Slam Dunk: Muguro

Chapter 390 The Disliked Basketball
In this one-on-one duel, Rukawa Kaede won by a narrow margin.

Beep~
At this point, Coach Taoka took the initiative to request a timeout.

The players from both sides began to leave the field. Rukawa Kaede plopped down on the bench, panting heavily.

He's not Sakuragi or Kogure, after all; scoring 22 points in ten minutes took a toll on his stamina.

Because of Kogure, Rukawa's physical abilities are better than in the original work, but he still doesn't reach the level of a physical monster.

Coach Anzai, with her large pregnant belly, stood up and said to Rukawa, "Rukawa, you should rest for a while."

Coach Anzai then looked at Mitsui: "Mitsui, you'll replace Rukawa!"

"Yes, Coach!"

Mitsui immediately stood up from his seat.

"Coach, I'd like to rest for a bit too!"

Suddenly, Kogure's voice rang out.

Unexpectedly, Kogure asked to leave the field for a rest.

In fact, Kogure didn't even break a sweat.

Even so, he still achieved some impressive results.

Thanks to the performance of Rukawa and his teammates, his assists are almost in double digits.

In contrast, Sendoh only managed two assists and three turnovers.

He has more assists than turnovers!
Kogure did this mainly to give the first- and second-year players more experience before heading to America.

No matter how you look at it, Ryonan is a very good opponent.

Coach Anzai's deep gaze was fixed on Kogure; he seemed to have discerned Kogure's thoughts.

"Miyagi, you'll replace Kogure!"

Coach Anzai glanced at the substitute players and finally settled on Miyagi.

Miyagi jumped up excitedly and said confidently, "Don't worry, Coach, I definitely won't hold the team back."

"I hope so!"

In fact, Coach Anzai did not have a high opinion of Miyagi.

Even though Miyagi has developed mid-to-long-range shooting, its disadvantages are still obvious compared to Sendoh.

The two players are not even in the same league!

To paraphrase Masashi Muto's praise of Minoru Matsumoto, Sendoh can be a core player on any team, while Miyagi can only be considered a role player.

"Coach, I need to rest too!"

Akagi glanced at Kogure and ultimately made his decision, leaving the opportunity to play to his junior.

"Yohei, you will replace Akagi."

At Coach Anzai's signal, Yohei also stood up.

As a result, three out of the five players on the field are first-year players.

Mitsui looked helplessly at Kogure, then at Akagi.

"Those two bastards didn't even consult me!"

Mitsui couldn't help but roll his eyes, because among the players on the field, he was the only third-year player.

Kogure winked at Mitsui, who saw this as an opportunity to prove himself.

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

When Shohoku made player substitutions, Ryonan also made adjustments.

Center: Uozumi
Ohmae:Nango
Kozen: Fukuda
Shooting Guard: A Shen
Point Guard: Sendoh
Upon discovering Kogure and Akagi's fate, Nango excitedly shouted, "Our chance has come!"

"Everyone, please don't let your guard down!"

Sendoh quickly reminded them, fearing that his teammates might underestimate the enemy.

Even without Kogure, Akagi, and Rukawa, Shohoku is still a very strong team.

Because they also have Mitsui and Naito, and the trio of others!
Fortunately, Sakuragi, Yohei, and Miyagi couldn't read minds, otherwise Sendoh's fate would have been much worse.

Ryonan began serving, and without Kogure's interference, Sendoh was finally free.

The next moment, Sendoh easily broke through the palace using his physical advantage.

After drawing Naito's help defense, Sendoh immediately passed the ball to Uozumi, who had stepped into the basket.

Without hesitation, Uozumi caught the ball and jumped up to dunk.

Sakuragi rushed up quickly, but he was still a step too late.

Bang~

Uozumi, with Sakuragi on top of him, slammed the ball into the basket with both hands.

At the same time, Sakuragi's right hand slapped Uozumi's arm, making a crisp sound.

Beep~
The referee immediately blew his whistle and quickly delivered his verdict.

"Red team's number 10 committed a foul, white team's number 4 scored a goal, one extra penalty!"

"Damn it, it was just a little bit close!"

Sakuragi stomped his foot hard.

At the referee's signal, Uozumi stepped up to the free-throw line.

If the free throw is made, Ryonan can narrow the gap to single digits.

Although the first ten minutes of the first half were mostly a duel between Rukawa and Matsumoto, Kogure's occasional performances still allowed Shohoku to take a double-digit lead.

Thinking of this, Sakuragi became anxious.

If he causes Ryonan to narrow the gap to single digits because of his own actions, wouldn't he become the 'sinner' of Shohoku?
So, Sakuragi made a Kamehameha gesture with both hands and began to mutter to himself.

"Can't make the shot, can't make the shot..."

He was clearly holding his breath, as if that would make it more effective.

"what are you doing?"

Beside him, Sendoh looked at Sakuragi with a strange expression.

"It's a curse, it can't be cast..."

Sakuragi gave a casual reply, then continued cursing Uozumi.

"If they were useful, what would be the point of having us players?"

Sendoh muttered to himself, then looked at Sakuragi with the eyes of someone looking at an idiot.

It was at this moment that Uozumi gently pushed the ball out.

"shit!"

As soon as the ball was released, Uozumi was startled.

Perhaps due to carelessness, the force of this free throw was noticeably weaker.

The basketball flew out of bounds before it even touched the rim.

"What?! How is this possible?!"

Uozumi stared at the scene in disbelief.

In full view of everyone, he actually threw a shot that missed the target completely.

"Hahaha!"

Laughter erupted from the audience inside the stadium.

"Hahaha, my abilities aren't limited to just defense!"

Sakuragi stood with his hands on his hips, laughing triumphantly.

"I can't stand it..."

Beside him, Rukawa Kaede spread his hands and let out a soft sigh.

His personality is the complete opposite of Sakuragi's.

"Boss Monkey, are you getting impatient?"

Sakuragi pointed to himself with a confident expression and continued, "Let me tell you, it's best not to judge this genius of mine by common sense, hahaha!"

“It’s really too arrogant!”

Seeing Sakuragi's smug expression, Uozumi's face darkened, and he decided to teach Sakuragi an unforgettable lesson.

Fortunately, Sakuragi wasn't a Ryonan player, otherwise Uozumi would definitely have given him a powerful punch from the sky.

When it was Shohoku's turn to attack, Miyagi skillfully controlled the ball.

Sendoh deliberately kept two steps away from Miyagi and occasionally used his long arms to interfere.

He had clearly studied Miyagi's tactics and devised a countermeasure.

However, he underestimated Miyagi's speed and agility.

Using a series of feints and quick changes of direction, Miyagi successfully broke free from Sendoh's defense.

Without hesitation, Miyagi jumped up quickly and threw a short toss.

However, Uozumi still managed to intervene in time.

Although Miyagi learned to shoot, he had less than two and a half years of practice, and his accuracy could not be guaranteed once he was interfered with.

bang~
The basketball bounced off the rim and went out of bounds.

"Rebounds are my domain!" Sakuragi shouted, leaping past Nango to try and grab the rebound.

However, the speed at which the basketball bounced off the rim was beyond Sakuragi's expectations, causing him to miss the ball.

bang~
The basketball flew over Sakuragi's hands and landed squarely on his face.

After hitting Sakuragi's face, the basketball bounced a short distance before flying back toward the basket.

"My face hurts so much!"

After landing on the ground, Sakuragi covered his face with his hands.

His face bore a fairly clear basketball mark.

bang~
Because Sakuragi jumped too high and was too close to the basket, the basketball hit the rim again and began to spin on it.

As the audience watched in stunned silence, the basketball finally pierced the hoop.

"No...no way, this can work?"

Nanxiang stared wide-eyed at the scene, his mouth agape.

We're both monkeys, why are you so outstanding!

On the Ryonan bench, another monkey was equally stunned.

"No, I have to learn this trick too. I can't let the red-haired monkey have all the glory."

Unlike Nango, Kiyota believes his jumping ability is no less than Sakuragi's.

If Sakuragi can do it, then he might be able to do it too.

"Here it comes! The red-haired monkey's ultimate technique—shooting with his face!"

On the field, Mitsui finally realized what was happening and made a slightly exaggerated joke.

Sakuragi had scored a goal in this manner before, and now it's a classic moment recreated.

On the Shohoku bench, Coach Anzai, who was drinking tea, almost spat it out.

"interesting!"

Rukawa Kaede rested his chin on his hand, seemingly pondering the feasibility of this move.

His jumping ability and height are not much inferior to Sakuragi's, so he naturally meets the requirements for this move.

Beside him, Aida Hikoichi held a pen and paper, muttering to himself, "Sakuragi truly is our Shohoku's secret weapon. I'm going to write this down!"

Hikoichi Aida faithfully recorded this scene and even drew an illustration.

I wonder what Sakuragi will think when he sees this!

"Hahahahaha!"

It was only then that the audience finally realized what was happening.

The next moment, the stadium was filled with boisterous laughter.

No one present expected that Sakuragi would score in such a bizarre way.

This is truly an eye-opener – a small knife pulling out a big mess!

It was at this moment that Sendoh spotted an opportunity and immediately signaled to Uozumi to serve with his eyes.

Uozumi immediately realized what was happening and went to the baseline to serve.

At the same time, Sendoh immediately rushed towards the front.

"not good!"

Mitsui was the first to react and quickly rushed towards Sendoh.

"Return to defense!"

At Naito's signal, the Shohoku players realized what was happening and turned back to defend as quickly as possible.

At this moment, Sendoh galloped ahead, leaving Mitsui close behind.

At the same time, Uozumi forcefully threw the ball forward.

Just as Sendoh jumped to catch the ball, Mitsui finally caught up.

Before Mitsui could get a foothold, Sendoh broke through with the ball.

Mitsui's foothold was not yet secure, and he was easily defeated by Sendoh.

However, he was not completely broken through to the Immortal Path.

The next moment, Sendoh jumped up, pulled away from Mitsui's block, and scored with a reverse layup.

sigh~
The basketball hits the net!

Sendoh glanced at Mitsui and gave him a bright smile.

Compared to Kogure, Mitsui put significantly less pressure on him.

Offense and defense reversed!

After bringing the ball across half-court, Miyagi began to orchestrate the team's attack.

Suddenly, Mitsui Naito set a screen and made a back cut, successfully shaking off Ajin and quickly rushing to the three-point line.

"not good!"

Ashen rushed toward Mitsui at top speed.

Unfortunately, although his reaction was quick, his explosive power was very average, and he was ultimately a step too late.

Miyagi passed the ball to them immediately.

Outside the three-point line in the corner, Mitsui received the ball and shot immediately. Ajin only had time to wave his hand and couldn't even interfere.

sigh~
The basketball, like a precision-guided missile, pierced the rim with deadly accuracy.

Mitsui's texture is as silky smooth as Dove chocolate!
When it was Ryonan's turn to attack, Fukuda quickly and smoothly cut into the basket under Sendoh's organization.

Sendoh immediately passed the ball, but the moment Fukuda received it, Yohei nimbly appeared to Fukuda's side and swatted the ball away.

The basketball rolled to the side, with Sakuragi and Nango being the closest to it.

In an attempt to grab the basketball, Sakuragi lunged at it.

However, he seemed to underestimate his jumping ability, and in the end, his abdomen bumped against the basketball on the ground, but don't forget that Sakuragi also had a certain amount of strength.

Sakuragi involuntarily moved forward, causing the basketball to passively move from his abdomen to his crotch.

The next moment, Sakuragi's smile vanished, replaced by pain.

He hit an egg!
In the end, Sakuragi's body crushed the basketball.

He clutched his groin with both hands and collapsed to the ground in pain.

It's worth noting that Sakuragi survived several of Tetsuo's charged punches without falling to the ground.

It must be said that, as a man's most vulnerable point, no matter how tough a man is, he cannot bear such pain.

Just then, the basketball rolled right towards Mitsui.

Seeing Nango charging toward the basketball again, Mitsui reluctantly picked it up and immediately passed it to Miyagi.

Miyagi also showed a disgusted expression, as if this was a basketball with a smell.

Basketball: I'm dirty!
Yohei appeared before Sakuragi immediately and asked with concern, "Sakuragi, are you alright?"

In the audience, the three goofballs were stunned for a moment, then pointed at Sakuragi and burst into laughter, almost laughing until tears streamed down their faces.

"It's okay, let me catch my breath!"

Sakuragi was in so much pain that he broke out in a cold sweat.

Fortunately, the excruciating pain came on quickly and went away even faster.

After recovering, Sakuragi continued to charge towards the frontcourt.

Aside from a slight ache, it did not affect his strength.

Seeing this, Coach Anzai had no choice but to abandon the idea of ​​substituting Sakuragi.

On the field, A-Shen did his best to keep up with Mitsui.

For a time, Mitsui had no opportunity.

The problem is that Mitsui's methods are not limited to positioning and three-pointers.

He also possesses strong one-on-one skills, excellent defense, and outstanding overall game awareness.

This is also the main reason why Mitsui was able to become the third-best high school student in the country.

"Fertile land!"

Mitsui positioned himself in a low position, leaning against Jin with his back to him, and reached out for the ball.

Miyagi first used a feint to force Sendoh back, and then quickly passed the ball to Mitsui.

Mitsui started backing down Ajin. Just because someone is a guard doesn't mean they can't back down. For example, Jordan and Kobe were both excellent back-down players.

Under Kogure's guidance, Mitsui mastered back-hitting techniques even earlier than Akagi.

bang~
Mitsui tried to back down Ajin.

Compared to the slender Ajin, Mitsui, who did not have a two-year hiatus, was clearly much more robust.

A-Shen's fighting ability was worse than Mitsui had imagined.

Even with just a tentative physical contact, Ah Shen couldn't help but take a step back.

Mitsui turned and jumped without hesitation, completing the entire move in one smooth motion.

sigh~
The basketball traced a beautiful arc and pierced the rim once again.

(End of this chapter)