"The strength is pretty good, almost the same as when I was in middle school."
Shinomiya was obviously interested in Sakuragi Hanamichi. Although he had beaten Sakuragi Hanamichi in the block just now, such a block had already made Shinomiya use his full strength. Ever since he entered high school, Sakuragi Hanamichi was the first opponent who required him to use all his strength to block a shot. Such a person has never appeared even in the National Youth Team.
Sakuragi Hanamichi's ability in some aspects is already at the top level in the country!
"In time, this red-haired boy will definitely become one of our Lingnan High School's most powerful opponents!"
"In the future, Lingnan will probably have a hard time stopping this kid."
"But that will have to be after I leave Lingnan!"
Shinomiya Tōno secretly thought, at the same time, Sendō and Fujima Kenji had crossed the center line and ran towards the frontcourt with all their strength. On the Shohoku side, Katsumi Ichiro, Rukawa Kaede and Kiyota Nobunaga were all running back on their way to defense. Shinomiya looked towards the frontcourt and threw the ball away.
Shinomiya's passing force was surprisingly strong. In the blink of an eye, the basketball caught up with Sendō and others from behind and landed in front of Sendō.
Xiandao grabbed the ball in his hand and accelerated toward the basket. At the same time, Rukawa Kaede had already chased him. He did not take the initiative to steal it, but followed Xiandao closely and applied pressure.
As Sendao crossed the three-point line, he suddenly slowed down while holding the ball. At the moment of joining the ball, he took long steps from left to right while holding the ball with both hands and swinging his arms greatly.
Sendō's weird rushing rhythm suddenly crossed Rukawa Kaede's defense, easily invaded the basket, and sent the ball into the basket with a backhand layup.
Xiandao, who scored the goal, smiled at Rukawa Kaede and then quickly returned to defense.
"..." Rukawa Kaede looked at Xiandao's leaving figure and breathed a sigh of relief. He walked to the basket and grabbed the ball hard in his hands, seeming to vent his frustration.
When Kiyota returned to the court, Rukawa Kaede gave the ball away, and then quickly ran towards the frontcourt without saying a word.
Kiyota Nobunaga, who caught the ball, could clearly feel that the aura around him had changed a lot as Rukawa Kaede passed by him. He could feel that Rukawa Kaede's concentration on the game had become even higher.
"The genius of Lingnan High School... puts a lot of pressure on Rukawa Kaede!"
Nobunaga Kiyota sighed secretly in his heart and expressed his understanding that his teammates would be in such a state.
This is not the first day that he and Rukawa Kaede have been teammates. He has had a lot of contact with Rukawa Kaede since he came to Shohoku for training in the third year of junior high school. Although Kiyota Nobunaga said he was dissatisfied with Rukawa Kaede's strength, Kiyota Nobunaga I know that Rukawa Kaede is better than me!
Not just myself, but looking at the entire Shohoku High School, there may be only one player who can stabilize Rukawa Kaede.
Kiyota Nobunaga has never seen a bullfight between Rukawa Kaede and captain Mitsui Hisashi, but on the court, these two people are at best attacking each other on the offensive end. Maybe Mitsui Hisashi is better in terms of scoring ability, but that's It is based on the situation where Hisashi Mitsui has the assistance of his teammates.
If it is a single defense, Rukawa Kaede can more or less limit Mitsui Hisashi's attacks, but conversely, Mitsui Hisashi alone can hardly limit Rukawa Kaede's attacks.
But in today's game, from the beginning to now, Rukawa Kaede has not been able to successfully restrict Xiandao even once. Although Lingnan High School's possession of the ball is in Shinomiya's hands most of the time, every time Sendō had an opportunity to attack, he was able to seize it without even a single mistake.
"This year's Lingnan High School is even more terrifying than before."
"Shinomiya's playing style is becoming more and more mature, and his ability in stand-up singles. Looking at the whole country, no one can compete with him."
"If there is only one Sigong Tianyang in Lingnan, this team will be difficult to deal with at best."
"But when Shindo also surrounds Shinomiya, this team becomes extremely scary."
"Even with teammates who are below three levels, this team is not something that first-year players can handle."
"Don't say that Rukawa Kaede and the others can't restrain Shinomiya Tano's offensive. Even if they can restrain Shinomiya Tano, I'm afraid they won't have enough energy to control Xiandao and the others..."
Jinguji Martial Arts watched the competition on the court, sighed softly, and shook his head.
This year's Lingnan was very strong, which martial arts had already expected, but he didn't expect that this year's Lingnan was already so strong.
To be honest, just looking at Shinomiya's ability from the sidelines, Budo is not sure that he can stop the opponent.
On the court, offense and defense switch.
Nobunaga Kiyota, who was holding the ball, faced Tomoyuki Uekusa's defense and chose to break through on his own.
Compared to the experienced and agile Kenji Fujima, Tomoyuki Uekusa is undoubtedly much easier to deal with.
Kiyota Nobunaga made a sudden stop and started, easily getting rid of the opponent's defense and cutting into the basket.
However, when he was just approaching the free throw line, Shinomiya, who was guarding the inside, actually stepped forward and looked at Kiyota Nobunaga with a smile, waiting for Kiyota Nobunaga's next move.
Facing Ryonan High School's No. 1 ace Shinomiya who easily blocked Sakuragi Hanamichi, Kiyota was obviously fearful and did not choose to force a layup. Instead, he passed the ball to the side and also cooperated with the cut. Rukawa Kaede on the inside.
However, Nobunaga Kiyota had just delivered the ball. Shinomiya Tano on the opposite side seemed to have expected it, and he flashed towards Rukawa Kaede.
Rukawa Kaede, who was catching the ball, saw the rushing Shinomiya Tōno, and raised his head slightly to look at the basket. His action instantly alerted the pursuing Sendō, who reached out to cover Rukawa Kaede's sight while pursuing. , driving Rukawa Kaede towards the defense area where Shinomiya Tano is located.
"Double-teamed!"
Seeing this, Mitsui Shou clenched his fists and let out a low cry.
Rukawa Kaede on the court was obviously aware of his situation, and decisively passed the ball back to Katsumi Ichiro outside the three-point line. At this time, Katsumi Ichiro was just in the open space, and Lingnan's Fukuda Yoshio was facing towards him at this time. Rukawa Kaede ran over, looking out of sorts, and created a huge defensive gap.
"good chance!"
Mitsui Hisashi's eyes lit up, and as soon as he finished speaking, the sound of a basketball hollowly hitting the net came from the court.
"Beautiful!" Mitsui Hisashi clapped happily when he saw his teammates succeed in attacking. Under his leadership, the Xiangbei rest area also let out a burst of cheers.
"Don't care, don't care!"
"Well defended, we returned a goal!"
Aida Hikoichi, who was watching the game off the field, loudly comforted the players on the field, and his mentality was very good.
However, Coach Tianoka in front of him didn't look so pretty.
"Three-pointers... This freshman from Shohoku High School shoots very beautifully."
"Seeing him, I seem to see Mitsui Hisashi back then."
"Although this kid Fukuda Yoshihao's performance on the offensive end is remarkable, this kid is really not good at defense..."
"The firepower of this team in Xiangbei is quite strong!"
Coach Tian Gang looked at it for a long time and couldn't help but sigh. Then he turned to look at the first-year players in his dugout and couldn't help but shake his head secretly.
Unlike Xiangbei High School, which is full of talents this year, there are no outstanding first-year players among the first-year players from Lingnan High School who joined the team this year. Coach Tian Gang thought that relying on their reputation as the national hegemon of Lingnan High School, they would be able to attract many junior high school players to join.
】
However, he was really not satisfied with the quality of this year's freshmen. At first, Coach Taoka thought that there were no outstanding players in this year's freshmen class. But seeing the team from Shohoku playing today, Coach Taoka immediately gave up such thoughts.
Among the first-year players in Shohoku, he only knew Rukawa Kaede, and he didn't know any of the other team members.
Coach Taoka doesn’t know where Coach Anzai recruited these players. Each of them has pretty good skills and each has its own characteristics. Although the red-haired one is average, his talent is really It is visible to the naked eye.
If the opponent who was preparing for a slam dunk was someone else other than Shinomiya, I am afraid that the opponent would have succeeded.
Coach Taoka only feels that this year’s outstanding high school freshmen from Kanagawa Prefecture seem to have been taken away by Shohoku.
...
As the game progressed, the hidden dangers of Lingnan High School hidden under Shinomiya's strength began to be slowly exposed.
Although the second-year Tomoyuki Uekusa is stable in ball control and active in defense, and his physical fitness is extremely abundant due to Lingnan's long-term training, his talent is limited in the end. His speed and explosive power are a bit lower than Kiyota Nobunaga. When facing Kiyota Nobunaga, Kiyota often completes single attacks.
Fortunately, Qingtian's mid-range shooting ability was average, and Lingnan's inside line was assisted by Shinomiya Takashi, so Lingnan's defense was not completely penetrated.
But even so, Lingnan suffered a huge blow. Shinomiya Tanashi had to replant the hole in the grass, which resulted in Nango Koichiro on the inside getting a one-on-one opportunity with Guanhei. Even though Nanxiang was suppressed by Uozumi before, after facing Guan Ping, this guy can be regarded as a duck in water, and he can fight easily.
After playing, Hanamichi Sakuragi repeatedly failed in attack, but he helped Shohoku a lot in controlling rebounds. Many times Rukawa Kaede missed a strong attack, and it was because of Sakuragi's rebound that Shohoku had a second chance to attack.
As Fukuda Yoshio's playing time increased, his defensive problems gradually came to light, and Katsumi Ichiro also had the opportunity to fire from the outside.
Although Lingnan High School was able to maintain their advantage by relying on Shinomiya's unstoppable offense, from a situation perspective, Shohoku's side was completely stable.
This is completely different from the "candle in the wind" state at the beginning of the first half.
At the end of the first half, Lingnan High School led Shohoku High School by 19 points, 52:33. Shinomiya Tanoh scored 40 points in one half.
The gap between the two teams is very big, but Coach Anxi feels that it is quite good for the first graders to be able to compete with Lingnan like this.
In terms of point difference alone, in the second half of the first half, after Hanamichi Sakuragi came on and Lingnan made substitutions, the point difference between the two teams did not widen further, which was a good job.
As the midfield timeout whistle sounded, all the players from Xiangbei also returned to the rest area.
"Haha, well done. You all played well. Take a rest quickly."
Sakuragi Hanamichi and the others exited the field. Kimugure Konobu smiled and handed towels and water to the first-year team members, while praising the team members' performance. As a third-year senior, he had no airs at all.
But the faces of the first-year students who had just returned were all very unhappy.
Obviously, these strong young people are quite dissatisfied with the results achieved by their team.
Being 19 points behind, neither Rukawa Kaede, Kiyota Nobunaga nor Sakuragi, Nango, Katsumi Ichiro, the outstanding players of the junior high school era, have ever experienced such a situation.
Shinomiya Tano, who scored 40 points in the half, showed terrifying strength beyond their imagination, allowing these young players to see the peak of high school basketball.
"The first half is over. The players who just came on the field should have a good rest."
"Next, let's take a look at the strength of your seniors."
Not long after Sakuragi Hanamichi and others sat down, Coach Anzai stood up and said to the players:
"Mitsui, Akagi, Chiba, Miyagi and... Budo."
"You can take advantage of the intermission to warm up."
Coach Anxi glanced at Jinguji Budo and the others, pushed up his glasses, and said with a smile.
After receiving the instruction, Jinguji Budo and others stood up from their seats, took off their coats, and began to change their jerseys in preparation for warming up.
Budo had already changed his jersey in the second half of the first half. At this time, he stood up from his seat, did a simple stretch on the spot, and said to Sakuragi and Rukawa Kaede:
"There's no need to be so frustrated. You're still young and there's plenty of room for improvement."
"Look at our match against Lingnan. I hope you can gain something."
"Let's go, start warming up."
After Wu Dao said a few simple words of relief, he waved to his teammates, then picked up a basketball from the sidelines and walked into the court first.
"Oh! Look, the first few from Xiangbei are entering!"
"Have you started warming up?"
"That Jinguji Martial Arts... I haven't seen him for a few months, and he's grown so much! I couldn't see it clearly while sitting before, but now he's standing under the basket, and it's so obvious!"
"Looks like he's as tall as Uozumi-senpai. Did he switch to center this year?"
As Jinguji Budo and others entered, the rest area of Lingnan also started to buzz with discussions. The second and third graders from Lingnan High School were all familiar with the players from Shohoku and had played against each other before. Now seeing Budo They came in to warm up and looked curiously towards the field.
"The real masters are here!"
"Uozumi, Hanagata, Fujima, do some simple stretching and don't let your body get cold."
"These guys are different than the first years before."
"Those guys before can only be regarded as appetizers. These are the powerful enemies you will face this year. Keep your spirits up!"
Coach Taoka's eyes lit up when he saw the people from Shohoku entering. His eyes stayed on Jinguji Budo for a long time, then he turned his head and said to Uozumi and the others.
Under the instructions of coach Taoka, Fujima, Hanagata and others began to do simple stretching to maintain their physical condition.
In the court, Jinguji Budo casually shot a three-pointer, turned his head and looked at Shinomiya Tano and others off the court, and thought to himself:
"Lingnan..."
"I will fight you seriously!"
............................
