Slam Dunk: Muguro

Chapter 384 Who will win the Aichi Prefecture MVP award?

Coach Kazumi Kawasaki did take steps to try and free up Mike Okita.

However, the results were not very good.

Mike Okita is strong, seemingly on par with Rukawa Kaede in the original work.

However, his scoring range is mainly within the paint area, and once he leaves the paint, his inconsistent shooting cannot be guaranteed.

This is also a problem for many American high school players.

The problem is that Meiko's scoring range is also narrow, and his technical characteristics are similar to those of Akagi and Uozumi in the original work.

Even if Meiko leaves the paint area, he can't take Uozumi with him.

Therefore, as long as Uozumi is positioned under the basket, Mike Okita will be limited.

As the game progressed, the atmosphere inside the stadium became increasingly tense.

As Ryonan gained the upper hand, Ryonan fans began to gradually suppress Buri fans.

Coach Kazumi Kawasaki saw this and was anxious, but he didn't know what to do.

In this situation, he no longer placed his hopes on Mike Okita.

Soon, Buri's tactics changed, and he began to focus on pick-and-roll tactics.

Among them, Ichiro Katsumi became the biggest beneficiary of the pick-and-roll tactic.

Using the pick-and-roll tactic, Katsumi Ichiro finally managed to break free from Ikegami's entanglement, and his shooting ability was finally unleashed.

In just five minutes, Katsumi Ichiro made 4 of 6 shots, including three three-pointers, scoring a whopping 11 points.

While Ikegami's defense is strong and adept at physical confrontation, his explosiveness is ultimately lacking.

Seeing this, Coach Taoka had no choice but to come to the sidelines.

"Matsumoto, you switch with Ikegami!"

"Okay, coach!"

Neither of them objected, and they switched their defensive targets.

Compared to Ikegami, Matsumoto Minoru's defense is somewhat inferior, but his athleticism is clearly better.

As expected, as Matsumoto Minoru switched to defend Katsumi Ichiro, the latter immediately went silent.

As Mitsui's junior at Takeishi Middle School, Katsumi Ichiro lacks effective scoring methods besides his top-notch shooting.

In general, Katsumi Ichiro's technology was relatively limited and far less comprehensive than Mitsui's.

Rather than comparing him to Mitsui, it's more accurate to say he resembles Ashin.

Under Matsumoto Minoru's restrictions, Katsumi Ichiro's efficiency plummeted, and the situation in Takezato deteriorated rapidly.

As time went on, the gap between the two sides continued to widen slowly.

Beep~
Seeing this, Coach Kazumi Kawasaki had no choice but to call another timeout.

Unfortunately, this pause did not have the desired effect.

Buri remains mired in a quagmire, with no way out.

By the end of the first half, Ryonan had built a double-digit lead.

The pace of the game was slow for both sides, and they focused a lot of energy on defense.

This can be seen from the fact that Ryonan scored less than 40 points in the first half.

After halftime, the game entered the second half.

Buri's tactics have changed again, with a significant increase in the frequency of screens by Katsumi Ichiro and Godai Tomokazu, even reaching the level of double screens.

Unfortunately, the results were still not ideal.

Although both of them are excellent, they are far from being able to rewrite the game single-handedly.

Ultimately, they are still considered role players.

In the time that followed, no matter how much the Buri team struggled, the Ryonan team maintained a firm advantage.

Less than ten minutes into the second half, Ryonan's lead finally exceeded 20 points.

At this point, Coach Taoka made a decisive move, substituting all the key players except for Nango off the field, thus conserving their energy for tomorrow's match.

Although Coach Taoka believes that the chances of Ryonan defeating Shohoku are extremely slim, what if they do win?
He coached Ryonan for a full 12 years and wanted to taste the flavor of a championship.

Center: Nango
Ohmae:Fukuda
Kozen: Ah Shen
Guard: Kiyota
Defender: Uekusa
The lineup of the Ryonan team is at least at the level of the top eight in the country.

Like Sakuragi, Nango has exceptionally high physical energy, as if he has inexhaustible strength.

This is also the main reason why Coach Taoka wanted him to stay on the field.

With Ryonan fielding a reserve lineup, Buri doesn't seem to have given up on the game.

Unfortunately, the strength of Ryonan's substitutes exceeded the expectations of the Buri team, and they were not much inferior to Buri's main lineup, especially since the opponent also had a clear advantage in physical fitness.

The match continued, and after several rounds of competition, Buri's desperate attempt ultimately ended in failure.

Left with no other option, Coach Kazumi Kawasaki had to substitute his key players.

At this moment, he can only place all his hopes on tomorrow's match.

Compared to Ryonan's substitutes, Buri's substitutes are undoubtedly much inferior.

In the final minutes, Ryonan's substitutes continued to extend their lead.

When the long whistle signaled the end of the game, Ryonan's net score had reached 32 points.

After this match, Ryonan became the first team to win two games and is currently in first place.

In addition, Ryonan has already secured a spot in the main tournament of the national competition.

Before the match ended, Kogure and the others chose to leave early to avoid crowding with the audience.

"Phew, I'm finally back. I wonder how the competition went?"

At that moment, Aida Yayoi's voice rang out.

At that moment, she hurriedly entered the stadium with her assistant, Nakamura.

Poor Nakamura, after two and a half years as Aida Yayoi's assistant, still hasn't become a reporter.

Upon seeing Kogure and the others, Aida Yayoi's eyes lit up, and she instinctively stopped.

As everyone knows, the two are each other's fans!

"Kogure, how did the match go this morning?"

"Ryonan won!" Kogure paused for a moment, then asked in confusion, "Ms. Aida, why are you so late today?"

"At the editor-in-chief's request, we made a special trip to Aichi Prefecture!"

Aida Yayoi did not hide anything and told the truth.

"How's it going over there?"

"The Aichi Prefecture tournament has ended. Aiwa Academy won the prefectural championship with a perfect record, and Meihou Industrial Co., Ltd. was the runner-up. They will represent Aichi Prefecture in the national tournament."

Just like in the original story, Aiwa Academy and Meihou Industrial are competing in the national tournament.

The difference is that Meihou Industrial did not replace Aiwa Academy to win the championship.

At this moment, Mitsui muttered to himself, "It seems that Moroboshi Dai has won the prefectural tournament MVP again!"

As he spoke, Mitsui revealed an envious look in his eyes.

As the third-ranked high school student in the country, he has yet to win an MVP award.

Mitsui is like Pippen alongside Jordan now; he's out of the running for MVP, and the highest honor he can achieve is being selected to the All-NBA Team.

Upon hearing Mitsui's words, Nakamura couldn't help but interject, "To correct you, Moroboshi Dai did not win the prefectural tournament MVP!"

Remembering that the Aichi Prefecture MVP award in the original story was won by Morishige Hiroshi, Kogure couldn't help but say, "Could it be the super rookie Morishige Hiroshi?"

Nakamura shook his head again: "It's not Morishige Hiroshi either!"

"Nakamura, stop beating around the bush! The MVP of Aichi Prefecture is Maki Shinichi!"

Aida Yayoi couldn't stand it anymore and told the whole story.

What? ? ?
Everyone from Shohoku looked completely bewildered!

Kogure never expected that he would guess wrong.

Isn't Amu the third leader of Aiwa Academy?

The third-in-command got the MVP; is this guy living the same script as GOat?
That's too wild!
Akagi asked in a deep, muffled voice, "Why is it Maki?"

He's also the team's third-best player, which means he also has a chance to win the county tournament MVP.

At this moment, Akagi finally admitted that he was the third-in-command, instead of stubbornly denying it as before.

"His stats are very impressive, averaging 27 points, 9 assists, and 8 rebounds per game in the finals."

Aihe Academy boasts four superstars, and even if they score over 100 points in every game, it's still a rather impressive statistic.

Most importantly, given the strength of Aiwa Academy, the four giants couldn't possibly fight the entire match. "Aren't the stats of Moroboshi Dai, Morishige Hiroshi, and Mikoshiba relatively balanced?"

Kogure asked another question.

Aida Yayoi did not answer immediately, but instead took out her notebook from her pocket.

After flipping through a few pages, her gaze settled on the Love and Academy player data section.

"Hey, how do you know?"

Aida Yayoi looked at Mugure in surprise.

Kogure didn't answer, but instead asked again, "Was the ball always in Maki's hands, and was he the one distributing possession?"

"Yes what's the matter?"

"This is the ball-dominant, core-management style of play!"

I never expected that Amu would follow in gOat's footsteps. No wonder the two of them have such similar characteristics and playing styles.

If you want to get good stats, playing with the ball as the core is undoubtedly a shortcut.

Aida Yayoi asked in confusion, "What is the ball-dominant, core-player style of play?"

This was the first time she had ever heard of this term.

"As a basketball reporter, you should know that Michael Jordan once set a record of seven consecutive triple-doubles, right?"

"You know? Could it be?"

Aida Yayoi showed a look of realization.

"That's right, Jordan used a ball-dominant style of play back then!"

"This style of play allowed Jordan to achieve more comprehensive statistics, but it was also more harmful to the team, which is why Jordan stopped using it."

Simply put, the ball-dominant style of play prioritizes individual performance at the expense of teammates' stats.

This is also the main reason why gOat's teammates' stats and accuracy have declined significantly.

"I see!"

Aida Yayoi nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite.

It was at this moment that a large number of spectators began to walk towards this side.

It's clear that the match has officially ended.

"Reporter Aida, we have other matters to attend to, so we'll head back now."

I wish you all the best of luck in advance!

"I accept your good words!"

After talking with Aida Yayoi, Kogure and the others left the gymnasium and began preparing for the afternoon's match.

……

2 PM, Kanagawa National Gymnasium.

There were still half an hour before the game started, but the stadium was already packed with people.

Some fans even arrived two or three hours early just to secure a good spot and not want to miss any exciting moments.

At that moment, cheers suddenly erupted from the audience.

It turned out that the two teams had finally left the player tunnel and appeared in the public eye.

The atmosphere in the stadium reached a fever pitch as soon as the players from both sides appeared.

As expected, Shohoku's momentum far surpasses that of Shoyo.

This is the power of a double champion!
Soon, both teams began to warm up seriously, preparing for the upcoming match.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The loud banging of the baskets echoed one after another, attracting the attention of the audience.

The Xiangyang players were also affected, and they all looked at the other side.

At this moment, the problem children's group from Shohoku are lining up to dunk.

Rukawa Kaede was the first to demonstrate his elegant tomahawk dunk.

Sakuragi Hanamichi was not to be outdone and also used a tomahawk dunk.

Compared to Rukawa, Sakuragi's dunks are more powerful, almost making the rim tremble, yet they lack Rukawa's graceful style.

"It's my turn!"

Mitsui took a deep breath and started his run-up from beyond the three-point line.

You can't do it without a running start, otherwise Mitsui won't be able to reach the basket at all.

Unfortunately, his jumping ability isn't strong enough.

Once he reached his maximum speed, Mitsui leaped up and delivered a... barely dunk.

For Mitsui, dunking is still too difficult, just like the future 'Golden State LaVine'.

It has to be said that the two have very similar styles.

Following Mitsui, it was Naito's powerful dunk.

Under his pull, the rim bent and groaned under the strain.

"Kogure-senpai, how about one?"

"Okay!"

Naito passed the ball to Kogure, who immediately started moving.

After stepping into the free-throw line, he unleashed a 360° windmill dunk.

This is Kogure's dunk as a tribute to Vince Carter.

During the 2000 NBA Slam Dunk Contest, Carter captivated the audience with this move, making it a classic moment in the contest.

Unlike Carter, Kogure glides over greater distances, which is a characteristic of gliders.

As Kogure dunked the ball, the atmosphere in the entire stadium finally reached its boiling point.

Cheers and screams erupted, and the entire stadium seemed to shake.

Even before the competition started, a tense yet exciting atmosphere filled the air.

On the other side, the Xiangyang players were clearly affected, their faces quite serious.

At 2:30, amidst the anticipation of the audience, the match between Shohoku and Shoyo officially began.

It was at this moment that several tall players appeared in the corridor.

"So high!"

"So strong!"

The first thing the spectators in the aisle did was look at the tallest player.

This is a player who is about two meters tall and very strong.

Besides him, there were three other players.

At that moment, a spectator spotted a familiar figure.

"Hey, isn't that Amu from Hainan High School?"

"Wrong, 'Traitorous Shepherd' has transferred to Love and Harmony Academy and is now a player at Love and Harmony Academy."

A spectator nearby corrected him and stared at Amu with hostility.

The reason is simple: he is a student at the High School Affiliated to Hainan University.

Due to Amu's transfer to another school, the strength of Hainan Affiliated High School has plummeted, which has made many Hainan students resentful.

Thus, the title "traitorous shepherd" spread like wildfire.

Ignoring the audience, Maki said to Moroboshi Dai beside him, "Moroboshi, luckily we arrived in time and didn't miss this exciting match!"

Needless to say, the arrival was none other than the four giants of Love and Academy.

"Well, hopefully Xiangyang can do a good job."

Moroboshi leaned against the railing, not really wanting to talk to Maki.

Unfortunately, as the head of Aihe Academy, his MVP award for the county tournament was snatched away.

This made Moroboshi very uncomfortable, but for the sake of the team, he had no choice but to endure it.

At this moment, Morishige Hiroshi's gaze fell on the field, and his eyes instantly focused on Rukawa Kaede.

He lost to Rukawa Kaede of Tomioka Junior High in the national junior high tournament, which he still resents.

He doesn't think he would have lost if he hadn't fouled out.

(End of this chapter)