Slam Dunk: Muguro

Chapter 380 Battle of Focus
At 2:30 p.m., this highly anticipated battle officially began.

Shohoku fielded their F4 plus Hasegawa, which is their standard lineup.

Ryonan sent Uozumi, Nango, Ikegami, Matsumoto Minoru, and Sendoh.

This is also Ryonan's best lineup!
Ryonan has one advantage over Shohoku: their bench is better.

Shohoku's bench has Takano, Nagano, and Ito Taku, while Ryonan's bench has Jin, Fukuda, and Kiyota Nobunaga, making their bench significantly stronger.

This doesn't even include characters like Sugata, Hiroaki Koshino, and Tomoyuki Uekusa who appeared in the original work.

In Slam Dunk, including the late Ryuji Tanizawa, Shota Sugiyama from university, the mustachioed shopkeeper, Shigeichi Taoka, Riki Takato, and Mitsuyoshi Anzai, there are fewer than a hundred named players in the entire series.

In the stands, Mitsui routinely asked, "The prediction contest begins! Which team do you think will win? As usual, raise your hand if you support Shohoku!"

This has been a recurring entertainment activity for the Shohoku team over the years; if you guess wrong, you have to be responsible for cleaning the basketball court for a week.

Miyagi was the first to raise his hand and explain his reasons.

"Shoyo is a long-established powerhouse with more experience and a stronger foundation than Ryonan. They also have a top point guard like Fujima and a mature and steady coach like Kitano, so I choose Shoyo!"

During this time, in order to improve his skills, Miyagi frequently studied Fujima's videos.

Because, in Miyagi's eyes, Fujima was about the same height as himself.

In fact, Fujima is 178 cm tall, a full 10 cm taller than Miyagi.

Of course, among the top point guards, Fujima is the shortest.

Mu Mu: 195 cm
Sendoh: 190 cm
Amu: 184 cm
Shenzhen: 180 cm
Among these top point guards, Fujima is the one who best matches Miyagi in terms of both height and style.

Perhaps persuaded by Miyagi, Naito, Sakuragi, and Yohei all raised their hands in support of Shohoku.

Rukawa Kaede rested his chin on his hand, glancing at Kogure every now and then.

Whatever Kogure chooses, he will choose!
In addition, Nobuhiko Okamoto and Kuma Yamamoto also glanced at Kogure from time to time.

In previous predictions, Kogure had never lost.

This also earned him the trust of many players.

Seeing that the three giants of Shohoku had not made a move, Miyagi asked in confusion, "Mitsui-senpai, what about you?"

"I'll wait until you've made your choices before I decide!"

Mitsui seemed to be thinking of something happy, revealing two large, shiny front teeth.

"Raise your hand if you support Ryonan!"

"I support Ryonan!"

Kogure raised his hand without hesitation, believing that Ryonan had a greater advantage.

Don't ask, the answer is simply our inside advantage!

Even on the perimeter, Ryonan is subtly superior to Shohoku.

Although Fujima received a boost, Sendoh was no less capable than him. The two had their own strengths and weaknesses, making it difficult to determine who was better.

However, at the shooting guard position, Minoru Matsumoto, who has no 'downtime', is clearly stronger than Retsu Minami.

Finally, there's the small forward position. Ikegami proved himself last year; his defense is better than Hasegawa's, and he's also developed a precise three-point shot.

As for the inside game, Shohoku excels in offense, while Ryonan is stronger in defense.

Both sides have their strengths and weaknesses in the paint, but defense is what wins the championship.

Ryonan's five positions all demonstrate above-average defense, and they also possess formidable defensive capabilities both inside and outside.

No matter how you look at it, Ryonan has a higher winning percentage.

However, the ball is round after all, and Xiangyang may not necessarily lose, since the gap between the two teams is not that big.

As long as Shoyo is in top form, they also have a chance to defeat Ryonan.

All I can say is that Ryonan has a higher chance of winning.

As soon as Kogure finished speaking, Akagi and Rukawa raised their hands in unison.

"me too!"

Nobuhiko Okamoto, Kuma Yamamoto, and others who followed Kogure's lead also joined this movement.

As for Mitsui, he also chose Ryonan.

Of the 12 Shohoku players, eight votes went to Ryonan and four to Shoyo.

Suddenly, Sakuragi's voice rang out: "Um, I'm not supporting Shohoku anymore, I'm supporting Ryonan now!"

"Sakuragi, you're such a fickle person!"

Miyagi stared at Sakuragi in shock. How could someone be so shameless?

"Sakuragi, once you've placed your bet, there's no going back!"

Mitsui shook his head, resolutely rejecting Sakuragi's offer of surrender.

"Yeah yeah!"

The rest of the Shohoku players unanimously agreed.

Sakuragi was very indignant, but he was powerless against the powerful.

After the farce, the match finally began.

On the field, the fishtail and flower shapes are now in the center circle, ready for the jump ball.

The two stared at each other, their gazes seemingly filled with electric sparks.

The next moment, Uozumi overpowered the flower shape and seized possession of the ball first.

One of the highlights of this game is the center duel.

Before the county tournament began, Basketball Weekly published various rankings.

Among them are the four great centers of Kanagawa.

Among the four great centers in Kanagawa, Akagi is first, Uozumi is second, and Hanagata is third.

Hanagata believes he is no less than Uozumi, and Uozumi does not want to be surpassed by Hanagata; both are determined to defeat the other.

As for the last of the four center forwards, it is the highlight of Buri team.

Ming Gaoguang mainly suffered from poor performance, and he was also a year younger than the other three.

Poor Kazuma Takasago, due to the severe decline in Hainan High School's performance, his evaluation was not very good, and he missed out on a spot among the top four centers.

However, the duel between Uozumi and Hanagata is only the second biggest highlight of this match.

The biggest highlight is, of course, the battle for the second-best point guard in Kanagawa!

Don't ask why it's a battle for the second-best point guard in Kanagawa; it's simply because Kogure is ranked first, so they can only compete for second place.

After the match started, both teams quickly got into the game and engaged in a fierce battle.

After Sendoh dribbled the ball across half-court, Uozumi stepped up to set a screen for him.

Sendoh seized the opportunity to shake off Fujima, and after drawing Hanagata to switch defense, he made a brilliant pass to Uozumi for a dunk.

Bang~

"Roar!"

They landed on the ground in single file, pounding their chests as they roared at Hanagata.

This is a method he learned from Garnett, which he believes is not only ruthless but also passionate.

Hanagata was startled by Uozumi's roar.

"You're sick!"

Hana-gata silently muttered a complaint.

Ryonan took the initiative and made a strong first impression.

When it was Shohoku's turn to attack, Shohoku served quickly.

In response, Ryonan quickly retreated to defend, trying to avoid being caught on a fast break by Shoyo.

Seeing no opportunity for a fast break, Fujima paused for a moment and began to organize the team's attack.

In this match, Sendoh did not switch on defense and actively marked Fujima.

Not far away, Nan Lie was running around with Chi Shang, but he couldn't shake off this 'sticky plaster' no matter what he did.

In order to limit Shohoku's second-leading scorer, Minami, Coach Taoka specifically assigned Ikegami to defend him.

Minoru Matsumoto then went to defend Hasegawa, who wasn't very good at scoring, to conserve his energy.

As for who is Shohoku's top scorer, it would naturally be Fujima.

However, Fujima and Minami's scores were not far apart. Fujima has a strong scoring burst; if his teammates don't have an opportunity, he will choose to take the shot himself.

Soon, Kishimoto had an opportunity.

Nango lacks competition experience and is undoubtedly inferior to the seasoned veteran Kishimoto.

Fujima immediately chose to pass the ball.

sigh~
Kishimoto caught the ball and immediately shot, easily making a mid-range jumper.

The current Kishimoto gives people the feeling of a bankrupt version of Malone.

In the initial stages of the match, both sides mainly probed each other, trying to figure out each other's tactics and weaknesses.

As time went on, the competition began to enter a heated phase!

With a superior roster, Ryonan has subtly gained the upper hand.

However, Xiangyang was not to be outdone. Instead of focusing more on defense, they further accelerated the pace of their offense.

For a time, the players from both sides went back and forth on the field, neither giving an inch, and every change of possession was accompanied by tense confrontation and exciting scoring methods.

In the repeated offensive and defensive transitions, both sides demonstrated an extremely high level of competition.

Every brilliant score and defensive play drew enthusiastic applause and cheers from the audience.

Ten minutes later, Ryonan had only won by two points, and the ball was still in Shohoku's hands.

When it was Xiangyang's turn to attack again, Nan Lie stared at Ikegami in front of him and couldn't help but feel a headache coming on.

This guy is good at defense, but more importantly, he has a good sense of positioning.

This also means that Nan Lie has to expend a lot of effort to get rid of Chi Shang.

Ikegami is arguably his most hated opponent, even more so than Mitsui.

Because Ikegami is not only good at defense, but also very strong, every physical contact made him feel uncomfortable.

After all, Ikegami was Inoue's handpicked player for having the best muscle strength.

In this round, Chi Shang was like a persistent leech, preventing Nan Lie from getting a chance to escape.

Not only Nan Lie, but the other Xiangyang players also did not have suitable opportunities.

As for Kishimoto, who was originally very active, he also failed to find an opportunity.

Although Nango's experience is not as extensive as Kishimoto's, his physical abilities are still superior to Kishimoto's.

Despite Nango's relentless pursuit, Kishimoto was unable to shake him off.

For a time, the Xiangyang players did not have a chance to appear.

They tried to find a breakthrough through positioning and screens, but the Ryonan players always anticipated their intentions and repeatedly thwarted Shohoku's offense.

In this situation, Fujima had no choice but to step in personally and try to use his personal abilities to break the deadlock and lead the team out of their predicament.

Facing Sendoh's defense, Fujima began to use his skillful ball control techniques to change direction and break through.

Kenji Fujima's breakthroughs are fast and steady, with many feints that are extremely deceptive.

Despite Sendoh's best efforts to defend, Fujima managed to find a brief opening and break through.

Before Uozumi could come to his defense, Fujima pulled up for a jump shot.

sigh~
The basketball traced a beautiful arc, piercing the rim accurately and creating a splash of net paint.

The Xiangyang fans erupted in cheers, many of whom were female fans.

In Kanagawa Prefecture, Kogure has the most female fans, followed by Fujima.

However, Rukawa is already showing signs of catching up with Fujima.

After Fujima scored, Sendoh appeared unusually calm.

He has a clear understanding that the gain or loss of one or two goals cannot determine the final outcome.

Offense and defense reversed!

After bringing the ball across half-court, Sendoh passed it to Uozumi, who was positioned low.

The Ryonan players spread out, giving Uozumi more space for one-on-one plays.

bang~
Even though the flower pattern tried its best to resist, the difference in strength still made him involuntarily take a step back.

Bang ~ bang ~
Under the relentless backstabs from the fish, the flower shape couldn't stop retreating.

Seeing that Hana-gata was no match, Kishimoto immediately abandoned Nango and tried to encircle Uozumi.

However, it's all for naught, as Uozumi possesses excellent support capabilities.

Before Kishimoto could complete the double team, he passed the ball to Nango.

Bang~

With no one guarding him, Nango strode into the paint and scored with a tomahawk dunk!

In the next round, the Shohoku players were restricted again.

Fujima had to shoot again, but unfortunately, the basketball swished out of bounds.

Uozumi easily grabbed the rebound, and in just ten minutes, he had already reached double digits in rebounds.

Among them were three offensive rebounds.

In terms of rebounding ability, Hanagata and Kishimoto combined can't compare to Uozumi.

sigh~
Soon, Ryonan seized the opportunity again, with Matsumoto Minoru making a jump shot to take the lead.

Coach Kitano stood on the sidelines, his brow furrowed, clearly dissatisfied with the team's current performance.

Beep~
At the crucial moment, Coach Kitano made a quick decision and decisively signaled to the referee to request a timeout.

He had clearly grasped the changing situation on the field.

For a moment, all eyes were on Coach Kitano.

The next moment, both teams' players retreated to the sidelines.

Coach Kitano quickly analyzed the current situation and explained the next tactical arrangements to the players.

"We must speed things up further so they don't have enough time to organize their defense."

"Take advantage of their unstable footing and create easy scoring opportunities. Do you all understand?"

In addition, Coach Kitano also emphasized the importance of strengthening off-the-ball movement and improving the accuracy and speed of passing.

Under Coach Kitano's instructions, the Shohoku players began to re-evaluate the game.

The timeout ended quickly, and both teams returned to the court.

Shohoku has possession of the ball!
In this attack, Coach Kitano's tactical adjustments had an immediate effect.

Xiangyang further accelerated the transition between offense and defense, and sped up its pace.

In just two or three seconds, all the Xiangyang players can get into the frontcourt.

The changes in the Shohoku team made Uozumi secretly complain.

Although he is fast, that is only relative to the center position.

Due to his size, his speed is undoubtedly inferior to that of the flower-shaped one.

In this way, Xiangyang gained a time advantage and created an opportunity to outnumber the enemy.

Upon seeing this, Coach Kitano smiled with satisfaction on his wrinkled face.

The game continued, and the Xiangyang team demonstrated the essence of their run-and-gun tactics, leaving the audience thoroughly entertained.

Among all the teams, Shohoku undoubtedly has the most entertaining players.

Using a fast counter-attack strategy, Shohoku began to quickly erode Ryonan's lead.

However, the good times didn't last long, and Coach Taoka immediately requested a timeout.

When the timeout ended, Ryonan's lineup had undergone significant changes.

Center: Nango
Ohmae:Fukuda
Kozen: Ah Shen
Shooting Guard: Kiyota Nobunaga
Point Guard: Sendoh
Not only was Uozumi substituted, but Coach Taoka also took off Matsumoto Minoru and Ikegami.

Of course, the advantage of this lineup is also obvious, which is its mobility.

These five Ryonan players are just as mobile as Shohoku players.

Nango, Fukuda, Kiyota, and Sendoh need no introduction; they all possess explosive physical abilities.

Ah Shen may seem to have ordinary physical attributes, but he has speed comparable to a guard; otherwise, he wouldn't be able to play as a swingman.

(End of this chapter)