Slam Dunk: Muguro

Chapter 420 Becoming Teammates with Zekita

"Won!"

After the game, the Shohoku substitutes did not hide their excitement.

They hugged each other tightly, celebrating their victory wildly.

In the stands, the people of Kanagawa erupted in thunderous applause and cheers, as if releasing all their passion.

This was the first time in the decades-long history of the Summer National Tournament that such a grand occasion had occurred, making them feel extremely proud.

This day is destined to be a day of celebration for the people of Kanagawa.

Four teams from Kanagawa province swept the top four spots in the Summer National Tournament, turning the National Tournament Finals and the Grand Finals into an all-Kanagawa affair.

Such a script might only appear in novels.

On the other hand, even though Ai and the players were mentally prepared, they were still very sad.

The eyes of Moroboshi Dai, Maki, and Mikoshiba were filled with confusion and disappointment, as they had to accept this cruel reality.

They lost to Shohoku, and Shohoku didn't even play at full strength.

Kogure won the victory with only the freshmen and substitutes, which was a heavy blow to them.

They shamelessly played brotherhood basketball, all for the sake of winning a national championship.

As a result, they were easily defeated by Shohoku, who did not go all out, and were eliminated in the top eight of the national competition.

Losing to a fully-fledged Shohoku team would be somewhat understandable, but losing to such a team is hard for them to accept.

This filled them with frustration, disappointment, and doubt about life.

This defeat will undoubtedly become an indelible memory in their hearts.

Furthermore, they are already senior high school students, and this is the last summer national tournament they will be able to experience.

As for the Winter Tournament, some players refuse to participate in order to advance their studies, so its prestige is naturally not as high as the National Tournament.

After a moment of silence, Moroboshi Dai, with a resentful expression, asked the two, "Do you have any plans to participate in the Winter Tournament?"

Mikoshiba spoke first: "I want to try again!"

Despite Mikoshiba's mature appearance and the look of a poor student, since he can become friends with Akagi, his grades must not be too bad.

Beside him, Amu hesitated, looking very unsure of what to say.

"Amu, what about you?"

Amu found it difficult to speak, but finally gritted his teeth and blurted out the truth: "I... my high school grades weren't very good..."

As we all know, Amu led Hainan High School to more than ten national competitions, and he also likes surfing, so his results are probably not very good.

However, Maki is not among the three academic underachievers designed by Takehiko Inoue.

These three academic underachievers are Sakuragi, Fujima, and Sendoh.

Fujima goes without saying, we've already talked about him last time.

Sakuragi was even worse off, failing seven subjects and getting a single-digit score in math.

In the original story, the score of the match between Shohoku and Miura Dai was 4:16, but Sakuragi managed to calculate a difference of 14 points.

As for Sendoh, this is mainly reflected ten days later, when Takehiko Inoue gave him a scene of sleeping in class.

If nothing unexpected happens, Sendoh will most likely be fishing all night.

Given Xiandao's lazy personality, he couldn't possibly be studying all night, could he? That would be a ridiculous joke.

It must be said that Sendoh and Rukawa focused their efforts on different things.

One has only basketball in his eyes, chasing it relentlessly; the other only has fishing to his name, enjoying life.

Under the expectant gazes of Moroboshi Dai and Mikoshiba, Maki forced himself to say, "Count me in too!"

Although his high school grades were not ideal, Amu still wanted to give it his all and hoped to be admitted to a prestigious university.

It must be said that with Amu's transfer to Aihe College, it was almost certain that he would not be admitted to Hainan University.

Even if Hainan University were willing, Amu himself wouldn't be.

Hainan University is located in Kanagawa Prefecture and is not far from Hainan High School.

If Amu chooses Hainan University, he will definitely be viewed with prejudice.

After Maki agreed, both Moroboshi Yamato and Mikoshiba breathed a sigh of relief.

Although Maki plays a pragmatic game, his skills are indeed formidable.

Unlike the future gOat, whose strength does not match its status.

If it weren't for the strong support from Nike and the league, which gave him many special treatments, he would likely have ended up as an ordinary superstar based solely on his abilities.

It has to be said that gOat entered the league at the perfect time, because Jordan had just retired.

Because both the league and Nike want to create the next Jordan!
With a significant influx of resources, Kobe and GOat gradually became key figures in the league.

Compared to Kobe's more aggressive style of play, gOat's approach was more pragmatic and he was more favored by the league.

This can be seen from the fact that he scored tens of thousands of points in walking.

According to incomplete statistics, his traveling score is around 20,000 points.

This may explain why his skills haven't improved much over the years.

"We must go even further in the Winter Games!"

The three of them never mentioned the championship, because as long as Kogure was in Shohoku, Aiwa Academy was almost destined to miss out on the championship.

Suddenly, Mikoshiba's voice rang out: "I heard Akagi say that Kogure will be going to study in America after the National Tournament!"

"Nani!"

Moroboshi Dai and Maki were both taken aback, but they did not question the source of Mikoshiba's information.

Because they knew that Mikoshiba and Akagi had a good relationship, perhaps this was a case of middle-aged people appreciating each other.

After a moment of stunned silence, Moroboshi Dai's face lit up with excitement: "Isn't this an opportunity for us too!"

"It looks like we have a chance to win the championship!"

Amu's eyes flickered uncertainly, and he even started eyeing the Winter Tournament MVP award.

With the Winter Tournament MVP award, he will definitely attract the attention of many top universities.

Not only will they have more choices, but they will also receive better treatment and a higher status within the team.

"When the Winter Tournament comes, we must avenge our defeat and beat Shohoku!"

"However, Shohoku should not be underestimated, especially Mitsui!"

"I'll take responsibility for Mitsui!"

Moroboshi clenched his fist; he didn't think he was inferior to Mitsui.

He was meek and submissive in front of Kogure, but he attacked Mitsui with full force.

Moroboshi Dai seems to have forgotten that he was suppressed by Rukawa Kaede in this match.

Mitsui's strength was subtly superior to Rukawa's at this time.

While Dai Moroboshi and the others were talking, Hiroshi Morishige started peeling a banana.

Then, a scene of swallowing a banana whole was performed on the spot.

After hearing the conversation between Moroboshi Dai and the others, Morishige Hiroshi couldn't help but sigh softly, "That's such a pity. I wanted to have another match with Kogure-senpai."

Moroboshi Dai and the others looked at Morishige Hiroshi with strange eyes, hesitant to speak.

Could this guy have masochistic tendencies?
"Okay, it's time for us to go back."

Dai Moroboshi was the first to stand up and lead the team away.

Not far away, amidst the cheers of the audience, the Shohoku team was the first to leave the field.

In the players' tunnel, Rukawa suddenly appeared next to Kogure.

"Senior, when are you going to America?"

"The day after tomorrow!"

The day after tomorrow is the end of the national competition.

This was mainly because Farragut College was pressing them, as the new school term in America was about to begin.

Farragut Academy hopes that Kogure will join as soon as possible so that they can submit their player roster.

At the same time, Kogure will have more time to integrate into the team.

"Senior, I want to go to America with you!"

In this match, Rukawa Kaede suppressed Moroboshi Dai, which made him want to go to America again.

Kogure turned his head and asked instead of answering, "How's your English going? Can you communicate normally with Americans?"

"Not yet!"

Rukawa shook his head. Thanks to Kogure's reminder, his English was decent, but far from being good enough for normal conversation.

"Let's talk about it when your English is good enough for normal communication."

Kogure shook his head, refusing again. At that moment, Sakuragi suddenly jumped out.

"Senior Kogure, I also want to go to America! I'm a genius!"

"You only got 14 points on your English test? You should just give up."

Kogure waved his hand, directly rejecting Sakuragi's suggestion, simply because the guy's English was too bad.

To paraphrase Kogure, you could probably get more than 14 points just by randomly choosing the answers to the multiple-choice questions.

Despite Sakuragi's outstanding physical abilities, his academic performance was far from satisfactory.

Sakuragi shouldn't even think about it for now.

"You big idiot!"

Rukawa looked at Sakuragi with the eyes of someone looking at an idiot.

"That wretched fox!"

Amidst Sakuragi's shouts, the two started arguing again.

For once, Akagi didn't lecture Sakuragi and instead chatted casually with Kogure.

Soon, everyone left the locker room and headed towards the stadium entrance.

"Akagi, Mitsui, what are your thoughts on this year's Winter Tournament?"

"I'm ready to study hard!"

Akagi's answer was not unexpected by Kogure.

As one of the top centers in the country, he has attracted the attention of many prestigious universities.

In this era, a high-quality center is definitely the most sought-after player.

Otherwise, why would Fukasawa Sports University go to such lengths to find Akagi in the original story?

"I think I'll participate in the Winter Championship instead!"

Mitsui's choice differed from Akagi's.

He wanted to become the top high school student in the country and prove his leadership abilities.

"Come on, I'm optimistic about you!"

Kogure had high hopes for Mitsui; if it weren't for him, Mitsui would have achieved even greater success.

Mitsui's ability to avoid a two-year hiatus is undeniably impressive.

In the words of Kazuo Tangze, the coach of Fukasawa Sports University, even if he were to enter the college basketball world directly with his current condition, he would be a top-three guard in the country!

Kazuo Tangze's assessment was undeniably high, because he was referring to a guard, not a shooting guard.

In other words, Mitsui has reached the level of a top-three college backcourt player.

Suddenly, the Shohoku team spotted a familiar figure.

He was none other than Eiji Sawakita!

Upon seeing the Shohoku team, Sawakita immediately walked towards Kogure.

He seemed to have come specifically to wait for Kogure!

"Senior Kogure, I heard you're going to America?"

Kogure asked curiously, "Sawakita, where did you get this information?"

"Immortal Path!"

Zebei sold Sendoh without hesitation.

After Sannoh was eliminated by Ryonan, Sawakita had a conversation with Sendoh.

During their conversation, they naturally started talking about Kogure.

Sendoh inadvertently revealed that Kogure had gone to America, which greatly surprised Sawakita.

Because he also wanted to go to America!
It's not just about experiencing a higher level of competition, but also about preventing being bullied again.

A small beating every day, a big beating every three days—Zebei never wanted to experience this kind of life again.

Upon learning that Kogure was preparing to go to America, he immediately approached him.

"Zebei, are you going too?"

"Well, after you left, this place no longer poses any challenge to me, especially since Farragut Academy has extended an invitation to me!"

"Who does this guy think he is..."

Beside him, Mitsui couldn't help but glare fiercely at Sawakita.

Zebei glared back defiantly.

The two stared at each other, neither willing to concede.

However, no one made a move.

Sigh, both of them are notorious 'weaklings' in Slam Dunk, and are often the ones who get bullied.

One was bullied by a junior, and the other was bullied by a senior.

Kogure looked at the two of them with amusement, then thought for a moment and asked, "Sawakita, can you communicate normally with Americans?"

"Not yet, but I can learn."

Zebei's high school grades were also not very good.

Kogure didn't try to persuade Sawakita, after all, the two weren't that close yet.

"Looks like we'll be teammates then. By the way, what about your visa?"

Kogure never expected to become teammates with Sawakita in America.

"My father took care of it for me!"

"I booked a flight for the night after tomorrow!"

"I'll book the plane tickets right now!"

Soon, Zebei left in a hurry.

The two decided to travel to America together and enroll in Farragut College.

The difference is that Kogure skipped to the fourth year of high school, while Sawakita could only continue to the second year of high school due to language barriers.

……

The following day, the national tournament's semi-finals officially began.

The first matches to be played were those of Group 2 and Group 4.

Among them, Ryonan won the runner-up in last year's Winter Tournament and has several star players.

Takezato is a traditional powerhouse in Kanagawa, and he even won the national championship two years ago.

Therefore, both teams have a large number of supporters, making it difficult to determine a winner in terms of popularity.

As the two teams took to the field, the Shohoku players sat in the stands and began guessing who would win.

Surprisingly, no one was optimistic about Buri team this time.

They have played against both teams and know their strengths and weaknesses well.

This can be seen from the strength of the starting players on both sides.

Uozumi > Nagataka
Nango <Mike Okita>

Ikegami≥Wudai Yuka

Minoru Matsumoto＞Katsumi Ichiro

Sendoh > Ebina

Of the five positions, Ryonan clearly has an advantage except for the power forward position, where they are at a slight disadvantage.

In addition, Ryonan's bench also includes Fukuda, Jin, and Kiyota.

Whether it's the starters or the substitutes, Ryonan has the advantage.

Soon, the game officially started.

During the jump ball phase, Uozumi overpowered Meiko and slapped the ball to Sendoh first.

Initially, both sides mainly engaged in probing.

Buri's strength is undeniable, and the match did not show a one-sided trend.

However, it's clear to anyone with a discerning eye that Ryonan has a slight advantage, especially in point guard!
Although Ebina was quite good, she was still far inferior to Sendoh.

Thanks to Kogure, Sendoh's defense has improved considerably.

This directly resulted in Ebina being completely contained and unable to organize an effective attack, making the situation on the field quite unfavorable for Buri!

If Buriram United doesn't take action soon, they are likely to lose the game.

(End of this chapter)