Slam Dunk: Muguro

Chapter 298 Double MVP
When unguarded, Mitsui's three-point shooting percentage is frightening.

shuh~
As expected, Mitsui made the crucial three-pointer.

Shohoku's lead has returned to 7 points with 5 seconds remaining.

This is a huge blow to the Sannoh players. How could they score 7 points in just 5 seconds?
Mitsui feigned annoyance and said, "Oh dear, I actually gave you 5 seconds."

Upon hearing Mitsui's cheeky demeanor, many Sannoh players instantly hardened their fists.

If Kogure hadn't been standing next to Mitsui, someone might have actually attacked him.

Showing off is fine, but don't rub salt into the wound, or you'll easily get beaten up.

You agree, Bird!
Barkley, Dr. J, and Moses Malone silently gave a thumbs up.

This is an endorsement from three of the world's 50 greatest stars.

Throughout NBA history, the sheer magnitude of Bird's beatings is unparalleled.

"Mitsui, shut up if you don't want to get beaten up."

Sensing the murderous glares in the eyes of the Sannoh players, Kogure decisively took Mitsui away.

He doesn't want to suffer an undeserved disaster and avoid being banned again.

After being enlightened by Kogure, Mitsui suddenly realized the truth.

"I was just trying to liven things up!"

After speaking, Mitsui hurriedly followed Kogure back to defend the area.

Despite the fact that it was only a theoretical possibility, Sannoh Industries did not give up.

The head can be cut and blood can flow, but the hairstyle cannot be messy.

You can lose the game, but you must never lose your belief!

beep~
Therefore, Coach Domoto resolutely used his last timeout.

After the timeout, Sannoh served from midfield.

Unexpectedly, it wasn't Sawakita or Matsumoto who made the move, but Fukatsu Kazunari!
Beyond the three-point line, Fukatsu receives the ball and shoots.

However, Nobuhiko Okamoto still managed to interfere.

bang~
Perhaps the shot was taken too hastily, or perhaps Okamoto Nobuhiko's interference was effective.

In short, this three-pointer did not go in.

With Naito's help, Kogure easily grabbed the rebound immediately.

The nearby Sannoh players instinctively tried to steal the ball, but were scared off by Kogure's swung elbow.

Beep~
Just then, the long whistle signaling the end of the match finally sounded, bringing this tense and fierce duel to a close.

At this moment, the Nagai Stadium was completely ignited. The Shohoku supporters could hardly contain their excitement and joy, and the applause and cheers were deafening, as if they were about to lift the roof off.

"we are the champion!"

On the court, the Shohoku players couldn't contain their joy and loudly expressed their excitement.

At this moment, all fatigue seemed to vanish, replaced by an indescribable excitement.

On the Shohoku bench, the substitute players rushed onto the court, embracing the players on the court tightly and sharing this hard-won glory.

At this moment, all the sweat and effort have turned into sweet fruit.

They train day after day, all for this moment!
This victory is the result of their countless days and nights of hard work.

Call ~
Kogure let out a long breath, his heart filled with ultimate joy.

Under his leadership, Shohoku won the national summer championship for the first time!
In terms of prestige, the summer national championship is arguably superior to the winter competition.

Many high school seniors opted out of the winter tournament due to academic commitments.

Furthermore, Shohoku finally completed the Grand Slam, becoming the only team in Kanagawa Prefecture to achieve this feat.

Winning all four championships—the regional county competition and the winter qualifying competition, the national competition and the winter competition—would constitute a grand slam.

"It's a pity. If he had been substituted in the last minute of the game, he could have replicated gOat's feat of winning by doing nothing!"

In Game 4 of the 2012 NBA Finals, gOat missed an open three-pointer and was benched in the final minute, as the Heat ultimately defeated the Thunder to win the championship.

In this finals, gOat truly demonstrated what it means to win by relying on teammates.

In this finals series, you'll notice that gOat didn't score the crucial shots, but when he was racking up stats and vying for the FMVP during garbage time, you could always see him actively involved.

In the finals, the main players won the championship while they were on the court, but our FMVP won the championship while off the court.

He is also the only starting player in history to win a championship off the court during the Finals, and crucially, he also became the Finals MVP...

"Nakamura, what are you waiting for? Hurry up and take a picture!"

On the sidelines, Yayoi Aida urged Nakamura.

Nakamura instinctively pressed the button, and with a flash of light, this exciting moment was finally captured.

On the other side of the field, the eyes of the Sannoh players were filled with resentment and regret.

Before the match, after learning that Akagi was injured and unable to play, they were confident of victory and full of desire for glory.

After the game, all hopes and dreams were shattered in an instant, leaving only the bitterness of defeat.

At this moment, it seemed as if all the efforts had vanished in vain.

Competitive sports are undoubtedly cruel, and without a doubt, the second-place finisher is the biggest loser.

They were just one step away from the championship, but ultimately failed to cross that threshold.

Faced with an unprecedented setback, their hearts were filled with indescribable sorrow.

Some Sannoh players couldn't control their emotions, and tears streamed down their faces.

Of these players, Zebei seemed particularly heartbroken.

His tears streamed down his face, his expression revealing intense disappointment and resentment.

This was the first time in his life that he had tasted defeat in such an important competition.

Zebei's basketball journey has always been smooth sailing; from childhood to adulthood, he has always been invincible in various competitions.

However, this defeat dealt a heavy blow to Zebei.

This defeat could be a major turning point in his basketball career.

With the comfort of his teammates, Zebei gradually calmed down and decided to turn this defeat into motivation to move forward.

"I will definitely lead Sannoh Industrial to victory in the Winter Tournament!"

Zebei clenched his fists, his eyes filled with a strong desire to challenge Kogure.

Before long, the noise in the arena gradually subsided.

It was at this moment that Coach Anzai and Coach Domoto came to the center of the field and shook hands again.

Coach Domoto's expression was exceptionally serious, and he said with unwavering determination, "Coach Anzai, from now on, Shohoku will be our main rival. We will work even harder to win the Winter Tournament!"

Coach Domoto is ready, and his words reveal his determination for the future.

Shohoku has now become the biggest obstacle on Sannoh Industrial's path to the national championship. To overcome this obstacle, the team must further improve its strength to ensure victory over Shohoku in the Winter Tournament.

"Hehehe, I'm really looking forward to the next showdown!"

Coach Anzai shook Coach Domoto's hand and let out his signature laugh.

During the exchange between the two coaches, as is customary, the players from both sides lined up and bowed to each other.

Zebei stared straight at Kogure and said, "Kogure, I'll definitely beat you next time!"

"Then I'll wait and see!"

Kogure shrugged, neither confirming nor denying.

With his current strength, Zebei is no longer his match.

Kogure at this point can already be described as the Sword God of Shilipo.

In this region, he is the undisputed No. 1.

Even Sawakita had to admit that he was no match for Kogure at the moment.

He made up his mind to train even harder before the Winter Tournament and defeat that man. "Sawakita, beat me first before you beat Kogure!"

Suddenly, Mitsui offered a different perspective.

In this game, Zebei seemed to have dominated Mitsui, but in reality, his shooting percentage was less than 50%, which was significantly lower than usual.

This demonstrates the significant impact Mitsui's defense had on Sawakita.

Of course, it's also related to Kogure's defensive support.

Compared to Sawakita, Mitsui scored no less points and had a higher shooting percentage.

This does not mean that Mitsui is stronger than Sawakita. The reason for this is mainly due to their shot selection.

Sawakita likes to take on challenges head-on, primarily scoring difficult goals. Mitsui, on the other hand, scores many simpler goals.

Open shots, fast breaks, free throws... aside from grabbing defensive rebounds, he's practically a future version of gOat.

Not far away, Kawada couldn't help but glance at Kogure.

"God help me, I hope Akagi doesn't get injured again during the Winter Tournament!"

Unexpectedly, Kawada silently prayed for Akagi.

It wasn't that he was a particularly virtuous person, but rather that he genuinely didn't want to face off against Kogure anymore.

Soon, Kogure returned to the bench, intending to rest for a while before attending the closing ceremony of the National Tournament.

"Captain, look!"

Before Kogure could even sit down, Emperor Kakuta excitedly handed over the data book.

Kogure looked at Kakuta Daigo with a puzzled expression and asked, "Kakuta, what's wrong?"

"Captain, your stats in this game are just too outrageous!"

"Let me see... Holy crap!"

Upon seeing this, Kogure instinctively swore and was completely dumbfounded.

Seeing this, Mitsui couldn't help but lean his head closer.

"Fuck!"

Mitsui was equally shocked; the data was simply outrageous!
In this game, Kogure achieved an epic triple-double with 31 points, 21 rebounds, and 22 assists.

Such staggering data undoubtedly represents the pinnacle of an individual's abilities.

In a sense, Kogure is a completely different level of strength compared to other high school students, so it's no wonder that Kawada doesn't want to face off against him.

"This is exactly the same as Jokic's data in the future!"

Kogure thought to himself, "The difference is that this match doesn't have overtime."

Soon, information about Kogure spread rapidly.

The news spread like wildfire, and even before the closing ceremony began, many spectators already knew about it.

Following his quadruple-double, Kogure once again achieved a 30+20+20 performance.

This made him the first player in the history of the Summer National Championship to achieve 30+20+20.

"MVP! MVP!"

"MVP! MVP!"

……

In an instant, countless viewers spontaneously began chanting "MVP".

The awards ceremony began shortly afterward!
First, the five data kings are hereby announced!

Top scorer: Eiji Sawakita
Assist king: Mumu Gongyan!

Rebound King: Kiminobu Kogure
Steals King: Eiji Sawakita
Block King: Mumu Gongyan!

In this national tournament, Kogure won three titles, and even ranked in the top three in both scoring and steals, demonstrating an astonishing level of dominance.

As Sannoh's ace, Sawakita averaged 39.8 points per game, and even achieved a 50+ point game in a single game.

Actually, this wasn't too difficult for Kogure, but he couldn't spare much energy to score points.

In terms of individual awards, besides Best Coach, Kogure is also a strong contender for all the major awards.

Soon, the chairman of the organizing committee began to present the Best Newcomer Award.

"Let's congratulate Eiji Sawakita of Sannoh Industrial and Tetsuya Naito of Shohoku High School on winning the Best Newcomer Award together!"

The first award was an unexpected one, a rare tie.

In terms of statistics, Naito is not much inferior to Sawakita.

In terms of record, Shohoku is the champion.

It was precisely because of their track record that Naito was able to share the Best Newcomer award with Sawakita.

Hua Hua Hua~
After they realized what was happening, enthusiastic applause and cheers erupted in the arena.

Because the fans present were either Shohoku fans or Sannoh fans, neutral fans were a very small minority.

"hateful!"

On the podium, Zebei felt very unhappy; he didn't want to share the award with anyone else.

However, upon seeing the look Naito gave him, Sawakita's expression instantly softened, and he even took the initiative to congratulate Naito.

Don't ask why, the answer is he doesn't want to learn physics!

Naito was even bigger than Okawata, and his body was full of bulging muscles. If he were to take a punch from Okawata... Naito would probably be crying and begging him not to die.

After the Best Newcomer award, the next award is the Best Coach award.

As expected, Coach Anzai won the Best Coach award.

This is to be expected; it's basically a sure thing for the championship coach.

Following closely behind was the Best Defensive Player award, which the organizing committee ultimately awarded to Kogure.

Kogure is the king of blocks and second in steals.

Furthermore, the scoring efficiency of his opponents is far below normal levels.

Kogure's selection as the best defensive player is well-deserved.

Following the Defensive Player of the Year, it's time for the All-NBA Team!
Soon, photos of five people appeared on the giant screen: Nobisuke Suzuki, Kogure, Sawakita, Mitsui, and Fujima.

As in previous years, there are two spots for the champion, while the runner-up and the semi-finalists each have one spot.

Poor Naito, he almost replaced Mitsui, but in the end he was just too shallow in terms of experience.

"Finally, the MVP award for the National Tournament will be presented!"

"Mumu, MVP!"

"Mumu, MVP!"

"Mumu, MVP!"

……

As soon as the chairman of the national competition organizing committee finished speaking, countless spectators shouted Kogure's name.

If the MVP award isn't given to Kogure, then it's a conspiracy, because Kogure's performance in the National Tournament was simply too amazing, he was in a class of his own.

The organizing committee chairman didn't keep anyone in suspense and announced: "Congratulations to Kiminobu Kogure from Shohoku High School for winning the MVP award of this year's Summer National Tournament by a unanimous vote!"

Although it was expected, Kogure still smiled from the bottom of his heart.

After winning the Winter Tournament MVP award, he also won the Summer National Tournament MVP award, becoming a double MVP!

Soon, amidst the envious gazes of the crowd, Kogure went up on stage to accept the award, raising the MVP trophy high.

Hua Hua Hua~
For a moment, the arena was filled with the cheers of the spectators, who had lost all restraint.

After the awards ceremony, the chairman of the organizing committee announced the official end of the national competition.

(End of this chapter)