Slam Dunk: Muguro

Chapter 315: Retaining the MVP Title!

shuh~
The basketball went straight through the rim.

"yeah!"

After making the shot, Ikegami was overjoyed and gave a peace sign.

More than a year of hard training, with occasional guidance from Kogure and Mitsui, has led to great progress for Ikegami.

This season, Ikegami has even developed a three-point shot, becoming a top 3D player.

His hard work and effort paid off. Although he is somewhat unbalanced in his skills, he has the advantage of not needing to dominate the ball.

With Ikegami's current ability, he would have a place on any team.

After Ikegami sank the three-pointer, the Kanagawa players patted him on the shoulder in celebration of the go-ahead goal.

In the stands, fans supporting Kanagawa erupted in thunderous applause and cheers.

Kanagawa's comeback greatly boosted the players' morale.

The Akita players were also affected; they led for most of the game but ultimately faltered.

Rather than saying they faltered, it's more accurate to say they were no match for Kanagawa without the referee's help; they were simply no match for them.

At this moment, Coach Domoto stood anxiously on the sidelines, trying to find a breakthrough for the team by adjusting tactics.

The Kanagawa team continued to employ a pressing tactic, and their physical advantage over the Akita players was very obvious.

Due to a lack of physical strength, their speed and explosiveness, including Zebei's, were weakened.

slap~
Less than ten seconds later, under the Kanagawa team's tight pressing tactics, they made another steal.

This time, it was Kogure who made the steal.

Although Kogure was also affected by physical limitations, he possessed superhuman reflexes and a sixth sense, making him extremely effective in pressing defensive tactics.

After making the steal, Kogure grabbed the basketball and drove straight to the basket.

On the sidelines, Coach Domoto, his face ashen, shouted loudly at the field, "Stop him!"

At that moment, Fukatsu and Sawakita, who were closest to Kogure, rushed towards him, while Kawada sat under the basket, ready to intercept.

However, they believe that Kogure will most likely choose to pass the ball.

Therefore, Fukatsu and his colleagues did not go all out, and their attention was somewhat diverted.

However, Kogure did not back down and chose to face the challenge head-on.

As they approached, Kogure first made a passing feint.

Their center of gravity shifted, and they subconsciously turned their gaze to the bottom corner.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Kogure dribbled the ball and passed between Fukatsu and Sawakita.

Kawada had no choice but to bite the bullet and go forward again.

"Don't even think about it! Even if I foul this time, I won't let you get away with it!"

Kawada thought that Kogure would be doing aerial work again, just like before, and he made up his mind.

To Kawada's surprise, Kogure did not jump, and it looked like the two were about to collide.

The audience held their breath, watching the scene with bated breath.

At the critical moment, Kogure waved his left hand, and the basketball turned into an orange phantom, flying straight towards Kawada's small gate.

At the same time, Kogure spun his top and brushed past Kawada.

Before Kawada could react, he felt a chill in his groin and belatedly tried to squeeze his legs together.

Unfortunately, it's too late!
Using a dribble pass, Kogure successfully broke through Kawada's defense.

After driving into the basket, he scored with a windmill dunk reminiscent of Vince Carter.

Bang~
As the loud thud of the rim hitting the basket rang out, the entire stadium instantly erupted in cheers.

The fans cheered and went wild for Kogure's amazing performance.

His teammates rushed forward and hugged Kogure tightly, celebrating this crucial goal.

The Akita players sighed in despair, their spirits broken; this goal would completely change the course of the game.

And that was exactly what happened. The Kanagawa team, united as one, further widened the score gap.

However, the Akita team has clearly not given up yet.

Zebei remained determined, aiming to break the 30-point mark.

However, under Kogure's defense, Sawakita was in a terrible state, making numerous mistakes and even airballing his shots.

It must be said here that after Sawakita went cold, Matsumoto Minoru took on the heavy responsibility of scoring for the team.
Minoru Matsumoto was still striving to win, and even though Ikegami did his best, he still couldn't limit Matsumoto's performance.

In just two and a half minutes, Matsumoto Minoru scored seven points over Ikegami with incredible speed and skill, demonstrating his powerful scoring ability.

On the Kanagawa bench, Coach Taoka stood up involuntarily.

At that moment, all he could see was Minoru Matsumoto.

If Matsumoto Minoru were to truly join Ryonan, he couldn't imagine how powerful Ryonan would become.

"No matter what, we must persuade Matsumoto Minoru this time!"

In order to persuade Matsumoto Minoru, Coach Taoka silently made up his mind.

Matsumoto Minoru smells so good!

This is something that wouldn't happen if you were on a different team than Sannoh Industrial.

People only learn to cherish things after they've lost them!

On the field, although Matsumoto Minoru performed very strongly, his physical strength was ultimately limited.

Unfortunately, both Sawakita and Kawada went cold, and he had no teammates who could help him shoulder the scoring burden.

As for Fukatsu, he didn't have a high desire to score, and his offensive skills were limited. Under Maki's mad dog-like defense, he had no chance to score at all.

Ito Yu was no match either. His overall strength was inferior to that of his four teammates, at best only at the level of a pseudo-strong team's core player. Under Naito's close guard, he also fell into confusion.

For a moment, Akita's attack completely stalled.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, the Kanagawa team quickly widened the score gap.

With one minute remaining in the game, the Kanagawa team had already built a double-digit lead.

For a moment, the Akita players were filled with despair, seeing no hope of turning the tide.

Soon, accompanied by the long whistle signaling the end of the match, the final score was 103:91, with the Kanagawa team winning by 12 points and successfully retaining their title as champions of the Autumn National Sports Tournament.

"We win, we win!"

"That's awesome! We're the champions!"

……

At that moment, the Kanagawa players could not contain their joy. They excitedly embraced each other, celebrating this hard-won victory.

If the referee hadn't intervened, the Kanagawa team would have won much more easily.

Fortunately, Kogure managed to 'send away' the referee in time, otherwise the Akita team would likely have won.

Without a doubt, Kogure was the biggest contributor to the team's victory.

In this game, Kogure once again achieved a 30+ triple-double, and his blocks and steals totaled 5+5, showcasing his all-around performance.

"Kanagawa!"

"Kanagawa!"

Inside the stadium, Kanagawa fans joined in the celebrations.

The 'Kogure fans' went even crazier, with one daring woman taking off her top to reveal her hot figure.

On the other side, the Akita players looked extremely dejected, returning listlessly to the bench. They had led for most of the game, with a lead that once approached 20 points, but ultimately their opponents reversed the game.

Minoru Matsumoto sat expressionless on the bench, without saying a word.

Zebei looked dejected and covered his head with a towel, not daring to show it to anyone.

Kogure delivered on his boast once again, and Sawakita's score didn't even exceed 30 points.

If it weren't for the awards ceremony, Zebei wouldn't want to stay in this heartbreaking place for even a second longer.

Akita fans were extremely disappointed because they failed to lift the trophy on home soil.

Despite winning second place, no matter how many times you win second place, it can't equal the championship.

No matter how many media outlets announce the verdict, the fact remains that the second-place finisher is the biggest loser.

Before long, under the instructions of both coaches, the players from both teams faced each other and lined up neatly in two rows.

The joy of the victors and the dejection of the vanquished stand in stark contrast.

"Coach Anzai, congratulations on winning the championship again!"

Coach Domoto tried to maintain his composure and congratulated Coach Anzai.

"Coach Domoto, thank you for your hard work!"

Coach Anzai flashed his signature harmless smile. In reality, he did nothing in this match; he won the Autumn National Sports Championship by simply lying down.

After the match, Yayoi Aida gave her routine interview.

Faced with the familiar question, Kogure still attributed the victory to his coach and teammates.

In addition, he praised the strength and tenacity of his opponents.

The tougher the opponent, the more valuable the victory.

Dirk Nowitzki has a lot to say on this, after all, he won the championship against the Heat's Big Three at their peak, and is considered one of the most valuable championships ever won.

As for the Cavaliers' championship win against the 73-win Warriors in 16, while it seemed incredibly prestigious, it was actually a product of biased officiating.

The league wants to help gOat achieve god-like status and further promote the influence of the NBA.

Unfortunately, they were destined to push the wrong person.

Aida Yayoi continued, "One last question: what's your take on Sawakita's 18 free throws out of nine attempts in the first half?"

"I hope high school leagues can return to their purest form, back to their original state, filled with respect for the sport and a desire to win..."

To avoid being banned, Kogure did not publicly accuse the team of cheating, but instead hinted that the Akita team had six players on the field at the same time.

As for the extra player, those in the know will understand.

After Kogure finished his interview, Aida Yayoi immediately interviewed Sawakita.

"Ze Bei, you made 18 free throws out of 9 attempts in the first half. What were your thoughts at that moment?"

Aida Yayoi's question was unusually sharp, purely rubbing salt into Sawakita's wounds.

"The victor is king, the loser is villain; there's nothing more to say."

Zebei was already in a bad mood, and now he was in an even worse mood.

It can only be said that Aida Yayoi truly lives up to her reputation as Kogure's personal mouthpiece.

Zebei didn't say much and immediately declined the interview.

Shortly afterward, guided by staff, the top four teams from the Autumn National Sports Competition returned to the field to participate in the awards ceremony.

Of the five statistical titles, Kogure won three: scoring, assists, and steals.

Naito won the rebounding title, while Uozumi won the shot-blocking title.

The awards for the Autumn National Sports Tournament remain unchanged: Best Newcomer, Best Coach, Best Team, Best Defensive Player, and MVP.

Naito won the Best Newcomer Award, beating out Sawakita and Sendoh.

This is mainly related to Zebei's performance in the finals.

Although Sawakita scored nearly 30 points, and his stats were comparable to Naito's, everyone knew there was something fishy going on.

The organizing committee of the Autumn National Sports Festival would naturally not award the prize to Sawakita.

Needless to say, Sendoh's appearance time was limited, so his statistics were naturally not outstanding.

Next up was the Best Coach award, and Coach Anzai won effortlessly, retaining his title as Best Coach at the Autumn National Sports Games for the second consecutive year.

As for the best lineup, it will still be awarded in a prize-sharing manner.

Soon, the images of five players appeared on the big screen: Nobisuke Suzuki, Tetsuya Naito, Mitsui, Minoru Matsumoto, and Kogure.

Unlike last year, the Kanagawa Prefecture team received three spots this year, while Aichi Prefecture received none.

The poor stretcher-bearer warrior was not selected for the best lineup.

As for why the Akita team's representative is Minoru Matsumoto?
In fact, Sawakita's data is even higher than Matsumoto Minoru's.

The reason he didn't participate was due to the impact of his 18 free throws out of 9 attempts, which led to a drop in his evaluation. To be on the safe side, the organizing committee of the Autumn National Sports Festival ultimately chose Minoru Matsumoto.

In the Autumn National Sports Tournament, Minoru Matsumoto still managed to contribute an average of 20+5+5 per game.

Although not as good as Sawakita, she is still quite outstanding.

Soon, it was the turn of the best defensive player.

This award is very prestigious, second only to the MVP award in terms of individual honors, given that the All-NBA Team has five members.

The nominees for the Best Defensive Player award are Kogure, Naito, and Uozumi, all of whom are players from Kanagawa Prefecture.

All three players have impressive defensive stats, but a closer look reveals that Kogure's defense is significantly better.

This can be seen from the performance of the opposing players; just ask Zebei how he felt in the second half.

As expected, Kogure ultimately won the Best Defensive Player award.

"Mu Mu!" "Mu Mu!" "Mu Mu!"

Before the MVP was announced, the remaining audience members were frantically chanting Kogure's name.

Among them, 'Kogure Mikoto' appears to be particularly insane.

Kogure's good looks, charisma, and playing style have won him the love of countless viewers.

Since the establishment of the three major national tournaments, the MVP has always been awarded to a player from the champion team, and there has never been a situation where a player from a non-champion team has won the MVP.

In the Kanagawa team, although his teammates performed equally well, Kogure was undoubtedly the most outstanding.

There is no doubt about this!

"Congratulations to Kiminobu Kogure from Kanagawa Prefecture for winning the MVP award at this year's Autumn National Sports Tournament. He is also the first player to win this award twice in a row!"

The organizing committee chairman didn't hold back and directly announced the winner of the MVP award.

Unfortunately, the MVP award is practically a foregone conclusion, so there's no need to keep people in suspense.

After winning the MVP award for the second consecutive time, Kogure stood on the podium once again with a confident smile.

Under the spotlight, his figure stood out brilliantly.

His eyes gleamed with excitement, for this was the first time he had won the MVP award twice in a row!

At this moment, all the hard work and sweat seemed to have received the most perfect reward.

When Kogure accepted the MVP trophy, the audience stood up, and applause and cheers rose and fell for a long time.

Kogure waved to the audience around him, thanking them for their continued support and encouragement.

The awards ceremony marked the successful conclusion of the Autumn National Sports Festival.

(End of this chapter)