Jinguji Budo made a mid-range shot from behind the backboard. This difficult goal pushed the atmosphere in the arena to a climax.
The score between the two teams was tied at 85:85, and there were only nearly 7 minutes left before the end of the game.
Between the alternation of offense and defense, Lingnan High School, led by Kenji Fujima, entered the Shohoku half.
The score between the two teams was very tight. Just looking at the score and situation, it was impossible to tell who was stronger and who was weaker. At this time, Fujima was also extremely cautious when organizing the attack.
He knows very well that any mistake at this time is very fatal to the team.
For a point guard, caution is a very praiseworthy attitude, but on the court, excessive caution often allows opportunities that could have been exploited to slip away quietly.
As Fujima Kenji dribbled the ball into the frontcourt, Sendō Akira began to run in and out. Although Lingnan High School was still in a singles offensive position, Sendō Akira faintly felt that if this offensive method was still used, the team's offense would be worse. The efficiency may not be comparable to Shohoku High School.
Although he believed in Shinomiya Tōno's offensive ability, Sendō felt a little unsure after watching Jinguji Budō's goal just now.
Sendō knew that no one at Shohoku High School could stop Shinomiya Tōno, but Sendō also knew that if this game developed into a battle between two teams of aces, the fiery touch of Jinguji Martial Arts would be compared to Shinomiya. The field is more advantageous.
The reason is also very simple, because Jinguji Budo's three-pointer is his regular offensive method, but Shinomiya's three-pointer is only used occasionally to steal chickens.
Sendao felt that he had to contribute on the offensive end, even if his role was only to attract the opponent's attention, this was enough.
Xiandao left the corner, and after sinking into the bottom corner on the left, quickly crossed from the inside, along the baseline, and headed toward the right side of the court.
Fujima saw Sendō getting a brief chance to catch the ball while running, but Fujima considered that the passing distance was a bit far, and Hisashi Mitsui who was chasing Sendō might speed up the rush.
Fujima, who was worried, did not choose to pass the ball to Sendō, but passed the ball to Shinomiya Tanano who was outside the right three-point line.
After receiving the basketball, Shinomiya frowned obviously. He also noticed Sendao's opportunity just now, but Fujima didn't pass the ball and missed a pretty good opportunity.
Glancing at Akira Sendō in the bottom corner on the same side, Shinomiya Tanano began to break through with the ball.
The opponent of Jinguji Budo was a master. When attacking, Shinomiya tried his best to change the direction of his crotch to shake Jinguji Budo's defensive position.
After continuous attempts, Jinguji Martial Arts controlled its defensive distance very well, and Shinomiya did not find any obvious flaws in Jinguji Martial Arts' defense.
For Shinomiya, this position outside the three-point line is not his most comfortable receiving position.
Unable to find an obvious flaw, Shinomiya passed the ball back to Fujima. After the basketball shot, Shinomiya tried to cross Jinguji Budo and get inside. However, under the pursuit of Budo, Shinomiya did not have a good opportunity to attack.
Realizing that this style of play was not enough, Shinomiya also gave up those fancy ideas and directly adopted the most direct method.
Crossing the three-point line, Shinomiya Tano quickly ran out of the air under the pursuit of martial arts.
Fujima seized this opportunity and passed the ball.
Seeing the pass coming, Shinomiya immediately caught the ball with his back to the basket, took the ball into his arms with his left hand, put his right hand against Jinguji Budo's waist, and turned his head to look at the basket.
At this time, Shinomiya's position is one meter inside the three-point line, where his offensive methods have become richer.
"Bang!" After a back-up shot, Shinomiya quickly grabbed the ball with one hand, turned around, and shot a fadeaway jumper.
Using his body strength and fadeaway jump shot skills, Shinomiya got himself enough shooting gaps.
Jinguji Budo's defense could not catch Shinomiya Tano's shooting.
"Uh-huh!"
The basketball hit the net at an angle and made a crisp sound.
As Shinomiya Tano scored the ball, cheers erupted from Lingnan's bench.
But not long after their cheers started, they stopped abruptly as the bottom line of Xiangbei was about to start.
Sakuragi Hanamichi, who quickly went outside the baseline, did not pass the ball to Rukawa Kaede who ran back inside to catch the ball, but directly passed it to Jinguji Budo who was running towards the front court.
"Brother Martial Arts, attack quickly!"
When the basketball came out, Sakuragi Hanamichi reminded Budo loudly. After hearing this, Jinguji Budo subconsciously turned back to look at Sakuragi, and then happened to see the basketball flying towards him rapidly.
If he didn't turn around in time, Sakuragi Hanamichi's pass would definitely hit him in the back of the head.
"Snapped!"
With a soft sound, Jinguji Budo caught the ball with both hands, rolled his eyes at Sakuragi in the distance, and quickly dribbled the ball across the center line, approaching the Lingnan half.
As the martial arts of Jinguji Temple accelerated, everyone in Lingnan who had originally been running slowly back to the field quickened their pace.
After Shinomiya noticed that Budo had the ball, he rushed directly towards Jinguji Budo, not wanting to give Jinguji Budo a chance to make a fast break.
However, in the face of Shinomiya Tōno's pressing, Jinguji Budo had no idea of dribbling the ball to break through the defense. A simple back pass directly gave the ball to Mitsui Hisashi who was coordinating the attack from the side.
After the basketball was released, Budo also quickly passed Shinomiya Tanano.
Hisashi Mitsui, who was not far away, sensed the opportunity on Budo's side. He didn't even take the ball, but directly slapped the basketball with his palm and quickly passed the ball back to Budo.
A one-two pass in the frontcourt.
Basketball resumed, Jinguji Budo accelerated directly and broke into Lingnan's three-point line, and then directly stopped and shot a jumper in the mid-range under the defense of Akira Sendō and Hanagata.
The basketball flew directly over the heads of Hanagata and Sendō and flew straight to the basket.
With a soft sound, the score reached 87:87, and the two teams were tied again.
"Strengthen the defense! Don't let Lingnan score easily!"
After the goal, Xiangbei began to retreat quickly.
Mitsui Hisashi clapped his hands and shouted loudly to the players. Amid the loud responses from the Shohoku players, Kenji Fujima quickly dribbled the ball into the frontcourt.
Then he quickly passed the ball to Shinomiya on the side.
This time, Shinomiya Tano did not play any "one-on-one" tricks. He raised his left hand and directly made a pick-and-roll gesture.
Seeing Sigong Tianye's signal, the faces of everyone in Lingnan clearly showed surprise. It was Xiandao who reacted the fastest, directly crossing into the inside line, and then quickly moved up to provide a cover for Shinomiya Tano.
When Budao saw Shinomiya's gesture, he was paying attention to the positions of the others in Lingnan, and he also noticed Sendao's movements.
When Sendō arrived in the pick-and-roll, Jinguji Budō retreated to the paint area. While bypassing Sendō's defense, he penetrated deep inside to guard against the opponent's breakthrough.
However, seeing that the martial arts position was a bit far away, Shinomiya did not choose to speed up the breakthrough. Instead, he shot directly from the high post.
"Dang~"
The fatigue accumulated from high-intensity games is also very obvious for Shinomiya. Although his shooting posture is still standard, his control of intensity has obviously declined.
"Dang~"
With the crisp sound of a strike, Shinomiya's high-post shot crashed out of the frame.
"rebound!"
"Rebound!"
No one expected Shinomiya's shot to be inaccurate. Sendō and Fujima shouted loudly in unison, reminding the Lingnan players under the basket.
At this time, the basket has also turned into a battlefield. The inside players from Xiangbei and Lingnan are wrestling in pairs, trying to occupy the best position to grab the board.
The basketball began to fall from the left side of the basket, and Sakuragi Hanamichi took advantage of the battle with Hanagata and seized the most advantageous position.
As Sakuragi's voice rose into the air, the rebound was directly caught in Sakuragi's hands.
"Pass the ball!"
And at the moment Sakuragi Hanamichi got the rebound, Rukawa Kaede rushed towards the frontcourt and shouted loudly towards Sakuragi.
At this time, Lingnan's Sendō and Shinomiya Tano were still within the Shohoku three-point line. Both of them were attracted by the rebound and did not notice Rukawa Kaede who had started a fast break.
Sakuragi Hanamichi raised the ball with one hand and was about to pass the ball. When he saw that it was Rukawa Kaede who wanted the ball at this time, he hesitated briefly.
But just when Sakuragi Hanamichi hesitated for a moment, Shinomiya Tōno and Sendō Akira directly surrounded Sakuragi from two directions, and together with the flower shape, tightly sealed Sakuragi Hanamichi.
Sakuragi held the ball in his arms, trying to protect it, but Shinomiya put his hand directly in Sakuragi's arms, held the basketball between his wrists, and forcefully took the ball out of Sakuragi's arms. come out.
After taking possession of the basketball, Shinomiya took a small hook and directly sent the ball into the basket.
The referee did not blow the whistle, and the scoreboard on the sidelines began to beat as the basketball entered the net.
Rukawa Kaede, who had been running for a long time, looked at Sakuragi with deep resentment when he saw Sakuragi losing the ball, and was speechless.
"Abominable!!!"
"Referee, wasn't that ball a foul just now?!"
Sakuragi Hanamichi saw the basketball he had received being taken away. He had nowhere to vent his anger and could only blame the referee.
But the referee didn't like Sakuragi either. He glanced at Sakuragi lightly and ignored the kid.
Seeing that the referee was indifferent, Sakuragi wanted to argue with the referee, but Akagi grabbed his ear and dragged him to the front court.
Hisashi Mitsui served from the baseline. Looking at Sakuragi being taken away, he shook his head speechlessly. After giving the ball to Rukawa Kaede, he clapped his hands and organized:
"Don't be anxious, take it slow, there is plenty of time."
"When you get the ball, don't hold it stupidly, pass the ball more!"
Although Mitsui Hisashi's last words were shouted to all the team members, the direction of these words was really too strong.
Sakuragi Hanamichi pursed his lips and quickly entered the Lingnan half. When passing by Shinomiya Fields, he was still unconvinced and muttered:
"Just wait, I will definitely take care of you!"
Shinomiya turned his head slightly and smiled at Sakuragi Hanamichi, then turned back to look at Jinguji Budo who entered the frontcourt at this time, and his expression became more solemn.
"That shot just now was just good luck."
"I cannot be affected by the terrifying scoring efficiency of Jinguji Budo."
"When attacking, you can't be hesitant like you were just now. When the opportunity arises, you have to attack directly."
"With my ability, Xiangbei cannot stop me."
Shinomiya Tōno reflected on the slight mistake he had made in the attack just now, and watched Jinguji Budo approach the frontcourt a little bit, and then quickly followed up.
Jinguji Budo had no intention of getting entangled with Shinomiya Tōno. He did not continue to stay on the outside and went directly to the inside. Then he ran back to get the ball in the middle distance, exactly the same as Shinomiya Tōno did before.
Rukawa Kaede saw the right moment and passed the ball, and the basketball fell directly into Jinguji Budo's hands. Budo, who grabbed the ball with one hand, quickly swept the ball and turned around. He leaned up, made a fake shot and then dropped the ball directly, accelerating and rushing forward. When Miyatano chased him, he immediately stopped and pulled out his hand.
Even if the opponent is Shinomiya Tanano with his astonishing shooting speed and terrifying fluency, he will still be unable to resist.
The basketball flew directly over Shinomiya's head and then plunged into the net with a crisp sound.
"Good shot! Martial Arts."
"Beautiful, Jinguji-senpai!"
As Jinguji Budo scored a field goal, the Shohoku bench suddenly erupted in enthusiastic cheers.
Everyone in Lingnan looked at Jinguji Martial Arts who returned to defense, and felt even more stressed.
Basketball is like this. In a point-by-point battle, once the team with a slight advantage is beaten to death by the opponent, the psychological pressure on the players will increase exponentially.
In the first half, the side that was under pressure was Shohoku High School, but in the second half, the side that was under pressure was Lingnan.
The closer to the end of the game, the greater the pressure.
Under this kind of pressure, Lingnan's team members' physical energy was consumed much faster than usual.
Soon, Lingnan launched a counterattack.
Although the Lingnan players are under a lot of pressure, it doesn't show it at all.
Fujima's expression was still enthusiastic and calm, focusing on the game, and the other players did not show too much nervousness.
The basketball was quickly passed to Shinomiya's hands. Shinomiya, who took the ball again, still raised his hand to call a pick-and-roll, and then quickly broke into Shohoku's inside line under the cover of his teammates.
Jinguji Budo was in pursuit and Takenori Akagi was defending. The two of them worked in tandem and quickly surrounded Shinomiya.
As Shinomiya's ball flew into the air, Budo and Akagi also took off, sealing the basketball in Shinomiya's hand.
"Bang!" Shinomiya's body directly hit Takenori Akagi's body in mid-air. The basketball in his hand evaded in the air and hooked towards the basket.
However, the moment Shinomiya took the basketball shot, Jinguji Budo's palm stretched out directly from behind Shinomiya and hit the basketball with his palm.
"Shinomiya Tōno, your performance ends here!"
"I've seen through your attack!" Jinguji Budo patted the basketball steadily and knocked the ball down.
After Shinomiya Tano landed, the sound of Jinguji Temple's martial arts also reached Shinomiya Tano's ears.
Looking back, Shinomiya Tōno looked at Jinguji Martial Arts, his brows filled with heaviness.
Budao looked at the Shinomiya field in front of him, put his right hand on his chest, and said with a smile:
"Have you ever seen a one-on-one battle in an airplane?"
"The plane at the back has the advantage!"
"I won't lose to you in a dogfight, Shinomiya Tōno!"
……………
(End of chapter)
