Thoroughly pass from inside out and sink a 3-point shot with high probability
Ryukyu Golden Kings will face Akita Northern Happinets in the quarterfinal of the championship on May 14. Ryukyu, who dominated the match in defense, won 77-56 and decided to advance to the semi-final with consecutive wins following the previous day.
Ryukyu has a high probability of succeeding in a 3-point shot once morest Akita, who thoroughly defends the bottom of the goal with zone defense from the start. In the second quarter, Akita’s rhythm was broken by a fierce defense such as inducing 5 turnovers, and when a big quarter of 29-9 was created, he pushed out with an 18-point lead in the first half.
However, when entering the third quarter, the mass lead was alert, or “When Mr. Akita’s defense changed from zone to one-on-one, everyone stood up and ended up with a strange shot without a ball move. If I didn’t return at all, I wouldn’t be able to understand it well. I have to face it firmly and overcome it, “as head coach Dai Oketani recalls, he lacked vividness from the start. As a result, he allowed Akita to chase following him, and in the remaining 4 minutes he was narrowed down to 4 points.
In this crisis, Ryukyu regained his composure and thoroughly implemented the team offense that he should have done. With a kickout from the drive, Narito Namizato, who became open, succeeded in two precious outside angle shots in a row and cut off the bad flow. Ryukyu revived with this, and due to Akita’s lack of gas, which had to use a lot of energy to counterattack, he managed to run away easily with only 6 goals in the 4th quarter.
As mentioned at the beginning of the second round, Ryukyu had 34 3-point shots, which was much higher than the season average (22.2) due to Akita’s extreme defense. This is not the original style, but it was a big decision here that the success rate of 15 successes was 44.1%.
The commander said, “I was talking regarding hitting a shot following the inside-out pass from Dwayne (Evans) and (Allen) Durham came out,” he said, with a high probability of focusing on the process to go to the shoot. It is said that it was connected to. Among them, “I think it was Onodera (Shota) who was the best shot today,” he said. He praised Onodera, who scored 14 points.
“I got a positive word,’Shoot’, and I was able to play with a simple idea.”
In the first round of the previous day, Onodera was unexploded with one goal in nine and a half minutes. Although it is the third year of Ryukyu, there are also breakdowns and so on, so this is his first time to participate in the championship and the opponent is Akita of the old nest who was enrolled before joining Ryukyu, so he “idle”. I had done it. “
However, in this game, it was successful to change the mindset, saying, “Rather than trying to do it today, I played with the hope that Akita boosters would come and show their growth.” Above all, the encouragement of his teammates was a great help. “Yesterday, I got positive words from various players before the game with 0 shots, saying,’Shoot’. Thanks to that, I was able to play with a simple idea when I was free, which led to today’s result. I think
Onodera is 9th and 10th in rotation, but how much he is trusted is because he plays the role of Jack Cooley and Evans’ foreign players in rituals to raise their fighting spirit before the match. I can see a glimpse. Not surprisingly, he received a great welcome from his teammates when he was called his name in a hero interview following the match. Onodera says that Evans, who usually doesn’t show much emotion, also made a big guts pose to congratulate him and asked him to say something that touched his heart. “Dwayne said,’I’m proud of you.’ I’m happy to be able to play with these teammates.”
Commander “A player who has always been defeated and greedy, like a sponge”
This season, Naoki Tashiro in the first half of the season and Hayato Maki in the second half of the season have broken down, and the perimeter layer is thinning. In addition, Koh Flippin bruised his leg in the first match, and he had no choice but to limit his playtime on that day.
Before the match, Head Coach Oketani revealed to the assistant coaches that “If you can’t leave the game to Shota at the perimeter, it will be difficult in the future,” and that’s why Onodera’s success is so significant. To emphasize. “This time, I was able to take care of the game and live up to my expectations, so both the coaches and myself can be confident. This experience will come to life in the next game. It was a great success for us today.”
By finishing the quarterfinal with consecutive wins, Ryukyu can carefully adjust in Okinawa without moving days until the semifinal. It is also a bright material for Flippin’s recovery. The step-up of Onodera was also valuable in preparing for the semi-final.
By the way, Onodera, who joined the bj league Iwate Big Bulls at that time as a high school graduate, was in charge of the team there last time following he retired from the Ryukyu commander. For the commander, the fact that his disciple, who has laid the foundations as a professional basketball player and is familiar with his philosophy, is loved and enrolled as a character should have helped to build a team.
Head coach Oketani smiles at the fact that he became a colleague for the first time in seven years and showed his strongest growth. “It’s not that I grew up, but I have a special feeling that he’s growing up while hitting various walls, and now he’s on the same team. So, a sponge-like player who absorbs more and more experience. He gave me confidence from the experience and took the team to the next stage. I am full of gratitude. “
Onodera showed a play that represented his career, but it is expected that he will continue to give energy to the team in order to break through the semi-final. “Honestly, it was a lot of fun. I had to concentrate on the court, but I think I was able to relax so much that I grinned a little.”
When this situation can be reproduced even a week later, Onodera will become a Cinderella Boy who will lead Ryukyu to the final of his long-cherished desire.
