Slam Dunk: Sakuragi learned from Kawamura Eiki's experience

Two powerful dunks slammed down, and the hoop of Hongye Junior High School was still vibrating. The players' morale also trembled three times.

The rest of the game turned into a battle of attrition in the paint and a one-sided crushing defeat.

On the defensive end, Sakuragi and Oda stood in the paint like two locked iron gates.

Every time the players from Hongye Junior High School charged in, what they saw when they looked up was not the basketball hoop, but two tall figures and two arms raised high.

Sakuragi was particularly aggressive in grabbing rebounds. The moment the ball bounced off the rim, his body was already in the air, and the way his fingers touched the ball was fierce, as if the ball owed him money.

The coach of Hongye Junior High School was pacing anxiously on the sidelines. He cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted "Double-team!" His voice was so loud that it could be heard in the stands.

He shouted "Block position!" and "Don't let him jump!" until his voice was hoarse, but the players on the field just couldn't stop the red-haired guy.

The offensive end was even worse.

Sakuragi received the ball under the basket, and the students from Momiji Junior High School were like mice seeing a cat. Two people pounced on him, and three surrounded him, as if they wanted to wrap him up like a dumpling.

This was the first time Sakuragi had encountered such treatment in a match, and he was a little stunned, but he still wanted to solve the problem with brute force. He turned around, jumped, and shoved two people aside to force his way in.

The ball missed, and the whistle blew. Offensive foul.

The second time, he tried to force the shot again, and was called for a foul.

Coach Takeda yelled from the sidelines, "Sakuragi! Don't force it! Pass it out!"

Sakuragi gritted his teeth, and when he got the ball for the third time, the double team came again. This time he finally learned his lesson and didn't jump hard, but instead flicked the ball towards Oda, who was coming to receive it.

Oda received the ball, but there was no one in front of him. Everyone's attention was on Sakuragi. He took a step, then took a mid-range jump shot, and the ball swished through the net.

The coach at Hongye Junior High School was even more worried.

Double-teaming Sakuragi, Oda scores. Without double-teaming Sakuragi, Sakurada dunks directly and also has a mid-range jumper.

He drew and erased on his tactics board, then drew and erased again, until he finally realized a problem. His players' skills were just so-so; drawing anything wouldn't help.

Fourteen or fifteen-year-old junior high school students are lucky if they can even run a single pick-and-roll properly. Expecting them to switch between multiple defensive strategies in a single game? Dream on.

The whistle blew to signal halftime, and the scoreboard showed 42-23.

Ho Kwang High School is leading by 19 points.

The players from Hongye Junior High School walked back to the locker room with their heads down. The coach said something in the locker room, something like "Don't give up" and "There's still a chance in the second half," and he spoke loudly, but few of the players listened.

Their eyes were unfocused, like the kind of unfocused gaze one gets after being punched.

The second half begins.

When the Hongye Junior High School team members stepped onto the field, their steps were heavy, and they had lost their fighting spirit, their eyes lifeless.

The twin towers of Ho Kwong Middle School continue to dominate.

Sakuragi was dominating under the basket, grabbing rebound after rebound.

The defense was even more outrageous. A junior guard from Hongye Junior High School recklessly drove into the paint, jumped up for a layup, and just as the ball left his hand, a large hand swatted it away from the side. With a "smack," the ball flew beyond the three-point line and was retrieved by his own teammate.

Sakuragi landed, glanced at the stunned guard who had been blocked, and then turned and ran forward.

The young guard stood there, looking at the basket and then at Sakuragi's back, his expression completely bewildered.

Oda and Sakuragi's teamwork is becoming increasingly seamless. Oda drives to the basket, draws the defense, and throws the ball into the air, where Sakuragi follows up from behind for an alley-oop dunk.

Or Sakuragi could post up to draw a double team, then pass the ball out to Oda for a jump shot. The two are like two gears, meshing together and spinning faster and faster.

Twelve minutes into the second half, the point difference had already exceeded 30 points.

Seeing this, Coach Takeda substituted his main players.

The final whistle blew.

78:36.

Hokwang Middle School won the game by a large margin.

The moment the scoreboard froze, the student stands of Heguang Middle School erupted in chaos.

Cheers surged forth like a tidal wave.

"Sakuragi! Sakuragi! Sakuragi!"

It's unclear who shouted it first, but it quickly turned into a unified chant.

That name echoed through the stadium, again and again, like someone beating a giant drum.

Sakuragi stood on the court, somewhat dazed. He heard his name being shouted from hundreds of mouths at the same time, a feeling unlike anything he had ever imagined.

He had imagined this scene before. Countless cute girls surrounded him, everyone was calling his name, and he stood in the middle with his hands on his hips, chin held high, looking completely blissful.

But when he actually stood there, he realized that his imagination was too shallow.

Real sound has weight. The sound waves hit your chest, making your eyes sting.

His lips were parted in a grin, but his eyes were a little red. He blinked hard, pretending it was just sweat getting in.

The members of Wako Junior High School gathered together, hugging and celebrating, laughing and talking. Oda walked over and gave Sakuragi a high five.

Akiyama lunged at Sakuragi from behind, grabbing his neck and nearly pulling him down. The substitutes rushed onto the court, cheering.

Sakuragi stood in the middle of the crowd and suddenly remembered that two months ago, he didn't even know the rules of basketball and would get called for traveling. Now he stood here, covered in sweat, his ears filled with cheers.

So this is what winning feels like.

It wasn't the exhilarating feeling of "I beat someone," but the satisfying feeling of "we won." My chest felt full, as if something was about to overflow from within.

In the stands, Yuri Yanai stood up and cheered along with everyone.

She was surrounded by people who stood up and cheered; students from Guang Middle School were shouting, and spectators from other schools were clapping.

Kato Rena sat in her seat and looked up at Yanai.

Kato couldn't resist any longer and reached out to tug at Yanai's skirt.

Yanai looked down at her.

Kato's expression was complicated; his eyebrows were furrowed, the corners of his mouth were turned down, and his eyes seemed to say, "Are you serious?"

"You're from Momiji Junior High." Kato looked speechless. "Momiji Junior High. Our school. You're cheering for our rivals?"

Yanai paused for a moment.

She looked up again at the red figure surrounded by his teammates on the field, then looked down and smiled at Kato.

"I'm just..." she paused, "...enjoying a great match."

Kato rolled his eyes.

Enjoy the game.

Fine.

If you say so, then so be it.

Kato leaned back in his chair, squinting at the red-haired man on the field.

No wonder Miss Yanai treated me so specially; she must have some skills.

On the court, Sakuragi Hanamichi was surrounded by his teammates. His gaze passed through the crowd, across half the court, and looked at Yanai in the stands.

Sakuragi's lips curled into a wide grin again, this time even wider than before. His face beamed like a chrysanthemum, and he raised his hand, waving in that direction.

Yanai also raised his hand and waved at him.

Gao Gongwang, who was standing nearby, saw this and nudged Da Nan with his elbow: "Look, look."

Da Nan followed his gaze and said, "It's over. This time, Sakuragi is truly finished."

Yohei leaned back in his chair, watching Sakuragi's waving gesture.

Yohei smiled and shook his head.

This guy is really a basketball genius.

Moreover, he suddenly remembered that he seemed to have seen this tall, beautiful girl before; she seemed to be the eldest daughter of the Yanai family.