With Akagi Takenori's goal, the score between Shohoku and Sannoh became 72-71.
Shohoku team is in the lead over Sannoh team again!
At this moment, not only were the Shohoku fans cheering, but even Kiyota Nobunaga, Sakuragi Hanamichi and Rukawa Kaede's arch-rival, couldn't help but clench his fists and excitedly shout, "Shohoku! Well done!"
But the stubborn Kiyota Nobunaga, having just finished praising the Shohoku team, immediately retorted disdainfully, "If I were here, I wouldn't have given Sannoh a chance to take the lead! Even if Sannoh had been leading, I could have easily taken the lead again! Shohoku, if you had me, you would be even stronger! Hmph..."
Shinichi Maki, standing to the side, raised an eyebrow and asked, "Oh? You want to leave Hainan and join Shohoku, Kiyota?"
Upon hearing this, Kiyota Nobunaga was struck dumb and hurriedly explained, "No, no! Captain, you misunderstood, that's not what I meant, I..."
As expected of Kiyota Nobunaga, the wild monkey!
Having such a lovely brother by your side must be a very joyful thing!
After seeing Sakuragi Hanamichi forcefully grab the rebound, Sannoh's coach Domoto finally made the decision to make a substitution.
As the referee blew the whistle, Sannoh's power forward, Masahiro Nobe, was substituted.
Mikio Kawata, who was completely outplayed by Sakuragi Hanamichi in the first half, makes his return to the court.
"Huh? That big fat guy is back in?" Ryonan's intelligence expert, Aida Hikoichi, looked at Coach Taoka in surprise and asked, "Coach, Mitsui Hisashi was the one who kept scoring, so why did Sannoh make adjustments to their inside game?"
Coach Taoka analyzed: "The reason why Mitsui Hisashi dares to shoot without any restraint is not only because he is very confident in his shooting ability, but also because he is confident in his rebounding. Even if he misses a three-pointer, as long as Sakuragi Hanamichi or Akagi Takenori grabs the rebound, then the ball possession will still belong to Shohoku."
At this moment, Coach Taoka looked at Sakuragi Hanamichi and said, "Just like now, if it weren't for Sakuragi Hanamichi, the rebound would definitely have gone to the Sannoh team."
Upon hearing this, Aida Hiko nodded in agreement.
Sakuragi Hanamichi's rebounding maneuver just now was absolutely amazing.
He jumped twice in a row, taking on two opponents at once, and overpowered Nobe Masahiro and Kawata Masashi under the basket.
Even though he crashed heavily to the ground, he still managed to pass the basketball to Mitsui Hisashi.
With such a formidable rebounding king in the paint, Mitsui Hisashi was naturally confident in continuously shooting three-pointers.
But Aida Hikoichi still had doubts and asked, "However, judging from the first half of the game, it seems that Kawata Mikio can't beat Sakuragi!"
Coach Taoka smiled slightly, revealing a mysterious smile, and asked in return, "Who told you that Kawata Mikio was going to defend Sakuragi this time?"
"Huh? Could it be?" Aida Hikoichi looked at the court with a shocked expression.
At this moment, Sannoh scored another goal, making the score between Shohoku and Sannoh 72-73.
Shohoku team takes possession and attacks, while Sannoh team moves into defensive position.
To everyone's surprise, the person guarding Sakuragi Hanamichi this time was none other than Kawata Masashi!
Mikio Kawata is guarding Takenori Akagi!
"Look! Kawata Masashi is guarding Sakuragi Hanamichi!"
"Oh my god! What's going on?"
"Could it be that, for the Sannoh team, Sakuragi Hanamichi is a greater threat than Akagi Takenori?"
"Of course! You saw how fiercely Sakuragi Hanamichi grabbed the rebound just now! If we let Sakuragi Hanamichi continue like this, Sannoh's interior defense will be finished!"
"That's true! Although Akagi Takenori and Kawata Masashi restrained each other, Sakuragi Hanamichi was clearly better than Nobe Masahiro. Sakuragi Hanamichi's rebounding ability was obviously stronger than Nobe Masahiro's."
"Now we'll see if Mikio Kawata can defend against Takenori Akagi like his brother did."
"Huh? Are you saying that Masashi Kawata is absolutely certain he can protect Hanamichi Sakuragi?"
"Of course! That's Masashi Kawata! A top-three center in high school basketball nationwide! Even the current All-Star university center might not be able to beat him! He'd be a perfect match for Hanamichi Sakuragi!"
"But Sakuragi Hanamichi seems to be even better at rebounding."
"You'll see when you see it..."
Sitting in the Sannoh team's dugout, Nobe Masahiro wiped his sweat and said with a serious expression, "Kawata! Besides you, Sakuragi Hanamichi is the first person who can stop me from grabbing rebounds!"
At this moment, the basketball is in Ryota Miyagi's hands.
Because Rukawa was being closely marked by Sawakita Eiji, Mitsui Hisashi's play just now, though impressive, was now being defended much more tightly by Matsumoto Minoru.
To be on the safe side, Miyagi Ryota wanted to dribble the ball and go for a layup himself.
Just as Miyagi Ryota was about to dribble towards the paint, Rukawa Kaede turned around and shook off Sawakita Eiji's defense: "Give it to me!"
Seeing Rukawa Kaede running for the ball, Miyagi Ryota decisively passed the basketball to Rukawa Kaede.
"Rukawa Kaede! You finally couldn't resist making a move again, huh? Hmph! But I won't let you succeed!"
Although Rukawa Kaede jumped to shoot immediately after getting the basketball, Sawakita Eiji's defense was too tight, and his jump still interfered with Rukawa Kaede's shot.
"Oh no! That ball won't go in!"
"As expected of the super ace Sawakita Eiji! His defense is so good!"
"Yeah! It's all about the rebounds!"
There was a loud "bang"!
The basketball missed.
It's time to grab the rebounds again!
"East African ape! Bald gorilla! Even you can't stop this genius's rebound!"
An excited Sakuragi Hanamichi immediately started mocking Kawata Masashi.
"Oh? Is that so?" Masashi Kawata grinned, his face full of excitement. "I know you have an amazing jumping ability! But, getting rebounds isn't just about having a strong jumping ability!"
The next moment, Sakuragi Hanamichi and Kawata Masashi jumped at the same time.
For the first time, Sakuragi Hanamichi showed a shocked expression: "Huh? This guy?"
Suddenly, Masashi Kawata, who was in mid-air, managed to grab the backboard with both hands first.
The reason is simple: Masashi Kawata was in a slightly better position this time, and he also had slightly more match experience.
Of course, there was also a tiny bit of luck involved.
Sakuragi Hanamichi watched as Kawata Masashi snatched the rebound, his face full of resentment.
Amidst everyone's shocked gazes, Kawata Masashi roared, "Sawakita!!!"
"Quick attack!!!"
Sawakita Eiji had already taken the lead and rushed to the front.
"Oh no!"
"not good!"
"Sannoh is about to launch a fast counter-attack!"
"Defense!!!"
Of course, Rukawa Kaede wouldn't let Sawakita Eiji succeed, and he relentlessly pursued Sawakita Eiji.
Just as Sawakita Eiji caught the basketball, Rukawa Kaede stepped in front of him.
"Good job! Rukawa Kaede blocked it!"
"As expected of Rukawa Kaede!"
"I knew it! Rukawa Kaede is no less than Sawakita Eiji!"
"Could it be that the two teams' star small forwards are about to go head-to-head?"
As Rukawa Kaede blocked Sawakita Eiji's advance, the other players from both teams were already in position, and it seemed that the two sides were about to start a positional battle again.
But just then!
Sawakita Eiji actually chose to pass the ball!
It's under the basket!
Sawakita Eiji surprisingly passed the basketball to Kawata Masashi, who had just grabbed the crucial rebound!
"My God! What a perfect teamwork!"
"That's amazing!"
"Yes! As soon as Kawata Masashi grabbed the rebound, he immediately passed it to Sawakita Eiji, who then passed it to Kawata Masashi, who was rushing to the basket at Shohoku!"
Wow! That's amazing!
"Ah! Look! It's an aerial relay!"
"Wow! That teamwork! Seamless!"
"Sawakita wants Kawata to dunk immediately!"
"It's an aerial relay!"
But just then!
A fiery red figure appeared in front of Masashi Kawata!
That terrifying speed!
That amazing jumping ability!
That aura was filled with murderous intent!
That's right!
He is number 10 on the Shohoku team!
Super genius Sakuragi Hanamichi!
Just as Masashi Kawata's hands were about to catch the basketball and complete the alley-oop dunk!
but!
boom!!!
"Dahetian! Eat this genius's hotpot!"
Sakuragi Hanamichi's right hand slammed hard onto the basketball!
This isn't basketball at all!
This is clearly a volleyball game!
To everyone's utter shock!
The basketball was slapped hard out of bounds by the genius Sakuragi Hanamichi!
Sakuragi Hanamichi looked at Kawata Masashi with an extremely smug expression and said arrogantly, "You stole a rebound when I wasn't looking, and now you're all high and mighty? Hmm?"
"Trying to dunk an alley-oop?"
"You didn't even ask if this genius would agree!"
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