"Is this match rhythm very similar to our match with Shutoku?"
"Strictly speaking, when Yuuto is on the court, they play very similarly to Rakuzan."
Taking advantage of the break, Seirin members turned on the TV to watch the live broadcast.
Without Yuuto, they might not have felt it.
But after partnering with Yuuto, Seirin players could clearly feel this difference.
That was the match rhythm when Yuuto led them.
Scoring points dispersed, but scoring production didn't drop; balanced shot attempts ensured the whole team participated in the game, and stamina consumption was reduced.
This is the match rhythm all teams dream of!
Similar things, they had only seen in Yuuto and Akashi.
Even Shutoku, Tōō, and Kaijo—more or less, scoring points would be concentrated on the team's ace.
"In other words, Akashi, like Yuuto, possesses powerful field control ability." Teppei Kiyoshi crossed his arms.
Having been injured for months, the high school league had become somewhat unrecognizable.
But he had played against Teiko in junior high, so he was mentally prepared.
Seeing his teammates' solemn expressions, he clapped his hands to attract attention and said, "Don't frown. They have their style, and we have our advantages. The important thing is to be ourselves."
"Don't forget, we are putting in 3 times the effort now!"
Hearing this, everyone's expressions relaxed a bit.
This training camp, their training intensity was 3 times the original. Although very hard, the effect was undoubtedly obvious.
Ending beach basketball training during the day and returning to play on the solid court at night, they immediately felt their movements were more agile than before.
They all became stronger and improved!
While speaking.
The second quarter began. Eiji Shirogane showed people Rakuzan's rotation depth.
He obviously also understood the importance of stamina for the Nationals.
The audience thought that by doing this, the opponent could recover some points and bring some suspense to the match.
But no.
Even the substitutes, Rakuzan players' strength reached the national level.
Emperor Rakuzan is the Teiko Middle School of the high school basketball world; they can attract numerous basketball talents from all over the country every year.
Their talent reserve is the highest among all teams.
Halftime ended.
Rakuzan's lead expanded to 39 points, basically killing the suspense of the match in half a game.
Second half.
Akashi led the starters back on to maintain their touch, widening the gap by another 27 points in a single quarter.
At this step, the match had no suspense whatsoever.
In front of Emperor Rakuzan, this team from Akihabara looked less like elite and more like a fish-belly team.
Rakuzan opened the curtain of the Nationals with a big victory.
"Emperor!"
"Rakuzan~"
"Emperor!"
"Rakuzan~"
Rakuzan's cheering sounded in the arena. A leader shouted, followed by the uniform roar of Rakuzan's die-hard fans.
First match ended.
Immediately, the second match began.
The schedule of the Nationals is just this tight; matches won't stop.
This time it was Kaijo's turn to appear; the opponent was Senshinkan, one of the three Kings of Tokyo.
Senshinkan didn't encounter Seiho, Tōō, and Shutoku in the regional qualifiers.
But in the Nationals, they met the Kanagawa hegemon Kaijo in the second match (first round?).
Such a draw result made everyone in Senshinkan feel helpless, but this is the current high school Nationals.
Good luck can't favor a team forever; if you don't lose, sooner or later you will meet the Generation of Miracles and the King of Seiho.
Kaijo appeared soon. Kise, with his model halo, caused a scream upon entering.
The blond warm man waved to his fans with a gentle face. Yukio Kasamatsu couldn't stand it, walked over, and kicked him flying.
"Is this guy really Generation of Miracles?"
"Why do I feel he is much worse than Yuuto and Aomine?"
"Simply doesn't look like a person from the same world."
Senshinkan people criticized inwardly.
Facing Seiho and Tōō, they could feel immense pressure from Yuuto and Aomine right from the start.
The emitted aura made hearts tremble.
Kise didn't have this feeling; he looked very ordinary.
At least they couldn't imagine anyone daring to kick the Lion King's butt like that.
However...
Swish!
As the first quarter ended, Senshinkan's team members collapsed.
At this moment, the score on the field was 42:12; they lost to Kaijo by 30 points in a single quarter.
Kise Ryota, who was as docile as a Golden Retriever before the match, tortured Senshinkan players' nerves constantly with heaven-defying imitation after the match started.
Any shooting, breakthrough, layup, including passing and defensive actions—he could return them doubled after seeing them once.
The huge gap in talent made Senshinkan's heart seem to stop beating.
They didn't even know how they walked off the court; everyone was bewildered.
Looking at Kise's face and smile again now, it chilled their hearts.
...
"Senshinkan, one of the three Kings, was actually beaten like this?"
Junpei Hyuga and others watching the live broadcast were shocked.
As one of the three Kings of Tokyo, Senshinkan's overall strength wouldn't be much weaker than Kaijo.
But just because of one extra Kise Ryota, the overall strength of the two teams pulled apart by a dimension.
At this time, people realized what a wise decision it was for Senshinkan to actively give up playing against Seiho and Tōō initially.
"Opponents are all players of this level; it's amazing you can win."
Ryuhei Kasuga lamented Yuuto's perversion after watching the first quarter.
How strong was Teiko last year?
Members were all like Midorima, Aomine, Kise... Although they hadn't met Murasakibara Atsushi and Akashi Seijuro yet, imagining them was enough to know they were monsters among monsters.
...
It was truly incredible that Yuuto could gnaw down Teiko a year ago.
"Ten people participate in a match, but there is only one ball." Yuuto spoke lightly.
Many fans mention the "God, Magic, King, Buddha, Shark" lineup when assembling the best historical lineup.
These five refer to Jordan, Magic Johnson, LeBron James, Duncan, and O'Neal—five historical-level players.
Individually, these five players are indeed strong in their respective positions, perhaps even the strongest.
But don't forget, except for Duncan, all five of them need the ball.
Look at LeBron; his performance in the 2011 Finals was disastrous.
Finals averaged 17.8 points, 7.2 rebounds, 6.8 assists, shooting percentage less than 50%, and averaged 4 turnovers. Such performance completely failed Nike's promotion of him.
In contrast, Wade averaged 26.5 points, 7 rebounds, 5.2 assists, shooting 54.6%.
So some people maliciously speculated that LeBron was afraid Wade would snatch the FMVP, so he deliberately threw the game in the finals.
This statement is completely wrong.
LeBron was just used to being the Emperor in Cleveland and couldn't play without the ball in his hands.
Later when the Heat won the championship, it was Wade who gave up the ball rights to him, sacrificing himself.
Only then did James get his wish to win the first championship and FMVP of his life.
Therefore.
This historical lineup looks impeccable and invincible in stats, but it's not truly invincible when playing.
At least a paranoid like Jordan, who could score 38 points with the flu, would never give up his ball rights.
Teiko was the same.
Undeniably they were very, very strong, but in that match, they were defeated by internal strife and Yuuto's ability.
...
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