Slam Dunk: Muguro

Chapter 303 Starting Lineup
"That's incredible! No wonder he's the strongest high school student in the nation's history!"

Watching the Red Team's relentless, fluid offense, Coach Kazumi Kawasaki couldn't help but sigh.

Coach Kawasaki Kazumi was very envious of Kogure's energetic performance on the field.

As for Coach Taoka, he had been shocked countless times and had developed an immunity to it.

At the start of the scrimmage, the coaching staff carefully observed the players' performance, analyzed their strengths and weaknesses, and their role on the court.

In addition, the chemistry between players is naturally included as well.

Otherwise, if the key players have no chemistry whatsoever, the team's strength will be greatly diminished.

Through scrimmages, the coaching team gradually selected the best-performing and most compatible players as starting candidates.

Whether they can officially secure a starting position depends on their performance in the future.

In short, the suspense should be kept until the very end, so as to better motivate all the players.

Of course, Kogure is not in this category.

In the parlance of prehistoric fantasy novels, it has transcended the Three Realms and is no longer within the Five Elements!
The game continues, and both teams are very active.

At the same time, they also place great emphasis on teamwork.

However, the situation on the field could almost be described as one-sided.

Despite the fact that the two teams had similar lineups, and the white team even had better teamwork, the red team still managed to gain the upper hand.

Under Kogure's command, the Red Team's offensive was like mercury flowing across the ground, smooth and swift, always easily tearing through the White Team's defenses.

Moreover, the Red Team's defense was rock solid.

Apart from Nan Lie, the other four players all played very tough defenses, with the physical confrontations almost reaching their maximum.

Even Nan Lie, who seems to be a liability, is undoubtedly one of the best players at defending against Mitsui because his style is very similar to Mitsui's.

Under Nan Lie's targeted attacks, Mitsui found it difficult to create open spaces.

However, Mitsui was still able to score consistently using his superior individual skills.

Without a two-year hiatus, and with Kogure's guidance, Mitsui's overall strength in the Kanagawa team was second only to Kogure.

In short, there is a significant gap between Nanlie and Mitsui, so it is normal for Nanlie to be completely outmatched by Mitsui.

However, Nan Lie is not the worst off.

The worst off was Sendoh, because his opponent was none other than the 'Great Demon King' Kogure.

Despite Kogure clearly slacking off, Sendoh still felt immense pressure and couldn't gain any advantage.

"This guy is still getting stronger. Is the sky his limit?"

As Kogure easily scored another goal, Sendoh was shocked to discover that Kogure had improved once again.

The gap is already so big, how can we compete in the future?
As the game progressed, the Red Team's offensive intensified.

Led by Kogure, they capitalized on their opponents' mistakes, launching a series of rapid counterattacks and further extending their lead.

Before anyone knew it, the competition had finally come to an end.

As the final whistle blew, the white team players visibly breathed a sigh of relief, some even collapsing to the ground, as if all their strength had been drained by the intense match.

On the other hand, the red team is enjoying the joy of victory.

The course of this match can only be described as one-sided.

From the moment the game began, the Red Team displayed an overwhelming advantage.

Seeing this, Coach Taoka began to weaken the Red Team's strength, successively substituting Ikegami, Tomokazu Godai, and Ichiro Sato into the game.

Therefore, the Red Team lineup became Uozumi, Kogure, Ikegami, Ichiro Sato, and Tomokazu Godai.

Compared to the White Team, the Red Team's roster has become much weaker.

Even so, under Kogure's leadership, the Red Team still held the upper hand.

Uozumi is like Mutombo, mainly protecting the rim; Kogure transforms into Garnett, extending his defensive range to beyond the three-point line.

Suddenly, the red team's paint area became a tense standoff, forcing the white team to shoot from away from the basket.

Ultimately, thanks to the collective efforts of the Red Team, they won by a margin of nearly 30 points.

At this moment, Nan Lie approached Mitsui and said smugly, "Mitsui, I admit you're stronger than me, but in the end, I'm the one who has the last laugh!"

"Stop bragging. Anyone who didn't know better would think you'd made some huge contribution. If we had Kogure, we could have won too!"

Mitsui immediately refuted this.

Nan Lie opened his mouth, but was speechless.

Even he himself thought Mitsui was right.

The key to the Red Team's overwhelming victory in this match was Kogure's superior strength; his performance completely surpassed that of the other players.

He not only scored frequently on offense and organized the team's attack, but also performed exceptionally well on defense, almost completely limiting Sendoh's performance.

In addition to his outstanding individual skills, Kogure also excels in teamwork.

He can accurately judge the situation on the field and pass the ball to his teammates in the best position in time.

Ultimately, thanks to Kogure's outstanding performance and the team's efforts, the Red Team was able to win by a large margin.

After the scrimmage ended, Coach Taoka announced free training.

While the players were training, the coaching staff began to discuss the starting lineup for the national team.

At this moment, A-Shen took the initiative to approach Kogure, who was practicing a straight-arm jump shot.

While Ah Shen was helping him retrieve the ball, he would also occasionally ask him for advice on positioning techniques.

In A-Shen's opinion, the best players in the country in terms of positioning are Kogure, Mitsui, and Minami.

The reason for choosing Kogure is not only because he is the captain, but also because he is good at coaching.

It was thanks to Kogure's guidance that Shohoku was able to rise rapidly and win two championships.

Kogure didn't hold onto his possessions; the key was that Ajin suited his temperament well.

In fact, the two have quite similar personalities.

In addition, he also wanted to see how much Ah Shen could improve.

It must be said that Ah Shen has excellent comprehension.

Under Kogure's guidance, his progress was rapid, and his positioning skills improved at an almost visible rate.

As Ajin made significant progress, the other caddies also began to emulate Kogure.

Seeing this, some players from the national team also joined in.

The coaching staff turned a blind eye to this, as they were eager for the team to become stronger.

In the afternoon, under Coach Kazumi Kawasaki's guidance, they began an organized tactical training session.

Coach Kazumi Kawasaki held a tactics board covered with various diagrams and arrows, explaining each tactical move and key point of cooperation to the players in detail.

During a break in tactical training, Coach Kazumi Kawasaki also emphasized communication and teamwork within the team.

As training progressed, the team players gradually found their rhythm, their teamwork became increasingly seamless, and their tactical execution became smoother.

Time slipped through our fingers like sand. During this time, the coaching team organized several scrimmages, allowing different player combinations to take the field in order to observe their performance and adaptability.

After a week of observation, the coaching team tentatively finalized the starting lineup: Akagi, Naito, Kogure, Mitsui, and Fujima. Unexpectedly, the final result was a combination of Shohoku's four stars plus Fujima.

The coaching team chose Fujima instead of Maki or Sendoh because Fujima has a better shot.

At the same time, Fujima also possesses excellent organizational skills, and can act as both an organizer and a shooter.

After officially confirming the starting lineup, the Kanagawa team began preparations.

Every day of preparation, the players are giving it their all.

They knew very well that only through relentless effort could they secure a place in the highly competitive Kanagawa team.

With ten days left until the Autumn National Sports Tournament, Kogure finally heard the long-awaited notification sound that morning.

Congratulations on acquiring a new skill—horseback archery!

At this moment, Kogure's heart was filled with indescribable joy.

As for the straight-arm jump shot, he had already mastered it a week ago.

This means he has mastered two more offensive methods, which can further enhance his strength.

Among them, improving the straight-arm jump shot can indirectly lead to an increase in four attributes: jumping ability, flexibility, mid-range shooting, and even three-point shooting.

I wonder what attributes riding a horse and shooting arrows can boost, or whether they have any special effects.
Kogure was quite looking forward to it.

Before that, he needs to raise his horseback archery skill to LV2.

"Ah Shen, you're in charge of defense!"

Since horseback archery is still at LV1, the shooting stability is not high.

Therefore, Kogure specifically assigned Ajin to defend.

Compared to other players, Ah Shen is slender and lacks defensive experience, which is just right.

"Yes, Captain!"

Ah Shen assumed a defensive stance, ready for battle.

During this time, Ah Shen's strength also improved rapidly.

In addition to his positioning, his shooting ability has also been further improved.

This also made Ashin extremely admire Kogure, almost becoming his little follower.

Kogure suspected that if he just beckoned, Ajin might even leave Ryonan and transfer to Shohoku.

Of course, Kogure would never do that.

He believed that Ryonan was a better fit for Akagi, and that he probably wouldn't even be able to secure a starting position at Shohoku.

This is only for this year. With the addition of Sakuragi, Rukawa, and others next year, Shohoku will only become more competitive.

Under Ajin's defense, Kogure began training.

Kogure dribbles the ball toward Jin, and just as he's about to reach him, he leaps into the air, using the powerful momentum from his run to adjust his balance in mid-air with a lunge, and throws the ball toward the basket.

Ah Shen tried his best to jump and interfere, but the effect was minimal.

shuh~
The basketball swished through the net, creating a splash.

"continue!"

Ajin picked up the basketball and passed it back to Kogure.

Soon, Kogure once again rode his horse and shot arrows at Ajin's defense.

shuh~
The basketball traced a beautiful parabola and hit the rim again.

Seeing this, Ah Shen could only shrug his shoulders helplessly.

Ah Shen was not discouraged, because in his view, this was perfectly reasonable.

Kogure did not rest and continued to focus his energy on training.

Swish~swish~swish~
Despite only being at LV1 in horseback archery, Kogure's attributes were so strong that Ajin's defense was practically nonexistent, and Kogure repeatedly hit the basket.

As time went on, Kogure began practicing again and again.

During the process, he would occasionally adjust his posture and rhythm, trying different shooting angles and forces to find the best time to shoot.

Two and a half hours later, I was just one step away from advancing to LV2 in horseback archery.

Kogure took a few deep breaths, while Ajin was already drenched in sweat, his breathing as heavy as a bellows.

"Last ball!"

Soon, Kogure once again rode his horse and shot arrows at Ajin's defense.

Thud~ Swish~
This time, Kogure aimed for an angle on the backboard.

The basketball bounced off the backboard first, and then bounced back into the basket.

Horseback Archery: LV1→LV2

As Kogure progressed through the horseback archery competition, he noticed that his explosiveness, mid-range throw, jumping ability, and flexibility had all improved to varying degrees.

At the same time, he felt that his shooting consistency had improved to some extent.

Could riding a horse and shooting arrows improve shooting accuracy?
Kogure was overjoyed at this.

For him, this is undoubtedly another good thing.

Shooting consistency can further increase his scoring efficiency; even a 1% increase in shooting percentage would be invaluable.

It was only then that Kogure began to examine the attribute panel.

Name: Mumu Gongyan
Age: 16
Height: 190cm
Wingspan: 207cm
Weight: 86kg
physical fitness
Strength: 97, Speed: 98, Stamina: 98, Flexibility: 98, Reaction: MAX, Injury Resistance: MAX, Explosiveness: 98, Jumping Power: 98
Offensive techniques

Ball handling: 97, Passing: 96, Layup: 98, Close shot: 97, Mid-range shot: 98, Three-point shot: 97, Free throw: 97, Positioning: 96, Playmaking: 96, Dunking: 97
Defensive skills

单防：96、协防92、抢断:96、盖帽：93、防守篮板：94、进攻篮板：91
Special nicknames: Glider, God's Left Hand, Mamba Mentality (crippled), Never-Ending Runner (crippled), King of Cool
技能：交叉步LV10、急停跳投LV10、欧洲步LV9、转身跳投LV9、极限拉杆LV8、击地传球LV9、后撤步跳投LV9、后仰跳投LV9、背身单打LV9、指尖挑篮LV8、西克玛步LV9、内线脚步LV9、山姆高德过人LV9、死亡缠绕LV9、勾手LV8、不看人传球LV8、胯下变向LV7、直臂跳投LV3、骑马射箭LV2
Status: Excellent
Evaluation: College superstar/College player/NBA reserve player
During this period, Kogure's strength has improved to some extent.

No attribute is below 90, and many attributes are even close to their limits.

Following the crossover step, the pull-up jump shot successfully reached LV10, becoming Kogure's second LV10 skill.

The LV10 pull-up jump shot effectively improves shooting stability.

Of course, this only applies to pull-up jump shots.

In addition, skills such as bounce passes and inside footwork have also been improved.

Unfortunately, his evaluation remained unchanged.

After closing the panel, Kogure rested for a while before resuming his training.

The difference is that his defensive target has become Yamamoto Kuma.

It wasn't that Ah Shen didn't want to continue, but rather that his physical strength was no longer sufficient, and even his legs were trembling.

Compared to Ajin, Yamamoto Kuma has better defense and stronger physical strength, but he is at a disadvantage in terms of height and wingspan.

Unfortunately, Yamamoto Kuma still couldn't contain Kogure's performance, and Kogure was able to do whatever he wanted with him.

In this process, progress in horseback archery and straight-arm basketball shooting increased at a visible rate.

By the time the National Sports Games in Autumn arrive, these two skills will surely reach the standard for actual combat, further enriching Kogure's arsenal.

(End of this chapter)