Slam Dunk: Muguro

Chapter 376 The End of Hainan Affiliated High School

Half an hour later, the second match officially began.

Shohoku vs. Minowa
Jilun is a long-established powerhouse in the county, consistently occupying a top-eight spot and occasionally making it to the joint finals.

Unfortunately, they ran into Shohoku!

In the audience, Kogure and the others began to observe the situation.

Not far away, the mustachioed shopkeeper was shouting his heart out to cheer for his alma mater.

Unfortunately, his voice was completely drowned out by the momentum created by Xiangyang.

Compared to Shoyo, Minowa's momentum was completely suppressed.

Among all the teams, Shohoku's fans are absolutely unique, mostly composed of Shohoku students.

As the players from both sides took to the court, Mitsui couldn't help but shake his head: "Shohoku might be in some danger next year!"

Kogure understood Mitsui's meaning and added, "Shohoku's new generation doesn't have any particularly outstanding players. If they can't recruit top-tier newcomers next year, it will be difficult for them to remain competitive!"

In this year's recruitment, Shohoku, Ryonan, and Takezato all recruited outstanding freshmen players.

These newcomers have demonstrated remarkable strength and potential, injecting fresh blood into the team.

However, Xiangyang High School appeared unusually deserted.

Despite their considerable strength, they failed to attract outstanding new students this year.

To make matters worse, the performance of Shohoku's second-year players was also unsatisfactory.

They lack sufficient competitiveness to fill the void left by their predecessors.

As a result, when Shohoku's F4 graduates in the future, Shohoku will likely face a serious talent gap problem.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, it seems unlikely that Xiangyang will be able to qualify for the national tournament next year.

If Xiangyang wants to turn things around, the best way is to recruit freshmen who are capable of becoming ace players next year.

At this moment, the match officially began.

Shohoku did not field its full strength squad, sending only two key players, Minami and Kishimoto, along with three key substitutes: Ito Taku, Takano, and Nagano.

Nevertheless, Minowa was no match for Shoyo.

From the very beginning of the match, Ji Lun was clearly at a disadvantage.

However, Minowa's situation is slightly better than Miura Dai's, at least the score is not as wide.

The player who performed the best in this match was Kishimoto.

Minowa lacks a strong inside player, and even its tallest player is only 185 cm tall, which allows Kishimoto to dominate the paint and make every attack seem effortless.

In addition, Nan Lie also occasionally launched surprise attacks from outside the paint.

Led by the two, Xiangyang's offensive surged like a tidal wave, one after another.

Minowa had absolutely no way to restrain the two, and with Takano and Nagano's height advantage, they were almost powerless to fight back.

The balance of the game has completely tilted in Shohoku's favor.

By the end of the first half, Ji Lun was already down by thirty points.

If Nan Lie and Kishimoto hadn't held back, the point difference would have widened even further.

In the second half, Coach Kitano waved his hand, and Minami and Kishimoto did not continue to play. Instead, two freshmen who did not deserve to be named took their place.

These two freshmen each have their own strengths, but they are only at the level of substitutes for strong teams, and can be considered as the tallest among the short.

Coach Kitano was helpless; he was too old and simply didn't have the extra energy to recruit new students.

Even though Minami and Kishimoto didn't continue playing, the morale of the Minowa players had collapsed. They seemed lost on the field, like zombies.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Xiangyang continued to extend their lead, making the outcome of the game a foregone conclusion.

Seeing this, Coach Ji Lun had no choice but to substitute his main players.

In the end, Shohoku defeated Minowa by a large margin.

From the audience, Kogure sighed, "The main event is here! It's finally Ryonan's turn to take the stage!"

They stayed here because they wanted to watch this game.

This doesn't mean that Hainan High School can pose a threat to Ryonan, but rather that the Shohoku players want to see the former champions fade away.

Not long after, Lingnan and Hainan Affiliated High School finally took to the field.

Compared to last year, this Hainan Affiliated High School can only be described as terrible.

Kogure could only remember Kazuma Takasago, Masashi Muto, Yoshinori Miyamasu, and Ryūsei Oda.

Of these, Yoshinori Miyamasu has almost no chance of playing.

There's no way around it; a genius like Sakuragi is so rare that it would be hard to find another one like him.

"No, Nango's personality is similar to Sakuragi's, so Yoshinori Miyamasu might actually get to play."

At that moment, Kogure thought of Nango Koichiro.

Nango's personality is almost identical to Sakuragi's; I wonder if he'll fall for it?

At this moment, Coach Taoka and Coach Takato shook hands as usual.

"Coach Gao, please give me your guidance!"

While speaking, Coach Taoka couldn't help but smile.

Seeing Taoka Shigeichi's expression, Takato Riki's mood worsened.

Coach Gao Tou, burning with anger, said coldly, "Coach Tian Gang, this is just a temporary setback. Our Hainan Affiliated High School will definitely return to the top!"

"Here's the question: Were you still a coach at Hainan High School back then?"

After leaving those words, Coach Taoka ignored Coach Takato and turned to leave.

"Yes, would I still be able to stay at Hainan High School at that time?"

Coach Gao muttered to himself, his expression one of utter desolation.

Unless a miracle occurs and Hainan High School defeats Lingnan High School to advance to the joint finals, the school's leadership will definitely not let him off the hook.

Without a doubt, Coach Gao is the best candidate to take the blame.

However, Coach Gao Tou still held onto a sliver of hope: what if they won?
Coach Gao mustered his spirits, eager to give it his all.

Soon, Coach Gao began to arrange the lineup.

Center: Kazuma Takasago

Ohmae:Muto Masaru

Frontline: Tatsumasa Oda
Shooting Guard: Kosugane
Point Guard: Supporting Role

This lineup is somewhat meager, but it is the best lineup that Hainan High School can field.

Not a single player in this starting lineup could be ranked in the top 20 of Slam Dunk.

The highest-ranked is Kazuma Takasago, but he clearly doesn't have that kind of strength.

On the other side, Coach Taoka did not underestimate Hainan High School and fielded his strongest lineup, consisting of Uozumi, Nango, Ikegami, Matsumoto Minoru, and Sendoh.

In addition, Jin, Fukuda, and Kiyota Nobunaga were also on the Ryonan bench.

This Ryonan force can be described as having a strong and well-equipped army.

Coach Takato's expression was grim when he saw Ryonan's starting lineup.

He had originally hoped that Ryonan would only send some of their main players, like Shohoku and Shoyo, giving Hainan High School a chance to steal some points.

Unfortunately, Coach Taoka played too steadily, giving Coach Takato no chance to take shortcuts.

The one who knows you best is always your opponent!
The two have been rivals since high school, nearly twenty years ago, and know each other very well.

After the match started, Uozumi overpowered Takasago Kazuma and successfully jumped the ball.

Under Sendoh's organization, Ryonan players easily broke through Hainan High School's defense and scored.

Due to the disparity in player skill, Hainan High School's seemingly tight defense proved completely ineffective against Ryonan High School. When it was Hainan High School's turn to attack, they noticeably improved their teamwork.

Soon, Muto used his teammate's screen to shake off Nango, creating an opportunity.

The Hainan point guard, a player with solid fundamentals, immediately chose to pass the ball.

Muto caught the ball and immediately shot, but he seemed to have underestimated Nango's athleticism.

"Nani!"

Muto was utterly horrified to see Nango suddenly appear before him.

pop~
Nanxiang leaped high and delivered a powerful volleyball block, sending the ball flying out of bounds.

In the audience, Mitsui, resting his chin on his hand, asked, "Why does Hainan High School's tactic look so familiar?"

"I feel the same way!"

Akagi, standing nearby, was just short of saying, "Me too."

"Don't you think this looks a lot like Hakata?"

With Kogure's reminder, the two suddenly realized what was going on.

Since Amu transferred to Aihe Academy, Hainan High School has lost its Optimus Prime.

To compensate for Maki's lack of skill, Coach Takato had to start imitating Hakata University of Commerce Affiliated High School, focusing on teamwork.

Without a doubt, Hakata is the best role model for this Hainan Affiliated High School team.

Unfortunately, Coach Gao Tou had too little time.

In just over a month, Hainan Affiliated High School has only managed to achieve a superficial resemblance to the real thing, without truly grasping the essence of team basketball.

Soon, Hainan High School initiated a throw-in.

The Hainan players kept passing the ball around, but no opportunity ever arose.

Too many passes inevitably lead to mistakes; in yet another pass, Kosuke's pass was a beat too slow.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Ikegami overpowered Oda Ryusei and touched the basketball first.

Nango got the basketball, passed it to Sendoh, and then sprinted towards the frontcourt.

Muto was desperately chasing Nango, but to his dismay, the distance between them was not only not shrinking, but was actually widening further.

Nanxiang surged ahead, disappearing into the three-point line in the blink of an eye.

Sendoh immediately threw the ball with all his might, and the basketball flew towards Nanxiang at high speed like a cannonball, even giving it a certain amount of headroom.

After a year of training, Sendoh's passing quality has improved significantly.

Bang~

After receiving the ball, Nango strode into the basket and delivered a tomahawk dunk.

Throughout the entire process, Muto never caught up.

"This guy is taller than me, how can he run so fast? He doesn't feel slower than 'traitor' Amu."

That's right, in Muto's mind, Maki is a traitor.

This is similar to the future implementation of the decision by the Cavaliers, who consider him a traitor.

Unfortunately, the Cavaliers' owner wasn't hard-hearted enough, allowing the traitor to return and continue managing the team.

That's just how businessmen are!
The game continued, and Sendoh's organizational skills became increasingly refined, always managing to pass the ball to his teammates when opportunities arose.

Under Sendoh's leadership, Ryonan's every attack rendered the opponent's defense utterly ineffective.

They have a variety of scoring methods, including accurate three-pointers, sharp layups, and excellent teamwork.

From the start of the match, Ryonan took control of the game and quickly extended their lead.

Hainan High School tried to catch up, but Ryonan High School's defense was impenetrable.

Uozumi is now an 'Awakened Fish', and his strength is clearly superior to Takasago's.

Even though Takasago has a high ball IQ, he still didn't achieve much against absolute strength.

However, Takasago is already the best performing player at Hainan High School.

As Inoue's handpicked second-best in muscle strength, Uozumi will need to put in a lot of effort to score against Takasago.

Muto's performance was almost on par with Takasago's, because his opponent was the rather impetuous Nango.

As for the other players from Hainan High School, their performance on the field can only be described as terrible.

Among them, Oda Tatsumasa performed the worst.

Unlike the original story, his foot was not injured; the main problem was attributed to his opponent, Ikegami.

As a national defensive stalwart, Ikegami's defensive skills are beyond question, and his experience is also extensive, having faced off against Kogure, Sawakita, Mitsui, and others...

In short, his opponents are mostly ace players from strong teams.

Compared to these players, Ryūsei Oda is far inferior in ability.

Under Ikegami's restrictions, Oda Ryusei was almost unable to score and made one mistake after another. It was a truly miserable situation!
It can be said that Lingnan High School's five positions completely outclass Hainan High School's, and the extent of their advantage is self-evident.

In just five minutes, Ryonan took a 15-point lead.

The atmosphere on the Hainan substitutes' bench was unusually tense.

Coach Gao Tou was no longer as calm as he usually was; his brows were furrowed, revealing his inner anxiety.

Coach Gao paced back and forth on the sidelines, his eyes fixed on the field, occasionally giving instructions to the players, hoping to find an opportunity to turn the tide.

However, his efforts seemed to be in vain.

Despite the Hainan players' efforts to change and show better form, Ryonan's defense remained solid, repeatedly thwarting their offense and making it difficult for them to find a breakthrough.

Seeing this, Coach Gao Tou finally lost his temper.

Finally, after Oda Ryusei made another mistake, Coach Takato could no longer contain his anger. He snapped the paper fan in his hand with a sharp crack.

At this moment, three broken paper fans had gathered at his feet.

This shows just how bad his mood was.

The substitute players on the Hainan bench sat upright, trying to remain silent to avoid angering Coach Gao.

In the past two years, due to the team's poor performance, Coach Takato's temperament has become increasingly worse.

Time ticked by, and the situation became increasingly unfavorable for Hainan.

At this point, Coach Takato seemed to have seized an opportunity and substituted Yoshinori Miyamasu onto the field to match up against Nango.

It must be said that Coach Gao's judgment is indeed accurate.

With Yoshinori Miyamasu on the court, Nango became almost a carbon copy of Sakuragi, missing every shot he took.

In just two minutes, Nango missed two shots in a row, and because of him, Yoshinori Miyamasu made two three-pointers.

For a time, the morale of Hainan High School recovered somewhat.

When Nango received the ball again, Uozumi couldn't stand it anymore and immediately shouted, "Idiot, dunk!"

Nanxiang finally realized what was happening, and immediately leaped up, slamming the ball into the basket.

At the same time, Yoshifumi Miyagi was also knocked off course by Nango.

The referee didn't blow the whistle because Nango's move was clean; it was just that Miyamasu's body was too frail, and he flew away with the slightest touch.

Coach Takato did not give up and continued to keep Miyamasu on the field.

Soon, Nango scored again with an easy dunk.

Left with no other option, Coach Takato had to substitute his "surprise weapon" Miyamasu off the field, but this was his last stand.

When the game ended, Lingnan defeated Hainan Affiliated High School by a large margin.

The once-dominant Hainan Affiliated High School has finally seen the last rays of its setting sun!

(End of this chapter)