Slam Dunk: Sakuragi learned from Kawamura Eiki's experience

Ue dribbled the ball across half-court and passed it to Sendoh outside the three-point line.

The moment Sendoh caught the ball, his entire aura changed.

He lowered his waist even further, his eyes were sharp, and he lowered the position of the ball from his waist to near his knees, which was a signal that he was going to play one-on-one.

Rukawa Kaede came up to him.

Sendoh took a big step forward and to the right with his right foot, his body tilting accordingly. Rukawa followed suit with a quick and steady sidestep.

But Sendoh's second step was even faster. He passed the ball from his right hand to his left, and his whole body cut into the paint like a knife.

Rukawa Kaede was not shaken off; he relentlessly pursued from the side, his hand constantly outstretched in front of Sendoh's line of sight to interfere.

But what Sendoh wants is not points.

As he drove to the vicinity of the free-throw line, Akagi had already come to help defend. The two big men sandwiched Sendoh in the middle, like two walls blocking his shooting angle.

Sendoh's eyes glanced at the area under the basket out of the corner of his eye.

Jun Uozumi has been left out.

Sendoh's ball bounced out from his waist, a bounce pass that landed precisely in Uozumi's hands after bouncing once on the floor.

Uozumi caught the ball with both hands, jumped up, and slammed the ball into the basket.

"Boss Monkey dunks!" Uozumi's powerful two-handed dunk made the Ryonan bench cheer excitedly.

In the next possession, Sendoh received the ball on the outside.

Rukawa and Kogure pounced at the same time, flanking him with their four hands waving in front of him like an impenetrable net.

This time, Sendoh didn't pass the ball. He took a step back, created some space, and then jumped directly.

With his body slightly leaning back in the air, he steadily raised his shooting hand above his head, flicked his wrist, and the ball passed between Rukawa and Kogure's fingers, its arc high and flat, and with a "swish," it swished through the net.

On the Ryonan bench, Coach Taoka crossed his arms and looked at the field with a look of satisfaction. This was the true strength of Ryonan's ace, Sendoh Akira.

Not only on the offensive end, but also on the defensive end, Sendoh became serious.

He personally guarded Rukawa, no longer giving him the space he had before. Every time Rukawa received the ball, Sendoh stuck to him like a plaster, not with rough physical contact, but with just the right amount of pressure, giving him no space without committing a foul.

After receiving the ball, Rukawa Kaede changed direction, attempting to break through from the right. Sendoh's feet moved sideways as if mounted on a sliding track, his chest blocking Rukawa Kaede's path.

Rukawa was forced to collect the ball and pass it out.

In the next possession, Rukawa received the ball in the low post and backed down Sendoh. He took two steps inside, turned, and jumped to shoot, but Sendoh blocked his release point, and the ball went way off course, hitting the top edge of the backboard and bouncing out.

After being personally guarded by Sendoh, Rukawa's impact and shooting accuracy both decreased significantly.

Ryonan slowly widened the gap again, and the scoreboard showed 32 to 11. The difference was 21 points.

The air became heavy on the Shohoku bench.

Haruko Akagi clasped her hands to her chest, looking nervously at the court. Her brother was being suppressed by Uozumi and Ikegami, and Rukawa was locked down by Sendoh. Shohoku's offense was like a car running out of gas.

Just as a sense of unease permeated the entire bench and stands, Coach Anzai turned his head and looked at Sakuragi Hanamichi, who was sitting next to him.

Sakuragi was sitting with his legs crossed and arms folded over his chest, his expression so relaxed that it didn't seem like he was watching his team trail by 21 points.

His expression remained calm, as if he were watching a game that had nothing to do with him.

"Sakuragi-kun," Coach Anzai's voice was unhurried, with his signature gentle tone, "why aren't you in a hurry?"

Sakuragi turned his head, glanced at Coach Anzai, and grinned.

"Of course there's no rush, Dad."

He shifted his crossed legs, reclined his chair, and said with a matter-of-fact expression, "Didn't you say you'd wait for this genius to step in and turn the tide? What's the rush? It's not my turn to make my appearance yet."

He said this with his chin held high, and there wasn't a trace of nervousness in his tone.

Coach Anzai burst into laughter, his round belly jiggling with each laugh.

He squinted at Sakuragi for two seconds, then asked, "If you were to play, how would you play?"

Sakuragi's smile faded, and his brows furrowed slightly.

He put down his crossed legs, leaned forward, rested his hands on his knees, and stared at the players running on the field for a while.

His gaze swept from Akagi to Rukawa, from Rukawa to Kogure, and from Kogure to Yasuda and Kakuta.

he was thinking.

This wasn't his usual impulsive "I'm the best genius in the world" attitude; he was genuinely using his brain.

"Hmm... On offense," Sakuragi said after frowning and thinking for a moment, "I'll attack with the ball. I'll either score through my own ability or draw double teams and then pass the ball to an open teammate."

He paused, then gestured with his fingers to indicate the names: "Try to pass to Glasses Guy and Gorilla as much as possible; they're reliable. Yasuda and Kakuta... their scoring ability is average, so passing to them won't help."

Coach Anzai nodded without interrupting.

"On the defensive end," Sakuragi continued, his gaze fixed on Ryonan's half of the court, "I'll dive into the paint and fight for rebounds with the Gorilla. As long as we get the rebounds, the game is ours."

He said this in a very calm tone.

These ideas didn't just come out of thin air. That year, he often had that dream, a dream of competitions and training.

Pick and roll, rotation, double team, help defense, fast break, positional warfare... he gradually learned a lot of those terms that he couldn't understand before.

Coach Anzai looked at him and chuckled three times. He neither said it was right nor wrong, but simply turned his gaze back to the field.

The whistle blew to end the first half, its piercing sound echoing throughout the stadium.

The scoreboard reads: 52 to 30. Ryonan leads by 22 points.

The Shohoku team members walked off the court, each with a gloomy and dejected look on their faces.

Akagi Takenori sat down in a chair with a stern face, grabbed a towel and wiped the sweat off his face haphazardly. He slung the towel over his shoulder, stared at the scoreboard opposite him, and pursed his lips into a thin line.

Rukawa Kaede stood to the side, drinking water with a blank expression.

Once Sendoh got serious and unleashed the full power expected of Ryonan's ace, the gap was never closed. Rukawa also gave it his all, but he was still a little short of Sendoh.

Coach Anzai sat in a chair, his hands clasped in front of his round belly, his expression calm.

He didn't encourage or scold like other coaches; he just sat quietly, waiting for everyone's eyes to fall on him.

"In the second half," Coach Anzai said slowly, "Rukawa will rest, and Sakuragi will come on."

"What?"

Kogure's voice rang out, filled with obvious confusion and anxiety, "Coach, we're still down by 22 points! Rukawa should keep playing! Only when Sakuragi is on the court with Rukawa will we have a chance to catch up!"

Rukawa Kaede also turned his head and stared at Coach Anzai. His face was expressionless, but his eyes were full of questions.

Akagi frowned, opened his mouth, but ultimately remained silent. He had an almost blind trust in Coach Anzai's judgment, but this arrangement was truly baffling.

Coach Anzai chuckled a few times but didn't reply.

His eyes narrowed to slits, the corners of his mouth curved upwards, and the flesh on his chin jiggled. That smile was like a soft, yielding wall; all of Kogure's reasons bounced off it.

Kogure was pacing anxiously, turning to look at Akagi, hoping the captain would say something.

Akagi shook his head, meaning, "If the coach has made a decision, then we'll listen to the coach."

Kogure then looked at Ayako, who shrugged, indicating that she couldn't do anything about it either.

Kogure sighed, sat back down on the bench, but bounced up as soon as his bottom touched the seat. He opened his mouth, then closed it again and sat down once more. His eyes behind his glasses were filled with anxiety.

Rukawa Kaede put the water bottle on the ground, turned around and sat on the far side of the bench, leaning against the wall and closing his eyes.

His expression didn't reveal whether he was angry or indifferent, but his slightly furrowed brows betrayed him; he was very unhappy.