Slam Dunk: Sakuragi learned from Kawamura Eiki's experience

The atmosphere in the stadium became incredibly lively.

Kogure Kiminobu walked to the center of the court, gestured with his hands in front of him, and led Sakuragi and Miyagi to the inside and outside of the three-point line respectively.

His expression was serious, as if he were doing something very formal, but the barely suppressed smile at the corner of his mouth betrayed him; he also wanted to see this one-on-one match.

"The rules," Kogure cleared his throat, "are that whoever scores ten goals first wins. After each goal, the goal scorer retains possession of the ball."

He glanced at Sakuragi, then at Miyagi: "Is there a problem?"

Miyagi shook his head, his chin slightly raised, his gaze fixed on Sakuragi.

"You can have my way," Sakuragi gestured with his chin toward Miyagi, "You go first. Don't say this genius is bullying a patient who's just been discharged from the hospital."

Miyagi's lips twitched.

"Enough talk, let's get started."

Miyagi stood outside the three-point line with the ball, dribbling it back and forth between his left and right hands, the rhythm sometimes fast and sometimes slow. He kept his back low, his eyes fixed on Sakuragi's face from below.

Sakuragi bent over, arms outstretched, his center of gravity not too high. His defensive stance wasn't standard, but his long arms, spread out like two doors, blocked Miyagi's path.

Then the palace moved.

His right shoulder suddenly sank down, and his whole body shot out to the right front like a marble.

The first step was ridiculously fast; the sneakers made a sharp "squeak" sound as they hit the wooden floor, like the sound of tires braking suddenly on asphalt.

Sakuragi's center of gravity shifted slightly, tilting him half an inch to the right.

Miyagi's second step was even faster. He switched the ball from his right hand to his left, twisted his body in mid-air, and cut into the paint like a knife.

His change of direction didn't slow him down; it was clean and efficient, leaving Sakuragi's defense behind.

"So fast!" Ishii and the others stood on the sidelines, mouths agape and eyes wide open.

Miyagi stepped into the paint, gathered the ball, and jumped.

His body stretched out in the air, his right hand cradling the ball as he sent it towards the basket. A smile was already playing on his lips; this layup was a sure thing.

Then he caught a glimpse of red out of the corner of his eye.

The red color chasing from behind.

Sakuragi Hanamichi, though starting later, arrived first. He jumped a beat later than Miyagi, but his speed was so fast it was as if he had been bounced up from the floor, and he suddenly rose into the air, raising his right hand high.

"Snapped!"

The palm slammed solidly onto the ball, which hit the backboard with a loud thud and bounced back.

A large hat with nails.

"What?!" Miyagi's pupils contracted sharply. His body was still falling through the air when his expression changed from smugness to shock, as if to say, "What did I just see?"

He stumbled when he landed and almost lost his balance. When he looked back, Sakuragi was running towards the three-point line to retrieve the ball.

Yasuda's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets: "A...a chase hat?"

Sakuragi stood outside the three-point line with the ball, bouncing it twice in his hand. He grinned at Miyagi, revealing a set of white teeth, his smugness practically overflowing.

"How about it? It's my turn to be the dominant one now."

"Interesting! I underestimated you." Miyagi crouched down, spread his arms, and stared intently at the ball in Sakuragi's hand. His expression was three times more serious than before.

He put away all his contempt; this red-haired guy was no ordinary first-year student.

Sakuragi began his attack. Unlike Miyagi, he didn't use a change of direction, a feint, or even a probing step. He simply turned around, positioned his back against Miyagi, and leaned against him.

Back-to-the-basket one-on-one.

Miyagi pressed himself against Sakuragi, placing his hands on Sakuragi's lower back, bending his knees, lowering his center of gravity, and using all his strength to push against him.

But he couldn't hold on.

Sakuragi arched his backside, and Miyagi felt like he'd been bumped by a small truck, taking a half-step back. Sakuragi arched his back again, and Miyagi took another half-step back.

One step, two steps, three steps, Sakuragi, like a bulldozer, slowly and steadily pushed Miyagi all the way from the three-point line to the basket.

Gongcheng's face turned bright red, and the veins on his forehead bulged, but he just couldn't stand on his feet. The soles of his shoes squeaked and rubbed against the wooden floor, leaving black marks behind.

Upon reaching the basket, Sakuragi gathered the ball, jumped, and raised it overhead with one hand.

"Bang!" A dunk.

Miyagi stood under the basket, looking up at Sakuragi hanging on the rim, his expression as if he had just eaten a bitter melon.

On the sidelines, Yasuda swallowed hard.

Kakuta's eyes widened like saucers, and he mumbled a few words: "How...how can we defend against this..."

The second time, Sakuragi again used a back-to-the-basket move.

This time, Miyagi was smarter and started to defend from the front, trying to steal the ball from the side. Just as he reached out, Sakuragi turned around and blocked him from behind, then pushed all the way to the basket and easily made a layup with one hand.

The third time, it was the same.

"Cheat!" Miyagi finally couldn't hold back any longer, the words squeezed out of his throat, filled with obvious displeasure. "That's cheating! How can you play like that!"

Sakuragi's grin widened as he looked at Miyagi's flustered expression.

"Alright, alright," Sakuragi said, sounding like he was coaxing a child. "Then let's change our tactics. No more back-to-back attacks, so you won't accuse me of bullying you, this genius."

Miyagi looked at him suspiciously, then crouched down to defend again.

This time, Sakuragi didn't back down. He held the ball beyond the three-point line, facing Miyagi's defense, and dribbled directly towards the basket. He bumped Miyagi with his shoulder and took a few steps to reach the free-throw line.

Then he gathered the ball, jumped, and pulled up for a jump shot.

Miyagi jumped as well, his jumping height was top-notch for his height, his body was straight in the air, and his right hand blocked Sakuragi's point of attack.

But Sakuragi's release point is higher.

With his height of 188 cm, jumping ability, and arm length, when the ball flew from the highest point of his fingertips, Miyagi's palm was still a long distance away from the ball.

The ball arced high over Miyagi's head and swished cleanly into the net.

Miyagi landed, glanced at Sakuragi, and his expression changed from being agitated to a complex and indescribable one.

On his second pull-up jumper, the ball bounced twice on the rim before rolling in.

The third pull-up attempt resulted in a hollow net entry.

The fourth time, Sakuragi jumped a little too hastily, his wrist wasn't fully extended, and the ball bounced off the back of the rim.

Miyagi reacted extremely quickly this time, jumping up from the side and catching the ball in his hands.

Miyagi finally got possession of the ball. But he still couldn't find a way to break through Sakuragi's defense on offense. His breakthroughs were still sharp, and his first step was still ridiculously fast, but every time he went for a layup, that red figure would appear above him on time, like a red cloud that blotted out the sky.

This time, Miyagi was smarter. Instead of going straight for a layup, he did a reverse layup in mid-air, trying to put the ball in from the other side of the rim.

But Sakuragi's hang time was much longer than he had imagined. Miyagi had already fallen, but Sakuragi was still in the air. He stretched out his right hand again and lightly touched the ball with his fingertips. The ball changed direction, hit the rim, and bounced out.

The atmosphere on the sidelines changed from "watching a good show" to "watching a monster."

"So strong..." Yasuda finally managed to squeeze out two words, his voice barely audible.

Shiozaki nodded in agreement.

Miyagi stood on the court, hands on his knees, panting heavily. His gaze fell on Sakuragi, his eyes showing no anger, no resentment, only pure confusion.

Is this person really a first-year student?

His jumping ability, speed, height, strength, and shooting ability are almost flawless.

Miyagi mentally reviewed Sakuragi's abilities, and every single one was above average, with several being top-tier. His jumping ability and reaction speed, in particular, were among the top three he had ever seen.

"Ten that's it." Kogure's voice rang out from the sidelines, carrying a sense of relief that "it's finally over."

Sakuragi's last shot ended with a simple layup; Miyagi didn't even jump, not because he didn't want to, but because it wouldn't have mattered anyway.

Sakuragi stood with his hands on his hips, chin held high, his face radiating an expression that screamed, "This genius is the best in the world."

Sakuragi looked at Miyagi and said, "I think I've figured it out. You only know one move: using your speed to drive to the basket and score. You don't have any shooting ability, so you're easily targeted in one-on-one situations."

Gongcheng frowned slightly, opened his mouth as if to refute, but swallowed the words back.

Because what Sakuragi said was true.

His offensive repertoire is too limited. His strength lies in driving to the basket, but that's almost all he does. Once the opponent gives him space and blocks his path, he struggles to score.

He wasn't unaware of this problem before, but he never took it seriously, thinking that speed was enough for him.

But today, being pointed out to my face by a big, red-haired guy felt different.

Sakuragi looked at Miyagi's thoughtful expression, and images from his dream flashed through his mind.

Kawamura Eiki stood outside the three-point line, the ball seemingly glued to his hands. If his opponent gave him a step, he would raise his hand and shoot; if his opponent closed in, he would simply walk past them.

Kawamura was short and fast, but his real weapon was his abnormally accurate outside shooting ability. Without that, he wouldn't have made it to the NBA. It's the most basic requirement; a small guard without a long-range shot is too easy to defend against truly strong teams.

The stadium was quiet for a few seconds as everyone processed the result of the one-on-one match.

Then, a voice came from the other end of the stadium.

"I'll do it."

All eyes turned to the other end of the field at the same time.

Rukawa Kaede walked up to Sakuragi and stopped. "I want to fight you one-on-one."

Last year's junior high school semifinals saw him turn the tide because his opponent's shoe broke. In the year since, Rukawa has intensified his training.

During the match against Ryonan, Coach Anzai said he was not as good as Sakuragi, and those words pierced Rukawa's heart like a thorn. After seeing Sakuragi easily crush the returning second-year Miyagi, Rukawa couldn't help but step forward.

He wanted to see just how big the gap was between himself and Sakuragi.

"Alright," Sakuragi pushed the ball towards Rukawa, "This genius is in a good mood today. I'll take on one if one comes, or two if two come. You go first."

The atmosphere in the stadium exploded.

The team members standing on the sidelines watched, their eyes shining like light bulbs. The two rookie champions from the first year were going to have a one-on-one match – this was going to be a real spectacle.