we must prioritize. Right now, the competition is more important.

The second quarter has begun.

The audience gasped in surprise and murmured amongst themselves.

Look, all of Shohoku's key players have been substituted! Only Sakuragi remains on the court!

Why were they all replaced with short substitute players?

[This is so disrespectful! Fujima just came on stage!]

Fujima was slightly surprised, then smiled and said, "Since Shohoku has conceded defeat, there's no need for formalities!"

The Shohoku players shouted, "Yes! We'll crush Shohoku in one fell swoop!"

Not only the audience and the Shohoku team questioned the arrangement, but even the Shohoku team, which was already lacking in confidence, had doubts about Kanon's arrangements.

Although we've practiced, this is the national-level Shohoku team!

Seeing Coach Anzai's calm demeanor, the Shohoku team breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Kanon straightened Sakuragi's jersey from his shoulders and said with a smile:

"Seeing your strength, the people from the Shohoku team will definitely say—it looks like we need to get that red-haired kid out of the game!"

The Shohoku team looked at him with suspicion: Although Sakuragi has indeed improved a lot, isn't that a bit too arrogant?

Sakuragi got incredibly excited just thinking about it, and smugly said, "Hehehe... Even if they score, this genius won't fall for a foul!"

Kanon: "That's right, we can just take back the points we lost. Staying on the field is the key to victory!"

Sakuragi said seriously, "Don't worry, sis."

Kanon affectionately pinched his cheek: "Go for it! Genius Sakuragi!"

Rukawa Kaede only glanced at the Kanon siblings—he didn't really care.

Mitsui hissed: Where did this sour smell come from? It's making my dentures sour!

Hanon turned to the shorter players who were about to enter the game: "Thank you all, give it your all, and run faster!"

"yes!"

"Alright, let's go!"

First, Shohoku had possession of the ball.

Ito, with his height advantage, made a powerful mid-range shot over Yasuda and scored.

The audience shook their heads, a collective sigh escaping their lips; this was an expected outcome.

The players sitting on the bench seemed uneasy, frequently glancing at Hanon and Coach Anzai.

Hana calmly observed the situation on the field.

Coach Anzai leisurely sipped his hot tea.

On the court, the smaller players from Shohoku remained calm and adopted a relaxed approach on defense, focusing on disrupting the opponent rather than trying to affect their mentality.

Shohoku's way to counter Shoyo's height advantage is—speed!

As the game transitioned from offense to defense, Sakuragi received the ball and immediately sprinted at high speed, while the experienced Fujima quickly returned to defense.

Sakuragi has a wide field of vision; while running, he passes the ball to Kogure.

Beyond the three-point line, Kogure received the ball in an open position, released it cleanly, and had Hasegawa catch up—

"Swish!" Goal!

Fujishin's heart skipped a beat.

The ball came to Shohoku, and Hanagata, taking advantage of his height, overpowered Kogure and scored—

Before his feet even touched the ground, Sakuragi, under the basket, swiftly grabbed the basketball that had just gone in and threw it forward with tremendous force—

Ahead of the ball, Kogure, Yasuda, Shiozaki, and Ishii advanced side by side, having already crossed the halfway line.

The results of Shohoku's arduous training—

On the court, every player from Shohoku demonstrated extremely solid fundamentals, including not only basic skills but also extraordinary agility, speed, and other all-around qualities.

Fujima was the only one who could barely keep up, but after trying his best to catch up, he could only watch helplessly as Sakuragi made a long pass to Yasuda with excellent accuracy, and the latter scored a layup.

The whole process takes no more than 5 seconds.

—The Shohoku team, which quickly returned to defense, and the Shoyo team, which caught up, had an awkward meeting in the center circle.

This same scenario repeated itself repeatedly in the following minutes of the match.

The Shohoku team scored recklessly over the head of the smaller Shohoku player.

Conversely, once Shohoku scores, Sakuragi immediately receives the ball under the basket and launches a fast break with a long pass.

The audience's hearts pounded like the score on the field:

I've never seen a match with such a fast pace!

Even though I don't understand it, I'm so nervous! This match is so exciting!

Although I'm a Shohoku fan, I have to admit now that Shohoku is a strong team that can rival Shohoku!

[I initially thought this was just an exhibition match for Shohoku, but Shohoku's offense kept going, completely dominating Shohoku. The pace was so exhilarating!]

The atmosphere in what was clearly the least favored game was surprisingly high.

Coach Taoka watched for a while, then widened his eyes in disbelief: Coach Anzai… his player selection is too bold!!

[Yan Yi was still confused: Coach, what does Shohoku mean by this? Shohoku is already at a height disadvantage, why are they bringing on even shorter players?!]

Coach Taoka: The smaller players on the Shohoku team can run and shoot. Although they are not as strong as Shoyo, they have speed that the four taller players don't have.

[Uozumi: Shohoku plays aggressively, never giving up on positional play.]

Sendoh chuckled knowingly: the four giants not only couldn't keep up with their speed, but they were also expending a lot of energy.

[Yan Yi: If that's the case, why doesn't Xiangyang make a replacement?]

Coach Taoka said seriously: "It's not that we don't want to make substitutions, but that we have no one else to substitute. Shohoku's advantage is their height in the paint; substituting just one player could cause their team to collapse."

Moreover, Shohoku's substitutes are not as good as Shoyo's.

Although Shohoku's substitutes aren't sharpshooters, they are competent shooters when it comes to open shots.

What surprised Coach Taoka the most was Sakuragi's performance, which was simply unbelievable. He improved so quickly that he was completely unprepared.

It was like seeing a child who had just learned to walk yesterday and was already running today—a situation beyond his comprehension.

Sakuragi and Rukawa are truly rare geniuses!

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but feel jealous of Coach Anzai.

Miyagi muttered, "Hanamichi's long pass was incredibly precise."

Mitsui glanced at Hanon: "After all, he's the younger brother of a world-class point guard..."

Seeing is believing, and I have to admit it—

Her insight, game intelligence, strategic vision, and ability to read the game are perhaps unmatched by any of them in their lifetime.

Hanon laughed: "In the United States, Sakuragi only slept 4 hours a day, and spent the rest of his time practicing basketball."

Upon hearing this, everyone from Xiangbei was deeply shocked and filled with admiration.

Rukawa Kaede silently watched the slight blue in her eyes. Behind the progress of this idiot, there was always her.

The two teams traded blows on offense.

Shohoku took the lead in the first quarter. In the second quarter, Shoyo scored a goal, and Shohoku responded with a goal of their own. Ultimately, the advantage still lay with Shohoku.

Seeing Shohoku's performance, Fujima appeared anxious for the first time.

The Xiangyang team members looked at him blankly as well, "Captain..."

Fujima took a deep breath, then smiled reassuringly, "Don't rush, relax! Let's score another goal!"

The Xiangyang team members felt reassured and replied, "Yes!"

Fujima hit another three-pointer, and the Shohoku players' blood started boiling again.

The pace of the offense and defense was very fast; to be precise, it was extremely fast in Hunan.

Despite Shoyo's desire to regain control of the game, they couldn't slow down because—

Even if they dragged out the attack time to 30 seconds, they would immediately speed up the pace when Shohoku attacked.

After nearly 8 minutes, the tall and slow Xiangyang players began to show signs of fatigue.

The spirit of Xiangyang is to never give up.

Even though they were already short of breath and exhausted, they were still doing their best to catch up with each other.

On the court, Fujima finally came up with a strategy to counter Shohoku's fast break—

Cut off the source of the fast attack!

When Sakuragi was once again waiting for the ball under the basket, two players from Shohoku blocked him directly, guarding him tightly and trying to cut off his long pass.

Sakuragi Kota enjoyed being double-teamed, and he chuckled—

Leap high into the air!

The defenders jumped up as well. Although they were taller than Sakuragi, they were far inferior in jumping ability!

And just like that, Sakuragi forcefully threw the ball over the defender's head into the hands of his running teammate!

After landing, Sakuragi muttered to himself as he ran, "Passing the ball over someone's head is actually quite fun, hehehe..."

The barrage of trash talk left the Shohoku players' faces as black as the soles of their shoes.