Slam Dunk: Sakuragi learned from Kawamura Eiki's experience

Chapter 107 Taoka finally won a profitable battle

On the third day of summer vacation, at 8:30 in the morning, the sunlight still carried the coolness of dew, and the gate of Xiangbei High School was already crowded with people.

Coach Anzai, dressed in a white tracksuit, stood in front of the assembled Shohoku basketball team.

Coach Anzai cleared his throat, and everyone fell silent.

"The original plan was to take you to Shizuoka Prefecture for training with the top eight teams from last year's national tournament, Jojo High School."

However, at Coach Taoka's invitation, we changed our plans. Next week, Shohoku will be training with Ryonan for a week.

As soon as the words were spoken, the Shohoku players were stunned and immediately began to whisper among themselves. Training with Ryonan was something they hadn't expected.

Akagi was silent for a moment, the image of Jun Uozumi's rugged face flashing through his mind. He never expected to be training with that guy for a week.

"Let's go." Akagi was the first to take a step towards the station. "Don't keep the Ryonan people waiting."

The trams in Kanagawa swayed in the morning light as they headed towards Fujisawa. Sakuragi and Yanai sat together, the wind outside the window causing Yanai's ponytail to sway gently.

Ayako, on the other side, turned her head to look at Sakuragi: "Sakuragi, you trained at Ryonan for half a year, you must know all the people there well, right?"

'

Sakuragi leaned back in his chair with his arms crossed, chin held high, and a smug smile that he couldn't suppress: "Of course, Hedgehog Head, Monkey Boss, and Afu are all old acquaintances of mine."

Miyagi leaned over from the side, looking indignant: "Hey, hey, hey, how come you, a player from Shohoku, are so close to the people from Ryonan?"

"Liangtian, you don't understand. This is called personal charisma."

"Personality my foot!"

In the basketball gym of Ryonan High School, Hikoichi Aida stood behind Moichi Taoka, holding his notebook, and mustered his courage to speak: "Coach, why did you think of inviting Shohoku to train together? They are our opponents in the championship game. They just defeated us."

Sendou Uozumi and the others, who were not far away, all pricked up their ears and looked over.

Coach Taoka replied matter-of-factly, "Precisely because Shohoku is a strong team. And the most effective way to improve one's skills and game experience in a short time is to train with a strong team."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the banner on the arena wall that read "Dare and Brave," and his tone turned serious: "Most importantly, Shohoku's roster and system will greatly help Ryonan improve its strength and make up for its weaknesses. Not to mention we'll have Coach Anzai, a national team player, to guide us."

As soon as the words were spoken, the doors to the basketball gym were pulled open from the outside. Morning light streamed in, casting a long, luminous line across the floor, and the Shohoku team members filed in.

Upon seeing this, Taoka immediately stepped forward, extending both hands. Coach Anzai also extended his hand at the same time, and the two coaches exchanged pleasantries and shook hands.

Taoka bowed slightly, his tone filled with genuine concern: "Coach Anzai, I heard you were hospitalized for a while. How is your recovery going?"

Coach Anzai chuckled and said, "Hehehe, he's all better now. Thank you for your concern."

Takenori Akagi and Jun Uozumi made eye contact automatically in the crowd. The two top centers from all of Kanagawa stood face to face for two seconds, and the surrounding air seemed to fall silent for a moment.

The scene from the county tournament championship game, where Akagi passed the ball to Sakuragi at the last moment instead of trying to score himself, is still vivid in Uozumi's mind.

Akagi also remembered the unwilling look on Uozumi's face when he said, "See you at the National Tournament." Then the two of them reached out their hands at the same time, their large hands clasped together with great force.

"We'll train together from now on." Akagi's expression changed from blank to serious.

"What a rare experience." Uozumi raised his thick eyebrows.

Rukawa Kaede's gaze was fixed on Sendoh Akira, his pupils brimming with barely suppressed fighting spirit.

Sendou sensed the gaze, turned around and met Rukawa's eyes for a second, a lazy smile appearing on his lips, and waved to Rukawa as a greeting.

Rukawa didn't respond. This was the opponent he wanted to surpass. Coach Anzai said he was not as good as Sendoh, and those words still bothered him.

Sakuragi Hanamichi squeezed past Akagi from behind and walked towards the Ryonan team, his voice so loud it shook the roof of the stadium: "Yo! Boss Monkey! Hedgehog! Fukuro! Long time no see! I'm back."

His tone was as familiar as if he were at home; in fact, he had spent more time training in this arena than in the Shohoku arena.

After exchanging pleasantries, the Shohoku team went to the locker room to change into their training uniforms and sneakers.

Uozumi and Akagi led the way in running laps to warm up, with the big guy running side by side at the front. The two teams followed them as they ran around the field, their footsteps blending into a deep drumbeat.

Taoka and Anzai sat side by side on folding chairs by the field. Taoka's gaze followed the players running laps on the field. He turned his head and asked, "Coach Anzai, what training plan do you have for this training camp?"

Coach Anzai's voice was unhurried: "Taoka-kun can take the lead in organizing the training camp. I'll just offer some ideas and supplementary suggestions."

He turned his head, his eyes behind his glasses narrowing into slits. "Hehehe, Coach Taoka, I'm counting on you."

Taoka took a deep breath, suppressing the excitement of "it's finally my turn to take the lead" in his chest. He stood up, straightened his collar, and his expression switched back and forth between seriousness and excitement.

The warm-up was over. The players from both teams gathered. Taoka walked up to them, his gaze sweeping over each of the twenty players' faces one by one, his voice so loud it seemed to buzz throughout the entire gymnasium: "How about this, let's start with a 20-minute mixed-scrimmage practice match! Players from both schools will be mixed together, forming teams to compete against each other."

Red Team: Uozumi, Mitsui, Miyagi, Sendoh, Rukawa!

White Team: Akagi, Sakuragi, Fukuda, Ikegami, Uekusa!

After the list was read out, the air in the stadium suddenly changed.

The group looked at each other, surprised to find themselves teaming up with former rivals for a head-to-head competition.

Even Coach Anzai's eyes lit up; Taoka's arrangement was quite interesting.

The substitutes from both teams were also curious and intrigued, looking forward to some fun.

Sakuragi was also excited and eager to try, as he could once again be teammates with the Ryonan players.

Taoka looked at the five members of the Red Team, his eyes crinkling slightly. This was the team he had dreamed of forming, a team he thought he would never have the chance to build. Now, he could take advantage of this joint training camp to put together the team and have some fun, to test his previous judgment.

He turned his head to look at the White Team's side. The White Team had Sakuragi, who was a special case, as he was very familiar with the players from both Shohoku and Ryonan.

Although the White Team appears weaker than the Red Team on paper, with Sakuragi's presence, they are actually no weaker than the Red Team.

Yan Yi watched Coach Taoka's arrangements from the sidelines and became excited. The coach's arrangement of the scrimmage had raised his expectations to the max.

Sakuragi looked at his teammates. Apart from the gorilla, they were all old acquaintances from Ryonan, so there shouldn't be any problem with teamwork.

Sendoh also found it very interesting to be teammates with Rukawa, Miyagi, and Mitsui.