Slam Dunk: Sakuragi learned from Kawamura Eiki's experience

On the day of the semi-finals, the Kanagawa Prefectural Gymnasium was packed to capacity.

The four-thousand-seat stands were packed with people, with even the aisles crowded with standing spectators.

Students from Xiangyang occupied more than half of the seats in the stands.

They were dressed in uniform, sitting neatly in the stands, tapping empty bottles in their hands, like a well-trained army.

"Shohoku...! Victory is certain...!"

"Shohoku...! Victory is certain...!"

The sound came in waves, making people's eardrums buzz.

The four members of Sakuragi's gang, huddled in the front row of the stands, were startled by the commotion.

"This feels completely different from the basketball games I played in junior high..."

Takamiya looked around and saw the Xiangyang audience chanting slogans in unison, their faces filled with emotion.

"I wonder if Hanamichi can handle this kind of atmosphere?" Noma stroked his mustache and asked.

"No, Hanamichi is just a simpleton!" Yohei was certain of Sakuragi's personality.

In Shohoku's locker room, Takenori Akagi stood in the center, his face visibly tense.

"This time, our opponent, Shohoku, is different from any of our previous opponents. This year, everyone must give it their all, from the very first second, leaving no room for error."

"Huh? A gorilla?"

Sakuragi leaned closer, staring at Akagi Takenori's dark circles with the excitement of discovering a new continent. "You weren't so nervous last night that you couldn't sleep, were you? Look, you've got dark circles under your eyes!"

Seeing that Sakuragi had exposed his nervousness, Akagi's eyes widened, and he opened his mouth but didn't say anything.

But Kogure, standing beside him, betrayed everything... He gave a wry smile: "It wasn't just Akagi; I was also incredibly nervous last night, and I didn't fall asleep until 3 a.m.

Sakuragi glanced at Akagi, then at Kogure, and then at Mitsui, who had just returned from the restroom after his third trip there. His grin widened even further.

His expression changed from teasing to a smug look of "Look how calm this genius is."

"Look how nervous you guys are. Why don't the three of you rest on the bench first, and wait for me, the genius, to go up and crush that Xiangyang guy? Then you can come up and pick up the scraps. Anyway, you can score in garbage time."

Hearing Sakuragi's teasing, Akagi's lips twitched, his "embarrassment at being exposed" turning into a conflicted expression of "being amused by this kid but unable to laugh."

Mitsui stood up from the bench, put his hands on his hips, and raised his voice eight octaves, issuing a triple denial:

"Which eye of yours saw me nervous? Don't talk nonsense! No! Impossible!"

Miyagi added sarcastically from the corner, "You weren't nervous, so you went to the bathroom three times."

Mitsui's face flushed red instantly. He turned and glared at Miyagi, who shrugged.

With Sakuragi's witty remarks, the tense atmosphere eased considerably.

The door was pushed open from the outside, and Coach Anzai walked in, his gaze sweeping over the faces of each player: "It's almost time, get ready to go on the field."

On the other side, in the Shohoku locker room, Kenji Fujima stood in front of his teammates, giving them a final pep talk with a solemn expression.

"Give it your all in today's game and don't underestimate your opponent. You saw what happened in last week's game; this year's dark horse, Shohoku, is just as strong as Hainan."

His gaze swept from Hanagata to Hasegawa, then from Hasegawa to Takano and Nagano, and then stopped.

"Especially numbers 10 and 11 on the other side."

Fujima's voice dropped a octave, and his tone became more serious. "Number 10, red-haired Sakuragi Hanamichi, has extremely strong physical abilities, and his rebounding and defense are both outstanding."

Number 11, Rukawa Kaede, needs no introduction in terms of offensive ability. Whenever these two get the ball, nearby defenders should quickly provide help defense and double-team them to prevent them from gaining speed.

Hanagata Toru leaned against the wall, adjusted his glasses, and nodded. Hasegawa Kazushi stood next to Fujima, arms crossed, his expression focused.

Takano Shoichi and Nagano Mitsuru exchanged a glance, neither of them displaying their usual relaxed expressions.

Fujima led the way, turning and heading towards the locker room door.

"Let's go, it's time to go on stage."

As the Shohoku players walked out of the tunnel, the roar of the stadium hit them like a wall. Sakuragi looked around and felt that the atmosphere of the games was on a completely different level compared to his middle school days.

The spectators in the stands were buzzing with discussion.

"Shohoku is last year's runner-up. Hanagata and Fujima are both top players in Kanagawa. It will be tough for Shohoku today."

"Shohoku is this year's dark horse, they're really strong. Didn't you watch their previous matches?"

They won by an average of over thirty points per game, especially those two rookies, number 10 with red hair and number 11, Rukawa Kaede; both of them were incredibly strong.

"Averaging over thirty points per game is against weak teams. Is Shohoku a weak team? They were last year's runners-up. Are you kidding me?"

The Xiangyang team also came out from the player tunnel across the street.

All of them wore green team uniforms, and all of them were tall.

Toru Hanagata walked at the front, standing at 197 cm tall, wearing glasses, and looking very refined.

Takano Shoichi followed behind him, 193. Nagano Mitsuru was third, 191. Hasegawa Kazushi was fourth, 190.

When the tall man, who averaged 1.9 meters in height, walked out of the passage, even the lights dimmed for a moment.

Someone in the audience gasped.

"The height of the Shohoku team is terrifying."

"Hanamiya is already quite skilled, but she's been overshadowed by the Shohoku team! She looks so unremarkable." Takamiya Nozomi exclaimed in amazement upon seeing the Shohoku team.

"Exactly, I don't know how these guys from Xiangyang grew up, they must have taken too many hormones!" Da Nan was also shocked by Xiangyang's height.

Just then, on the highest passageway of the stands, the two groups from Hainan and Ryonan, who had come specifically to watch the battle, bumped into each other.

Shinichi Maki, who was leading the group, looked at Uozumi and asked, "Uozumi, which side do you favor?"

With a stern face and arms crossed, Uozumi turned his gaze away from the court and gave an answer without hesitation.

"Shobei."

Mu Shen nodded slightly, the gesture subtle but firm. "Coincidentally, I share the same view."

Both teams tacitly considered Shohoku as a major enemy.

On the field, warm-up is over.

The Shohoku players walked back to the bench from the court. Coach Anzai stood in front of the bench, his eyes sweeping over the faces of each player, and announced the starting lineup.

"Starting lineup... Akagi, Sakuragi, Rukawa, Mitsui, Miyagi."

You're all very strong, so just go all out.

"Shohoku...will win!"

Led by Akagi, the starting five entered the game after clapping their hands and shouting. This was the first time that the five Shohoku players had started together in an official game.

On the opposing Shohoku's bench, Kenji Fujima was also making final arrangements.

"Give it your all. Don't underestimate your opponents, especially be careful of the two newcomers, numbers 11 and 10."

The referee's whistle blew, its sharp sound echoing throughout the stadium.

As the players from both sides walked onto the court, Sakuragi Hanamichi suddenly approached Akagi.

"Hey gorilla, look how nervous you are. Should I, the genius, take the jump ball?"

Akagi's lips twitched. He looked at Hanagata's refined face across from him, then at Sakuragi's grinning face. The tension that had been building all day eased considerably the moment Sakuragi spoke.

With a stern face, he said, "Go away, I don't need to."

Turning back to face the flower shape, he spread his legs apart, bent his knees slightly, lowered his center of gravity, and fixed his gaze on the orange basketball in the referee's hand.

Hanagata also bent down, both of them staring at the ball in the referee's hand, their legs tense.

The referee stood in the center circle, raised the ball with his right hand, and put the whistle in his mouth.

The noise in the stadium suddenly subsided. The clamor of more than four thousand people in the stands seemed to have been covered by an invisible hand, turning from deafening roar into whispers, and then from whispers into breathless concentration.

All eyes were on the orange basketball and on the two tall men, one in white and one in green.