Slam Dunk: Muguro

Chapter 422 The Final Battle
In this game, Shohoku's starting five displayed amazing scoring ability.

The Shohoku team was almost unable to find an effective defensive strategy.

In the end, they scored a perfect 100 points together with a near-perfect performance.

They have effortless layups on fast breaks, exquisite teamwork in set plays, and individual plays in crucial moments.

Their points were evenly distributed, with each player contributing points.

This not only demonstrates the comprehensiveness of their individual skills, but also showcases the tacit understanding between the team members.

In addition, Shohoku's performance on the defensive end was equally outstanding.

Through their active running and accurate anticipation, they successfully limited the performance of the Xiangyang team.

Under Kogure's tutelage, Shohoku's starting five all possess strong individual defensive capabilities.

Under their defense, the Xiangyang team, which usually scores over 100 points, was limited to less than 70 points in total.

In this match, Shohoku proved that even without Kogure, they are the top team in the country.

Their performance not only won applause from the audience, but also left a very deep impression on the strong teams.

If Shohoku wins the national championship again, it means that Shohoku will dominate the country for two years.

The dominance of the Shohoku team is self-evident!

However, as news of Kogure's impending departure from Shohoku gradually spread, teams led by Sannoh Industrial, Hakata Commercial University, and Aiwa Academy began to consider this year's Winter Tournament.

However, they seem to have thought about it too soon.

Even though Kogure has left, Shohoku is still no pushover.

As a result, Shohoku remains a key target for other strong teams to study and guard against.

After the game, Sakuragi swaggered over to Kogure, beaming with pride: "Kogure-senpai, I grabbed a whopping twenty rebounds!"

"Sakuragi, you performed very well in this game. With your potential, you may have a chance to compete for the title of the best high school player in the country next year."

Kogure patted Sakuragi on the shoulder. In this game, Sakuragi had a 20+20 stat line.

Such data is rare even in national competitions.

Of course, this is on the premise that you do not compare Morishige Hiroshi's 50+20+10.

It must be said that Sakuragi has great potential.

This is also the main reason why Kogure believes Sakuragi has a chance to become the number one high school student in the country next year.

As for this year, it will definitely belong to Mitsui.

Based on Mitsui's performance in the national tournament, he has successfully surpassed Sawakita to become the second-best high school student in the country, second only to Kogure.

Once Kogure leaves, Mitsui will be able to become the number one high school student in the country.

When this year's players graduate, the player qualified to become the nation's number one high school player next year will likely be one of Naito, Sakuragi, Rukawa, Sendoh, or Morishige.

Hearing Kogure say that, Sakuragi's eyes lit up, and he proudly shouted to Rukawa, "Fox, did you hear that? Even Kogure-senpai thinks I'll become the number one in the country!"

"You big idiot!"

Rukawa Kaede said he didn't want to talk, but he was determined to practice more.

He doesn't want to be surpassed by Sakuragi!
Sakuragi's presence unknowingly put enormous pressure on Rukawa.

Rukawa Kaede witnessed Sakuragi's rapid growth from a basketball novice into a player capable of standing on his own.

Sakuragi's rapid progress surprised him, and this underlying sense of crisis prompted Rukawa to dare not slack off in the slightest and to work hard to improve his basketball skills.

For Rukawa Kaede, Sakuragi has become his source of motivation.

Similarly, Sakuragi is the same.

This is the bond between Sakura and Ryu!

……

Time slips away unnoticed.

In the blink of an eye, the sun rose again, and a new day officially began.

This day also marked the start of the national finals.

This is undoubtedly an exciting moment for the people of Kanagawa.

Even many citizens who don't usually pay much attention to basketball have been caught up in this craze.

In an instant, countless people from Kanagawa spontaneously gathered there.

Unfortunately, the stadium has limited seating, so many people had to stay outside and were reluctant to leave.

The stadium was packed.

Outside the stadium, there was a huge crowd.

The competition had not yet started, but the air was filled with excitement and anticipation.

Soon, both teams rushed out of the players' tunnel.

"Xiangbei, Xiangbei!"

"Lingnan, Lingnan!"

Fans from both sides began cheering for their respective teams.

Among them, the momentum of the Shohoku team was overwhelming, clearly surpassing that of Ryonan.

For the past two and a half years, Shohoku has been the most watched team in the country, without a doubt!

After warming up, Coach Anzai slowly stood up from his seat.

The Shohoku players all focused their attention on Coach Anzai, awaiting his orders.

The next moment, Coach Anzai's calm and powerful voice rang out: "Now I announce the starting lineup!"

"Akagi, Kogure, Mitsui!" Coach Anzai called out the names of three players first.

No one was surprised, after all, their strength and experience in their respective positions were unmatched in the team.

Then, under the expectant gazes of everyone, Coach Anzai continued, "Yamamoto Kuma, Okamoto Nobuhiko!"

All the Shohoku players looked at each other, completely surprised.

This was beyond everyone's expectations.

Surprisingly, Sakuragi stroked his chin and, unusually, didn't shout for the opportunity to go on the field as he usually does.

He suddenly realized that all the players Coach Anzai called up had one thing in common: they were all senior high school students.

This was Kogure's last game with Shohoku, and Coach Anzai naturally wanted to grant them their wish.

If even Sakuragi could think of that, then no one else could either.

No one objected to this.

"Xiangbei!"

Kogure extended his right hand first, his expression serious.

As best friends, Akagi didn't hesitate to place his right hand on Kogure's palm.

Mitsui's lips curled up slightly as he placed his palm on Akagi's.

Yamamoto Kuma and Okamoto Nobuhiko also quickly placed their right hands on top.

"come on!"

The five men roared, their voices filled with power and determination.

At that moment, it was as if an invisible force was binding them together.

With the referee's whistle, the national finals officially began.

The noise in the stadium instantly turned into silence, and everyone's eyes were focused on the brightly lit basketball court.

Ryonan, as always, fielded their "Ryonan Five Tigers" lineup.

The next moment, the referee tossed the basketball high into the air!

"drink!"

Akagi and Uozumi jumped up almost at the same time, and Akagi was the first to pass the ball to Okamoto Nobuhiko.

As a utility player, Nobuhiko Okamoto controlled the ball steadily and remained calm in the slightest.

After bringing the ball across half-court, he immediately passed it to Kogure, who was positioned in a low post.

If the other Shohoku players coordinate to take away their assigned opponents, it will give Kogure better space for one-on-one plays.

The unspoken rule on the court is to let the ace player make the first play. Kogure receives the ball with his back to the goal; his opponent is none other than Nango.

When facing Kogure, Nango still felt unprecedented pressure.

Nango has never performed like this in previous competitions.

The shadow of the tree of life, that is Kogure!

"bring it on!"

Nanxiang uses loud shouting to vent his inner tension.

Without hesitation, Kogure began to display his unpredictable backhand strike technique.

With just a feint, he easily disrupted Nanxiang's defensive rhythm, causing his footwork to become chaotic and his center of gravity to become unstable.

Seizing the fleeting opportunity, Kogure quickly turned around and brushed past Nango.

After breaking through Nango's defense, Kogure burst into the paint, leaped high, his body drawing a beautiful arc in the air, and slammed the ball into the basket.

This gliding dunk instantly brought the atmosphere in the stadium to a fever pitch.

Thunderous applause and cheers erupted from the audience, especially from the Kogure fans.

At this moment, the 'Kogure fans' held up banners that read 'Don't leave us,' trying to persuade Kogure to stay.

Kogure, hard as iron, pretended not to see it and turned back to defend.

Offense and defense reversed!

Sendoh dribbled the ball past half-court and began to organize the team's attack.

Soon, Matsumoto Minoru used Uozumi's screen to temporarily shake off Mitsui.

Without hesitation, Sendoh immediately passed the ball to Matsumoto Minoru.

pop~
Just as Matsumoto Minoru was about to receive the ball, suddenly, a figure rushed out and intercepted it first.

He was none other than Kogure!

The basketball began to fly towards the frontcourt, and Kogure, Sendoh, and Matsumoto all rushed towards it.

"What a powerful explosive power!"

Sendoh was taken aback; he was clearly closer to the basketball, yet Kogure had managed to grab it first.

Kogure grabbed the basketball and sprinted towards the frontcourt.

Sendoh and Matsumoto Minoru followed closely behind, chasing after him with all their might.

However, to their great surprise, they still hadn't narrowed the gap between themselves and Kogure.

With the boost from the Pokémon title, Kogure becomes one with the Pokémon, and his speed with the Pokémon is not much worse than without it.

In the blink of an eye, Kogure reached his peak speed, leaped up, and executed a free throw line dunk.

Bang~

Kogure raised his torch and slammed the ball into the basket.

The atmosphere inside the stadium grew increasingly frenzied, completely drowning out the voices of the Ryonan fans.

Sendoh and Matsumoto Minoru stopped and watched the scene with a sense of helplessness.

They tried their best, but their opponents were simply too strong!
Soon, Ryonan launched another attack.

Sendoh was noticeably more cautious, and he focused some of his attention on Kogure, fearing another mistake.

Nango tried his best to take Kogure away, but unfortunately his scoring range was too narrow, limited to the vicinity of the paint area.

Soon, with the help of a screen, Ikegami successfully gained a two-and-a-half-body lead over Yamamoto and appeared outside the three-point line in the corner.

The two bottom corners are also the most secure positions on the pool.

Sendoh passed the ball at the right moment, and Ikegami received the ball and attempted to shoot, successfully knocking Yamamoto Kuma away.

Ikegami immediately stepped to the side and jumped to shoot.

Just then, a shadow loomed over him.

"Nani!"

Ikegami was taken aback; the sheer size of Kogure's defensive coverage was clearly beyond his expectations.

He could only watch helplessly as Kogure's large hand touched the basketball and snatched it away.

Hat snatch!

Kogure landed on the ground and immediately led his team in a fast break.

However, Ryonan's timely defensive return prevented them from launching a fast break.

This is why Sakuragi, Rukawa, and Naito didn't play; otherwise, given Uozumi's speed, Shohoku would likely have launched a fast break.

Even so, Ryonan still dared not let their guard down, after all, they were facing Shohoku team led by Kogure.

Kogure, with keen eyes, carefully observed Ryonan's defensive formation and began to organize the team's offense methodically.

The next moment, Kogure raised his left index finger, conveying instructions through hand gestures.

His teammates responded quickly and began to execute his tactical plan.

Soon, Mitsui first used Akagi's screen, and then crossed positions with Okamoto Nobuhiko, thus successfully shaking off Ikegami and appearing outside the three-point line at the top of the arc.

Kogure seized the opportunity, and his basketball, like a precision-guided missile, was passed quickly and accurately to Mitsui.

This shot was executed perfectly in terms of both power and angle, making it very comfortable for Mitsui to receive.

Mitsui didn't need to make any further adjustments. He leaped into the air, stretching his body to its fullest extent, and used the coordinated movements of his arms and wrists to throw the basketball towards the basket.

sigh~
The basketball traced a beautiful arc in the air, piercing the net with perfect accuracy, creating a splash of net paint.

7:0
Shohoku is in front, Ryonan is behind!
"Mi-chan, Mi-chan!"

In the corridor, the three members of the Horita Tokuo group excitedly cheered for Mitsui.

Under their influence, the gymnasium began to be filled with the sound of 'Mi-chan'.

"This is a headache!"

Mitsui shook his head, unusually showing no shame about being called 'Mi-chan'.

During Ryonan's offensive possessions, under Shohoku's tight defense, Ryonan did not have any good opportunities.

At that moment, the basketball fell into the hands of Minoru Matsumoto.

With only three seconds left on the shot clock, Matsumoto Minoru didn't try to shift the blame and instead took a jump shot over Mitsui's defense.

If this happened to someone else, they would definitely choose to shift the blame.

bang~
With Mitsui interfering, the shot ended up missing.

Akagi kept Uozumi firmly behind him, not giving Uozumi a chance to grab the rebound.

The two are evenly matched in rebounding ability, but Akagi has an advantage on the defensive end.

On the other side, Kogure immediately seized a favorable position, also trapping Nango behind him.

Compared to Kogure, Nango was as weak as a novice.

As the basketball fell, Nango was pinned down by Kogure and unable to jump.

Kogure easily caught the basketball and casually passed it to Nobuhiko Okamoto.

不到两分钟时间，木暮就收获了4分1助攻1篮板1抢断1盖帽，直接填满数据栏。

Perhaps because it was the final match, his teammates were actively creating opportunities for him.

Soon, Kogure broke free from Nango, and as he received the ball, he turned and jumped to shoot.

His body was stretched out, and his movements were fluid and natural.

sigh~
The basketball pierced the rim again.

The game continued, and under Kogure's leadership, Shohoku demonstrated strong teamwork and clearly suppressed Ryonan.

As Kogure's matchup, Nango was no match for him and could only watch helplessly as Kogure beat him to a pulp.

In just five minutes, Kogure scored 14 points on Nango with a perfect shooting percentage.

At that moment, a feeling of despair began to surge in Nanxiang's heart.

Although he is rather stubborn, it doesn't mean he doesn't have emotions.

(End of this chapter)