Basketball miracles

Chapter 196 [Chicken Soup for the Soul, Perfectly Mastered]

Before facing their next opponent, Lingnan and Hainan will actively observe their opponents, especially those within the county, as transportation is relatively convenient and it is common for the entire team to go and watch their opponents' games.

In the manga, Hainan's coach, Takato Riki, assumed their opponent would be Shohoku, so he didn't investigate Shohoku. However, Maki Shinichi led his team to watch the game and thus had a better understanding of Shohoku.

Coach Anzai, however, did not analyze the opponent or explain the tactics before the match.

After the game started, Sakuragi Hanamichi didn't recognize the MVP player, Maki Shinichi, and complained to the referee that the other player was a middle-aged man and not a high school student at all.

Judging from Coach Anzai's coaching attitude, Xiao Tu felt that Takenori Akagi was truly tolerant... Any other gorilla would have announced his decision at home long ago and transferred to Hainan to team up with Shinichi Maki.

Shohoku currently has the advantage in strength, but the team still investigated Hainan's information and got to know all the starting players in advance.

The task of collecting data was undertaken by three first-year students: Tomoki Kuwata, Satoshi Sasaoka, and Kentaro Ishii. Xiao Tu suggested that they collect data through various channels to contribute to the team in this way.

They actually went to Hainan University Affiliated High School to investigate their opponents, taking notes in a small notebook, just like Aida Hikoichi of Ryonan High School.

The three of them were fringe players in Shohoku, with no chance to play, and since they were just sitting around doing nothing anyway, they felt a strong sense of participation and were proud to be part of the Shohoku team.

Before training, Xiao Tu called a meeting to analyze the opponents and said with a smile: "First of all, I want to say that you are very strong! There is no need for everyone to be nervous in the semifinals. Even if I don't play, Xiangbei will definitely win against Hainan."

Sakuragi Hanamichi called out, "Big brother, what's up? You can't just not fight!"

"I'm fine, I'll play. I just wanted to tell you that you can't rely on me forever. I'm only staying in Japan for six months to lead Shohoku in one tournament. In the future, I hope to hear news of you dominating the nation and winning the championship even without me!"

Xiao Tu also knows how to give people pep talks before a match. He did everything Coach Anzai could do.

Sure enough, the young players from Shohoku were very receptive to this approach; they didn't want to be led to victory solely by the foreign student star. At the same time, they were very grateful for everything Xiao Tu had done for Shohoku; he seemed like a true coach.

Coach Anzai is good at giving motivational speeches and occasionally pulls off a daring tactical gamble, which is why the Shohoku players consider him an exceptional coach. The job of a high school coach is really simple: just don't get into fights with the players.

In the movie, Ryota Miyagi recalls the previous year's official match, where Coach Anzai was conspicuously absent. As a result, a spectacular scheme unfolded: led by Captain Curly, all the senior starters conspired to throw the game, deliberately losing to annoy Akagi.

Although Anzai could use the excuse of not seeing it to shirk responsibility, the fact that he did nothing to prevent the team culture from deteriorating to this point is a dereliction of duty on the part of the coach, and cannot be excused by the idea of ​​taking a laissez-faire attitude.

Xiao Tu is now analyzing Hainan's lineup, and he's making a very logical and insightful point.

"The main tactic is for the Hawks to attack the paint aggressively, with Akagi posting up and driving to the basket, while Sakuragi sets screens for Rukawa at the high post to help him get open off the ball. Rukawa can then receive the ball, pull up for a jump shot, and finish with a layup. If double-teamed, Rukawa will pass to a better-positioned teammate, and Sakuragi should also be ready to cut inside at any time..."

On the defensive end, Xiao Tu instructed: "Continue with the BOX-1 tactic, a four-man zone defense, and I'll handle their three-point shooter, Jin Soichiro, on the perimeter."

"Everyone needs to be aggressive on fast breaks, especially Sakuragi. Hainan's power forward, Muto, is very thin; you can make a layup even if you carry him. Rukawa, you also have a physical advantage; your opponent, Kiyota Nobunaga, is only 178cm. Mitsui, if there's no opportunity to shoot directly, pass the ball to Akagi in the low post."

Akagi Takenori was very excited and chatted with Xiao Tu privately afterward. "Thank you. The players' good performance in the semifinals makes them stand out even more. Thank you for letting me be the main attacker."

"You're welcome. This is a targeted arrangement. Kazuma Takasago is 191cm tall and weighs 80kg. His rim protection ability is obviously not good, so of course we have to focus on attacking him. Muto is an all-around power forward with strong mobility and good stamina, but he is only 184cm tall and weighs 75kg, so his rim protection ability is definitely not strong either."

What surprised Xiao Tu was the detail: the information showed that Muto Masashi was actually Korean. He came to Japan with his parents when he was young; they were from an ordinary working-class family, and he changed his name to Muto Masashi.

"I want more possession of the ball, and I was originally going to talk to you about it. Because every night before I go to sleep, I imagine this day, the fierce battle between Shohoku and Hainan. I've been fantasizing about it since my freshman year."

Xiao Tu laughed and said, "Then you're destined to be disappointed. We'll definitely crush Hainan. What fierce battle are you talking about?"

"..." Akagi couldn't be moved anymore.

Xiao Tu also hopes to evoke emotional responses, not in Japan, but only in the NBA.

In Japan, he only had one emotion.

How lonely it is to be invincible, how empty it is to be invincible... If he were bald, his art style in the manga would probably be similar to Saitama's.

At 9:6 a.m. on June 20, half an hour before the start of the competition, the city stadium was already packed with people.

Shohoku's matches always resemble exhibition games, attracting a large number of fans. Meanwhile, Hainan, having never missed a national tournament in the past 16 years, is known as the "King Hainan," and their goal this year is the national championship.

The match between the two teams was the most anticipated and was considered the pinnacle of the national high school basketball tournament.

When players take the field, even someone as arrogant as Kiyota Nobunaga wouldn't dare to claim he's Kanagawa's best newcomer.

Kiyota chickened out, thankful the coach hadn't assigned him to guard Xiao Tu, otherwise he'd definitely get wrecked. Although his jumping ability was amazing, he was only 178cm tall and weighed 65kg.

During team practice, Kiyota was no match for Maki Shinichi in a one-on-one match. After watching several of Shohoku's games, Maki Shinichi realized that he was no match for Xiao Tu, and the gap between them was still significant.

Xiao Tu kept breaking through the defenses against Fujima Kenji, who was of similar build, leaving Kiyota Nobunaga stunned.

Before the match, Maki Shinichi was very silent. Knowing he was no match for Xiao Tu even before the fight started was a bitter pill to swallow. But his fighting spirit was burning, and he wanted to know how big the gap was between himself and Xiao Tu.

After the match started, Maki Shinichi immediately experienced Fujima Kenji's pain, as he was completely unable to defend against Xiao Tu's breakthrough.

Xiao Tu repeatedly used the "butterfly weaving" technique, dribbling behind his back and then crossing over to get past his opponent. Mu Shenyi had watched it many times, but still didn't know how to defend against it. He always fell for the fakes, shifted his center of gravity, and then watched as Xiao Tu broke through from the other side.

The "butterfly weaving through flowers" technique is incredibly unpredictable; everyone knows Iverson drives from the right, except for the person guarding him. Xiao Tu is different; he also frequently drives to the left, making it even harder for opponents to predict which side he'll attack.

He changed direction, simply crossover step followed by a behind-the-back dribble, a fluid and effortless move.

Xiao Tu's one-on-one fight against Maki Shinichi was very simple, and it felt no different from his matches against other opponents.

Maki Shinichi was physically strong, but Xiao Tu didn't try to fight him head-on, relying instead on technique to overcome his weaknesses. Even in a contest of strength, Xiao Tu had a slight advantage. The two were similar in height and weight, but Xiao Tu, having practiced martial arts, had a more stable lower body.

On the defensive end, Xiao Tu was tasked with guarding Jin Soichiro. Based on the "Moreyball" theory, he believed Jin Soichiro was Hainan's most crucial scoring threat; stopping him meant Hainan was doomed.

During counterattacks, Xiao Tu's mismatch against Jin Zongyilang makes it easier for him to attack, drawing Maki Shinichi to cover before assisting his teammates.

In the first half, Xiao Tu led his team in a fast-paced, high-scoring game, quickly widening the score gap.

Hainan's center, Kazuma Takasago, was also a tragic figure, unable to defend against Akagi's powerful attacks in positional play. Akagi could still score and run, drawing double teams before passing the ball to Mitsui Hisashi, Rukawa Kaede, and Xiao Tu, who would then receive the ball on the perimeter and shoot.

In the manga, Coach Takato assigned guard Yoshinori Miyamasu to guard Sakuragi Hanamichi. He thought Sakuragi had only been playing basketball for a little over two months and probably couldn't shoot.

This is the most amazing scene in the whole book: Sakuragi is unable to score against Miyamasu, who is 160cm tall and weighs 42kg. He decides to dunk directly, and after Maki fouls him, he misses the free throws and is then substituted by Coach Anzai to rest.

Right now, Takato doesn't dare to bring in Yoshinori Miyamasu to add another outside shooting option, unless he wants Miyamasu to die on the court. Sakuragi made two alley-oop cuts and finished with powerful dunks. If Miyamasu had been guarding him and blocking his way, he might have been directly knocked to death by Sakuragi, or at least seriously injured.

He went to defend Mitsui Hisashi, who could receive the ball and shoot at will with almost no interference.

It's even less likely that he'll defend against Xiao Tu and Liu Chuanfeng, as both of them excel at attacking with the ball.

Miyamasu could only contain Miyagi Ryota; Miyagi has no shooting range and can't break through with the ball. It's a pity Miyagi didn't play today.

With Miyagi not playing, Maki Shinichi's breakthroughs were limited by the zone defense, with four players blocking the paint. Maki passed the ball out, but Jin Soichiro was entangled by Xiao Tu, and Muto Masashi and Kiyota Nobunaga's long-range shots were inaccurate.

They genuinely couldn't make open shots, so the Shohoku players could just focus on grabbing the rebounds. If they took an extra step inside the three-point line for a mid-range jumper, the Shohoku players could then stretch out to contest the shot.

Maki Shinichi was frustrated in the first half, as he was completely outmaneuvered by Xiao Tu.

(End of this chapter)