Chapter 52 Xiangbei Special Features
Fujima and the others chased after them quickly, but unfortunately, with 4 against 2 in the frontcourt, Shohoku easily made a layup.
Possession was transferred to Shohoku. The ball, as always, flew recklessly over the heads of the smaller Shohoku players, but this time, the Shohoku player missed the shot—
Fujima yelled, "Rebound!"
Shohoku's tactics were too effective; Shoyo's players were exhausted, and their shooting percentage kept declining.
Sakuragi easily positioned himself, leaped high, and snatched the rebound—
"Xiao An!"
Sakuragi grabbed the rebound instantly, passed it immediately, and launched another fast break. The tall and slow players from Shohoku were simply unable to stop him.
It wasn't just the Shohoku team whose shooting percentage dropped; the same thing happened to the Shohoku team.
Yasuda raised his hand and shot directly from beyond the three-point line.
[Yan Yi: Wow, what a decisive shot! Is this Shohoku substitute really that confident in his three-point shot?]
[Sendoh: No, I think it's probably not his confidence in his three-pointers, but his confidence in rebounding.]
The words had barely left his mouth.
Yasuda's three-pointer hit the rim directly.
The Shohoku players shouted, "Rebound!"
Sakuragi, who arrived at the basket first, successfully grabbed the rebound and threw the ball back to Yasuda. "Keep going! Yasuda!"
The Xiangyang team players followed closely to the basket—
Hanagata kept vying for position under the basket, trying to secure the best rebounding position.
"Hey, you wearing glasses, watch how this genius squeezes you out!"
Sakuragi kept his eyes glued to the basketball, and with just one step, he found the perfect position for the rebound—
Then he stood there, like a mountain, and no matter how hard Hanagata and Nagano tried, they could not budge him an inch.
"Bang!"
Yasuda missed another three-pointer.
Sakuragi leaped up, easily caught the rebound, and then tossed it to Yasuda.
Hanagata, a third-year student, is 197cm tall, while Sakuragi, a first-year student, is 189.5cm tall.
Hanagata's height and experience give him a significant advantage when positioning himself inside. However, he couldn't gain the slightest advantage in his confrontation with Sakuragi just now.
No!
To be precise.
In the previous confrontation, Hanagata was completely outmatched.
Yasuda catches the ball and raises his hand to shoot.
"Bang!"
The sound of striking blacksmith's hammer is crisp and pleasant.
Sakuragi positioned himself again, easily secured the rebound, and passed it to the outside.
"—Xiao An!!"
Yasuda voted again.
Bang!
Another excellent strike.
Sakuragi jumped up lightly, grabbed the rebound again, and passed it to the outside.
The sight of that red phantom made the Shohoku players, both inside and outside, shudder. Hanagata, in particular, was so thoroughly humiliated by Sakuragi that his soul seemed to leave his body.
Fujima, seeing Hanagata looking out of sorts, shouted, "Hanagata—"
Hanagata snapped out of her daze, her eyes filled with confusion. What should she do?
Sakuragi flashed a bright white smile, encouragingly saying, "An, don't be nervous! No matter how many times, I'll get the ball for you!!!"
The Xiangyang center was furious; this red-haired kid was too arrogant!!
Yasuda, on the outside, took a deep breath and shot again.
The two inside players from Xiangyang could no longer hold back and jumped ahead of time with all their might.
As it turned out, Yasuda made the shot this time.
Whoosh!
The sound of the basketball rubbing against the net seemed so... awkward at that moment.
After the two landed.
The atmosphere inside the stadium was strangely deathly still.
Sakuragi slapped Yasuda's shoulder hard, his voice booming, "Yasuda! That was awesome!"
Despite the pain, Yasuda's eyes welled with tears: "Thanks to you, Sakuragi!"
Over the course of this month, each of them must make a certain number of shots, and this will be his first three-pointer on the court!
Sakuragi, hands on his hips, laughed loudly: "Hahaha! I'm the genius who dominates the paint!"
He said seriously, "So, just go ahead and throw!"
In this quarter, the outcome depends on who can put more shots into the opponent's basket.
Shohoku's height on the court suddenly dropped, and Shoyo did not gain the upper hand in the battle for the inside.
First, the Shohoku team's stamina has reached its limit. Second, Sakuragi is truly terrifying!
Fujima recognized Shohoku's key player – Sakuragi Hanamichi.
Sakuragi Hanamichi not only jumps higher than everyone else, but also has inexhaustible stamina, allowing him to fly through the air indefinitely.
From the start of the second quarter until now, Sakuragi has been repeating the same action—
Stand under the basket, grab the rebound or the ball, and then launch a fast break.
Shohoku's fast break is too strong; if Shoyo's offense stalls, their defense will also be in danger.
Therefore, taking advantage of Sakuragi's fouls to force him off the court became the key to Shohoku's tactics.
Compared to Fujima, Sakuragi does lack as much practical experience, but he is quick-witted and fast.
After committing two fouls, Sakuragi finally understood his opponent's intentions, and he used his speed advantage to dodge Fujima—
You can shoot all you want, I'll take the ball and run fast, you can't catch me, and you can't get close to me...hehehe!
Shohoku had possession of the ball but missed again. Sakuragi grabbed the rebound, and Shohoku launched another lightning-fast fast break.
When Shohoku players miss their shots or layups, Sakuragi tries his best to grab the rebound or dunk.
In just a few minutes, Sakuragi scored 3 dunks and blocked 2 shots, performing exceptionally well.
At the end of the second quarter, Shohoku still led by 10 points.
Sakuragi cheerfully led the four boys back to the bench.
Seeing the stunned crowd, he was very dissatisfied: "Hey, what do you mean? This genius led Shohoku to victory, and no one is even offering us towels or water!"
Sakuragi pouted and forced his way in, plopping down between Kanon and Rukawa, grabbing Kanon's arm and grinning brightly: "Big sister, big sister! How was my performance just now?"
There was originally half a person's distance between them, but now a big guy squeezed in. Hana moved to the left and praised, "Hana is awesome!"
Rukawa Kaede's face immediately turned cold.
However, Sakuragi was completely unaware, shifting his position to the right, trying to push Rukawa off the bench.
Rukawa stared intently at Sakuragi's hand on Kanon's arm, his voice icy: "Idiot, your ass is too big."
Sakuragi instantly bristled: "You stinky fox! Do you have a problem with me, the hero? If you think the seat is too small, sit on the floor! The floor is wide enough!"
Rukawa grabbed his clothes and kicked him in the butt—
Sakuragi exploded, and the battle was about to begin. The monkey and fox started fighting, overturning the long bench.
Ayako rubbed her temples: "This guy, he makes such a scene as soon as he steps off the field."
Hana looked at the two who were like oil and water with a headache.
The Shohoku team members finally snapped out of their daze and quickly tried to break up the fight:
"Sakuragi Rukawa, calm down, calm down!"
"Stop fighting...this is on the court..."
After separating the two chubby, angry faces, the bench players began to appease the monkey:
"Sakuragi, Sakuragi! Wipe your sweat!"
"Sakuragi, Sakuragi! Do you want some water?"
The Xiangyang team members were panting like dogs. Looking at the energetic Sakuragi, they felt dizzy and almost fainted from anger.
For Xiangyang, the second quarter was an absolute nightmare.
This segment not only shocked the Shohoku players, but also greatly impressed the entire audience.
Before this, none of them had ever imagined that these ordinary young players would not only not be overshadowed on the field, but would shine by giving full play to their strengths.
This is also something they deeply felt: targeted tactics can sometimes overcome the gap in strength.
Rukawa Kaede looked at the girl who was strategizing, and was momentarily lost in thought.
My heart fluttered, and my soul was drawn to her uncontrollably.
…and she also yearned for him to actively touch his soul.
...
The rest room at Shohoku High School was filled with laughter and cheerful conversation.
Yasuda's eyes gleamed with delight: "This quarter of the game was absolutely exhilarating!"
The other little ones nodded enthusiastically in agreement!
They couldn't even imagine that they could fight against the Shohoku team like this!
Kogure pushed up his glasses, the lenses gleaming brightly: "Thanks to Sakuragi and Kanon!"
There is indeed a gap between geniuses and ordinary people, but the genius Sakuragi did not steal their brilliance. Instead, he created opportunities for them to shine.
The most important thing—
Hanon never overlooked anyone on the team. Everyone on the court could score, and she deserves a lot of credit.
Sakuragi smugly said, "Hahaha! Is that so? As expected, we still have to rely on this genius!"
Ishii muttered to himself, "My hand hurts a little..."
The Xiangbei team glanced at the four boys' red and swollen hands and felt a strange sense of sympathy.
Kogure, clenching his numb hand, chuckled helplessly, "Sakuragi, you don't need to pass the ball so hard..."
Sakuragi scratched his red head awkwardly: "Hehehe..."
Captain Akagi shouted, "Alright, let's prepare for the second half of the game!"
Everyone turned to look at Hanon, waiting for her to rearrange the tactics.
Hana looked at the fat old man next to her: "Coach, how should we play in the second half?"
Coach Anzai finally put down his teacup, his face full of inscrutable meaning.
"Hooray... Everyone did a great job in the first half. In the second half, keep up your individual strengths. You guys are the strongest."
"yes!!"
Hanon remained silent, and Coach Anzai succinctly stated—
Play as you like.
At this moment, people from Hainan High School arrived at the scene.
[Aki is astonished: Shohoku is leading by 10 points in the first half!]
[Ah Shen: This is with Fujima playing; Shohoku is truly amazing!]
[Kiyota: Hmm? Shohoku has a conspicuous red-haired monkey! How come I've never seen him before?]
The audience members nearby enthusiastically explained to them:
[You guys just arrived, right? The second quarter was absolutely amazing!]
Goodness, that part made me so desperate to pee that I was too afraid to go to the bathroom!
I initially thought Shohoku's victory was a foregone conclusion, but today's result was a complete upset!
[Yeah, yeah! Shohoku is just too strong!]
That number 10 player has amazing rebounding ability!
The group from Hainan looked at each other in bewilderment. Was it really that exaggerated?
...
The second half of the game has begun.
During halftime, the Xiangyang team recovered some of their strength.
Fujima's opening three-pointer ignited Shohoku's comeback.
Possession of the ball changes.
Knowing that Fujima was guarding his side, Miyagi passed the ball to Akagi without hesitation.
Akagi froze completely when he got the ball, looking as nervous as someone trying to steal a landmine.
Two Xiangyang players quickly arrived and sandwiched Akagi from both sides. He gritted his teeth and threw the ball to the outside.
Hasegawa is keeping a close watch on Mitsui.
Mitsui took a floater from the three-point line—but the ball bounced off the rim!
Hanagata grabbed the rebound, and Shoyo scored two more points.
Wow, what a pity, that three-pointer missed!
[Is Shohoku trying to break down Shoyo's inside game with outside shooting? However, it's clear that Mitsui is currently ice-cold.]
No sooner had he finished speaking than Mitsui struck again.
Sakuragi grabs the rebound and goes for a layup.
*Thud!* The ball hit the backboard and bounced far away.
Sakuragi, embarrassed: "Huh?"
Rukawa Kaede followed closely behind, leaping high and forcefully putting the rebounding ball into the basket.
[Fish stalk: Still too inexperienced.]
Coach Taoka stroked his chin: Sakuragi's layup skills are still terrible.
Kiyota scoffed: "Are you kidding me? You missed such a basic layup?"
[Aki: Sakuragi's scoring methods are rather predictable.]
Fujima responded with another three-pointer.
Mitsui kept making his moves, but missed repeatedly. Akagi was nervous, Miyagi hadn't activated his full potential yet, and Sakuragi and Rukawa were flying around recklessly, giving Shohoku a chance to recover.
As the game progressed, the scores of the two sides gradually narrowed.
[Kiyota is speechless: With Shohoku playing like this, how could they possibly manage a 10-point margin of victory?]
The unique characteristic of Xiangbei, which is also a source of unease, is that everyone plays their own game.
[Maki: But Shohoku is having a hard time scoring.]
[Ah Shen: Shohoku has a kind of "desperate madman" vibe.]
Shohoku is on offense. Fujima intercepts the ball from Sakuragi and dribbles towards the frontcourt.
Miyagi quickly returned to defend, closely following Fujima's side. Soon, Nagano blocked between Miyagi and Fujima, giving Miyagi no chance at all.
Fujima faced Miyagi directly and passed the ball to Hanagata.
The flower shape leaps up to dunk.
Sakuragi jumped later than Hanagata, but his jump displayed amazing explosive power.
It looked like they were about to give Hanagata a good hot pot meal—
However, Hanagata managed to retrieve the ball and, after landing, quickly passed it to Nagano, who was running towards him.
Nagano received the ball and was about to jump when Rukawa Kaede quickly appeared in front of him.
Nagano tried to break through Rukawa's defense, but Rukawa's defense was very tight. Just as Nagano raised his hand and the ball bounced off the ground, Rukawa quickly released his shot—
Hasegawa's heart nearly stopped, and he could only force the ball to bounce to the other side.
In the blink of an eye, the palace was seized from the middle.
Miyagi had the ball, facing Shohoku's tight defense. He glanced at his teammates' positions out of the corner of his eye. Mitsui was being shut down and couldn't be counted on for a three-pointer.
Looking at Mitsui, he passed the ball to Rukawa on the left.
Rukawa dribbled to the basket and leaped up, while Hanagata jumped up powerfully, and the two faced off under the basket.
During the defensive play, Hanagata accidentally bumped into Rukawa.
But Rukawa, with his powerful shoulder and back strength and balance in the air, forcefully slammed the ball in!
"Bang!" A loud sound came from the ground.
Both of them fell to the ground.
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