Slam Dunk: Sakuragi learned from Kawamura Eiki's experience

Chapter 153 Ryonan, stunned by the beating

Ryoji Ikegami stood outside the baseline, raising the ball overhead with both hands in preparation for serving.

Sawakita Eiji pressed down in front of him, wildly waving his arms and constantly disrupting his serve trajectory.

Ikegami's gaze swept over Sawakita's shoulder and onto the field. Matsumoto Minoru was relentlessly entangled with Sendoh Akira, pressing him closely from the moment he started running off the ball, constantly waving his hands around Sendoh to interfere and prevent him from receiving the ball smoothly.

On the other side, Tomoyuki Uekusa was completely entangled by Kazunari Fukatsu, unable to move an inch, and all his routes to receive the ball were blocked.

The five-second serve time was relentlessly ticking away. One second, two seconds, three seconds. Sendoh suddenly made a reverse run, pushed off with his right foot, and abruptly stopped and turned back. Using his acceleration advantage, he left Matsumoto half a step behind and waved for the ball near the baseline.

Ikegami seized the opportunity and made a bounce pass. The ball bounced past Sawakita's feet and was accurately placed into Sendoh's hands.

As soon as Sendoh received the ball, Matsumoto, who had been half a step behind, pressed forward again.

He spread his arms, lowered his center of gravity, and blocked Sendoh's dribbling route. His feet were close to the floor as he quickly moved sideways. Almost at the same time, Sawakita turned around and pounced on Matsumoto to form a double-team.

Two arms came together from both sides, driving Sendoh towards the bottom corner, each step compressing his living space.

Sendoh shielded the ball, turned to the side, and chose to back down Matsumoto, slamming his back into Matsumoto's chest, trying to use his strength to create space and break through the encirclement.

Matsumoto gritted his teeth and held on, his shoes scraping against the floor with a sharp screech. He was knocked back half a step but didn't fall.

He was secretly taken aback. The strength of the ace on the other side was even stronger than he had expected. If Coach Domoto hadn't repeatedly emphasized during halftime that "you have to hold on even if you can't hold on," and if he hadn't used all his strength, he might have been crushed just now.

Sendoh was forced to the bottom corner by the two of them, blocking his path to breakthrough.

Matsumoto held firm behind him, preventing him from breaking through, while Sawakita blocked the passing route from the side, using both arms to compress the passing angle to the limit.

On the bench, Koshino Hiroaki stood up anxiously, cupped his hands around his mouth, his face flushed, and roared, "Pass the ball! Eight seconds are almost up!"

Sendoh's gaze swept through the gaps in the crowd, and Ikegami Ryoji was running desperately to catch the ball. Sendoh then threw the ball through the gap between Matsumoto and Sawakita.

As soon as the ball reached Ikegami, he immediately threw it to Tomoyuki Uekusa on the other side, letting him dribble the ball across the halfway line.

Just as Uekusa received the ball and before he could even get a firm grip on it, Fukatsu Kazunari's hand precisely sliced ​​through the ball the instant Uekusa caught it, stealing it away.

The basketball slipped from Ueka's fingers and was firmly controlled by Fukatsu.

At the same instant, Sawakita Eiji turned and started his run, receiving a pass from Fukatsu, and took a step into the paint to jump. Sendoh frantically chased after him from the baseline and jumped to block the shot, his hand almost touching the ball.

Sawakita tossed the ball to his side and back in mid-air, Matsumoto caught it, and easily made a layup, narrowing the gap between the two teams to 4.

Minute.

Possession changed, and Ikegami once again stepped to the baseline to serve. Sannoh's full-court press gave him no chance to breathe.

Zebei lunged at him again, frantically trying to disrupt him, his arms flailing even faster than before.

Sendoh continued his relentless runs and positioning near the baseline, with Matsumoto sticking to him like a shadow. Sendoh made two feints and finally received a pass from Ikegami near the sideline.

The moment he received the ball, Sawakita turned and pounced on him, forming a double-team with Matsumoto again, continuing to drive him towards the baseline.

This time, Sendoh didn't choose to force his way through; instead, he jumped up and passed the ball to Ikegami with both hands in mid-air.

The ball had just left his fingertips when Fukatsu Kazunari, who had been entangled with Uekusa, took two steps and cut across the field. He anticipated the passing route and intercepted the ball in mid-air.

He steals the ball, lands, dribbles once, and pulls up for a jump shot under the basket.

The ball bounced off the backboard and landed steadily in the basket.

The two teams are now only 2 points apart.

Taoka Shigeichi slapped his thigh on the sidelines and jumped up from his chair.

Sendoh's two serves were both locked in the corner by Sannoh's full-court press, completely blocking his passing lanes.

He still couldn't find a breakthrough against this suffocating defensive system. His original plan to force his way through with physical confrontation was also thwarted by Matsumoto.

Ryonan serves for the third time. After receiving the ball, Sendoh does not choose to back down or observe his teammates, but instead lowers his center of gravity and drives directly to Matsumoto the moment he receives the ball.

His shoulder slammed into Matsumoto's chest, and with a powerful push from his right foot, he forced his way half a body length away and rolled over Matsumoto from the side.

"We did it!" The Ryonan bench jumped up and cheered excitedly.

Taoka clenched his fist and looked at Sendoh.

But before Sendoh could even cross half-court, Sawakita had already caught up. His speed was ridiculously fast, and he and Matsumoto once again double-teamed and blocked the passing lanes.

Ike rushed up again to receive the pass, and just as Sendoh passed the ball, Sawakita turned around and slapped it away.

The ball flew out and was caught by Fukatsu. He dribbled straight to the basket, jumped, and made a successful layup.

Just 21 seconds into the second half, Sannoh Industrial tied the score at 6 points.

The Sannoh supporters in the stands erupted, chanting in unison, "Defense—Defense—Defense—"

In the stands, Maki Shinichi crossed his arms in front of his chest, his brows furrowed. The scene before him reminded him of the semi-final match of last year's national tournament and the match against Sannoh.

His voice didn't sound like he was analyzing; it sounded more like he was recalling a nightmare he had personally experienced: "That's it, Sannoh's signature full-court press. The more anxious you are, the more likely you are to make mistakes, and the more mistakes you make, the more your mentality collapses."

Last year in Hainan, we were under this same pressure for the first three minutes of the second half, and the point difference was immediately and drastically widened. We didn't even have time to react; the game was already over.

Kiyota Nobunaga, sitting next to him, bobbed his Adam's apple, and Ajin also recalled the disastrous state of last year's competition.

The Shohoku team was stunned. Miyagi Ryota's mouth was agape, Mitsui Hisashi crossed his arms and frowned deeply, and Akagi Takenori's fingers unconsciously clenched into his palms on his knees.

In front of Ryonan's bench, Taoka Moichi sprang up from his chair, cupped his hands around his mouth, and yelled the instructions onto the court: "Uozumi! Go to the baseline and serve!"

Jun Uozumi paused for a moment, then turned and ran towards the baseline.

From the stands, Ryota Miyagi turned to Coach Anzai and asked, "Coach Taoka, why did you let Uozumi serve?"

Coach Anzai's thoughtful reply: "Uozumi's height makes Sannoh's interference almost ineffective when he serves."

At the same time, Uozumi's serving point has a wider field of vision, allowing him to make long passes directly to the frontcourt, bypassing Sendoh's predicament of being double-teamed in the backcourt.

Uozumi stood outside the baseline, and Sawakita jumped up in front of him to interfere, but Uozumi's 202cm height and wingspan advantage made him almost unaffected.

He raised the ball above his head with both hands, crossed the halfway line, and threw a long pass directly to Fukuda Kichijou, who was preparing to receive the ball near the midfield.

However, Fukuda was blocked by Nobe, and Fukatsu Kazunari suddenly took two steps from midfield and leaped high into the air to intercept the long pass.

After two quick passes, the ball finally landed in the hands of Sawakita Eiji.

Zebei receives the ball, jumps, and shoots.

Goal! Sannoh takes the lead.

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