Basketball miracles

Chapter 187 [This guy is a true basketball genius!]

Ryonan launched a positional attack, while Shohoku players implemented a zone defense. Xiao Tu's position was relatively far out, making it easier for him to launch counterattacks.

Xiao Tu believes that Shohoku's defense in the manga is "the author forcibly defending against the opponent."

Shohoku consistently employed a man-to-man defense strategy. At first glance, every player on the Shohoku team possessed top-tier physical talent: Ryota Miyagi was fast and capable of steals, Hisashi Mitsui had excellent defensive skills, Rukawa was a master in every aspect, and Takenori Akagi was strong and a powerful shot blocker. Sakuragi, after gaining experience later on, also became a defensive expert.

In fact, ever since the match against Shoyo, Miyagi has always been a weak link in the defense, and the opponent doesn't target him.

Mitsui Hisashi often runs out of stamina during matches, and his opponents stop attacking him.

Rukawa's performance against top-tier players was mediocre, and he was completely outmatched when defending against Sawakita.

Akagi had the best defensive performance, but his offense was limited when facing Masashi Kawata.

Sakuragi has performed relatively well since the semifinals of the prefecture, only suffering one defeat against Fukuda Kichijo.

Now that players are assigned to a specific area and don't man-mark, Sakuragi won't be confused on the defensive end and won't become a foul machine. Since he's only played for a short time, his attention can't always be on the ball; he has to keep an eye on the players off the ball.

Under zone defense tactics, Mitsui Hisashi doesn't have to run after his teammates, making his defensive end easier.

Xiao Tu also used this method to tell Rukawa that basketball is not a one-on-one game. Before the match against Sannoh Industrial, Rukawa liked to compete against the opponent's key players.

Sendoh dribbled the ball and attempted a breakthrough. Shohoku's formation shrank to the four corners of the penalty area, and he plunged directly into the crowd.

Facing a four-man siege, Sendoh passed the ball to Ryoji Ikegami at the right 50-degree angle. Ikegami sensed the defenders were far away and immediately attempted a mid-range shot, but Rukawa took a step and took off, blocking the ball with his left hand.

Ikegami is the vice-captain of Ryonan High School and plays power forward. He is known as "Ryonan's strongest defensive player." However, he is only 183cm tall, which is not outstanding for the power forward position, and he is not even as tall as Xiao Tu.

In the manga, he couldn't score many points even against Kiminobu Kogure's one-on-one defense, so his offense wasn't anything special.

Mitsui Hisashi, quick-witted and agile, picked up the basketball but didn't launch a fast break; instead, he protected it and passed it to Xiao Tu.

Xiao Tu slowly advanced the defense, waiting for his teammates to make runs beyond the three-point line.

Akagi Takenori pulled out and set an off-ball screen for Mitsui Hisashi on the right. Mitsui ran from the baseline to the top line to get past Koshino Hiroaki, and Xiao Tu passed the ball to him.

Xiao Tu's pass was perfectly timed; Mitsui Hisashi received the ball comfortably and launched an uncontested three-pointer. Uozumi, completely oblivious, was standing on the edge of the paint, showing no awareness whatsoever of switching to defend a guard's three-pointer.

Swish! The ball goes into the net cleanly! 5-0.

While the fish-shaped pillar is not particularly shrewd, its eyesight is excellent.

He immediately thought of someone and shouted to Yueye, "Yueye, you must stick close to him, he is Mitsui Hisashi from Takeishi Middle School!"

His eyes were resolute as he went off-road, but in his heart he was cursing.

I'm only 174cm tall, and I was even blocked by Akagi. How am I supposed to keep up with him?
As Kogure said, almost all the third-year players in Kanagawa Prefecture knew Mitsui Hisashi, who was very famous in junior high school.

At this moment, Horita Tokuo on the second floor had already waved the specially made "Flame Man Mitsui Hisashi" flag and cheered loudly with his three underlings.

Mitsui Hisashi found these clowns exaggerated but also somewhat touching. Horita and the others didn't understand basketball at all, but they became Shohoku fans just to support him.

The Sakuragi Army is the same; they don't understand basketball and watch games only to support their friends.

Xiao Tu's pre-match strategy was to have Mitsui Hisashi as the main attacker. Koshino's one-on-one defense was completely ineffective; he was practically invisible in the manga, allowing Shiozaki Tetsushi to score two points in the first half.

In the manga, Uozumi's three consecutive blocks at the start boosted the team's morale. Now, Xiao Tu is deliberately targeting Uozumi to see how he can perform when he's moving slowly.

Sendoh realized that Shohoku was using a zone defense, but still chose to go to Rukawa's side. He forcefully broke through on the right side, but Akagi and Sakuragi came to help defend. Sendoh couldn't get a layup, so he passed the ball to Uekusa Tomoyuki on the perimeter.

Xiao Tu intercepted the pass and successfully broke the ball, then turned and dribbled to launch a counterattack.

His passing awareness is good, and he has also improved his help defense awareness, often able to predict the opponent's passing routes. Today, the area around Shohoku's paint is crowded, and Ryonan's outside shooting options are limited, leaving Sendoh with few passing choices.

Uekusa's defense was severely hampered by Xiao Tu's physical limitations, leading him to gamble on a steal attempt, only to be easily beaten by Xiao Tu's behind-the-back dribble from right to left. Koshino, closely guarding Mitsui, couldn't afford to leave him open, forcing Ikegami to quickly recover and help. Xiao Tu used a series of jumps and leaps to draw the defense, then casually passed the ball behind his back to Sakuragi, who was following up in the middle. Sakuragi caught the ball, took a large step, and launched himself into a powerful two-handed dunk, landing with a powerful kick and a fist pump! 7-0.

Xiao Tu taught Sakuragi this celebration move; shouting it out makes it even more imposing!

In the manga, Sakuragi is always quiet after dunking. Someone who loves to show off should shout after scoring.

Sakuragi's dunk shocked everyone at Ryonan. It was a dunk that a high school student couldn't possibly do; you wouldn't even see it in a Japanese national team game.

Taoka Shigeichi was practically drooling with envy, lamenting why Ryonan didn't have a player with such talent. He felt that even if Ikegami wasn't drawn away, he wouldn't be able to stop Sakuragi; the physical difference was too great.

Sakuragi's gang, Akagi Haruko, and his best friend all cheered loudly for Sakuragi. His opening performance was so eye-catching; he didn't seem like a beginner at all.

With a cute expression, Sakuragi blushed and looked towards the sidelines, flashing a V-sign. He was very excited to find that Haruko was also attracted to him, not just Xiao Tu and Rukawa Kaede.

Nervous? Sakuragi had long forgotten what that felt like.

What truly devastated the Ryonan players was yet to come: Xiao Tu, Sakuragi, and Rukawa didn't retreat to defend; instead, they launched a full-court press in Ryonan's backcourt. This was a defensive tactic that Shohoku had practiced, with the players relentlessly pressing Xiao Tu throughout the game to practice his ball-handling skills.

Sakuragi aggressively interfered with Ikegami's pass from outside the baseline, and Ikegami managed to pass it to Uekusa Tomoyuki. Uekusa was then closely marked by Xiao Tu, and after dribbling a couple of steps, he bumped into Xiao Tu as if hitting a wall, shifting his center of gravity.

Uekusa is 170cm tall and weighs 62kg, looking like a child. In Xiao Tu's opinion, his only strength is his hairstyle; his buzz cut makes him look like he came from Sannoh Industrial.

Xiao Tu seized the opportunity to steal the basketball, then stepped forward to steal it again and drove into the paint. Seeing Xiao Tu coming, Chi Shang quickly came to help defend, but Xiao Tu jumped but didn't go for a layup. Instead, he passed the ball with his left hand from Chi Shang's side to the left side of the basket.

Sakuragi received the ball, bent his knees, and jumped up with both feet, dunking again with both hands. Sendoh couldn't block it even when he tried to help. 9-0.

Sakuragi has amazing jumping ability, making dunking under the basket a piece of cake for him. When he takes a running start and jumps, his head can be level with the rim, so his maximum jumping ability must be over 100cm.

In a parallel world, Japan could never have a player with such extraordinary talent; even the mixed-race Rui Hachimura couldn't reach that level.

Every viewer had the same thought in their mind—this guy is a true basketball genius!

Sakuragi practiced basketball for two weeks and then dunked on a team that was among the top four in the prefecture last year. If the Shohoku players hadn't told them, their opponents would never have guessed he was a beginner.

Even Takehiko Inoue couldn't have imagined that Sakuragi would go on a scoring streak without scoring a single point in multiple games in the manga. The author had no idea how easy it was for someone with Sakuragi's physique to score on a basketball court.

Shohoku's full-court press defense could be even stronger; the team isn't familiar with this defensive approach yet.

Xiao Tu and Sakuragi Hanamichi both have seemingly limitless stamina. Once Miyagi Ryota returns, the team will have three stamina monsters. If the three of them use a high-pressing offense at certain times, the opponents will definitely have a headache.

In the manga, Sannoh Industrial used a frontcourt press against Shohoku. This tactic is physically demanding, but it's difficult for high school students to counter.

Taoka Shigeichi was completely dumbfounded and immediately shouted from the sidelines, "Sendoh, what are you doing! Get a pass!"

In the manga, Ryonan players made several quick counter-attacks with steals at the start, while Yasuda and Kogure made consecutive mistakes. Now the tables have turned; Ryonan players are struggling to dribble past half-court, and Uozumi hasn't fulfilled his role in protecting the paint.

Sendoh received the ball and dribbled across half-court. Facing Rukawa, he took three steps to draw the attention of both defenders before passing the ball to Ikegami, who was following up on the right.

Zone defense also has its weaknesses. Rukawa and Akagi were both crowded together near one side of the paint, and Ikegami hit a mid-range jumper from the right 60-degree angle. 9-2.

The Shohoku players all stayed in their designated defensive zones, adopting a wait-and-see approach. Even the inexperienced Sakuragi didn't run around recklessly, following Xiao Tu's instructions to wait for attacks on the left baseline and protect the defensive rebounds.

If it's man-to-man defense, Sakuragi will definitely be matched up against Ikegami.

Xiao Tu told them that they didn't need to worry about these defensive loopholes; the key was to limit the opponent's offensive core.

If Sendoh's drives are blocked, Uozumi won't be able to score easily under the basket, and Ryonan won't get many points from role players' jump shots. Can Ikegami, Koshino, and Uekusa really kill someone with those shots?

Furthermore, their shot attempts aren't always wide open, allowing Shohoku players to contest them from close range. Ryonan primarily relies on mid-range shots and lacks three-point threats.

(End of this chapter)