Slam Dunk: Sakuragi learned from Kawamura Eiki's experience

Chapter 149 Ryonan VS Sannoh

At 2 p.m., the plaza outside the Hiroshima Prefectural Stadium was packed with people who had come to watch the game.

The Shohoku team had just reached the vicinity of the gymnasium entrance, and before they even had a chance to turn inside, Sakuragi Hanamichi, with his sharp eyes, spotted several familiar figures standing at the bottom of the steps.

Kenji Fujima, Toru Hanagata, and Kazushi Hasegawa from Shohoku were standing next to Shinichi Maki, Nobunaga Kiyota, Ajin, and Kazuma Takasago from Hainan.

The two groups of people had obviously just arrived and were walking together toward the entrance.

Sakuragi's eyes lit up, and he strode over, his voice booming even before he reached him: "Hey, middle-aged men! You've come to watch the game too? Why didn't you come earlier to see us defeat Meihou and advance to the finals!"

When Mu Shenyi heard the words "middle-aged man uncle", his eyes twitched, but his expression quickly returned to its calm and composed state.

He nodded slightly: "I wanted to come earlier, but I couldn't get a Shinkansen ticket. All the morning tickets were sold out, so I could only make it in the afternoon."

Kiyota Nobunaga, standing next to him, turned his face to the side, his lips pursed, and his voice carried an undeniable sourness: "Hmph! It's not easy for Shohoku to make it to the finals on their first time in the national tournament."

He emphasized the words "not simple" with extra force, as if he wanted to be sarcastic but didn't dare to go too far.

After all, Shohoku did indeed keep Hainan out of the national tournament.

Fujima Kenji, who came with Maki Shinichi, and Hanagata Hasegawa stood to the side and spoke, their tone calm and sincere: "Sakuragi! I really envy you guys, making it to the finals on your first time in the national tournament."

Hanagata, standing nearby, sensed a regret in Fujima's casual remark that only the Shohoku team members could understand. Although they had made it to the national tournament, they hadn't even reached the quarterfinals.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, the three groups from Kanagawa entered the Hiroshima Prefectural Gymnasium together.

The support squad and fans of Shanwang Industrial occupied almost two-thirds of the stands, a testament to their years of dominating the nation.

Although quite a few students from Ryonan University came, and the banner that read "Courageous and Brave" was hung in the most conspicuous position, their numbers were still much smaller compared to the students and fans of Sannoh.

Kiyota Nobunaga stood at the entrance to the stands, glanced at the cheering crowd, opened his mouth slightly, and said with undisguised admiration, "Is this the national tournament champion, Sannoh? The feeling of having a live audience is just different. This is even more extravagant than when we played in Hainan."

Hanagata Toru, standing next to him, chimed in as if stating a common-sense fact in the basketball world: "Sannoh has been the national champion for many years, just like Hainan was in Kanagawa in the past."

He emphasized the word "once" very softly, but the meaning was self-evident: Hainan's dynasty in Kanagawa had been overthrown by the combined forces of Shohoku and Ryonan. Would Sannoh's dynasty across the country also be brought down this year?

After all, Sannoh's next opponents are Ryonan and Shohoku.

Sakuragi Hanamichi glanced at the Ryonan players warming up on the court, then at the Sannoh cheerleaders and fans in the stands, and said confidently, "Hmph! Even if Monkey King and his team lose to Sannoh today, we'll make sure Sannoh follows the same path as Hainan in tomorrow's final!"

Shinichi Maki stood to the side, his expression shifting between "wanting to refute" and "unable to refute," before finally letting out a heavy sigh through his nose.

They used Hainan as a comparison to Sannoh, but Shohoku did make it to the national finals, while Hainan was eliminated in the county tournament. The words were hurtful, but they had to be swallowed.

On the court, in front of the Ryonan bench.

As Taoka Shigeichi stood before the players who had returned to the bench after warming up, his gaze slowly swept across the faces of Jun Uozumi, Akira Sendoh, Kichijo Fukuda, Hiroaki Koshino, and Ryoji Ikegami.

With a serious expression, he encouraged his teammates: "We at Ryonan have worked so hard for the national competition for so long, from first grade to third grade, including Uozumi Ikegami."

From reaching the semifinals of the county tournament but failing to qualify for the national tournament, to standing here this year in the semifinals against Sannoh.

We've now made it to the top four in the national tournament, which is the best result in Ryonan's history.

Now we're facing Sannoh Industrial, the reigning champions for years, the strongest team in the country. I know they're stronger than us.

"So what if they're better than us? We're not here on a pilgrimage, we're here to win. Let's give it our all, play our own style of basketball as Ryonan, and leave no regrets."

He looked around, took a deep breath, and roared, "Did you hear me?!"

"Yes—!" the members of Ryonan shouted in unison, their burning fighting spirit ignited.

Now that we've come this far, let's go all out against the dominant Mountain King and leave no regrets.

The flame in Jun's eyes burned quietly as he recalled his conversation with Akagi about fighting again in the national tournament.

The habitual lazy smile on Sendoh Akira's face had completely disappeared, replaced by a focus and fighting spirit that very few people had ever seen.

In front of the Sannoh bench, Sannoh coach Goro Domoto spoke calmly and confidently, without any underestimation of their opponents or arrogance, only a composure that came from experiencing countless big matches: "Although Ryonan is making it to the National Tournament for the first time, they defeated Hainan by a large margin to secure their ticket to the National Tournament, so their strength is naturally not weak."

Therefore, you must not underestimate your opponents; you must give it your all to defeat them and advance to the finals.

As I said yesterday, the full-court press strategy won't work for you in today's game. Just use your best style of play to crush them and advance to the finals, showing them the dominant basketball prowess of Sannoh.

Coach Domoto paused, his gaze sweeping across the faces of players such as Kazunari Fukatsu, Masashi Kawata, and Eiji Sawakita in turn.

"Show them your strength. Let them know why Sannoh is Sannoh."

The time for the second semi-final match has arrived. The referee blows the whistle, and the starting players from both sides take the field.

Jun Uozumi and Masashi Kawata stood facing each other on either side of the center circle.

Although Masashi Kawata was half a head shorter than Uozumi, his shoulders were even wider, making him look like an unshakeable mountain.

He is widely recognized as the best high school center in the country, and has never lost a game since entering the national competition in his freshman year of high school.

Uozumi stared at Kawata Masashi's composed face, took a deep breath, and held back a surge of energy.

He wanted to test whether the title of "Number One High School Center in the Country" was truly deserved.

Before we fight, I want to assess his strength and see how big the gap is between us.

The whistle blew to start the game, and the basketball was tossed vertically high into the air by the referee.

The instant the basketball began to fall at its highest point, Uozumi and Kawata simultaneously pushed off the ground and jumped, their hands reaching for the basketball.

Uozumi used his height and wingspan advantage to flick the ball to the backcourt at the highest point.

Koshino Hiroaki received the ball and immediately passed it to Sendoh Akira.

After receiving the ball, Sendoh dribbled slowly and steadily, protecting the ball as he dribbled across half-court.

The match began with Ryonan attacking first.

>