Slam Dunk: Muguro

Chapter 379 Mike Okita's Disaster!
The timeout ended, and both teams returned to the court.

Every Buri player kept the coach's instructions in mind and began to fight back.

sigh~
After the serve was restarted, Ebina quickly organized the team to launch an attack.

Ebina's eyes quickly scanned the field, ready to pass the ball.

Soon, Hikaru blocked Rukawa, creating a precious opening for Katsumi Ichiro.

Katsumi Ichiro seized the opportunity and successfully escaped from Rukawa Kaede.

Seeing that Katsumi Ichiro had broken free of the defense, Ebina immediately passed the ball.

Katsumi Ichiro received the basketball smoothly outside the three-point line at the corner.

Upon receiving the ball, Katsumi Ichiro made no adjustments, leaped up, and with a slight flick of his wrist, threw the ball toward the basket.

The basketball traced a beautiful arc in the air, heading straight for the basket.

sigh~
As the sound of the basketball piercing the net rang out, the Buri players all breathed a sigh of relief.

This crucial goal greatly boosted the morale of the Buri team.

They finally broke their scoring drought!

Kogure and the others were not surprised by this.

Shohoku is indeed very strong, but it's impossible for them to shut out Takezato without a win.

No matter what, Buri is a nationally strong team.

Kogure remained silent, demonstrating his resolve through his actions.

When it was Shohoku's turn to attack, Kogure had just crossed half-court with the ball when Mike Okita closed in.

Mike Okita adopted a strategy of both preventing throws and charges, keeping a step's distance between the two.

In an instant, Kogure initiated a cross step.

Under Kogure's ball control rhythm, Mike Okita's defense appeared clumsy and powerless, completely unable to keep up with Kogure's pace.

As Kogure changed direction again, Mike Okita tried to keep up, but his steps became erratic and he completely lost his balance.

If Mike Okita hadn't braced himself on the floor with his right hand in time, he would likely have been knocked to the ground by Kogure again.

Even so, Mike Okita was still shaken and deeply frustrated.

"drink!"

As Kogure broke through Mike Okita's defenses, Mitsuaki Nagato shouted loudly, trying to bolster his own morale, and charged aggressively towards Kogure.

Kogure was not intimidated by Meiko's imposing presence; he kept a close eye on the situation on the field.

Before Ming Gaoguang could step forward, Kogure flicked his wrist and delivered a brilliant pass.

Meiko didn't even see how Kogure passed the ball!
Where's the ball?

When Ming Gaoguang was helping to defend, Akagi understood immediately, quickly cut to the basket, and as he received the ball, he used his waist and abdomen to make an alley-oop.

Bang~

Akagi completes a gorilla dunk!
Perhaps due to excessive excitement, after landing on the ground, Akagi pounded his chest with both hands, making a dull thud.

"Indeed, there are no wrong nicknames, only wrong names."

Seeing Akagi's actions, Mitsui couldn't help but laugh.

It's worth noting that "gorilla" was a nickname he gave to Akagi.

As for Sakuragi, he simply shared the same view as Mitsui.

This is also the only point where Sakuragi resonates with Mitsui.

At this moment, Sakuragi was still bothering Coach Anzai, wanting to get on the field.

Offense and defense reversed!

During this attack, Mike Okita temporarily escaped Kogure with the help of his teammates' cover.

Ebina immediately passed the ball to Mike Okita, who strode into the paint, ready to silence the doubters with a spectacular dunk.

"Nani!"

At the crucial moment, a large hand came from behind and blocked the shot with a powerful block.

slap~
The basketball hit the rim with a dull thud.

The one who blocked the shot was none other than Kogure.

Mike landed on the ground and instinctively wanted to take a step back to catch the falling basketball.

Unfortunately, he couldn't budge Kogure at all when he bumped into him.

Kogure easily caught the basketball with a light, extended arm.

The next moment, Kogure threw the ball with all his might.

At this moment, Rukawa Kaede was almost down.

Mike Okita wanted to stop him, but he couldn't.

The basketball flew quickly towards the frontcourt and headed towards the basket.

As soon as the ball arrived, Rukawa Kaede leaped up to receive it and delivered a powerful backhand slam dunk.

Bang~

Kogure's pass was perfectly executed in terms of power, angle, and height.

This is also why Rukawa Kaede didn't make any adjustments.

Hua Hua Hua~
The next moment, a burst of enthusiastic applause and cheers erupted in the stadium.

The 'Rukawa fans' hugged each other excitedly, and then raised their legs high in excitement.

The male audience members below stared in disbelief at the scene.

This is the special benefit of having the 'Rukawa fate'!

After scoring this goal, Buri's upward momentum was severely halted, and it also dealt a significant psychological blow.

Kogure stared at Mike Okita and said, "Mike Okita, if your skills stop here, your fate is already sealed!"

Under Kogure's repression, Mike Okita faces extreme psychological and physical challenges.

"This guy is strong, that's one thing, but the key is that he has no weaknesses!"

Mike Okita was under immense pressure, and the thought of his arrogant provocation towards Kogure before the match filled him with frustration.

He was publicly humiliated, and his other cheek was also offered up.

In his matchup against Kogure, Kogure improved in all five statistical categories, while he has yet to break his zero.

This clearly demonstrates just how vast the gap is between the two sides!
Buri served again very quickly.

Ebinayo once again dribbled the ball past half-court. Just as he was preparing to organize the team's attack, suddenly, Okita Kogure, who was originally chasing Mike, abruptly changed direction and pounced on Ebinayo.

Ebina was startled and instinctively tried to protect the ball.

Unfortunately, Mitsui was still in front of him.

With one player unable to defend the other, Mitsui pounced on the opportunity and successfully made a steal.

slap~
“Very spicy!”

The moment Mitsui made the steal, Ebina tried to entangle Mitsui, giving his teammates time to get back on defense.

Unfortunately, Mitsui passed the ball to Kogure, who dribbled down the court like lightning, initiating another fast break for Shohoku.

Mike Okita immediately rushed back to defend as fast as he could, trying to stop Kogure's attack.

Despite his exhaustion, Mike Okita finally caught up with him.

The two began to run side by side, with Mike Okita trying to slow down Kogure and ensure his teammates had enough time to get back on defense.

However, he overestimated himself.

During the high-speed movement, Kogure once again demonstrated the Euro step.

His footwork was agile and varied, which affected Mike Okita's center of gravity again, and he almost lost his balance again.

Mike Okita was struggling and had to slow down to avoid falling.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Kogure completed his breakthrough.

At this moment, the audience watched with expectant eyes, hoping that Kogure would begin his performance again.

After successfully shaking off Mike Okita, Kogure accelerated again.

The moment he stepped into the paint, he reached his maximum speed, leaped up, and then slammed the ball into the basket with a 360° spin.

The entire sequence of movements was executed in one smooth motion, brimming with the beauty of a combination of power and grace, seemingly paying homage to the future 'demigods'.

Bang~
Instantly, thunderous applause and cheers erupted in the stadium.

Countless viewers went wild for Kogure's spectacular performance. This was simply not the level of a high school league match; even in university leagues, such a visual feast is rare.

This 360° spin dunk further dampened the morale of the Buri team.

Mike Okita stood with his hands on his hips, his expression full of helplessness.

At this moment, the Buri bench was completely silent, and a tense atmosphere permeated every corner.

Coach Kazumi Kawasaki adjusted his glasses and let out a sigh.

Shohoku is too strong; he simply can't think of a good solution.

The game continued, and the Shohoku team demonstrated amazing tactical execution.

Compared to two years ago, this Shohoku team has matured.

Although Rukawa Kaede has only been with the Shohoku team for a little over a month, he is already familiar with everything about the team and can quickly integrate into their tactical system, achieving a seamless transition.

By rapidly switching between offense and defense, Shohoku constantly put pressure on their opponents, thereby quickly expanding their lead.

By the end of the first half, Shohoku's lead had reached 32 points.

This is undoubtedly a rather astonishing number, after all, Buriram United is not only not weak, but very strong.

To some extent, the two teams seem to be on completely different levels.

As the offensive core of Buri FC, Mike Okita's performance in the first half was less than satisfactory.

Throughout the first half, Mike Okita had a cold shooting night, going 0-for-5 and failing to score a single point.

To make matters worse, Mike Okita made several mistakes.

His performance against Kogure was absolutely terrible.

In contrast, Kogure put up a triple-double with 30+ points in the first half.

He also became one of the reasons why Buri team fell into a passive position.

This was the first time Mike Okita had encountered such a situation since he started playing basketball, which deeply affected him and left him in a daze.

During halftime, Sakuragi was still trying to pat the fat under Coach Anzai's neck.

In the first half, Coach Anzai surprisingly did not substitute him onto the field.

"Coach, let Sakuragi replace me in the second half!"

Kogure casually mentioned it, successfully earning Sakuragi's gratitude.

"Okay! Sakuragi, Mike Okita is in your hands now. If you don't perform well, I'll replace you."

Coach Anzai did not reject the star player's offer.

In fact, he had this idea for a long time.

The reason he suppressed Sakuragi was mainly because he hoped that Sakuragi could be more composed.

Unlike Rukawa, Sakuragi is too impulsive.

"Senior, I can't thank you enough. How about I kowtow to you instead!"

As soon as Coach Anzai finished speaking, perhaps due to excessive excitement, Sakuragi wanted to immediately bow down to Kogure.

"useless!"

Kogure was caught off guard and quickly helped Sakuragi up.

"The lineup for the second half is as follows: Naito, Sakuragi, Rukawa, Yamamoto, and Mito!"

Coach Anzai made a decision very quickly.

Even with such a large lead, Coach Anzai remained calm and continued to keep Naito and Rukawa on the field.

As for Kogure, Mitsui, and Akagi, they all remained on the sidelines.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the Big Three will likely not get a chance to play in the second half.

Kogure and the others did not express any dissatisfaction with this.

They are already in their third year and are willing to give more opportunities to first- and second-year players.

In this way, Xiangbei can maintain its rule.

The second half began shortly afterward.

Despite taking the lead, Shohoku did not relax; they maintained a high level of focus and fighting spirit.

It's unclear how much motivational talk Coach Kawasaki Kazumi gave Mike Okita, but in any case, Mike Okita's condition has improved significantly.

Sakuragi will also become Mike Okita's matchup, which is the main reason why Coach Anzai chose Sakuragi as the power forward.

He wanted to use Mike Okita to test Sakuragi's worth.

Mike Okita visibly breathed a sigh of relief after discovering that Kogure was not playing.

At the start of the second half, Mike Okita tried to regain his touch and contribute to the team.

However, Sakuragi is no pushover.

Although Sakuragi is still a bit clumsy, his defensive skills are still superior to Rukawa's.

At the beginning, Mike Okita did not take Sakuragi seriously, and as a result, Sakuragi caught him off guard.

Sakuragi not only limited Mike Okita's performance on the defensive end, but also made contributions on the offensive end.

However, he followed the coach's instructions and focused more on the defensive end.

Mike Okita felt frustrated under Sakuragi's targeting.

Even after adapting to Sakuragi's defensive intensity, Mike Okita's efficiency remained low.

Compared to Mike Okita, who was exhausted, Sakuragi was in his prime.

As a result, Mike Okita secretly groaned inwardly.

The only good news might be that Mike Okita successfully broke his scoring drought.

Thinking about his poor performance, Mike Okita became increasingly anxious.

He tried to calm himself down, but the anxiety in his heart was like a tangled mess, getting more and more chaotic the more he tried to untangle it.

The more impatient he became, the less efficient he was. Mike Okita felt like he was caught in a vicious cycle.

This severely damaged his self-confidence!

Before the joint finals began, Mike Okita considered the prefectural tournament's best newcomer award to be his for the taking and also had the ambition to win the MVP award.

Right now, just the two first-year players from Shohoku are giving him a huge headache.

After facing off against Kogure, he no longer had any hope of winning the prefectural tournament MVP.

In fact, based on his performance in this game, let alone winning the MVP award, he has almost lost hope of becoming the best newcomer.

Unless he delivers a phenomenal performance in the next two games, he can forget about winning Rookie of the Year.

Soon, the Shohoku players began to participate in the game more actively.

Led by Naito, Rukawa, and Sakuragi, Shohoku's offensive became increasingly fierce, showing a strong tendency to further widen the gap.

Their teamwork became increasingly seamless, and every attack put immense pressure on Buri's players.

Despite the fierce efforts of the Wuli team, they saw no hope of narrowing the gap against the overwhelming strength of Shohoku.

In a short time, Shohoku's lead continued to widen.

Soon, there were only ten minutes left in the game.

At this point, Shohoku had a 40-point lead.

Buri team has completely lost hope!

Seeing that there was no way to turn the tide, Coach Kazumi Kawasaki had no choice but to bring on the reserve lineup to prevent the key players from suffering further setbacks.

On the other side, Coach Anzai also substituted Naito and Rukawa, bringing on Sakuragi and the reserve players.

Not long after, the long whistle signaling the end of the race finally sounded.

The Wuli players visibly breathed a sigh of relief and left the court dejectedly, leaving only the Xiangbei players on the court to celebrate their victory.

Ultimately, Shohoku won the first joint final with a 46-point lead.

Kogure was the best performer in this game, achieving a 30+ triple-double by the halftime mark.

Next up is Naito, who achieved 20+15+5 stats with a shooting percentage of over 60%.

If he hadn't been substituted early, Naito's stats would likely have been even better.

After this match, it's Shohoku's turn to play against Ryonan.

Compared to the vastly different strengths of Shohoku and Takezato, this is the real highlight of this joint final.

(End of this chapter)