Basketball miracles

Chapter 177 [All Tragedy]

The one-on-one match between Shohoku basketball captain Takenori Akagi and exchange student Sebastian Shaw was completely one-sided.

Akagi Takenori finally started scoring after posting up, but he couldn't stop Xiao Tu's offense at all. His weakness was exposed: he was only good at defending the paint and couldn't stop players with shooting range.

In the manga, Akagi was not only completely outmatched by Masashi Kawata of Sannoh Industrial, but he also failed to gain an advantage against the technically skilled center Toru Hanagata when facing Shohoku.

Xiao Tu, on the other hand, is versatile and can perform both inside and outside the home, showcasing his skills in various ways.

He dribbled between his legs and then took a step-back jumper; he dribbled between his legs and then behind his back to get past his opponent and make a layup; he faked a low post move, turned, and then made a fadeaway jumper; he also made two Euro-step layups.

Xiao Tu's ninth basket featured Allen Iverson's "Butterfly Weaves Through Flowers." This is one of Xiao Tu's most powerful breakthrough moves, which he recently mastered. This move can be used not only after a dribble followed by a crossover step, but also after a triple threat sequence.

He first faced Akagi and took an upward crossover step, stepping his left foot into the three-point line from the right side. He then switched to his right hand to receive the ball, and with his right foot on the same side, he pushed off the ground to the side and then dribbled between his legs to pull the ball back to his left hand.

At this moment, he dribbled while hovering, took a reverse step to open his legs, looked to the left to mislead Akagi's defensive center of gravity, quickly connected with a forward dribble to accelerate, and broke through from the right to complete the layup.

Xiao Tu's movements were large, shifting between fast and slow rhythms. Poor Akagi Takenori was completely dizzy, and when he tried to shift his weight, he ended up sitting on his backside.

Ankle terminator!
How could a Japanese high school student possibly defend against that move? Besides, Takenori Akagi is a center, not a guard. He couldn't figure out whether Xiao Tu was going to go left or right, and could only move along instinctively, then unconsciously got faked out and fell to the ground.

Xiao Tu picked up the basketball and turned around. Akagi Takenori was still sitting on the ground and hadn't gotten up. The audience also became very quiet.

Akagi Takenori seemed to have turned to stone, his entire body ashen. He looked like Vegeta after he had just self-destructed and killed Fat Buu; a gust of wind could have blown him away.

They're not the same comic, but they're both tragedies.

Takenori Akagi now doubts whether he is a useless person with no basketball talent, and that dominating the country is just wishful thinking.

Shiitake mushrooms, feeling blue and sad.

Xiao Tu passed the ball directly to Sakuragi Hanamichi on the sidelines, ending the one-on-one match prematurely. He no longer needed to score his 10th goal; the final score was 9-2.

Fight again? If you fight again, Akagi will cry.

Mitsui Hisashi was secretly laughing on the sidelines, keeping two fingers in his mouth to keep quiet.

Good heavens! Instin! I can't be the only one getting tortured!

You practiced basketball diligently and became the leader of the Shohoku team, but when you encounter a real master, you are still powerless to fight back.
Jie Jie Jie...

Xiao Tu stepped forward, reached out and forcefully pulled Akagi Takenori up from the ground. He could clearly feel Akagi's body trembling.

"Did you give it your all?" Akagi asked, then shook his head in reply. "Definitely not, you didn't even break a sweat..."

Xiao Tu smiled and said, "Don't worry about it. It's normal for you to lose to me in a one-on-one match. Actually, you're quite good, but it would be too outrageous if you had beaten me. You'd definitely be able to play in the NBA in the future."

Akagi Takenori's eyes widened: "How could you be so strong?"

"Nothing is impossible. I'm a top-ranked high school student in the US, and those prestigious NCAA universities would be vying for me, offering full scholarships. But I don't plan to go to college. I'll be entering the NBA draft next June and will most likely be selected. I'm not saying this for any other reason than to show off."

Xiao Tu didn't deliberately lower his voice, and everyone around him gasped.

For Japanese high school students, the NBA is a legendary basketball league, something far removed from their lives.

In truth, Xiao Tu felt he was very weak in this world, his physical attributes far inferior to those of a power forward. If he were to enter the NBA now, he would likely be at a disadvantage in physical confrontations, and could only rely on speed and skill.

Even if he's weakened, Xiao Tu still possesses NBA-level skills. He can't guarantee an All-Star selection, but he could at least be a starting point guard for most teams.

Muggsy Bogues, who's only 160cm tall, is currently a starter for the Hornets, and Xiao Tu is confident he can easily dominate him. And then there's Mark Price, the Cavaliers' white point guard; this 183cm tall guy with shoes on is an All-Star.

Currently, there are no basketball players from all of Asia playing in the NBA, so Xiao Tu playing in Japanese high school basketball is a game-changer.

Akagi asked, "How did you end up in Japan?"

"I'm here on vacation, to change my environment and reflect on life, and to think about what I should do in the future."

Akagi fell into deep thought, pondering whether he could pursue a professional basketball career. If this were an anime, Xiao Tu estimated that Akagi could spend an entire episode reminiscing about it.

Kogure asked, "Your skills are amazing, how did you train?"

"Watching NBA stars' game footage and imitating their moves is pretty simple," Xiao Tu casually made up an excuse; after all, many people did it. In the 90s, the main tactic of each team was to spread out their stars and take turns posting up, which was a result of a group of people imitating Jordan.

Ayako exclaimed excitedly, "Sho, now that you've joined the Shohoku team, doesn't that mean we've already secured the national championship?"

Xiao Tu laughed and said, "That's how it is in theory, but everyone else has to work hard too. If I go all out to score, it won't be very effective for me to train in Japan. So I plan to reduce my shot attempts and focus on driving and passing to help you score."

Sakuragi Hanamichi pointed blankly at himself. "Can I do it too? I've never actually played basketball before."

Xiao Tu encouraged him, "I have faith in you. I observed you when you were running in the hallway wearing a vest. Your explosiveness is amazing, your muscles are solid, and you definitely have the talent to play basketball. You can hold a basketball steadily with one hand, which is not something that ordinary people can do."

Only then did the others notice that Sakuragi was holding the basketball with one hand, his arm hanging naturally.

Sakuragi swung his arm and firmly gripped the basketball. "Oh, it's nothing, I'm an athlete."

Haruko Akagi stared at Sakuragi, her excitement growing. "Sakuragi, maybe you can dunk too. You're so tall. Give it a try, jump high, and dunk the ball into that basket."

Haruko pointed to the basketball hoop, and Sakuragi was immediately mesmerized, shouting, "Great!"

"What's so great about it?" Xiao Tu stepped forward to stop Sakuragi, preventing him from crashing his head into the backboard. "Wait a minute, you're not thinking of rushing over here to dunk and copying my move, are you?"

Sakuragi nodded. "Is that not okay?"

"Do you know where to jump and how much force to use? Do you know the proper dunking form? You've only watched us play basketball for a little while." Xiao Tu patted Sakuragi Hanamichi on the shoulder, then asked Mitsui Hisashi for a basketball and said, "Come on, come with me."

Sakuragi Hanamichi knew Xiao Tu was very strong, so he didn't argue and obediently followed him to the basket.

Holding a basketball, Xiao Tu said, "To play basketball well, besides the fundamentals, the most important thing is to have a sense of distance. You need to understand your own body and practice techniques that suit you. First, I need to test your physical fitness."

Sakuragi asked, "What do I need to do?"

"It's simple, just imitate my movements. I'll stand on the left, you stand on the right, watch carefully, jump with both feet as high as you can." Xiao Tu said, jumping up from under the basket with the basketball in hand, without raising his hands.

Sakuragi jumped with all his might, his head almost touching the frame, leaving the audience, including Akagi Takenori, completely dumbfounded.

Xiao Tu said, "Next move, jump with all your might and raise both arms in the air, do it with me."

Xiao Tu demonstrated first, holding the ball above the rim under the basket. Sakuragi jumped just as high, his arms extending well above the rim.

Xiao Tu laughed and said, "Great, let's do the next move, dunk the ball into the basket. You do it with me."

After speaking, Xiao Tu bent his knees and jumped with all his might, completing a two-handed dunk under the basket. "Your turn."

Sakuragi, oblivious to the situation, bent his knees and jumped with all his might, easily completing a two-handed dunk. Because they were right under the basket, the distance was too close for them to move; as long as they jumped high, they could dunk it.

Xiao Tu asked, "How was it? Wasn't dunking easy?"

Sakuragi felt like he had learned how to play basketball and laughed excitedly: "Haha, it's really easy!"

The audience was in an uproar.

Mitsui Hisashi retorted directly, "Easy my foot! Sakuragi Hanamichi, are you a monster too?"

Tetsuji Shiozaki sighed, "No, just because he asks you to imitate, does that mean you can actually imitate him?"

Sakuragi gave everyone a question mark look, having no idea how difficult it is for ordinary people to dunk.

Ayako asked, "How did you train your jumping ability?"

Sakuragi Hanamichi scratched his head sheepishly. "I haven't practiced."

Akagi swallowed hard and exchanged a glance with Kogure.

This newcomer's physical abilities are absolutely freakish; they've never even heard of them before. Given their similar heights, Sakuragi jumps higher than Xiao Tu—what kind of talent is that?
The most outrageous thing is that Sakuragi Hanamichi is only a first-year high school student and is only 15 years old this year. He still has room for improvement.

Akagi is increasingly feeling that his basketball talent is lacking; today he just met two players who are physically better than him…

(End of this chapter)