Basketball miracles

Chapter 200 [The Japanese Invaders Are Here, and We Win the Championship]

After arriving in Hiroshima, Aida Yayoi, a well-known reporter from Kanagawa, did not wander around aimlessly. Instead, she and her team followed and interviewed the Shohoku team, becoming a very aggressive reporter who stayed with the team.

She understands basketball and knows that Shohoku, who easily defeats Ryonan and Kainan, is the biggest favorite to win the championship this year. Tomorrow, Shohoku will face the defending champion Sannoh Kogyo, and the outcome is pretty much a foregone conclusion.

Aida Yayoi loves interviewing Xiao Tu, but unfortunately, Xiao Tu was too lazy to talk after his big victory today.

Xiao Tu had been in Japan for nearly half a year, and all the Japanese treated him with great courtesy; some were even obsequious. Today, he had learned something new, and his only thought was, "A gangster who doesn't use his brain will be a scoundrel for life."

The Shohoku team returned to the Japanese-style hotel "Chidori-so" by bus. Due to limited funds, Shohoku's accommodations were rather basic, resembling a guesthouse, with many players crammed into one room and sleeping on the floor.

Nan Lie wouldn't even have the chance to cause trouble for Xiao Tu, because Xiao Tu and Uchida Yuki were staying in a luxury hotel and taking a ride to the stadium. He wouldn't eat, sleep, or do anything with his teammates; that would be torture, and he wouldn't be able to sleep at all.

That night, something amazing happened.

Nan Lie and Kishimoto gathered a group of thugs and fans from Osaka, and with an arrogant and domineering air, they headed towards Chidori-so, where the Shohoku team was located, carrying sticks they had somehow acquired.

They had barely arrived at the location and hadn't even seen anyone from the Shohoku team when they were surrounded by the Hiroshima police.

After receiving a call from the organizers of the national competition, the police even dispatched the mobile unit. A group of people, armed with sticks and weapons and wearing protective suits, surrounded and beat up the thugs. What a spectacular scene!

Hiroshima hadn't seen anything like this in years. They treated these scoundrels like gangsters, beating them up first and then sending these idiots from Osaka to the detention center.

Xiao Tu and Yuki Uchida played another match, and then slept soundly, only finding out about it the next day.

The three people in charge of the event personally went to the hotel to apologize to Xiao Tu. They were all quite old, but their attitude was as humble as that of the characters in the movie "Devils on the Doorstep".

Aside from the apology, the person in charge's meaning was quite simple, roughly equivalent to—you are my master, and I am your servant!

Yuki Uchida, watching from the side, felt embarrassed for these people; these middle-aged men really had thick skin.

Xiao Tu didn't stand on ceremony with these wild sons. "I called my dad yesterday to tell him about the competition, I didn't expect there to be a follow-up. You can decide how to handle it. I have to say, the security situation in Japan is so bad that I can't even imagine it. I think the American media might be very interested in this."

The three men immediately expressed their fear, saying that the police would definitely deal with these gangsters seriously, and that neither the mastermind nor the accomplices would be let off the hook.

Xiao Tu was stunned.

How did they all turn into gangsters overnight?
Xiao Tu was unaware of how imposing Feng Yu was last night, with over a hundred people gathered in the street. Gang fights don't usually involve that many people, because recruiting young people is too difficult.

As the mastermind, Nan Lie will definitely have a criminal record and will be shot.

Japan passed a "Anti-Organized Crime Law" last year and is currently cracking down on it.

This regulation itself doesn't arrest or sentence people. Its only function is to label someone as a gang member and "remove" them from the social system.

In layman's terms, it means that the state uses administrative means to call on all members of society, from banks and businesses to landlords and convenience stores, not to have any relationship with members of violent gangs.

It's like a game GM directly giving a specific player guild a permanent curse debuff. All members of this guild have red names above their heads, all NPCs in all cities refuse to trade with them, they can't accept quests, can't use the bank or warehouse, and can't even enter the main city.

With such a tight net in place, who with a sound mind would join a gang?

Xiao Tu wouldn't care about these things and was too lazy to ask. He didn't even try to avoid suspicion, and went to the stadium in the person in charge's car. His vacation was coming to an end, and he wasn't just going back to the United States; he also planned to travel the world.

Shohoku High School suddenly became a top contender for the championship. Their match against Sannoh Industrial High School became the focus of attention, with many fans feeling that the schedule was unreasonable, as it was tantamount to the championship game being played ahead of schedule.

The game started promptly at 11:30 a.m., with Shohoku fielding their usual starting lineup.

Sannoh Industrial's initial lineup: Kazunari Fukatsu, Satoshi Ichinokura, Eiji Sawakita, Masahiro Nobe, and Masafumi Kawata.

Instead of the fierce battle that fans were expecting, Shohoku took an early 18-4 lead.

Akagi Takenori pulled out to screen for Mitsui Hisashi, who then made four three-pointers. Guard Ichinokura Satoshi is only 171cm tall; Xiao Tu couldn't understand why Coach Domoto considered him a defensive expert.

This guy is the most persistent and patient player in Sannoh, what does that have to do with basketball? His tenacious defense is ruined by a screen, and once he gets around it, there's no way to block it. Domoto assigned him to guard Xiao Tu, but he was easily beaten again; he's too thin, and a close-range bump is all it takes to get past him.

On defense, Shohoku continued with their box-1 strategy, focusing on controlling the paint, while Xiao Tu primarily guarded Sawakita Eiji on the perimeter. Even Japan's top high school player was merely a practice partner against Xiao Tu.

Sannoh's key tactic was to give Zebei the ball for one-on-one plays while the others watched. Xiao Tu's defense resulted in a very low shooting percentage for Zebei, who then became aggressive and kept attacking, leading to the team trailing by 37 points at halftime.

Sakuragi Hanamichi delivered a memorable performance, effectively shutting down Kawata Mikio. The 210cm, 130kg center, Kawata, lacked explosiveness and shooting range, and was easily neutralized by Sakuragi outside the paint. His slow movement on defense allowed Mitsui to capitalize on screens and sink two more three-pointers.

Sannoh Industrial also lacks three-point shooting options. Kawata Masashi has range but can only shoot; he can't kill anyone with a three-point shot. Shohoku only needs one person nearby to disrupt Kawata's jump shot; Akagi doesn't need to follow him out of the paint.

In the manga, Shohoku always used man-to-man marking, and Akagi foolishly followed Kawata out, leaving the paint wide open. Coach Anzai had no tactics on the defensive end; his offensive tactic was simply, "Sakuragi, you're the key, you need to grab the offensive rebounds."

In the second half, Sannoh Industrial pressed the court with full pressure, but it was ineffective. Xiao Tu usually practiced dribbling against pressure in the team, and with his teammates' support and off-ball movement, many open spaces appeared on the court, allowing Shohoku players to score easily.

With a final score of 134-61, Shohoku crushed Sannoh by 73 points, utterly defeating the defending champions.

Sannoh's interior defense was strong, so Xiao Tu took more shots in this game, scoring 45 points, 6 rebounds, 23 assists, 6 steals, and 4 blocks. He took his matchup against Sawakita Eiji more seriously.

In the end, it seems that it's better for Sawakita to stay in Japan. He's a liability who combines driving and shooting, rarely passes the ball, and is addicted to forcing shots against the defense and missing them.

On the Sannoh Industrial side, Masashi Kawata was the only starter with the superior statistics. Akagi's strength was not as good as Kawata's, so he could only pull out to cover for his teammates and occasionally get a free kick.

Xiao Tu felt that Akagi's potential was limited. After practicing basketball for several years, his mid-range shot from the high post was not as accurate as Sakuragi's after a few casual practice sessions.

Afterwards, led by Xiao Tu, Shohoku defeated Aiwa Academy, Tanglai Industrial, and Hainan, easily advancing to the finals. Shohoku not only had the strongest overall strength, but also had an advantage in referee calls.

Xiao Tu noticed something: after the incident at Fengyu High School, the referees' officiating standards became stricter. Xiao Tu had star power; no one could argue with that.

Xiao Tu didn't know what punishment Nan Lie would receive, nor did he ask. He didn't take this petty scoundrel seriously, figuring he had no future.

The only strong team Shohoku didn't face was Meihou Industrial, who were eliminated by Hakata Business School. This proves that Morishige Hiroshi can't just dominate indiscriminately; he'll be contained by teams with strong inside presence.

Hakata is a twin-tower team that relies on their tall players and zone defense to win, similar to Shohoku's style. The final was still one-sided; Hakata's zone defense didn't work well against Shohoku, but it made things difficult for Takenori Akagi.

Shohoku didn't force the game; instead, they unleashed a barrage of three-pointers from the perimeter and launched fast breaks, completely overwhelming Hakata in one fell swoop.

Shohoku proved the power of their run-and-gun offense, a stark irony for Toyotama, who were eliminated in the first game. It wasn't that the run-and-gun offense was ineffective; it was that Toyotama's players were simply not good enough.

Sakuragi Hanamichi and Rukawa Kaede put on several spectacular dunks, and Shohoku also had an advantage in rebounds.

By the time they reached the finals, Sakuragi had honed his offensive rebounding and second-chance points into formidable weapons, and occasionally even managed to catch the ball and shoot an open mid-range jumper.

Sakuragi and Rukawa became the most eye-catching rookies in the tournament. It's said that Sakuragi had only practiced basketball for four months, and many prestigious universities became interested in him.

Sakuragi will definitely be admitted to a prestigious university through a guaranteed admission program, but there's no need for him to go. He plans to take Xiao Tu's advice and work hard to become a professional basketball player.

Shohoku's balanced attack led to a dominant 137-65 victory over Hakata, securing the championship.

Everyone at Shohoku High School was excited after winning the championship, except for Xiao Tu.

He felt nothing; he felt it was a bit too much of a bullying, as these sparring partners were not even as good as American high school students.

The good news is that his dribbling skills have improved significantly, and he has accumulated a lot of passing experience.

Even if a small forward isn't physically gifted, he's confident he can become a superstar with the Heat. It doesn't matter if his teammates are less capable; his individual skill is what matters.

It's time to go back to 2003 and challenge those famous NBA stars.

(End of this chapter)