Slam Dunk: Sakuragi learned from Kawamura Eiki's experience

The clock ticked away second by second in the first half.

The screeching of sneakers rubbing against the floor and the muffled thud of basketballs hitting the ground alternately filled every inch of the stadium.

Takasago received another lob from Maki Shinichi in the low post. He leaned back slightly against Akagi, feeling that the towering figure behind him remained motionless, and then turned towards the baseline.

This time he didn't hold back, but instead deliberately sent the ball towards Akagi's arm, making the exact same move as when he drew the foul the first time, even deliberately replicating the angle of his shoulder tilt.

Akagi did not jump this time.

His feet were planted firmly on the ground, and his hands were raised high.

When Takasago's shooting hand hit his forearm, his arm didn't budge.

The ball flew crookedly from Takasago's hands toward the basket, hitting the edge of the backboard and bouncing off.

Akagi turned and jumped to snatch the rebound.

The next offensive possession for Hainan. Maki Shinichi once again gave it his all, breaking past Sakuragi and driving into the penalty area. Takasago cut in from the weak side to receive the pass, and jumped to meet Akagi.

Akagi still jumped vertically, arms outstretched, palm facing down instead of swatting the ball. Takasago, in mid-air, lobbed the ball toward Akagi's chest, and the two bodies collided with a dull thud.

The ball is out of bounds.

The referee blew the whistle for the ball to go out of bounds; there was no foul.

Akagi landed, his poker face expressionless, but Takasago read a word in his eyes that he didn't say: the same trick wouldn't work a third time.

Maki Shinichi saw all of this, and Akagi's ability to adjust was even faster than he had anticipated.

After Takasago successfully drew a foul for the first time, the big black pillar quickly learned to restrain his hands and body, and the same trick would no longer work on Akagi.

Then it's my turn. Akagi is just immune to Takasago's routines, but that doesn't mean he can be completely unstoppable against everyone's breakthroughs.

Shinichi Maki faces Sakuragi again at the top of the arc.

His dribbling rhythm began to change. He pulled the ball to the left with his right hand, lowered his shoulder, and then pushed off with his right foot. He was like a bullet that tore through Sakuragi's defense from the right.

But this time his goal wasn't the basket, and it wasn't to score.

After successfully breaking through, he didn't jump or pass the ball to A Shen on the outside. Instead, he drove straight towards the position guarded by Akagi under the basket, then jumped in front of Akagi and leaned his body towards him.

The two men collided chest to chest in mid-air. The impact of Maki Shinichi's collision caused Akagi to lean back half a body, but Akagi's arm remained straight up, his palm firmly positioned above the ball.

He controlled the angle of his block, giving the referee no reason to blow the whistle.

The ball flew out of Maki Shinichi's hands, bounced off the back of the rim, and was then rebounded by Sakuragi, who was cutting in.

The whistle didn't sound.

The gap between the two teams continued to widen.

Almost every offensive play by Shohoku targeted Akagi, leaving Takasago sweating profusely behind him, but Akagi's back-to-the-basket efficiency was as consistent as a machine.

Once Akagi is double-teamed in the paint, he passes the ball to his open teammates, such as Mitsui, Sakuragi, Rukawa, or even Miyagi, who has been practicing his shooting, to receive the ball and shoot directly.

Even if he misses the shot, Akagi can still outmaneuver Takasago to grab the rebound and launch a second-chance opportunity.

On the defensive end, Akagi shut down the paint completely. After Maki Shinichi successfully broke through, he was double-teamed by Akagi and Sakuragi. On the perimeter, Akagi was suffocated by Mitsui's tight defense. Kiyota's attack was blocked by Rukawa's defense and Akagi's rim protection.

Muto simply went into hiding.

Hainan's offense was like hitting an invisible wall in front of Xiangbei's interior defense system.

With two minutes remaining in the first half.

Hainan 32:51 Xiangbei.

A 19-point deficit. Just one basket away from breaking 20 points.

The passageway door at the entrance of the stadium was pushed open, and Jun Uozumi was the first to walk into the stands, followed by the Ryonan players one by one.

They had just finished their game against Wuli on another court, winning by a landslide; Wuli was no match for them. The whole team had come to watch Shohoku play Hainan as planned.

Uozumi walked to the railing of the stands and glanced at the scoreboard. Then he froze.

With a 19-point lead, Shohoku is in the lead with two minutes left in the first half.

"Is Hainan's path to dominance about to decline?" Xian Dao couldn't help but ask.

On the sidelines, on the Hainan substitute bench, Gao Touli had been standing for a full five minutes without sitting down, the folding fan in his hand creaking loudly.

Timeouts have been used. Scolding has been done. Tactics have been devised, but Akagi just won't take the bait. With Akagi guarding the paint and Maki stuck to Sakuragi, Hainan is still struggling, and the point difference is widening.

After a dead ball situation, Shinichi Maki walked past the sidelines and bent down to pick up the basketball that had rolled towards him.

Just as he straightened up, his eyes met Takato's. Takato didn't open his mouth, but he gave Maki Shinichi a very brief wink.

Shinichi Maki nodded slightly, so slightly that even his teammates next to him didn't notice.

In the stands of Ryonan, Taoka Shigeichi sat down with his arms crossed. He glanced at the scoreboard and then at the Shohoku players running back on the court.

"Shohoku did a good job."

Taoka began, "That's it, Shohoku has taken down Kainan. If only Kainan had lost this game..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but all the Ryonan team members present understood it.

If Hainan loses to Shohoku today, and Ryonan finishes off the deficit on the 26th, Hainan will be eliminated early. Ryonan's ticket to the national tournament will be guaranteed.

Just as Taoka finished speaking.

On the court, Maki Shinichi once again tore a gap in Sakuragi's defense and broke into the paint.

His breakthrough route was partially blocked by Akagi's help defense, and his angle for a strong drive to the basket was not enough. At the moment of receiving the ball, Maki Shinichi made a choice, flicking the ball to the outside with his right hand.

Ashen received the ball outside the three-point line, bent his knees, raised the ball, and jumped, but Mitsui's hand was already blocking his way.

Ah Shen's release arc was slightly higher than usual, and the trajectory of the ball was noticeably shorter.

"Rebound!" Mitsui turned and yelled towards the basket.

Below the basket, four figures simultaneously positioned themselves, ready to jump.

Akagi, Takasago, Maki Shinichi, and Sakuragi all had their eyes fixed on the basketball.

Takasago tried to squeeze into the position from the left, but Sakuragi took a step forward and blocked his waist, his buttocks sinking down, blocking Takasago firmly behind him.

Takenori Akagi, who was closest to the rebound's landing point, jumped and, taking advantage of his height and wingspan, caught the ball with both hands at the highest point of his jump.

then.

Akagi landed on a black sneaker with his left foot.

"Well…!"

Akagi fell heavily to the floor, his left leg curled up, and large beads of sweat rolled down his forehead.

"A gorilla...!"

Sakuragi was the first to shout, his voice booming through the quiet gymnasium. He rushed to Akagi's side and crouched down.

The referee blew his whistle, and the game was paused.

The entire Shohoku bench jumped up.

Miyagi and Mitsui rushed to Akagi's side and crouched down. Rukawa stood three steps away, his eyes fixed on Akagi's curled-up left leg, a very subtle change appearing on his expressionless face.

"Boss, take off your shoes and take a look!" Gongcheng said anxiously.

Akagi sat on the ground, loosening the laces of his left sneaker, his hands trembling slightly. The shoe was carefully removed, revealing his ankle, with a bulge beneath the skin.

Everyone gasped when they saw the extent of the swelling.

"Change players."

Coach Anzai made the arrangements.

In the stands.

Kenji Fujima and Toru Hanagata sat up straight at the same time. Fujima's gaze fell on Akagi's retreating figure, his expression remaining impassive.

The two core members of Xiangyang exchanged a glance, but remained silent. Their eyes conveyed only one message… Was it intentional?

In the stands of Ryonan High School, Jun Uozumi stared, mouth agape, as Akagi was helped into the players' tunnel, speechless for a long time.

He'd seen injuries on the basketball court before, but Takenori Akagi, the man who'd battled him for two years in the prefectural tournament, the big black pillar who was never defeated by anything, was now being carried off the court.

The lazy smile on Sendoh Akira's lips disappeared. His gaze shifted from Akagi's back to Maki Shinichi, and then slowly moved to Takato Riki's face.

Taoka Shigeichi remained silent for a full five seconds.

"next week."

Taoka spoke up. Uozumi and Sendoh turned around at the same time. "In the match against Hainan, everyone must be careful to protect yourselves."

He didn't say why, but everyone understood the implication. Akagi's departure might not have been unexpected, and Ryonan would be facing the same team next Saturday.

Taoka's face remained expressionless, but his gaze was fixed intently on the court. His palms were sweating much more than usual.

With Akagi out, can Shohoku hold on?

If Shohoku loses the game, and if Hainan wins, then Ryonan will face a defending champion team with high morale and full strength next Saturday, and then they will have to play another game against Shohoku the next day, which they cannot afford to lose either.