After successfully defeating Dabei High School, Xiangbei High School also made great progress in the group stage. Sakuragi Hanamichi also got better and better in a series of competitions, showing a fairly competitive state.

At the same time, the teams that originally looked down on Xiangbei because Jinguji Martial Arts did not participate in the competition also repaid attention to the competition in Xiangbei High School.

Sakuragi Hanamichi's performance on the court was also amplified and studied by each team, and his game videos were also put on the desks of the coaches of each team.

Among the teams in the same group as Xiangbei High School, the strongest is Wuyuan High School, the best result achieved by this team in the previous IH is the top four of the county competition, and more than ten years ago, it even broke into the final of the county competition.

From the perspective of the team's history, Wuyuan High School is not even "very strong", but there is no problem at all to say that it is a strong school.

In the history of Kanagawa Prefecture, I don't know how many schools have never made it to the top eight of the prefectural tournament since they were founded.

In fact, before Mitsui Shou entered Xiangbei High School, Xiangbei was also one of those ordinary schools.

It was only with the two generations of Mitsui Shou and Jinguji Martial Arts that Xiangbei High School became a team that attracted more attention in the national competition.

The vast majority of high school basketball schools are often like this, gods are ghosts for a time, maybe a certain year is lucky, a few better players come, this year's basketball team strength is crazy expansion, can lead the team to break into the country.

If you are unlucky, if you come to a class of players with mediocre talent, the strength of the school will be weakened, let alone breaking into the country, and you won't even be able to get the top eight in the county competition.

A team that can be called a strong team often needs to accumulate historical records.

In fact, to a certain extent, the accumulation of Wuyuan is even deeper than that of Xiangbei.

But so what? Basketball is such a thing, after all, it depends on the present!

In less than half a month after the official start of the winter selection county competition, the schedule has come to an end. Today's four games will determine the top four of the county competition.

That is, the final round of the knockout round.

The first game in the morning was the match between Xiangbei High School and Wuyuan High School, early in the morning, the basketball hall was crowded, and the spectators who watched the ball filled the stands, and the lively appearance was not inferior to the judo game that was going on in another venue.

"Today's game, martial arts, is still up to you."

I don't know what reason Coach Anzai considered, Xiangbei High School went all the way to 8 into 4, and the personnel arrangements and field commands of all the games were arranged and decided by Jinguji Wudao.

Today's game is also the same as the previous game, when all the players looked at Coach Anzai, Coach Anzai turned his head to look at Jinguji Martial Arts, and asked Martial Arts to be in charge of personnel arrangements.

"yes, okay."

Seeing the coach and teammates looking at him, Jinguji Martial Arts nodded slightly, then glanced at the rest area of the martial arts garden, and after a little thought, said to everyone:

"At this point in the game, I think you're all used to the tension of the game."

"After beating Wu Yuan, we were able to advance to the semi-finals, and then we faced a round-robin match."

"For you, today's game is a warm-up, a warm-up for the round-robin afterward."

'So all the players have to be ready, on the pitch, everything can happen, you don't know, it's your turn to play.'

As he spoke, Jinguji Martial Arts glanced at Coach Anzai on the side, and then began to order:

"Nango Koichiro, Sakuragi Hanamichi, Rukawa Kaede, Miyagi Ryota, and Kami Ichiro, the five of you, as starters, will be the first to play."

"In terms of tactical arrangement, the first ten minutes will play the inside line, and the last ten minutes will play the outside line, Miyagi, you will control it."

Facing the arrangement of Jinguji Martial Arts, the players all nodded, although the players sent except for Miyagi Ryota are all first-year, but these people have a very high status in Xiangbei, as long as people who are not stupid know that Coach Anzai is cultivating these first-year students as the core of the future.

It is not incomprehensible that Takedo Jinguji would send these players in a crucial match like 8-in-4.

After the words fell, Jinguji Martial Arts sat back on the bench.

Coach Anthy stood up and added to the players with a smile: "Game, pay attention to safety." ”

Soon, the whistle for the warm-up whistle sounded from the middle of the pitch, and the players took off their coats and walked into the pitch to start warming up.

Coach Anzai looked at the players on the field, and suddenly asked in a voice to Jinguji Takemichi beside him:

"Martial arts, do you know why, all along, I have asked you to arrange these competitions?"

Coach Anzai's words immediately attracted the attention of the two team managers, Jinguji Martial Arts and Ayako and Ayako, and the three of them turned their heads together and looked at Coach Anzai.

"I don't know much." Wu Dao had some guesses in his heart, but he was not very sure about this guess, shook his head, and said directly.

Coach Anxi heard this, stretched out his hand and pushed his glasses, and said seriously:

"Martial arts, in terms of basketball skills, I have no way to give you the so-called 'guidance', all along, you have done a good job, with a solid foundation and outstanding ability."

"And I know very well that your height is already beyond the level of my playing days, and I can't give you any advice."

"Still."

"After all, I have been deeply involved in the basketball industry for so many years, and I have some experience that can give you some advice."

"Martial arts, the environment in the United States is very different from neon, the people there pursue their own excellence, and playing is a very personal thing for them."

"Excellent individual ability will leave them empty-eyed, except for the role of vacancy, the vast majority of players have no way to judge the situation and help their teammates."

Speaking of this, Coach Anthy suddenly froze, and his eyes showed some reminiscence.

After a pause, Coach Anzai slowly turned his head, looked at Jinguji Martial Arts, and continued: "Your talent is very remarkable, and I have seen the video of you playing in the United States. ”

"Martial arts. Basketball is not a one-person thing. ”

"You are very strong, among the high school students I have seen, you are the strongest, but no matter how strong you are, you can't beat five."

"During this time, I asked you to be the coach so that you can take a good look at your teammates."

"You've actually done a good job, you've found the brilliance of each player very well, and you've been able to bring out their brilliance off the pitch through tactical arrangements."

"I hope that after going to the United States, you will be able to maintain your excellent vision, not to patronize yourself, and to look at those who follow you."

"I'm sure you'll be able to reach heights that no other Asian player has ever been able to achieve!"

Coach Anzai went around for a long time, which meant that he felt that Jinguji Takemichi was too unique when he played in the United States, and he needed to learn to share the ball.

In principle, there is nothing wrong with Coach Anzai's words, but after hearing these words, Jinguji Martial Arts shook his head with a smile and said:

"Coach, if my goal is just to play basketball, just to be able to get into a good college and make a name for myself in the NCAA, you're not wrong about that."

"Still. My goal is the NBA. ”

"There's a big difference between American basketball and Asian basketball"

"In other words, there is a big difference between commercial basketball and competitive basketball, that is, commercial basketball, the ultimate goal is to make money."

"In the league, only the players who can score the most are the most valuable."

"I don't deny the importance of defense, I don't deny the importance of passing, but there's nothing that can help me get attention in the NBA."

"The NBA will never want a good point guard who averages 5 points per game but can coordinate the team, because it is not eye-catching!"

"I understand your hard work, but I know more about American basketball."

Jinguji Martial Arts looked at the players who were warming up in the stadium and said calmly.

This is the first time that Martial Arts of Jinguji Temple has had such a huge conflict with Coach Anzai on the concept of basketball.

Hearing Martial Dao's words, Coach Anzai turned his head stiffly and stared at Jinguji Martial Arts for a long time, but finally sighed and didn't say anything more.

Need he say anything? No, you don't.

A player like Jinguji Takemichi has his own path to follow. Coach Anzai knew very well that no matter what he said, it was impossible for Jinguji Martial Arts to change his mind.

Martial Arts is a sharp-edged person, or rather, Jinguji Martial Arts has always been a sharp-edged person.

Soon, in the weird atmosphere of the Xiangbei rest area, the warm-up was over. That atmosphere was shattered as the players returned to the lounge area.

Wu Dao was the first to stand up, clapped his hands to attract the attention of the players, and shouted: "Go win the game, Xiangbei!" ”

In the enthusiastic response of the players, Martial Arts' face was also full of smiles.

This is his last winter on the team, leaving the past, the future, all behind.

Focusing on the present and letting the team win the championship is what Martial Arts wants to do most now!

"Beep-" After a long whistle, players from both sides entered the pitch.

As the referee walked into the court with the basketball, the spectators in the stands couldn't help but be quiet. The participating counties of Lingnan and Hainan are strong, and the players no longer chat, and they have put their eyes on the court.

In the stadium, after the players completed their positioning, with a short whistle from the referee, the match between Xiangbei High School and Wuyuan High School officially began.

These players who played in Xiangbei High School are already considered luxurious lineups in the eyes of many Kanagawa locals.

Ryota Miyagi, Hanamichi Sakuragi, and Kaede Rukawa are all players who have participated in the Autumn National Stadium and have also performed well in the national competition.

Although Kemei and Nanxiang are not famous, in the previous games, the two also had good performances, and their combat effectiveness was also quite outstanding.

After the start of the game, Xiangbei High School and Wuyuan had just played each other, and Wuyuan High School directly showed a trend of rout.

In the first ten minutes of Xiangbei, the main inside line, under the tandem of Miyagi Ryota , the basketball was frequently sent to Sakuragi and Nango on the inside line. And the two inside players in Wuyuan couldn't stop the combination of Sakuragi Hanamichi and Nango Kuichiro at all.

Sakuragi is full of physical energy, has a fairly good shooting ability, and frequently pulls the opponent to the outside, while Sakuragi has a strong lateral movement speed, and the breakthrough is also very good.

Nango Kuichiro's quality has improved greatly compared to when he first entered high school, in Wuyuan, there is no inside line that can fight against him, as long as the basketball can be smoothly given to Nango, Nango can always send the ball into the net.

The complete collapse of Wuyuan's inner line also implicated the collapse of the entire team, and when it came to the second half of the first half, Rukawa Kaede and Katsumi Ichiro worked together and directly "killed" the game.

At the end of the first half, Xiangbei High School took the initiative with an absolute lead of 57:13.

In the second half, Jinguji Takedo arranged a "five up and five down", sending a substitute lineup led by Sora Chetani, Oda Ryumasa and Kiyota Nobunaga.

Wuyuan High School, which had already lost the idea of winning, couldn't even resist the substitute lineup in Xiangbei, and as the game progressed, the score difference became bigger and bigger, and fortunately, Jinguji Wudao asked the players to restrain a little when they were suspended, so that the difference between the two teams did not exceed 60 points.

At the end of the game, the score was 98:39 and the difference between the two teams was 59 points.

Although this point difference has also appeared a lot in the knockout stage, it is very rare in previous years' 8-in-4 games.

said that it was to save face for Wu Yuan, but in fact, there is no difference between keeping this face and not keeping it at all.

That is, the psychological comfort given to him by Jinguji Martial Arts is only for himself, not for the other party

After Xiangbei locked a place in the top four, the remaining three games started one after another.

In Group B, Lingnan High School defeated the opponent 121-66 to lock in a qualifying place, while in Group C, Hainan High School defeated the opponent 86-33 to lock in a qualifying place, and in Group D, Xiangyang High School defeated the opponent 78-72 after a lot of hard work to win the final four qualifications.

Since then, the knockout rounds have all ended. These four teams will then compete for the only spot in this year's Winter Trials.

After the game, Coach Anthy did not dismiss the players immediately, but led the players back to their homes to review their next opponents.

In the past, when Jinguji Martial Arts participated in competitions, Coach Anzai basically didn't do this kind of thing, but this year, Coach Anzai attaches great importance to this matter.

He clearly knows that this year's Xiangbei is different from previous years!

Xiangbei's opponents this year have their own characteristics.

Lingnan High School is the same as last year, all the main players of the team have at least one Ikegami Ryoji, and the three of them are in the team, and the three of them have already been invited by the university, and they plan to spend the last stage of their senior year of high school without the pressure of going on to higher education.

Such a Lingnan High School, complete in attack and defense, is the biggest opponent in this competition in Xiangbei.

Hainan High School,A new system built with Mu Shenyi、Mori Chongkuan and Shenzong Ichiro as the core,In the previous competition, it showed quite terrifying strength,Mu Shenyi, this guy doesn't know if he got an invitation from the university,Anyway, he doesn't seem to have any pressure to go to school。

Sakuragi Hanamichi was still talking about the pastor when he was watching the video, and he was "repeating" again.

As for Xiangyang, the team after encountering Fujima and Hanagata left that year has also stabilized as the coach has been fixed.

Although Lingnan has a disparity in strength and the first echelon, he is also an opponent that should not be underestimated.

Overall, the pressure on Xiangbei to qualify this year is still quite large!

"No matter what kind of opponent you are, you will all be defeated today!"

These are the words that the boy from Hanamichi Sakuragi yelled out before the players left Coach Anzai's house. It's a bit nonsensical, but it gives some comfort to the other players.

(End of chapter)