Slam Dunk: Sakuragi learned from Kawamura Eiki's experience

The moment Gao Tou Li saw Rukawa Kaede being helped down, he snapped his folding fan shut, and his tense heart instantly relaxed.

He turned around and faced the players who came off the field and surrounded him.

"Rukawa Kaede has gone downstairs."

Takato pointed his fan at the Shohoku bench across the street. "Look over there, Mitsui Hisashi. See him? He's sitting in his chair, panting like a log. He's been harassed by Ajin all day, and his stamina is completely depleted."

Miyagi Ryota is not a threat on either offense or defense. Right now, the only player worth watching in Shohoku is Sakuragi Hanamichi.

"A 36-point deficit, with 12 minutes left in the second half. Is that enough?"

"That's enough," Maki Shinichi stepped forward and answered.

"Shohoku is only carrying the team right now with Sakuragi. As long as Sakuragi has the ball, we will double-team him without hesitation."

Whoever is closest goes up; the others can be left open. Block Sakuragi's entire path, force him to pass, and let the rest of Shohoku attack. If we still lose after that, then we'll accept it.

Shohoku bench.

Rukawa Kaede sat on the bench, his breathing heavy. With each inhale, his shoulders rose, and his chest made a bellows-like sound.

Mitsui Hisashi sat next to him, his hands on his knees, still catching his breath, his face covered in sweat.

"I want to go on stage."

Seeing this, Takenori Akagi couldn't sit still any longer. "Coach, let me go."

Sakuragi placed his hand on his shoulder.

"Gorilla. It's not time to use you yet. This genius hasn't even started to exert his power."

Akagi looked at him: "Sakuragi..."

"This genius has spoken." Sakuragi's eyes were serious, radiating a confidence that seemed to emanate from his very bones. "Now, watch my performance."

Coach Anzai chimed in from the side, "Heh heh. Akagi, you have to believe in Sakuragi."

Akagi fell silent.

Coach Anzai

"Kakuta, you go up to the power forward position and help Sakuragi with positioning and defense."

Kakuta's eyes widened, though they looked almost as if they weren't open at all.

"Miyagi..." Anzai's gaze fell on Miyagi Ryota, "Go and relieve Ajin."

Miyagi paused for a moment. Ajin was a shooting guard, more than ten centimeters taller than him.

"Mitsui's stamina is almost depleted, so now you're the only one who can defend against Jin."

Anzai's voice remained calm and unhurried, but when Miyagi heard this, Mitsui, standing beside him, covered his face with a towel and remained silent.

Miyagi glanced at Mitsui, then turned back and nodded to Coach Anzai.

Pause time is up.

When both teams re-entered the court, everyone in the stands focused their attention on Shohoku's lineup.

Tsunoda Satoru, Kokure Konobu, Miyagi Ryota, Mitsui Hisashi, Sakuragi Hanamichi.

Kenji Fujima, standing in the stands, spoke up when he saw this lineup.

"When Shohoku played against us, it was a slow-paced positional battle, so the issue of physical fitness was not obvious."

"The current game against Hainan is a fast-paced offensive and defensive battle, which quickly depletes stamina. Shohoku's stamina issues have been exposed, especially since they don't have many reliable substitutes on their bench."

"With Rukawa off the court, we've lost a key offensive weapon. Mitsui's stamina is also running low, and Miyagi's offense and defense are mediocre. Now, on both ends of the court, we're relying entirely on Sakuragi."

Hanagata pushed up his glasses: "The score difference is 36 points, with 12 minutes left."

"Is that enough for Hainan to catch up?" Hasegawa couldn't help but ask.

Fujima didn't answer. He remained silent for several seconds, then made a judgment that he himself was reluctant to admit: "The outcome has begun to lean towards Hainan."

In the stands of Ryonan, Taoka Shigeichi's palms were covered in sweat.

Shohoku's key players are showing signs of fatigue; Rukawa is out, and Mitsui is almost exhausted. Now only Sakuragi is left. Can he hold his own against the entire Hainan team?

on the field.

The game continues, and Hainan has possession of the ball.

Shinichi Maki dribbled the ball across half-court, his gaze sweeping over Shohoku's defensive formation.

Mitsui was defending him at the top of the key, but Mitsui's footwork had slowed down. Maki Shinichi made a simple change of direction and cut past Mitsui. Mitsui reached out to block him, but his fingers only grazed the hem of Maki Shinichi's jersey.

Sakuragi stayed inside. When he saw Maki Shinichi drive in, he immediately moved across from the weak side to help defend.

Kakuta also rushed over, and Sakuragi and Kakuta jumped at the same time, blocking Maki Shinichi's layup route.

Maki Shinichi didn't force a shot. He was waiting for a double team. In mid-air, he flicked the ball to his right, and Muto caught it in open space on the baseline.

Muto receives the ball, jumps, and scores.

As the game transitioned from offense to defense, Miyagi dribbled past half-court and glanced at the situation on the court from the top of the arc.

With Rukawa absent, Mitsui was being closely followed by Ajin, and his steps were noticeably heavy. Kakuta was running back and forth in a high position, and Muto didn't even pay him any attention.

Kogure was standing in the bottom corner, with Kiyota next to him, but Kiyota's attention was also on the inside.

Sakuragi Hanamichi blocked Takasago on the left side of the basket and waved for the ball.

Miyagi lobbed the ball in.

Sakuragi caught the ball, and the instant it reached his hands, Muto abandoned Kakuta and lunged at him. Maki Shinichi turned and charged from the top of the key. Takasago held him off from behind.

Three people, flanking them.

Seeing three players surrounding Sakuragi, Taoka gasped in shock. Hainan wasn't giving him any chance at all!

Sakuragi didn't hesitate. He passed the ball out before the double team closed in, to Kogure, who was left open on the outside.

Kogure received the ball, and Jin immediately rushed over from the side to help defend. Kogure didn't shoot; instead, he passed the ball across to Mitsui, who was running off the ball on the other side.

Mitsui caught the ball, and his legs were shaking.

Kiyota had already rushed back, and his attack was very fast, directly blocking Mitsui's face.

Mitsui wasn't looking at the basket. His vision was blurry; his eyesight narrowed when his energy was low, but he still remembered his hands.

Bend your knees, lift the ball, and flick it with your wrist.

The ball flew past Kiyota's fingertips.

Swish. Three points in the net.

"Mitsui...beautiful...!" Kogure rushed over and gave Mitsui a high five.

Kiyota stood there watching Mitsui, whose chest was still heaving violently and whose legs were shaking like leaves. He stood outside the three-point line, sweat dripping from his chin onto the floor, a weak smile spreading across his face.

He was almost unable to stand, yet he still managed to make the shot. This puzzled Kiyota greatly.

Hainan attacks. Maki Shinichi easily breaks through Mitsui again and drives into the paint.

Maki Shinichi dribbled a step inside the free-throw line, drawing the attention of Kakuta and Sakuragi, before passing the ball to Ajin on the outside. Miyagi desperately rushed to defend him.

A Shen takes a pull-up jump shot. The ball bounces off the rim.

Four figures simultaneously positioned themselves under the basket. Sakuragi tightly blocked Takasago behind him, snatching the rebound with both hands at its highest point.

Without pausing after landing, he immediately tossed the ball to Miyagi with one hand.

"Quick attack!"

Miyagi receives the ball and accelerates past half-court. Hainan's defense remains quick to recover. Maki and Jin have already retreated to inside the three-point line.

Miyagi was stopped by Ajin at the top of the arc. He did not force his way through, but out of the corner of his eye, he saw a red lightning bolt chasing after him.

Miyagi flicked the ball behind him, Sakuragi caught it, dribbled two steps, stepped inside the free-throw line, jumped, grabbed the ball with his right hand and raised it high, his whole body like a red missile heading straight for the basket.

Shinichi Maki jumped under the basket.

He wasn't going to block. It was too late to block; Sakuragi's jump was too powerful and too high.

He immediately decided that he would rather foul than let Sakuragi dunk the ball, otherwise it would be a huge blow to Hainan's morale.

When Mu Shen jumped, his right leg was raised high.

Sakuragi crashed into the ball mid-air, instantly losing his balance. He tilted halfway in the air, the ball flew out of his hands, bounced off the backboard, and he slammed heavily onto the floor.

The whistle blew, and the referee raised his right fist and pointed at Maki Shinichi with his left hand.

foul.

The stadium was silent for a full second.

Sakuragi lay face down on the floor.