Amid the referee's whistle, the players from Shohoku High School and Miuradai walked onto the court.
As the players from the two teams came on the stage, there was a deafening cheer from the stands, and then the cheers quickly died down.
The audience thought they would be able to witness the performance of Jinguji Martial Arts, one of the "Kanagawa Double Stars", in today's competition. Unexpectedly, Shohoku did not send Jinguji Martial Arts to the stage at all. Not only Jinguji Martial Arts, but also Jinguji Martial Arts. Even senior players such as Hisashi Mitsui and Takenori Akagi did not play.
Instead, there is a group of new faces.
"Shōhoku Jinguji Martial Arts didn't play? Did they send a group of substitutes to play?"
"Who are these people? I've never seen them before! Are they a first-year student at Shohoku High School?"
"Oh! I know that person, Rukawa Kaede, who was in the third grade of Takeishi Middle School! Unexpectedly, he actually went to Shohoku."
The audience in the stands were talking a lot. Some expressed dissatisfaction with Xiangbei's formation, while others were very interested in Xiangbei's newcomers.
Sakuragi Hanamichi, who walked into the stadium, listened to the discussions of the people around him and looked unhappy. However, this emotion did not last for a few seconds, and was dissipated by a soft "Come on! Sakuragi!"
"Hey hey hey~ Haruko~" Sakuragi Hanamichi looked in the direction of the sound, and happened to see Haruko in the front row of the stands, waving to him, and a crazy smile appeared on his face.
"idiot."
Rukawa Kaede glanced at Sakuragi Hanamichi who looked like a nymphomaniac with disgust, walked into the center circle and took his place. His eyes looked at the members of Miuradai.
Miuradai is a team that has a certain reputation in the high school basketball community in Kanagawa Prefecture. It is pretty good and can reach the top 16 every year. Occasionally, it can break through the top 16 and reach the quarterfinals.
But it has never reached the semi-final round robin.
In terms of team strength, it can be ranked fourth or third in Kanagawa Prefecture.
The height conditions of Miuradai's players this year are pretty good. The players are basically around 185cm tall. Even the defender is over 180cm tall. Such height conditions are also quite high in high school competitions in the prefecture. That's it.
Rukawa Kaede simply scanned the Miuradai players and silently completed their positions in the center circle.
"I finally have my first high school match!"
"Let the audience in Kanagawa see how awesome I am!"
"Oh...are you my opponent in this game?!"
Nango Koichiro stood on the center line slowly with his hands on his hips, looking down at Miuradai's center with disdain on his face.
The Miuradai center opposite Nango didn't speak. He just raised his head slightly and glanced at Nango, with a smile of unknown meaning on his face.
As the players from both teams settled in the center circle, the referee walked into the court with the basketball.
"Beep!"
After a whistle, the basketball was thrown into the air.
"Eula~~"
The basketball went into the air. Nango Koichiro seized the opportunity, jumped up with a strange scream, and easily moved the ball to the backcourt. Kiyota Nobunaga firmly grasped the ball in his hands and shouted excitedly:
"Quick attack!"
As Kiyota Nobunaga finished speaking, the Shohoku team members started running. However, Miuradai's speed in returning to defense was pretty good. When everyone in Shohoku entered the frontcourt, they also quickly returned to position, leaving no chance for Shohoku to make a surprise attack.
Seeing that the fast break failed, Qingtian also slowed down the pace of advancement and began to adjust his rhythm and prepare to take position.
"The speed of returning to defense is pretty good."
"There was no chance for a fast break."
Kiyota Nobunaga whistled, his tone was frivolous, and he didn't take the Miuradai players seriously at all. After briefly observing Miuradai's defensive formation, I planned to break out alone first and try out the quality of Miuradai's point guard.
Miuradai uses man-to-man tactics. Since Sakuragi, Nango, and Oda Ryumasa are all positioned closer to the inside, the defensive force near the paint area is quite strong.
Kiyota Nobunaga was obviously aware of this. He slowly took the ball and led the defenders along the three-point arc to the left corner (45° direction).
After a quick glance at the attack time, Kiyota Nobunaga suddenly changed his rhythm, dropped his center of gravity, and broke through directly. The Miuradai point guard, who maintained a high center of gravity to pursue defense, obviously did not expect Kiyota's breakthrough to be so sudden and so fast. Without checking for a moment, Kiyota Nobunaga slipped past him.
"So weak..." Nobunaga Kiyota passed through the opponent easily. Even after passing the opponent, he looked back at the opponent, traveled to the middle distance, and threw directly.
A shot without any pressure, Nobunaga Kiyota's floater hit the basket steadily.
Shohoku High School successfully completed the first attack and quickly retreated on defense. The performance of Kiyota Nobunaga also attracted a burst of cheers from the audience.
It's not that Kiyota Nobunaga's goal was so exciting, it was just because most of the audience supported Shohoku High School. They were not stingy with their applause for Xiangbei.
"It's off to a good start."
Off the court, Hisashi Mitsui saw his teammates scoring first, looked at Kiyota and said with a smile.
"Well, that's a good start."
"But if you get carried away, you will suffer."
Wu Dao also smiled when he heard this, stretched and said casually.
After Mitsui Hisashi heard this, he nodded slightly and looked at the court expectantly, wanting to see how the first-year players in his team would play.
The strength of Miuradai's team is indeed below average, but...
On the court, offense and defense switch.
Miuradai, who missed a goal, quickly brought the ball into the frontcourt. Using a pick-and-roll, Miuradai covered the defender to break through.
】
Originally, a pick-and-roll of this level could not stop Nobunaga Kiyota, who was well prepared, but the No. 4 who was doing the pick-and-roll made a subtle and active sideways move during the pick-and-roll, tripping Nobunaga Kiyota. Although Kiyota Nobunaga relied on his excellent coordination to stand firm without falling, the pursuit speed also slowed down.
The Miuradai defender successfully broke through and shot from mid-range, and the basketball fell out of the frame.
"Hahaha!
The rebound is mine! "
Nango Koichiro shouted excitedly when he saw the rebound appeared, easily occupying the optimal landing point. Just as he was about to take off and collect the ball in his arms, Miuradai's center hit Nango Koichi with a concealed elbow. Ichiro's abdomen. Nanxiang, who was holding his breath and accumulating strength, was in pain and his movements stagnated. The dropped basketball was gently tapped by Miuradai's center and put into the basket.
"That...that bastard!
"
It was not the first day for Nango Koichiro to play. When he noticed the opponent's little move, the smile on his face instantly faded, and he glared at the leaving Miuradai players with an angry look on his face.
He didn't argue with the referee. After all, he was not a rookie, and he also played the center position where physical confrontation was the most intense. Although this kind of thing didn't happen often, it was not unheard of.
He just didn't expect to meet such a player in the first game of the high school county competition.
Unlike the hidden elbow on Nanxiang's side, Qingtian didn't notice the opponent's pick-and-roll problem just now, and just thought it was an accidental trip.
"Hey, red-haired monkey, and that Xiaotian, that center's hands and feet are dirty, please be careful."
Nango suffered a loss himself and reminded Sakuragi Hanamichi and Oda Ryumasa that both of them can be considered inside players and will inevitably come into contact with Miuradai's center.
Although Sakuragi Hanamichi, a rookie, has a lot of skills, he has never met such a person during the team's practice matches. He couldn't understand what Nango said about "dirty hands and feet" and looked at a loss.
"My hands and feet are not clean..."
"Are those guys so unhygienic?"
Sakuragi Hanamichi narrowed his eyes in disgust. He is a good young man who is very hygienic. He has to take care of his hair for half an hour before going out. He hates people who are not hygienic the most!
Kiyota Nobunaga looked at Sakuragi speechlessly. He came to catch the ball and heard Nango's words. However, he didn't mean to explain it to Sakuragi. Sakuragi wouldn't have an intuitive feeling about this kind of thing just by listening to it. He would know it later when he encountered it.
At the same time, Qingtian himself also kept an eye on it. After receiving Nanxiang's serve, his advancement speed also increased.
"Your hands and feet are not clean...then speed up!"
Nobunaga Kiyota thought to himself and shouted to the team members: "Speed up! Play fast break!"
Under the leadership of Kiyota Nobunaga, Shohoku High School began to speed up. Although Sakuragi was stupid and didn't know what was happening, his running speed also increased.
In the blink of an eye, everyone in Shohoku pushed into the frontcourt. The first-year team without Katsumi Ichiro did not play a triangle offense. Nobunaga Kiyota had no intention of playing tactically. After entering the frontcourt, he directly broke out, attacked the opponent's point guard alone, and then took a mid-range shot.
Kiyota Nobunaga's shooting percentage while running was average. The basketball circled around the basket and still fell outward. However, the ball had just left the basket and was directly dunked into the net by Sakuragi Hanamichi who rushed into the basket.
Under the basket, Miuradai center used his old trick of hiding his elbow. He originally thought that the rebound was guaranteed. Unexpectedly, Sakuragi Hanamichi came out at this time, and was directly ridden by Sakuragi to complete the dunk.
"Haha! The first goal of the high school competition!"
"I am the genius Sakuragi Hanamichi, remember everything!
"
Sakuragi, who scored a slam dunk, roared happily and introduced himself, completely unaware that the Miuradai center's face was so gloomy that it could drip water.
Sakuragi's tip-in dunk was indeed beautiful. While the audience cheered, they also remembered the red-haired young man from Shohoku High School.
"Hanachi Sakuragi... Shohoku High School also has an outstanding first grade!"
In the corner of the stands, Hainan's head coach unfolded a folding fan in his hand, looked at Sakuragi on the court, and chuckled.
"It looks pretty good, but... it's still not as good as our Hainan first graders!"
Mu Shenyi sat next to Coach Gao Tou and watched the game. As he spoke, he turned his head and looked at the players sitting next to him with a satisfied look on his face.
Sitting next to Mu Shenyi is a freshman who joined Hainan High School this year. Coach Gao Tou went through a lot of trouble to recruit him to Hainan.
Shigehiro Mori.
A native of Aichi Prefecture, first year of high school.
16 years old, height 199cm, weight 100kg, wingspan 218cm.
The standing reach is 259cm and the running reach is 363cm.
A young man with talent written all over his body.
"Hehehe, Hiro, Shohoku High School is one of the best teams in Kanagawa Prefecture."
"We Hainan only have two opponents in the county, and Xiangbei is one of them."
"It's a pity that their main players did not play in today's game. Originally, you could see how the top scorers in the country play."
"But it doesn't matter, you will always encounter it, and I believe that as long as you and Amu work together, our Hainan will definitely avenge its shame this year!"
"huh huh huh huh!
"
Coach Gao Tou said, with a smile on his face, and his smile became more and more unrestrained.
As Coach Gao Tou communicated with the players, the competition on the court became more and more intense.
But the fierceness mentioned here does not mean that the two teams have similar scores and the game is fierce. Rather, it means that the actions of the players from both teams have become more and more "intense."
Although Miuradai's players are average and have big defensive holes, they make a lot of small moves when playing. As for Sakuragi Hanamichi and the others, they were all young players. It was impossible for Sakuragi to endure such a violent temper, so he directly started playing tit for tat and eye for eye.
It's just that this kid has little experience, and his movements are very large. No, in just a few minutes, Sakuragi has already committed two fouls. Fortunately, the referee did not call him a flagrant foul, otherwise Sakuragi would have been cleared long ago.
Not only Hanamichi Sakuragi, but also Nango Koichiro and Kiyota Nobunaga had their characters revealed by their opponents, and their anger was also aroused, and they each committed a foul.
Oda Ryumasa, who has a relatively calm personality, has not become Miuradai's target. Rukawa Kaede, who has a cold personality, is not provoked at all, and the opponent's small actions have little impact on him.
When Rukawa Kaede wanted to attack, his opponent simply couldn't keep up with his rhythm. Let alone making small moves against him, it was difficult to even touch him. After all, Miuradai is not a blatant criminal.
But even so, Shohoku's offensive efficiency has declined to some extent. Sakuragi, Nango, and Kiyota were affected and were unable to concentrate on the game. All the offensive pressure fell on Rukawa Kaede alone.
And because of this, Rukawa Kaede performed amazingly in this game.
At 16 minutes into the game, the score between the two teams reached 43:29. Shohoku High School had the ball, and Rukawa Kaede received the ball sideways from the right corner.
As the basketball entered Rukawa Kaede's hands, amazing cheers erupted from the surrounding stands.
Surrounded by cheers, Rukawa Kaede's expression remained unchanged. He took a few steps and quickly swept the ball to face the basket. At the same time, he feinted with the ball, creating a triple threat. The Miuradai players who defended Rukawa Kaede reacted violently to every move Rukawa Kaede made.
Rukawa Kaede simply feinted with the ball, and his opponent slid ahead to block the path. Rukawa Kaede was deceived by Rukawa Kaede, leaving a wide advance route.
Rukawa Kaede took the ball without any hesitation. He dropped the ball with his left hand and broke through directly. He traveled to the mid-range and made a jump shot.
His free and elegant shooting movements, handsome and upright face and figure instantly attracted even more enthusiastic cheers from the female audience in the stands.
"Uh-huh!"
The basketball went hollow into the net, and Rukawa Kaede scored his 24th point.
Miuradai's style of play had a great impact on Sakuragi Hanamichi and the others, but it had no impact on Rukawa Kaede. On the contrary, it made Rukawa Kaede's desire to attack even stronger.
"This kid Rukawa Kaede is doing quite well!"
"After today's game, I'm afraid the number of fans will increase several times!"
Mitsui Hisashi looked at a corner of the stands and said with some emotion. There, there were three girls in "gorgeous" clothes, screaming Rukawa Kaede's name. Next to the three girls, a flag with "Rukawa Ming" written on it was flying without any wind, and no one knew what magic was exerted on it.
Although Mitsui Hisashi is well-informed, this is the first time he has seen such a "professional" cheerleading team.
"You're a cold-faced scorer. It's normal to have many fans."
"He's handsome and plays well. Like me, it's normal for him to be the center of attention."
Budo said with a smile, completely ignoring Mitsui Shou's eyes. At this point in the game, the suspense has actually been lost. It is impossible for a school of Miuradai's caliber to stop Rukawa Kaede with full firepower.
But... it's not enough just for Rukawa Kaede to perform well.
...
"Damn it...damn it!
! "
"That stinky fox actually stole my spotlight!
! "
"These bastards from Miuradai... how dare you underestimate this genius!"
"Can't forgive! Can't forgive these bastards!"
"I'm going to kill you! Bastard!"
Listening to the cheers of the surrounding audience, Sakuragi Hana's handsome face turned red. Seeing the Miuradai player who was opposite him coming to him, his eyes were already a little red. He was obviously a young athlete, but at this time he was Exuding majestic murderous aura~
.....................................
