The day before the decisive battle between Shohoku and Sannoh.
The Shohoku team did only one thing: watch the Sannoh team's game footage.
When Ryonan played against Sannoh, the five members of Shohoku went to watch the game and were shocked by Sannoh's formidable strength.
Watching the videotapes of the Shanwang team's past games, especially seeing how they beat the Hainan team by 30 points in last year's national tournament.
The five members of Xiangbei frowned, their expressions grave.
However, none of the five tigers of Xiangbei were afraid.
They simply realized that the Sannoh team would be the toughest opponent they had ever faced in the tournament, nothing more.
Mitsui Hisashi wasn't so nervous that he frequently went to the toilet.
Ryota Miyagi didn't slink away and went for a walk alone.
Rukawa Kaede stayed behind to continue watching the videotapes, but he was only focused on studying Sawakita Eiji's playing style and thinking about how to defeat his opponent; he wasn't afraid at all.
Akagi Takenori went to chat with Kogure Kiminobu, but he wasn't overly nervous. He just remarked that the past few months felt like a dream.
As for the genius Sakuragi Hanamichi, he certainly couldn't be nervous or afraid; he had already taken Akagi Haruko for a walk in the woods.
However, it is worth mentioning that before everyone left, Coach Anzai gave a rare pre-match pep talk. His original words were: "Tomorrow's Sannoh Industrial team has a super ace player who surpasses the level of high schools, and most importantly, they have practical experience from last year's national tournament, and their ability to adapt to changing situations is quite solid."
"Therefore, we absolutely cannot afford to make any mistakes when fighting against them."
"In other words, you can't expect the opponent to lose their composure and win the game."
"But I have faith in you! I believe you have the strength to defeat them!"
"Besides, nothing in a game is absolute. In the end, you and the Sannoh team are just a bunch of high school students. Anything can happen."
"As for the strategy, I will adjust the tactics for you tomorrow based on the opponent's players and the situation of the game."
"Everyone, get a good night's rest! Good luck!"
With Coach Anzai's words, the Shohoku team's mentality became more stable.
Even if we take a step back and say that Shohoku was a team that couldn't even make it to the Kanagawa quarterfinals, they still managed to fight their way to the national finals this summer.
What else is so scary?
What else is there to worry about?
Just do it!
...
Meanwhile, Sannoh Industrial was also busy.
Coach Domoto, who is always cautious in his tactics, had no intention of underestimating the Shohoku team. He was on high alert and dared not let his guard down.
Therefore, he gathered star alumni of Sannoh Industrial High School who played basketball at various universities to form a team with the characteristics of Shohoku High School, and played practice matches with the current Sannoh Industrial High School team.
Unexpectedly, the Sannoh team completely dominated the alumni team, winning by more than 20 points in a single practice match.
So much so that senior students from various universities exclaimed, "You guys truly deserve to be the strongest team in the history of Sannoh Industrial!"
After thanking their seniors for their guidance, the Sannoh players had an internal discussion. They unanimously agreed that the seniors' performance was different from the Shohoku team's games they had seen, and they couldn't quite put their finger on why. So they decided to watch the Shohoku team's videotapes again.
Coach Domoto said with great satisfaction, "Yes, your alertness is excellent. That's exactly what I was planning. You should definitely study the Shohoku team more carefully."
"Okay! Let's go!"
Led by Captain Kazunari Fukatsu, the Sannoh team members all started running and rushed to watch the videotape.
This is Sannoh Industrial, the three-time champions. They will never underestimate their opponents!
They take every match seriously, and before each match, they thoroughly study their opponents.
Watching the team members hurriedly leave, Coach Domoto said, "Although you are the strongest team in the history of Sannoh Kogyo, I will still say these words to you because nothing is absolute in a competition, and anything is possible."
...
"Takenori Akagi is 197cm tall and weighs 93kg. From the preliminaries to the victory over Meihou Industrial, he averaged 25.3 points and 12.3 rebounds per game."
"He's amazing! He blocks an average of four shots per game!"
"Yeah! His stats are incredible!"
At this moment, the people at Sannoh Industries are studying Takenori Akagi.
As the center of Sannoh Industrial, Masashi Kawata said seriously, "He was also selected as an All-Star player in Kanagawa. He is good at both offense and defense and is the most important main player of Shohoku."
A teammate standing nearby couldn't help but say, "Such a powerful third-year player, I've never heard of him before, it's unbelievable."
Then, another player asked, "Kawata, does he have any weaknesses?"
Masashi Kawata's expression was grave, and he remained silent.
Based on the current video footage, Takenori Akagi is indeed a well-rounded center, arguably one of the best in the country.
Whether Takenori Akagi is stronger than Masashi Kawata is unknown.
However, as everyone knows, Akagi Takenori is definitely not to be underestimated; at the very least, he cannot be said to be weaker than Kawata Masashi.
Just as everyone was intently studying Takenori Akagi, Eiji Sawakita suddenly spoke up: "Wait! I see it!"
Everyone was taken aback.
Masashi Kawata asked in even greater surprise, "Sawakita, tell me!"
Sawakita Eiji slowly said, "First of all, in terms of offense, he is indeed very powerful under the basket, but his offensive style is very one-dimensional. He can only shoot and dunk under the basket."
"As long as we cut off Shohoku's passes to him in the paint area, he will be no offensive threat."
Hearing this, Masashi Kawata nodded and said, "That's right! I rarely see him take mid-range shots, which shows that his shooting range is indeed not long enough. As long as he appears under the basket, I will block him, and you guys should also make sure to prevent others from passing the ball to him, then he will have no chance to attack at all."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Eiji Sawakita continued, "As for his defense, it's the same. As long as we find a way to get him away from the basket, he'll be no threat."
At this moment, Eiji Sawakita offered his advice with utmost seriousness: "Kawata, your face looks terrible, but your shooting range is long, so you don't need to worry about him. When he's attacking, you just need to stay under the basket and wait for him to shoot. When he's defending, we'll coordinate to draw his attention away from the basket..."
When he said this, Eiji Sawakita spoke very quickly because there was a lot of information to convey.
But Kawada Masashi's face darkened. "My face...is it ugly?"
"Huh? You must have misheard me?" Sawakita Eiji looked completely confused. "I meant your defense is very good, I didn't say... Ah!!!"
Before Eiji Sawakita could finish speaking, he let out an extremely tragic scream.
Masashi Kawata plopped down on Eiji Sawakita, forcefully prying Sawakita's legs apart, and yelled, "You bastard! Don't think you can act all high and mighty just because someone says you're the most handsome player in Sannoh's history!"
Sawakita Eiji slapped the ground with both hands, begging for mercy repeatedly.
But Masashi Kawada showed no sign of letting up, increasing his pressure as he continued to yell, "You think it's so great that girls write you love letters? Let me tell you! I've received love letters from girls too!"
Sawakita Eiji, who was still begging for mercy, suddenly interrupted, "You've misunderstood! Those were people I arranged!"
"Huh?" Masashi Kawata was taken aback, clearly not understanding.
Sawakita Eiji retorted recklessly, "It was a love letter I arranged for a girl to write to you! It was fake! It was just to make you happy!"
Masashi Kawata's face shifted dramatically.
The teammates around them all stood up, wanting to slip away, afraid of being caught in the crossfire.
Suddenly, Masashi Kawata completely exploded, roaring, "Ah! You wretched brat! Tell me! This isn't true!"
At that moment, Masashi Kawata wished he could kill Eiji Sawakita.
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