Sakuragi Hanamichi's "Emperor" step layup naturally received the referee's whistle, and his goal was also declared invalid.
Kiyota Nobunaga, who originally had high hopes for Sakuragi Hanamichi, hugged his head in annoyance and wailed regretfully:
"Ah! I actually believe that idiot again! I am really a big idiot!"
"Red-haired monkey, play hard for me! You idiot."
Kiyota Nobunaga spoke fluently when he cursed, and his angry look not only did not make Sakuragi feel ashamed, but instead he stiffened his neck and replied:
"Idiot, just pass the ball to this genius."
"I have mastered the offensive skills, now it's time for this genius to perform!"
Sakuragi Hanamichi was not a person who would easily admit that he was "not good" at all. Kiyota Nobunaga's sarcasm had no other effect besides making Sakuragi more motivated to fight.
While the two were chatting and joking, Lingnan had already kicked off and pushed back.
Fujima felt that this was a good opportunity to counterattack, so he advanced very quickly. Sendō, Fukuda and others on the Lingnan side also hurriedly followed Fujima's footsteps and rushed towards the Shohoku half.
"Damn Lingnan, you actually attacked me secretly!"
Sakuragi Hanamichi and Kiyota Nobunaga didn't realize that the other party had started to fight back until everyone in Lingnan crossed the center line. They cursed in unison and hurriedly chased Fujima and others.
But by the time they discovered it, it was already a little too late. Lingnan was 3 on 3 in the frontcourt, and only Rukawa Kaede and Katsumi Ichiro were the only ones on the Shohoku side to defend in time. Although Nango had already returned to the court, he tried to force a timeout. Fujima was advancing quickly with the ball, but Fujima passed through his crotch.
Fujima and Sendō, who broke into the three-point line, quickly passed the ball to each other. Rukawa Kaede, who had completed his position, couldn't tell who was going to attack for a while. But when the two approached the basket, Sendō was holding the ball. It was a fake throw and a real pass, which was given to Fukuda Yoshio who came up after an air cut, and Fukuda Yoshio completed the score with a one-handed dunk.
Katsumi Ichiro, who also returned to defense in time, tried to block him, but Yoshio Fukuda's bounce was much stronger than him, and he couldn't stop Fukuda's attack at the basket.
The scoreboard jumped. The small score advantage that Xiangbei High School had just occupied was immediately beaten back by Lingnan High School.
"This kid Sakuragi, there are so many variables when playing ball."
"I thought he had already entered the state, but now it seems that he is still too easily influenced."
"Perhaps this kid's biggest weakness is his out-of-character personality."
Mitsui Hisashi looked at Sakuragi Hanamichi in the field and couldn't help but sigh.
He also saw the growth of Sakuragi Hanamichi. Sakuragi Hanamichi made some attempts on the offensive end, and Hisashi Mitsui also recognized this. But when Kiyota Nobunaga shouted, Sakuragi Hanamichi's concentration obviously dropped a lot.
Player concentration is actually very important when playing a game. A person with 9 points of strength can display 10 points of strength when focused. In the same way, if his own strength is only 7 points, or even 6 points, when his attention is not on the game, the strength he can display may only be 4 points, 3 points, or even lower.
There is an upper limit, but a lower limit...
"It is indeed Sakuragi's biggest problem right now."
"However, Sakuragi's floating upper and lower limits are not only a headache for us in Xiangbei, but also for our opponents."
After hearing Mitsui Shou's words, Budo nodded, but his eyes looked towards the Lingnan half.
There, Shinomiya Tanano, who had already stood up to start the game again, was pulled back to his seat by Coach Taoka.
Despite Sakuragi Hanamichi's performance, coach Taoka originally thought that the game situation had evolved into an uncontrollable state. However, after Sakuragi Hanamichi's shocking operation, Coach Taoka felt that the situation of the game seemed far from that level. It would actually be a good thing to give the players more time to practice.
No, didn't Fukuda Yoshio, who was originally unable to guard Sakuragi Hanamichi, find the secret to defending Sakuragi Hanamichi?
To increase your ability, you have to play games!
After Sakuragi's two mistakes, Kiyota Nobunaga really gave up on Sakuragi Hanamichi. When he reorganized the attack, Kiyota Nobunaga called a pick-and-roll himself, and under the cover of Katsumi Ichiro, he rushed forward with the ball. After Lingnan High School completed the change of defense, Nobunaga Kiyota passed the ball back to Katsumi Ichiro on the outside.
After taking the ball, Katsumi Ichiro faked a shot, moved the ball sideways, faced the defense, and shot directly.
"Dang~" Katsumi Ichiro's shooting was affected by the defensive players, and the three-pointer crashed directly out of the basket.
But this time, Jun Uozumi, who had been on guard for a long time, directly blocked Nango Koichiro behind him, occupying the best position for basketball.
"Hmph! The rebound is mine!" Uozumi watched the basketball fall, roared, jumped up and grabbed the basketball.
However, at this moment, Sakuragi Hanamichi's figure suddenly ran in front of Uozumi. Although he was half a beat behind Uozumi, Sakuragi Hanamichi, who was also rising, was on top of the latter, and the height of his fingertips was easy. He surpassed Yuzhu and took the lead in clicking under the basketball.
"Wa~" there was a soft sound, and the basketball's trajectory changed and it flew towards the basket.
"Shua~"
As the basketball enters the net, the net is gently lifted.
Sakuragi Hanamichi, who fell back to the ground, seemed to have jumped too hard and landed a little unstable. After stumbling, Sakuragi stood firm, pointed at Kiyota Nobunaga, and shouted with a loud smile:
"How is it?! Have you seen the strength of this genius?"
"Don't continue to pass the ball to this genius!"
Sakuragi Hanamichi completely ignored the gloomy Uozumi Jun and was immersed in the joy of scoring.
And his tip-in indeed made the Shohoku supporters who were watching the game happy. However, after watching the game for so long, the audience also knew Sakuragi Hanamichi's out-of-the-box character, and some audience members immediately shouted :
】
"Hey, red-haired boy, don't get carried away!"
"Lingnan is coming!"
The audience in the stands love and feel helpless towards a player with Sakuragi Hanamichi's personality.
Sakuragi's talent is so outstanding that even a blind person can see. Moreover, Sakuragi Hanamichi is a player from Shohoku High School. He was able to get sufficient playing time as a freshman at such a powerful institution. The audience knew what this meant.
They don't want their favorite Shohoku High School to be just a flash in the pan, and these Shohoku supporters are encouraged by the activity of the new generation of players.
But Sakuragi Hanamichi's character is really helpless. When he is not bragging, Sakuragi is "good". When he is bragging, Sakuragi only has one "mistake".
"Asshole, you're so long-winded!"
"Of course this genius knows!"
Sakuragi Hanamichi naturally communicated with the unknown audience, and his familiar character made the audience member who just shouted also laugh.
Sakuragi had just scored a goal, and Lingnan couldn't have reacted. As Lingnan High School's offense spread again, Shohoku High School's defense was once again breached.
In the second half of the game, these first-year students from Shohoku High School relied on Sakuragi Hanamichi's rebounding strength and the cooperation of Rukawa Kaede, Kiyota, Katsumi Ichiro and Nango to finally hold on to the score.
Sendō, Fujima, Uozumi, Fukuda and others opened fire and scored, but there was still no way to completely open up the score. The point difference between the two teams remained between 1 and 4 points.
Occasionally, Shohoku was able to complete the lead through Katsumi Ichiro's three-pointer.
Yoshihao Fukuda, a defensive shortcoming, single-handedly brought the defense of Ryonan High School to the same level as Shohoku.
The second half of the game lasted 13 minutes.
As the game progressed, the physical fitness of Lingnan's players dropped significantly, and Lingnan's offensive rhythm began to slow down.
But looking at the people at Shohoku High School, all of them are full of energy. Except for Rukawa Kaede who showed fatigue, the other players are in good condition.
Kiyota Nobunaga noticed Rukawa Kaede's fatigue and completely slowed down the offensive pace of Shohoku.
The frequency of offensive and defensive transitions between the two teams began to decrease. At the same time, as fatigue deepened, Lingnan's offensive firepower inevitably began to decline.
In order to avoid a sharp decline in the success rate, the Lingnan players on the field invariably reduced the offensive method of mid-range shooting and began to use a large number of breakthroughs to complete the scoring.
On the Xiangbei side, Rukawa Kaede's breakthroughs were no longer as sharp as they were at the beginning. He was double-teamed by Ikegami and others on several breakthroughs, but was successfully defended by Lingnan.
In order to quickly make up for the point difference, Katsumi Ichiro also tried to use three-pointers to restore Shohoku's disadvantage, but the result of the anxious shot was not ideal.
Fortunately, Sakuragi Hanamichi's rebounding performance was still stable, and he defended Shohoku several rebounds to prevent the opponent from opening up the score too much.
But when the game lasted 17 minutes, the score between Xiangbei High School and Lingnan High School finally reached 88:96, trailing Lingnan High School by 8 points.
At this time, coach Anzai still did not put Jinguji Budo, Hisashi Mitsui and Takenori Akagi back on the court.
Looking at the game situation on the field, Wu Dao shook his head and lost confidence in victory.
Shohoku's first-year students were very strong, and they still did not fall behind against Ryonan High School led by Sendō, Fujima, and Uozumi. Up to this point, the point difference was still in single digits.
You know, those leading the team on the opposite side are all famous players in the country. Although Shinomiya and Hanagata did not play, it is still possible for Lingnan High School to win even against a veteran king like Shanghai Nan. victory.
It is quite difficult for Xiangbei to rely on these first-year players to fight against Lingnan like this.
On the other side of the court, Coach Taoka looked at the 8-point difference and the time passing by. After stopping the ball, he called a timeout and replaced Yoshio Fukuda with Shinomiya Tanoh. Planning to give Shohoku High School a fatal blow.
As for Shohoku, coach Anxi still has no plans to make substitutions and keeps the first-year lineup unchanged.
At this time, Mitsui Hisashi finally couldn't bear it any longer and asked Coach Anzai:
"Coach, the point difference between us and Lingnan is already 8 points. Even for the first-year students, if the game reaches this level, it should be enough, right?"
"8 points, there are still three minutes left. Jinguji Budo and I will come on the field. The outcome of our battle with Lingnan is still uncertain!"
"Why do we have to give up victory?! Obviously, I can compete in the national competition as the first place in the county competition!"
"The number of seeds is also very important! In this way, we will not encounter seeded teams from other counties in the knockout rounds of the national competition!"
Mitsui Hisashi's doubts are actually the doubts of many other Shohoku players. In fact, it is not only Shohoku's own players who are confused, but Shohoku supporters who are watching the game are also confused. If Coach Anzai's status in the high school basketball coaching circle is not high enough, he will This operation has long been scolded by the audience.
"The number of seeded teams may be very important to others."
"But it's not important to us at Shohoku High School."
"We in Xiangbei don't need the qualifications of a seed team!"
Coach Anzai's words shocked everyone. They thought that coach Anzai sent Sakuragi and the other first-year players to play to experience the first grade. Now listen to what coach Anzai said. Not only that, he also deliberately planned to lose the game?
How could young and energetic high school students understand Coach Anzai’s thoughts? To them, winning is everything!
"Why?!"
"If we in Xiangbei really can't beat Lingnan, then I admit it, but why, we obviously still have the energy to spare, and we obviously have a chance, why don't we want the seed quota?"
"Why not win!"
Mitsui Shou's mood was a little unbearable at this moment. He didn't understand Coach Anzai's operation and couldn't understand it!
"Don't worry, Mitsui."
"The current failure is just for more victories in the future."
"Seed spots and weak knockout opponents are not what we in Shobei need right now."
"What we want is more games and stronger opponents. Winning or losing is not important. What we get in the game is important."
"Misui Hisashi, don't just focus on the immediate, focus on the present, try to take a longer-term view."
"Our goal is to dominate the country. I think you have not forgotten this, and I have not forgotten it either."
"But what does it mean to dominate the country?! Winning the championship trophy? Yes, but not entirely."
“We will be the national champions only if we defeat all the strong enemies from all over the country.”
"Not just Lingnan in front of us, but everything! All powerful enemies across the country!"
Coach Anxi, who has always been a talker, became more talkative today. When he said these words to the players, his eyes contained an unprecedented light.
"Without the quota of seeding teams, we will have many opponents! Moreover, they are all strong opponents!"
"Crush them one by one. This is our goal in Xiangbei this year!"
"Today's game, let Lingnan become the whetstone for our new generation in northern Hunan."
"When the whole country is conquered, our butcher knife in northern Hunan will be chopped on every enemy!"
"and....."
"The game is not over yet. How do you know that the loser must be us in Xiangbei?! Our first-year students are not giving up!"
Coach Anzai's words greatly encouraged Sakuragi Hanamichi and others. Mitsui Hisashi saw that Coach Anzai was so enthusiastic and excited that he was speechless for a while and said nothing more.
After the pause ends.
The players from both teams returned to the court. Shinomiya, who returned to the court, looked at the Shohoku players and was surprised not to see Jinguji Martial Arts.
He originally thought that Coach Anzai was playing dirty tricks and planned to let Jinguji Budo come up to play the decisive ball at the last moment. Unexpectedly, Shohoku really gave up.
Although Coach Anzai's encouraging words inspired Sakuragi and other first-year students, the gap in hard power cannot be made up by words. Coach Anxi is not an inspirational person who has eaten the fruits of encouragement. The addition of words to strength is limited.
Shinomiya's appearance completely made up for Lingnan's defensive loopholes, and Shinomiya who entered the inside also taught Sakuragi Hanamichi a good lesson. Sakuragi may now know what "absolute power" means.
The outcome was no longer in suspense after Shinomiya Tano returned to the court.
At the end of the game, Lingnan High School won the game with 108:92.
In the last three minutes, Shohoku High School only scored 4 points.
The county competition also officially came to an end as Lingnan substitutes poured into the stadium.
"First-year experience package, let's compete again when the national competition comes."
When the team members shook hands, Jinguji Budo smiled and said to Shinomiya Tanano. Although the other party had never heard of such a thing as experience packs, Shinomiya still understood the meaning of martial arts. He also smiled and replied:
"Then I hope your first-year students can digest these experiences well. Next time we meet, I hope they have accumulated enough experience."
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