Slam Dunk: Muguro

Chapter 208 Miller Push

When he thought that Kitano might become the head coach of the Shoyo team, Murasakibara felt a sense of crisis.

The problem is that Coach Kitano is too charismatic and is loved by the players.

If Coach Kitano really joins the Shoyo team, then Minami Lie and Kishimoto, who already have a deep admiration for Coach Kitano, will most likely choose to transfer schools and become members of the Shoyo team in order to follow Coach Kitano.

This will undoubtedly enhance the strength of Xiangyang team's lineup to an unprecedented level.

Murasakibara has even envisioned a new lineup configuration for the Shoyo team next year.

Center: Flower shape

Ohmae: Kishimoto

Small front: Hasegawa
Shooting guard: Nan Lie

Point guard: Fujima

These five players have speed and shooting, which is very suitable for Coach Kitano's run-and-gun tactics!
Hanagata has comprehensive skills. As a center, his speed and flexibility are among the best, and he has mid-range shooting skills. He can be called a little Sugiyama Shota.

Kishimoto is known for his outstanding athleticism and scoring ability. He is the second-highest scorer in Touou after Minami Rei, and can be ranked in the top three at the power forward position.

Hasegawa is the defensive pioneer of the Shoyo team. His defensive ability is unquestionable. However, he is unable to provide the team with stable outside firepower for the time being. If he develops mid-range and long-range shooting under the guidance of Coach Kitano, he will be an excellent 3D player.

As Touou's scoring leader, especially a player modeled after Mitsui, Nan Lie's scoring ability is needless to say.

At the point guard position, Fujima's organizational ability allows the team's offense to run smoothly. When his teammates are in a scoring drought, he will step up to score for the team.

Such a Xiangyang team is equivalent to gathering four All-Star high school players and a defensive pioneer, similar to the Lakers' F4. How can we not be worried?
However, the Xiangbei team will become stronger next year.

With the addition of Naito and Miyagi, the main lineup of the Xiangbei team will be greatly improved.

Although the depth of the lineup is still not as good as that of the Shoyo team, the main lineup can definitely compete with this Shoyo team, which also makes Murasakibara full of expectations for future games.

However, for the other two strong teams in Kanagawa, the situation seems a bit pessimistic.

With the graduation of the Watanabe brothers, Buri will likely fall from the position of a national championship contender and become only a regional powerhouse.

The Buri team may face the fate of losing all four major titles in the new season, because there are only a few outstanding sophomore players in the entire SD. If they are unlucky, they may not even be able to keep their place in the regional semi-finals.

There's nothing I can do, this is Kanagawa!

Similarly, Hainan High School is also facing severe challenges.

If they do not strengthen in time, they may be at a disadvantage in the highly competitive Kanagawa Prefecture in the coming season.

If nothing unexpected happens, the competition in Kanagawa will be even more intense next year.

"Oh, and there's the Ryonan team!"

Murasakibara thought of the Ryonan team again. Compared with the original, there may not be any changes in the Ryonan lineup next year, but the strength will definitely be stronger than the original.

The changes in Ryonan mainly come from Yuzumi. Due to frequent training with Akagi and the guidance provided from time to time by the soft-hearted Murasakibara, Yuzumi's growth rate has far exceeded that of his peers.

Even so, compared with Hainan High School, Ryonan is still inferior.

In short, it is almost impossible for Ryonan to get a place in next year's summer national competition.

"Just watch the game!"

Murasaki shook his head and began to focus on the next game.

At this time, the two teams started to play.

Without hesitation, the Xiangbei players began to cheer for Buri.

They sincerely hope that Buri can defeat Sanno Industrial and meet Shohoku in the semi-finals.

Although Buri won the national championship and won the love of many fans, it still pales in comparison to Sanno Industrial.

Judging from the momentum at the scene, Sanno Industry's supporters clearly outnumber Buri's.

Of course, the voices supporting Buri were not completely suppressed.

Mitsui looked a little pale, and asked weakly: "Which team do you think is better?"

"Hard to say!"

Akagi shook his head like a rattle.

"Due to Kentaro Sakurai's suspension, Buri has a clear advantage in the interior, but Sanno Industrial has a better outside line and lineup depth."

Mu Mu slowed down and continued, "Both teams have their own strengths. Winning or losing mainly depends on the players' condition and the coach's ability to respond to situations on the spot."

If Kentaro Sakurai had not been suspended, Murasakibara would definitely be optimistic about Sanno Industrial.

Unfortunately, without Kentaro Sakurai, Sanno Industrial has no way to limit the performance of the Watanabe brothers.

In this era where center is king, if you want to become a truly strong team, you must have an excellent center, otherwise you can only be considered a pseudo-strong team.

If Sanno Industrial wants to win, it must limit the performance of the Watanabe brothers. Otherwise, if the Watanabe brothers do whatever they want in the interior, the consequences will be disastrous.

While the three giants of Xiangbei were discussing, the game on the field finally began!
When seeing the lineup of Sanno Industrial, the three giants of Xiangbei couldn't help but be surprised.

Center: Ito Yu, 193 cm, 89 kg, sophomore
Ohmae: Masashi Kawata, 185cm, 83kg, first grade
Kozen: Kaede Shimo Kashima, 185cm, 82kg, third grade
Guard: Matsumoto Minoru, 181cm, 74kg, freshman
Point guard: Kazunari Fukatsu, 178cm, 72kg, first grade
No one expected that Coach Domoto would let Ohkawada, who is only 185 cm tall, as the starting power forward instead of Nobe Masahiro, who is 196 cm tall.

This change in formation by Sanno Industrial seems to foreshadow their in-depth adjustments to tactics and lineup.

Although Ohkawada's return brought more tactical options and flexibility to Sanno Industrial, coach Domoto's decision still caused quite a stir.

Because Ohkawada had always been active on the court as a defender, and he was also a substitute!
Although Ohkawada's height and weight have increased significantly, he has never played as an inside player in any competition, which makes people wonder whether he can survive under the basket?
In addition, Ohkawada's opponent is Watanabe Masayasu, who was selected into the national tournament's best lineup.

By the way, Ohkawada, who was suspended for three games, was lifted from the ban at this game.

However, in Murasakibara's opinion, this was a good change. After all, Yamato was extremely talented and was recognized as the best center in the country in the future. He was even called by Sugiyama Shota that he would be a top three center even if he entered college.

Coach Domoto obviously made such a bold adjustment after careful consideration.

As the team's second-in-command and main center, Kentaro Sakurai is no less important than Kaede Shimo Kashima. His absence undoubtedly brings huge challenges to Sanno Industrial.

In order to make up for the absence of Kentaro Sakurai, Sanno Industries made preparations early.

After the national competition, Coach Domoto took precautions and successfully persuaded Ito Yu and Nobe Masahiro to play as center until Kentaro Sakurai was released from the ban.

Although their strength is not as good as Kentaro Sakurai, as the two highest players in the team, each has his own characteristics and can bring new vitality and changes to the team.

So, after the summer national competition, Ito Yu and Nobe Masahiro began to gain weight and intensify their strength training.

For centers in this era, confrontation must be put first!
To gain a foothold under the basket, you must have sufficient weight and strength.

They invested a lot of time and energy in targeted training without affecting their flexibility as much as possible.

Among them, Ito Yu achieved very good results. After a few months, he gained 4 kilograms and his lower body became extremely solid.

This change of Ito Yu undoubtedly makes Sanwang Industrial's inside line more stable. The increase in weight gives him more advantages in the confrontation under the basket. At the same time, his agility is not greatly affected by the increase in weight.

On the other hand, Masahiro Nobe has grown 2 cm in height, but his weight gain is not obvious. It is more like a byproduct of the height increase. He still looks like a stalk and is not yet qualified to be a center.

As for the power forward, Coach Domoto originally favored Masahiro Nobe.

However, in a recent team practice match, Masashi Kawata not only beat Masahiro Nobe on the offensive end, but also demonstrated an amazing sense of rebounding.

Although Nobe Masahiro is 11 centimeters taller than Ohwada, he has never been able to beat Ohwada in rebounding.

In addition to Ohkawada's keen sense of rebounding, it is also related to Nobe Masahiro's unstable lower body.

There is no need to say much about Ohkawada's rebounding ability, and he is qualified to compete for the title of SD's number one rebounder.

In the plot, Nobe Masahiro said, "I have never lost to anyone except Kawata." In the game against Shohoku, Ohkawata suppressed Akagi and Sakuragi one after another and snatched rebounds from them.

Of course, that was the plot year.

The current Ohkawada is definitely not as old as he was in the plot, and is still very young.

On the court, the two teams began to confront each other.

Masao Watanabe easily beat Ito Yu to grab the jump ball, and the Buri team took the lead in launching an attack.

Soon, Masao Watanabe received the pass from his teammate in the low post.

Even though Ito Yu tried his best to entangle Watanabe Masao, he was still inevitably easily broken through by his opponent.

Compared to a few months ago, Watanabe Masao's post-up play and inside footwork have improved to a certain extent.

Most importantly, he would ask Murasakibara for advice on ball handling and breakthrough techniques from time to time.

Masao Watanabe is very talented, and under the guidance of Murasakibara, his outside skills have become quite good.

If Masao Watanabe was more like Ewing before, he is now beginning to transform into Olajuwon.

It’s not that Ewing is bad, but that Olajuwon is more cost-effective.

After breaking through Ito Yu, Watanabe Masao scored a two-handed slam dunk, boosting the team's morale.

Sanno Industrial's first attack was also given to the team's ace Kaede Frost Kashima, which is also a privilege for many team's aces.

Kashima Kaede broke through Matsumoto Masaru in three or two moves and made a quick stop jump shot.

As Buri's defensive pioneer, Matsumoto Masaru's defense cannot be said to be bad. He has a perfect grasp of positioning, skills and timing.

However, Matsumoto Masaru has a fatal flaw, which is that his physical fitness is only second-rate, far worse than Kashima Kaede.

After the initial test, both teams started to go all out.

Among them, the Buri team still used the one-star-four-shooting tactic, which was obviously running more smoothly compared with the national competition.

Sanno Industries also has great teamwork, like a tightly-run machine, and they can always put on a great show.

What is surprising is that in the head-on confrontation with Watanabe Masayasu, Ohkawada did not lose.

Although Ohkawada is a little fat, he is quite flexible and has great explosive power.

For a while, the two of them were in a state of mutual explosion, and neither could do anything to the other.

Compared with his brother, Watanabe Masayasu's strength is still inferior, but his assist defense is excellent.

Thanks to Ohkawada's outstanding performance, Sanno Industrial did not fall much behind in the fight for rebounds.

This is also related to the average height of Sanno Industrial. The average height of the main lineup reached 184.4 cm.

On the other hand, even though the Watanabe brothers of the Buri team are tall, their outside players are shorter, with an average height of only 183.2 cm.

In addition, Sanno Industrial's outside players not only have excellent physical fitness, but also have solid lower body.

The two teams were evenly matched, and the scores on both sides began to rise alternately.

During this period, Coach Domoto also sent out Masahiro Nobe to allow Ito Yu and Yamato to maintain sufficient physical strength.

The Buri team's lineup depth is obviously not as good as Sanno Industrial. The outside line is okay, but there is no replacement for the Watanabe brothers, so they can only continue to use the main players.

By the end of the first half, the two sides were tied.

In the second half, the situation changed.

Sanno Industries began to increase its defense on Buri's outside line.

At the same time, Sanno Industries increased the pace of the attack, and Ito Yu and Ohkawada were also trying their best to entangle the Watanabe brothers to further consume their physical strength.

To put it simply, Sanno Industries is adopting a tactic of attrition.

Under the targeting of Sanno Industrial, Buri's outside line was obviously restricted, forcing the Watanabe brothers to increase their scoring frequency.

Surprisingly, the Watanabe brothers have been very efficient in scoring during this period.

With ten minutes left in the game, they were leading Sanno Industrial by nearly double digits.

As a price, the Watanabe brothers were exhausted and their efficiency began to decline gradually.

Their efficiency was still fairly solid, and Sanno Industries was unable to narrow the gap.

However, they are not made of iron after all.

In the last five minutes, the Watanabe brothers, who did not get a single minute of rest, saw their efficiency drop further.

The long and high-intensity competition almost exhausted all their physical strength. Every step seemed extremely heavy and they had to rely entirely on willpower to persevere.

Due to severe physical overdraft, their movements became slow and their reactions became less sensitive, and they were often seized by Sanno Industrial to launch fast breaks.

Until the last minute, Sanno Industrial finally caught up with the score.

For this reason, Coach Buri had to use up his last timeout early.
When the game resumed, Buri wasted some time, and Watanabe Masao used up his remaining strength and scored a layup against Ito Yu's defense.

While Sanno Industries was attacking, Matsumoto Makoto was defending closely and tightly entangled with Kashima Kaede.

Under his entanglement, for a while, Kashima Kaede Frost found it difficult to receive the pass.

The rest of the Buri players also tried their best to harass their opponents.

Seeing that there was little time left for the attack, Kashima Fengshuang became anxious.

In order to get rid of Matsumoto Sheng's entanglement, Kashima Fengshimo pushed Matsumoto Sheng with a shoving gesture while the referee was not paying attention, thereby getting rid of the defense and appearing outside the three-point line.

As soon as Fukatsu was established, he passed the ball, and Kashima Kaede received the ball and shot.

(End of this chapter)