Slam Dunk: Muguro

Chapter 345 Double Crown Winner!
36:17
Within ten minutes, Shohoku had built a 20-point lead.

This gives the impression that the two teams are not on the same level at all.

Indeed, as Kogure's strength improved further, Shohoku surpassed Sannoh Kogyo and Ryonan, reaching a new level.

Under these circumstances, Ryonan's situation became precarious, and their hard-won morale plummeted further.

Do it all at once, second time tired, third time exhausted!

Coach Taoka could only shake his head and sigh helplessly at this sight.

He knew very well that no matter how much motivational talk he gave, the effect would be greatly reduced.

Coach Taoka could only pin his hopes on the three giants of Ryonan, hoping they could adjust themselves.

Call ~
Sendoh exhaled, his eyes more serious than ever before.

To boost the team's morale, Sendoh raised a finger and scanned each of his teammates' faces with a determined look.

"Don't rush, everyone. As long as we are united, nothing is impossible. Now let's concentrate and take it one step at a time, and win this point first!"

Sendoh's words were like a gentle spring breeze, seeping into the hearts of every teammate.

"it is good!"

Inspired by Sendoh, the Ryonan players' eyes were filled with renewed fighting spirit and hope.

Of course, this is only temporary.

If they fail to score in this round, the morale of the Ryonan team could plummet, and they might even collapse.

On the Ryonan bench, Coach Taoka looked at this mentality with great satisfaction.

He believes that Xiandao has grown a lot and is no longer as unruly as before.

Unfortunately, Coach Taoka is probably overthinking it.

On the field, the Ryonan players showed unprecedented teamwork and determination, running harder and cooperating more frequently and efficiently.

Soon, under Uozumi's cover, Ikegami created an opportunity and took a two-body-length lead over Sato Ichiro.

Sendoh passed the ball at the right moment, and Ikegami caught it and shot it in a horse-riding archery posture.

Compared to real horseback archery, Ikegami's movements are not very graceful, but as long as the target is hit, everything else is irrelevant.

shuh~
The basketball hits the net!

Call ~
At that moment, the Ryonan players all breathed a sigh of relief, and their surging morale gradually stabilized.

The match continued, and under Sendoh's organization, Ryonan began to score continuously, gradually stabilizing the situation in the match.

Unfortunately, the good times didn't last long!
Kogure began to intensify his efforts, making Sendoh feel a suffocating sense of defense.

Under the shroud of LV9 Death Coil, Immortal Dao appeared extremely disheveled.

Before he knew it, he had been cornered by Kogure.

Seeing that they were about to lose the ball, Sendoh had a sudden inspiration and decided to throw the ball at Kogure's feet.

However, it was all for naught, as Kogure possessed maximum reaction speed.

As soon as Sendoh made a move, Kogure instinctively bent down and caught the basketball that was hurtling toward his right foot with both hands.

"Quick attack!"

Kogure grabbed the basketball and quickly rushed to the frontcourt.

At the same time, the Shohoku players responded and rushed towards the frontcourt.

Soon, a four-on-three situation emerged in the area.

Of the two teams, Akagi, Uozumi, and Inoue Toyoki were trailing behind.

Compared to them, Naito, who was even heavier, ran like the wind and even ranked in the top five.

At first, the energetic Inoue Toyoki was able to keep up with Naito's pace, but as time went on, he couldn't keep up.

After dribbling the ball across half-court, Sendoh harassed him again.

After dribbling the ball twice in place, Kogure casually swung it.

Bump pass!

The basketball bounced off the floor and flew rapidly towards the basket.

At that moment, a strong figure grabbed the basketball and delivered a powerful two-handed dunk.

Bang~
The basketball hoop shook violently again, and the rim was even torn at a certain angle.

Naito gripped the basketball hoop, desperately resisting the urge to do pull-ups.

He didn't want to make a foolish mistake at this time. Compared to the capricious Morishige Hiroshi, Naito was much more composed.

Offense and defense reversed!

As soon as Sendoh crossed the halfway line, before Uozumi could set a screen, Kogure rushed forward to meet him.

Under Kogure's oppression, Sendoh was struggling to keep up and could barely move; he was in a terrible predicament.

In the blink of an eye, Kogure spotted an opportunity.

slap~
Sendoh's hand went empty as the basketball was once again stolen by Kogure.

The gap between Sendoh and Kogure is far greater than the gap between Rukawa and Sawakita in the original storyline.

After Rukawa learned the triple threat, Sawakita's defensive effectiveness inevitably suffered.

Unlike Sawakita, Kogure's defense was like a spider web; once you got stuck, Sendoh could never escape.

This time, the Shohoku players spontaneously launched a fast break.

Naito surged ahead, charging headlong towards the front.

When Kogure cast Death Coil on Sendoh again, Naito seemed to be possessed by gOat, preparing to sprint ahead of time.

As expected, Kogure did not disappoint him!
In the blink of an eye, Kogure passed the ball to Naito again.

Bang~
As Naito completed another two-handed dunk, the basketball hoop groaned under the strain.

Naito landed on the ground, unable to hide his excitement, and immediately flexed his biceps, striking a "Thanos James" pose.

He loves fast breaks so much!
Of course, he also really likes defensive rebounds.

This is the essence of simple basketball!

Beep~
At this point, Ryonan requested a replacement.

Coach Taoka was also helpless; Inoue Toyoki's speed was still too slow.

To avoid being caught out by Naito's fast break again, he had to replace Inoue with Fukuda.

Fukuda possesses top-notch physical attributes, and his explosive power is quite excellent, allowing him to keep up with Naito's pace.

The problem is that Fukuda's attacking prowess is weak, their defensive capabilities are lacking, and their ability to protect the rim is worrisome.

Coach Taoka was well aware of this, and he could only hope that Uozumi could hold on.

As a defensive stalwart, Uozumi's defense was indeed excellent, but he suffered greatly under the double attack from Akagi and Naito.

Suddenly, Ryonan's interior defense was in turmoil, and their previously solid defensive rebounding was in grave danger.

As the only center who could grab a rebound in a confrontation between Akagi and Sakuragi, his skill level is undoubtedly top-notch.

This is the case with Uozumi. If Takasago, Hanagata, or Iwata Miaki had replaced Uozumi, Shohoku would probably have dominated the rebounding long ago.

Even so, the Shohoku Twin Towers still managed to grab a few offensive rebounds and convert them into points.

Coach Taoka was helpless in this situation; it was too much to ask of Ryonan.

Coach Taoka stood on the sidelines, angrily shouting at Fukuda, "Fukuda, what are you doing?"

Fukuda has always wanted to show his skills on the offensive end, and his defensive end is showing a tendency to resemble gOat.

His defensive stance was quite impressive, but the problem was there were no Shohoku players in front of him.

Is this guy trying to block out air?
Fukuda finally realized what was happening, but unfortunately, it was too late.

Kogure seized the opportunity, delivering another brilliant pass to Naito for a powerful dunk. "We absolutely must recruit an excellent power forward next year!"

Coach Taoka couldn't help but shake his head as he watched Naito wreak havoc on the rim.

To defeat Shohoku, the inside game is crucial; at the very least, the rim must be protected. Otherwise, we'll be helpless like we are now.

beep~
As the whistle blew to end the first half, the Ryonan players walked off the court with heavy steps, their faces filled with dejection.

The numbers on the electronic scoreboard mercilessly showed that they were already down by 27 points.

In the stands, the Ryonan supporters were unusually quiet, their eyes filled with disappointment, a stark contrast to the enthusiastic atmosphere at the start of the game.

They originally thought it was a clash of titans with Ryonan having a chance to win, but it turned out to be a complete rout.

On the Ryonan bench, Coach Taoka was trying to boost the players' morale.

Seeing that the results were not good, Coach Taoka had a flash of inspiration and pointed to the banner that read "Courageous and Decisive" and shouted, "Do you see that banner? Did you really do it?"

The Ryonan players all lowered their heads in shame, while Sendoh continued licking his lemon, oblivious to everyone else.

After discovering that Sendoh was daydreaming, Coach Taoka shouted angrily, "Sendoh, focus!"

"Oh!"

Sendoh hurriedly put the lemon in his mouth, sat up straight, and stared at Coach Taoka with feigned seriousness.

"The game is far from over. We still have the second half to turn things around. Even though we are down by 27 points, anything is possible."

The Ryonan players listened silently. Although they knew their coach's words made sense, they still saw no hope.

Shohoku is too strong, we can't beat them at all.

Even if they have a hot hand in the second half, they probably still won't be a match for them.

Unlike the somber atmosphere at Ryonan, the Shohoku bench was filled with laughter and joy.

Of course, they did not become complacent because of this.

Kogure repeatedly reminded them that despite their huge lead in the first half, the game was far from over, and they needed to stay focused and not give Ryonan any chance to turn the tide.

After halftime, the second half officially began, and the players from both sides returned to the field.

Among them, the Ryonan players are prepared for a do-or-die battle.

Although the road ahead may be difficult, as long as we don't give up, there is still hope.

However, at the start of the second half, led by Kogure, Shohoku once again dealt a heavy blow to Ryonan.

Leveraging their inside advantage, Shohoku unleashed a 12-3 run, securing the victory.

In the final attack, Kogure pulled off an incredible dunk, tearing the rim off the court.

Fortunately, Kogure reacted quickly and only staggered twice before falling to the ground.

After completing that incredible dunk, the morale of the Ryonan team plummeted.

With a score difference of 36 points, and considering the pace of the game, Ryonan only had a theoretical chance.

Seeing that there was no way to turn the tide, Coach Taoka sighed helplessly and then substituted the starters with substitutes.

Kogure showed Coach Taoka full respect, also sending in a substitute.

如此一来，木暮的数据也定格在了33分15助攻10篮板6抢断2盖帽。

Furthermore, he didn't make a single mistake throughout the game, so his assist-to-turnover ratio is naturally excellent.

When it comes to assist-to-turnover ratio, Kogure can't help but think of gOat again.

Those who follow the gorillas often say that gOat is a master of organization, even possessing his own system.

But looking at the assist-to-turnover ratio, it's appalling. It's almost like one out of every two assists is a turnover, which is completely incomparable to assist masters like Stockton, Kidd, Magic Johnson, and Nash.

As for having its own system, that goes without saying; it's more like having a built-in team-up attribute.

A team with two superstar-level players will be extremely attractive to him.

……

After both teams brought in their substitutes, Ryonan's substitutes were led by Jin and Fukuda, while Shohoku's were led by Miyagi and Yamamoto.

Both teams' substitutes share a common trait: they are strong offensively but weak defensively, or even have virtually no defense at all.

After Shohoku secured the victory, the substitutes of both teams began to play a coordinated game, trying to pad their stats.

Among them, A-Shen performed the best, hitting five three-pointers in a row, further reducing the point difference and saving some face for Ryonan.

Not long after, the long whistle signaling the end of the race finally sounded.

"We won! We are the champions!"

……

Amid cheers from the fans, the Shohoku players celebrated wildly.

They not only successfully defended their Winter Championship title, but also became national double champions with an undefeated record, which is truly commendable!

On the other hand, the Ryonan players were not too sad or upset.

Despite only securing second place in the Winter Tournament, the Ryonan players were already quite satisfied, exceeding their expectations.

Furthermore, they had already prepared themselves mentally before the match started, but they didn't expect the gap to be so large!
After celebrating for a while, it was finally time for the much-anticipated awards ceremony.

First, the five data kings are hereby announced!

Top scorer: Mitsui!

Assist king: Mu Mu!

Rebound King: Akagi!

Steals King: Kogure!

Block King: Uozumi!

In this year's Winter Games, Kogure once again won two of the five data champions.

In fact, with his ability, he could have won one or two more awards, but unfortunately, his opponent collapsed too quickly.

He has never played a full match in this Winter Tournament.

Even in the semifinals and finals, his average playing time was only 26 minutes.

At this point, the frail and elderly chairman of the organizing committee began to present individual awards.

"Let's congratulate Tetsuya Naito from Shohoku and Akira Sendoh from Ryonan on winning the Best Newcomer Award!"

Hua Hua Hua~
As soon as the chairman of the organizing committee finished speaking, enthusiastic cheers erupted in the stadium.

To my utter surprise, the first award was a tie.

However, this also relieved both Naito and Sendoh.

In fact, the organizing committee was also helpless, because both of them performed very well and it was difficult to determine who was better.

In the end, the chairman of the organizing committee made the final decision and nominated both of them for the Best Newcomer Award.

Next up was the Best Coach award.

"Congratulations to Coach Taoka of Ryonan High School for winning the Best Coach Award!"

Coach Taoka smiled excitedly and couldn't wait to go on stage to receive the award.

When he received the certificate from the chairman of the organizing committee, Coach Taoka couldn't help but shed tears, feeling that his eleven years of hard work had been worthwhile!

This was his first award, and such a significant one at that.

Seeing Coach Taoka's expression, Kogure and the others couldn't help but shake their heads and sigh.

If Coach Anzai hadn't been hospitalized, he would likely have won the Coach of the Year award for the second consecutive time.

Coach Taoka perfectly exemplifies what it means to win without effort!
Soon, it was time for the best lineup, consisting of Naito, Kogure, Sawakita, Mitsui, and Sendoh.

As for the remaining individual awards, there's no need to elaborate; they all belong to Kogure.

(End of this chapter)