As the match between Lingnan High School and Hainan came to an end, the first round of the round-robin tournament for the semi-finals of the county competition officially came to an end. There was a week between the second round of the round-robin competition and the first round, so the team members had sufficient training. Time to adjust the state and formulate corresponding tactics.
"Hey, Brother Martial Arts, tell me, why did a team like Hainan lose so easily?"
"That first grader is obviously very strong. I feel like he is stronger than the monkey boss and stronger than the gorilla."
"But even then, Hainan still lost so miserably."
"You said that basketball is a sport for five people, but... is it really a team sport?"
On the Xianghoku High School bus, Sakuragi Hanamichi sat next to Jinguji Budou, holding his chin with his hands, looking at the scenery flying out of the car window, and asked aloud.
Sakuragi Hanamichi watched the whole game between Hainan and Lingnan High School. Mori Shigehiro's terrifying talent surprised even an arrogant man like Sakuragi Hanamichi. At the same time, Sakuragi Hanamichi also recognized the strength of Morishigehiro, who was able to suppress the monkey boss Uozumi Jun throughout the whole process.
Sakuragi Hanamichi originally thought that a genius like Morishigehiro would be able to bring qualitative changes to Hainan's team, just like Sakuragi was able to bring qualitative changes to Shohoku High School. At least, that's what Sakuragi thought in his heart.
But what Sakuragi didn't expect was that even people like Mori Shigehiro would be unable to help Hainan defeat Lingnan. Even from the score point of view, the presence or absence of Mori Shigehiro basically has no impact on the final score of the two teams.
This couldn't help but make Sakuragi Hanamichi think a little. He suddenly felt that it was no longer important for a team to be united.
In the game, whether it is Lingnan or Hainan, star players occupy the vast majority of the ball.
Rather than saying that Hainan High School lost to Lingnan High School, it would be better to say that Mori Shigehiro and Maki Shinichi lost to Shinomiya Tanano.
Sakuragi Hanamichi, who has always been instilled in martial arts with the concept that "basketball is a sport for five people", questioned this concept for the first time.
"Hainan..."
"The hard power is not as good as that of Lingnan. This is in front of everyone."
"Basketball is, of course, a sport of five people. Only by combining the strength of five people can the team..."
Before Budo could finish speaking, Sakuragi Hanamichi interrupted directly:
"Really? Is it a sport for five people?"
"I'm afraid a person like Shinomiya Dono doesn't need too many teammates, right? As long as someone passes the ball to him, I'm afraid he can defeat Hainan by himself!"
"I...I don't want to just stand under the basket and grab rebounds and pick up free shots from my teammates."
"I want... to be a player like Shinomiya and you, who can single-handedly influence the entire game!"
Sakuragi Hanamichi's voice was a little higher. It was obvious that today's game had a great impact on Sakuragi Hanamichi. Sakuragi Hanamichi had personally experienced Morishigehiro's feeling of powerlessness when facing Ryonan.
No matter how hard he tried, he could not contain his opponent's scoring. No matter how hard he tried, he could not seize victory. Sakuragi didn't want to experience that feeling again.
"Use your own power to control the entire battle..."
"Hanamichi, you are very ambitious!"
After hearing this, Budao turned around and looked at Sakuragi Hanamichi in surprise.
In this case, if it comes from Rukawa Kaede's mouth, Martial Arts will not feel any surprise. But what Sakuragi Hanamichi said made him a little surprised.
From the beginning, Sakuragi Hanamichi's purpose of playing was not pure. He was simply trying to please Haruko. Even in today's game, Sakuragi Hanamichi did not show a pure competitive spirit.
What's on my mind more is probably the limelight.
But after the match between Hainan and Lingnan, Sakuragi Hanamichi seemed to have something in his mind. However, Martial Arts didn't know why this kid suddenly thought like this.
Although he didn't know why, Budo knew that Sakuragi Hanamichi's attitude towards basketball seemed to be changing.
"Why did you suddenly have this idea?"
"Aren't you playing just to attract Haruko's attention?"
"Slam dunks, rebounds, shots, layups, these weapons can all allow you to attract Haruko's attention."
"Isn't this enough?"
Wu Dao turned his head and looked out the window and answered casually. However, Budo's gaze was focused on Sakuragi Hanamichi's expression through the reflection of the car window glass.
"Uh..." Sakuragi didn't expect that martial arts would reveal his deepest thoughts like this. After a brief hesitation, Sakuragi continued:
"Before...I might have been like that."
"But now...I'm different."
Budao looked at Sakuragi Hanamichi's face through the car window. There was unprecedented seriousness and solemnity on that handsome face.
"Really……"
"If you want to become a player who can influence the situation of the game, the most important task is to correctly understand yourself and your opponent."
"Yingmu, why do you think Lingnan can crush Hainan? Do you just rely on Shinomiya Tano?"
Wu Dao turned around and asked.
"Isn't it? He penetrated Hainan's entire defense line by himself. Hainan's Mori Shigehiro has already dominated the inside line. If it weren't for Shinomiya Tano, Lingnan would have lost long ago."
"Doesn't this just show how important it is to have an offensive player like Shinomiya Nobunaga in the team?"
"Our Xiangbei... Our Xiangbei is not the same as Lingnan? If it weren't for scorers like you, Brother Martial Arts, our strength in Xiangbei would be far inferior to Lingnan, right?"
"I...if I had the same scoring ability, wouldn't I be able to influence the entire battle?!"
Sakuragi recalled the previous game between Hainan and Lingnan in his mind, and at the same time, he also recalled the game he had watched at Xiangbei High School. The more he thinks about it, the more Hanamichi Sakuragi feels about the significance of a scorer of Jinguji Budo’s caliber to the team. The desire to be a top scorer has also become stronger.
】
"The only reason why Lingnan was able to crush Hainan was because of Shinomiya's personal ability."
"In the game, Hanagata was solely against Kamizou Ichiro, Maki Shinichi was solely against Sento, and Fujima was solely against Miyazaki Yoshinomo. They are all indispensable figures for Lingnan."
"Even if you say he is not as good as Uozumi, Shigehiro Mori, he is still an important force on the defensive end."
"Although they didn't score many points, and their performance was far less impressive than Shinomiya's field, they are also important weights that Lingnan places on the scale of victory."
"There is no doubt that basketball is a sport for five people."
"Hanamichi, you don't understand Lingnan and your opponent."
After Wu Dao finished speaking, he paused for a while before continuing to ask:
"What do you think your characteristics, Sakuragi, are on the court?"
When Sakuragi Hanamichi heard this, he immediately raised his fingers: "I'm good at dribbling, sharp at passing, good at layups, good dunks, and good at shooting. Apart from not having a very good three-point ability, I He is an all-rounder!”
"Yeah! I am indeed a genius."
Sakuragi would raise a finger every time he said one of his "advantages". At the end of the sentence, he nodded heavily and praised himself.
Sakuragi's words also made martial arts full of black lines. He shook his head and laughed:
"You... know neither your enemy nor yourself."
Martial Arts thought that Sakuragi Hanamichi's answer just now was a fart, and after denying it, he continued: "Sakuragi, your scoring ability is not as strong as your defensive ability."
"If you don't have rebounds and you don't have the ability to defend, there's no chance you'll get a chance to play."
"For Xiangbei, your offensive ability is actually dispensable, but your defense and rebounding are indispensable and important strengths for us in Xiangbei."
"Sakuragi, your ability to play does not rely on your all-around scoring skills, but on your solid defense and rebounding."
"Every player on the court has his own characteristics that stand him on the court, and an excellent team can integrate the characteristics of all players in the team to form a new strength."
"Lingnan is a team that absorbs the characteristics of all the players in the team."
"It is impossible for any basketball team to rely on the personal strength of a certain player on the team to defeat Lingnan."
"Hainan loses because of its comprehensive strength!"
"Shinomiyano's personal ability is indeed top-notch, but the people who support Lingnan High School are the owners of the team."
"Our Shohoku High School! It's the same!"
Budo patted Sakuragi Hanamichi on the shoulder and explained to Sakuragi, trying to make Sakuragi Hanamichi understand the powerful nature of Lingnan. After hearing these words, Sakuragi Hanamichi also looked thoughtful, as if he was thinking about the composition of the Lingnan team in his mind, which confirmed what Budo said.
"Yes!" After a long time, Sakuragi Hanamichi nodded slightly, made a sound of approval in his mouth, and then said:
"Lingnan is indeed very good, but I also want to be a top scorer!"
Budao looked at Sakuragi Hanamichi's serious expression. It didn't look like he said these words on a whim. He pondered for a while and then said: "Sakuragi, basketball is a sport that requires talent."
"You have talent on defense and rebounding, but offensively, to be honest, I don't really see it."
"In other words, the offensive talent is not that outstanding."
"At the high school basketball level, the offensive skills you master are enough to support your game, but obviously, this offensive ability is not enough to make you a top scorer."
“It’s very important to work hard in the field that suits you!”
"Geniuses also have areas they are good at and areas they are not good at."
"Since you have this idea, I support you to do more practice in this area in private."
"As for whether your efforts can yield corresponding results, it depends on whether you have talent in this area."
"Players have their upper limit. I think you will eventually touch your upper limit!"
After Budo finished speaking, Sakuragi Hanamichi became quiet. Sakuragi Hanamichi needs to digest what Budo said. He doesn't know what level he can grow to in the future. But what Sakuragi Hanamichi knows is that his subsequent training will undergo huge changes.
…
There is a one-week gap between the first and second rounds of the semi-final round-robin.
The players of Xiangbei High School were not assigned to heavy training. Instead, they were engaged in some technical and tactical drills under the command of coach Anxi. This is an exercise specifically done by Coach Anxi for certain Hainan players.
In the second round of their Xiangbei High School competition, they had to face the Hainan University Affiliated High School led by Mu Shenyi and Mori Shigehiro.
Sakuragi Hanamichi is different from other Shohoku players. In addition to basic technical and tactical exercises, there are also heavy mid-range shooting exercises, as well as low-post offensive footwork exercises guided by Martial Arts Kai Xiaozao.
The low-post footsteps combined with Sakuragi's shooting make Sakuragi a more terrifying threat near the basket.
One week is enough for Sakuragi Hanamichi to master some practical steps around the basket.
Soon, the one-week gap period passed, and Shohoku High School faced its opponent in the second round, Hainan High School Affiliated to the Kanagawa Prefectural Gymnasium!
"Dongdongdong! Shobei! Dongdongdong! Shobei!"
In the stands, Shohoku supporters knocked on empty bottles and made loud noises to cheer for Shohoku. In the stadium, Mitsui Hisashi, Akagi Takenori, Miyagi Ryota, Jinguji Budo and Sakuragi Hanamichi walked towards the center of the stadium.
In today's game, Coach Anxi finally did not send out five more first-year players, but put all the veteran starters from Xiangbei on the court.
Except for Oishi Chiba at the power forward position who was replaced by Hanamichi Sakuragi, the others are all the core players in Shohoku.
"Coach Anxi is really a fool! He actually let the red-haired monkey play with the seniors."
"Don't think about it! This guy will definitely hold back the seniors."
"The coach should have sent me on the field, so that I, Nobunaga Kiyota, can properly assist the seniors on the left!"
"Ahhh! Damn it."
In the rest area of Shohoku, Nobunaga Kiyota gritted his teeth as he watched Sakuragihana, who was accompanying the team on the expedition, yelling angrily, but at this moment, no one paid attention to him.
In the stadium, Sakuragi Hanamichi, who came to the center circle with Budo and others, did not show any complacency on his face because he could start. On the contrary, Sakuragi's face was serious, without a trace of smile.
"Hanamichi, don't be nervous."
"Just like training, this game is a test for you!"
"The team will attack around you. Whenever you have a chance to face Takasago Kazuma alone under the basket, attack decisively."
"Even if Mori Shigekan makes up for the defense! Don't be afraid!"
"He is just a first-year student like you. If you can't break through his defense, then give up the idea of becoming the main attacker this year!"
Before the referee kicked off, Budo walked up to Sakuragi, put his arm around Sakuragi Hanamichi's shoulders and said in a deep voice. The two people's eyes glanced at Morishigehiro and Takasago Kazuma from time to time.
"Oh hiss!"
Sakuragi nodded heavily, his eyebrows full of solemnity. During this time, Sakuragi Hanamichi became more calm.
Budo patted Sakuragi on the shoulder, left his side, went to his position, and waited for the kick-off.
"Shobei...Jinguji Temple Martial Arts..."
"This person's threat is just as strong as Shinomiya's."
"In today's match, as long as we can control the performance of Jinguji's martial arts, we can win!"
"We in Hainan have already lost a game. Today, we must defeat Xiangbei to have a chance!"
The referee walked into the center circle and prepared to kick off the ball. Mu Shenyi stood in the backcourt and looked at Jinguji Budo in the center circle with a solemn expression. The Jinguji Martial Arts Master seemed to have sensed Mu Shenyi's gaze. When the ball was about to kick off, he actually had time to look at him and smiled at Mu Shenyi.
It's just that Wu Dao's smile didn't give Mu Shen the slightest warmth. Instead, it made his hair stand on end.
“Beep!
! "
With a whistle, the basketball was thrown into the air by the referee, and the second round of the round robin officially began!
…………………………
