Slam Dunk: Sakuragi learned from Kawamura Eiki's experience

In the next two rounds, Shohoku's offense revolved entirely around Sakuragi.

Sakuragi had the ball and faced Sendoh, once again backing down his opponent and driving into the paint. This time, after being double-teamed near the free-throw line, he didn't jump immediately but instead drew the double team away before passing the ball to the open Kogure.

Kogure catches the ball and jumps to shoot, making the shot.

In the next round, Sakuragi made a comeback.

Using the same playing style, relying on his physical strength to get past defenders, this time he penetrated even deeper, driving straight to the basket.

Uozumi lunged forward again to cover, but Sakuragi didn't dodge. Instead, he jumped and moved his body towards Uozumi.

The two bodies collided in mid-air, and Sakuragi's shooting motion was distorted by the impact. The ball flew out crookedly, hit the backboard, bounced back, and missed.

But the referee blew his whistle again.

The foul was called, and Uozumi committed his third foul.

Coach Taoka's brow furrowed even more, and this was no surprise.

He just said, "I hope it was an accident," but now he knows it wasn't. Sakuragi Hanamichi was deliberately creating physical contact, deliberately leaning against Uozumi, deliberately trying to draw a foul.

When did this red-haired guy learn this kind of thing? If you didn't know better, you'd think he was Maki Shinichi from Hainan.

In the following matches, Ryonan's offense relied entirely on Sendoh.

Uo was tightly sandwiched between Akagi and Sakuragi in the paint, unable to receive the ball at all. Every time he got into position, Akagi would block him from behind, and Sakuragi would come around from the side, their long arms forming a net in front of him, intercepting any pass that came in.

Uozumi only received the ball three times in the entire second half, twice of which he was forced to pass out, and once he managed a shot that was blocked by Akagi.

Sendoh can only do it himself, or pass the ball to the outside players like Yuzuriha or Ueka.

He held the ball on the perimeter, facing defense from Kogure or Yasuda, and took pull-up jump shots time and time again. His shooting motion was still fluid, and his release was still accurate, but each shot seemed to require more effort than the last.

Because Shohoku started double-teaming him. Kogure was in front of him, and Kakuta pounced from the side. The two of them, with four hands, were waving in front of Sendoh, forcing him to raise the arc of his shot higher and higher.

The ball is still going in, but the shooting percentage is dropping. Then Sakuragi easily grabs the rebound.

Relying on their advantage in rebounding inside the paint, the gap between the two teams is gradually narrowing.

On the Xiangbei side, their offense is getting smoother and smoother.

When Sakuragi has the ball, he either uses his physical strength to overpower Sendoh for a layup or a mid-range shot, or he draws a double team and then passes the ball.

Akagi received the ball under the basket and immediately slammed it in with a dunk; Kogure was left open on the outside and was able to make a shot; even Yasuda Kakuta managed to score on a loose ball.

Shohoku's progress blossomed under Sakuragi's guidance.

Sakuragi dribbled the ball into the paint once again. This time, Uozumi's defensive moves were more cautious than before; he raised his hands high and jumped straight up and down, not daring to reach out again.

But Sakuragi didn't give him a chance to dodge. In mid-air, Sakuragi deliberately leaned his body against Uozumi, and the two of them collided at the waist and hips. When Uozumi landed, he lost his balance and his elbow unconsciously pushed outward, hitting Sakuragi's chest.

The whistle blows.

Uozumi committed his fourth foul.

Coach Taoka closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then opened them, his expression as if he had swallowed a mouthful of bitter melon juice.

Uozumi raised his hand, admitting the foul, but his expression was no longer as calm as before.

With four fouls and only a little over half of the second half played, he could be ejected at any moment. In the ensuing defense, he dared not make any unnecessary movements and began to play cautiously.

On the sidelines, Coach Anzai suddenly spoke up. "Rukawa-kun, have you figured anything out?"

"Huh?" Rukawa's mouth opened slightly, his brows furrowed, completely unaware of what Coach Anzai was asking.

Coach Anzai didn't look at him; his gaze remained fixed on the field.

"Sakuragi's ball-handling offense is not a one-on-one game."

Coach Anzai spoke calmly and deliberately, as if explaining a very simple principle: "He would deliberately draw the opponent's defense into a double-team, and then pass the ball to his open teammates. You see, Ryonan's defense has been led by the nose by him the whole time."

Rukawa Kaede's brows furrowed even more, but his eyes returned to the court, his gaze following the red number 10.

Coach Anzai continued, "Your individual offensive skills are impeccable; no one can stop you one-on-one. But in terms of teamwork, especially in leading and facilitating your teammates, you need to learn from Sakuragi. Otherwise..."

He paused, then chuckled twice. "The gap between you two will only widen."

Rukawa Kaede's body stiffened for a moment.

His eyes widened suddenly, and his pupils reflected the image of Sakuragi Hanamichi on the basketball court.

The red-haired guy easily jumped up and grabbed a defensive rebound after Akagi blocked Uozumi in the paint.

The gap. This word was like a thorn piercing his chest.

On the court, Sakuragi was dribbling the ball, charging towards the frontcourt with long strides. Sendoh chased after him from the side, but Sakuragi was not slow, and the two ran almost side by side into Ryonan's half of the court.

Stepping into the three-point line, Sakuragi gathers the ball, jumps, and prepares for a layup.

Sendoh jumped up and tried to block the ball, but Sakuragi's ball didn't go towards the basket. Instead, it flew out from behind him, as if it had eyes, flying to the right at a 45-degree angle.

Kogure Kiminobu, who was right behind him, received the ball, adjusted his footwork, bent his knees slightly, jumped up, and flicked his wrist.

The ball traced a beautiful arc and swished into the net with a "whoosh".

The score difference at this point is 10 points.

Ryonan's offense still relies on Sendoh. He receives the ball on the outside, faces a double-team from Kogure and Yasuda, takes a step back and jumps, the ball bounces twice on the rim and then comes out.

Under the basket, Uozumi dared not foul again, his movements hesitant and timid, and Sakuragi forcefully snatched the backboard from his head.

After landing, Sakuragi dribbled the ball forward himself.

As Sakuragi stepped into the three-point line, Ryonan's defense began to tighten. Koshino rushed in from the side, and Ikegami moved up from the baseline, the three of them surrounding Sakuragi from three directions.

Sakuragi glanced to the right.

Kogure stood in the empty seat again.

The ball flew out of Sakuragi's hands, a quick pass that passed through the gap between Koshino and Ikegami, landing steadily in Kogure's hands.

Kogure catches the ball, jumps, and shoots it into the net.

Ryonan launched another attack. Sendoh missed a jump shot, Akagi grabbed the rebound, and passed it to Sakuragi.

Sakuragi dribbled the ball up the court and drove hard to the basket again, but Uozumi jumped up to block the shot.

The whistle blows.

Jun Uozumi stood there dumbfounded. The referee's gesture was clear: the fifth personal foul.

Jun Uozumi was eliminated after committing a foul.

As he walked toward the bench, his steps were heavy, as if he were stepping into a muddy swamp.

He thought Coach Taoka would scold him, or at least say something. In the past, when he fouled out, Taoka's face would turn as black as the bottom of a pot.

But not today.

Taoka Shigeichi patted the chair next to him, gesturing for Uozumi to sit down. His expression was calm, almost unnaturally so.

Yu Zhu sat down, draped a towel over his head, and didn't say anything.

After a few seconds, Taoka spoke.

"It's okay to lose this game. At least we learned something."

Uozumi abruptly raised his head, the towel sliding off his head and draped over his shoulder. He looked at Coach Taoka, his mouth slightly agape, his eyes filled with astonishment.

There was no swearing. There was no "Uozumi, you idiot, how could you commit such a serious offense!"

Taoka turned his head and looked at Uozumi's face, which was full of surprise.

His gaze passed over Uozumi and landed on the court, where Sakuragi was standing at the free-throw line, steadily sinking the free throw.

"Uozumi," Taoka's voice rang out again, "Your weakness of being easily fouled is something Sakuragi found for you today. If it had only been discovered during an official game, it would have been too late."

Uozumi was stunned.

On the court, after Uozumi left the game, Ryonan's interior defense completely collapsed.

Guan Ping was like an elementary school student compared to Akagi, failing to grab a single rebound. Sakuragi, on the other hand, dominated the paint, grabbing rebounds as easily as picking them up from the ground.

Shohoku's twin towers turned Ryonan's restricted area into their own backyard, grabbing offensive and defensive rebounds one after another. Second-chance points were as easy as drinking water, and defensive rebounds easily brought the score back.

With one minute left in the game, Akagi received a pass from Sakuragi under the basket, turned around to shake off Guan Ping, and slammed the ball down with both hands.

The moment the ball went in, the scoreboard showed a tie.

74:74.

On Ryonan's bench, Coach Taoka closed his eyes.

On the Shohoku bench, everyone stood up and cheered.

In the stands, Takamiya Nozomi, Oonan, and Noma huddled together, yelling and shouting.

Not far away, Haruko Akagi covered her mouth with both hands, tears welling up in her eyes. Rukawa's three-person cheerleading squad screamed.

In the final three minutes of the game, Shohoku's momentum was like a flood bursting its banks, unstoppable.

Sakuragi grabbed an offensive rebound in the paint and scored on the putback. Akagi delivered a huge block on the defensive end, sending the ball swatted into the stands.

Kogure receives a pass from Sakuragi on the perimeter and sinks a three-pointer. Akagi receives a bounce pass from Sakuragi under the basket and turns to make a layup.

Ryonan was only carrying Sendoh. He made a three-pointer and drew a foul on a drive, making both free throws, but these points were like pouring a cup of water into the ocean in the face of Shohoku's well-rounded offense.

When the whistle blew, the numbers on the scoreboard froze.

84:79.

Shohoku won the game.