Slam Dunk: Muguro

Chapter 57: Zone Defense
At the moment of catching the ball, Kogoro Matsushita lowered his center of gravity and assumed a standard triple-threat posture.

Nobuhiko Okamoto stared closely at Kogoro Matsushita, trying to block the opponent's attack route.

Suddenly, Kogoro Matsushita started quickly, his steps were fast, his movements were smooth and quick, catching Nobuhiko Okamoto off guard.

By the time Nobuhiko Okamoto reacted, he had already lost his defensive position and was passed by Kogoro Matsushita in one step.

Akagi hurried forward to assist in defense. Suddenly, a harsh friction sound was heard and Matsushita Yukigoro made a quick stop and jump shot.

His movements were smooth and seamless, as if they had been rehearsed countless times.

Akagi tried to block the shot, but it was too late.

shuh~
The basketball drew a beautiful arc in the air and fell into the basket accurately.

Hua Hua Hua~
After Kogoro Matsushita scored, there was a loud cheer from the audience.

Taking advantage of numbers, Tsukubu fans easily suppressed the Shohoku fans. Those who didn’t know would think this was Tsukubu’s home court.

Murasaki glanced at Matsushita Kogoro and quickly replayed his message in his mind.

Yukigoro Matsushita is the captain and core of Tsukuba Tsukuba. He has excellent explosive power and breakthrough ability, and can always easily tear open the opponent's defense.

However, Matsushita Kogoro is not without his shortcomings.

His shooting is not very stable, but when he is in good shape, his shooting is almost unstoppable, comparable to top scorers.

Once the touch is not good, they will struggle a lot and may even affect the offensive rhythm of the entire team.

To put it simply, this is a nerve-wracking knife!

In addition, Yukigoro Matsushita also has obvious shortcomings in defense. He prefers to devote his energy to offense, and his performance on the defensive end is often unsatisfactory.

This is mainly related to Tsukushige's playing style. Tsukushige's players are generally not tall enough, their offense and defense transitions are extremely fast, and their fast and flexible playing style makes them elusive on the court.

At the same time, this style of play requires players to run constantly on the court and participate in fast breaks, leaving almost no extra energy to be invested in defense.

Therefore, Tsukuba players prefer to make up for their defensive deficiencies by scoring more points.

Offense and defense transition!

The offensive rhythm of the Xiangbei team is still slow and orderly.

Akagi came to the front court and Kimura Hiroshi tried to block him, but Akagi's strong resistance made him helpless.

Coach Kazumi Kawasaki had to come to the sidelines and signaled to Matsushita Teru who was not far away: "Matsushita, as soon as Akagi catches the ball, double-team Akagi immediately!"

He couldn't continue to let Akagi go, otherwise the consequences would be disastrous.

Matsushita Teru nodded to show that he understood.

"Okamoto, ball!"

Suddenly, Akagi pointed to the basket.

Nobuhiko Okamoto understood what he meant, and after knocking Natsume Hiroshi back, he threw the ball towards the basket with force.

Although Natsume Hiroshi tried his best to block it, the height difference between the two was there and there was nothing he could do.

Akagi stared closely at the basketball flying in the air and quickly predicted where the basketball would land.

He easily knocked Kimura Hiroshi away, then jumped up, grabbed the basketball with both hands, and tried to do an aerial relay.

"Don't think about it!"

Matsushita Teru saw through Akagi's intention. He rushed forward without hesitation and tried his best to stop him.

At the moment their bodies touched, Matsushita Teru's expression suddenly changed. He felt a huge force coming from Akagi and he flew backwards involuntarily.

Bang~
With a loud bang, Akagi performed another gorilla dunk and slammed the ball into the basket.

There was a loud cheer at the scene. Akagi's wonderful performance undoubtedly ignited the enthusiasm of Xiangbei fans.

For a moment, the fans of Tsukubuki were suppressed instead.

Matsushita Hui rubbed his chest with a little pain and climbed up from the ground with difficulty.

"Damn, Akagi scored again!" Seeing Akagi score again, Tomokazu Goshiro felt extremely unbalanced.

When he was at Beicun Middle School, he was the captain and core of the team, and his position was unshakable.

After just a few months, the outstanding performance of Akagi and Murasakibara made Tomokazu Goshiro feel unprecedented pressure.

Pressure is motivation, and Tomokazu Goshiro has demonstrated this well.

Tsukushige's attack pace was very fast, and they tried to use speed and coordination to tear through the Xiangbei team's defense.

Tomokazu Wushiro kept running on the court, and his teammates were also consciously creating opportunities for him.

Soon, Tomokazu Goshiro ran out of the open space and appeared outside the three-point line in the bottom corner.

Natsume Hiroshi was quick with his eyes and hands and passed the ball quickly.

Tomokazu Goshiro jumped up decisively, stretched his body in the air, and threw the basketball in his hand.

shuh~
The basketball drew a beautiful arc in the air and hit the basket accurately.

6:5
Offense and defense transition!

In order to limit Akagi's performance, coach Kazumi Kawasaki waved to Yukigoro Matsushita.

Kogoro Matsushita immediately came to coach Kazumi Kawasaki.

"Matsushita, double-triple defense!"

Matsushita Kogoro nodded vigorously to show that he understood.

The fundamental difference between zone defense and man-to-man defense is that the goal of man-to-man defense is to defend the opponent's players, while the goal of zone defense is to defend the ball.

In zone defense, defensive players move according to the transfer of the ball, cooperate with each other, each responsible for an area, and connect various areas to contain and disrupt the opponent's offense.

The advantages of the double-three zone defense are very obvious. It effectively strengthens the defense under the basket and at the baseline, and is more conducive to grabbing rebounds.

The players of Tsukuba took immediate action. They quickly adjusted their defensive formation and prepared to use a double-three zone defense to limit Akagi's performance.

Soon, Akagi received another pass from Nobuhiko Okamoto.

Tsukuba took immediate action and, using the double-three defense system, took advantage of local numbers to form a tight defensive network, which obviously restricted Akagi.

"Akagi, ball!"

Suddenly, Murasakibara appeared outside the three-point line and reached out to Akagi for the ball.

He quickly analyzed the situation on the field and made a decisive decision.

Murasakibara has some understanding of the two-three zone defense and is well aware of its weaknesses.

Whether it is the front of the three-point line or the 35°-45° angle area, they are both weak links in the double-triple defense.

Due to the positioning and visual limitations of the defensive players, these areas are often easy to become breakthrough points.

Akagi immediately jumped up and threw the ball towards Muguruma with force.

Without hesitation, Murasakibara caught the ball and shot.

His body stretched in the air, his arms extended, and his wrists shook lightly. The whole set of movements was smooth, fluid and natural.

Tomokazu Goshiro, who was closest to the player, immediately realized that something was wrong and rushed over to try to interfere with Murasakibara's shot.

However, Murasakibara's attack speed was too fast, and Tomokazu Goshiro was still a step slow.

shuh~
The basketball went into the net, creating a splash of color on the net.

9:5
This three-pointer not only won the team valuable three points, but also dealt a heavy blow to the opponent on the psychological level.

The players of Tsukuba looked at each other in bewilderment. They had been full of confidence in the double-three zone defense and believed that this defensive strategy could effectively limit Akagi's performance.

However, Murasakibara's three-pointer woke them up from their blind confidence in the double-three zone defense.

(End of this chapter)