Slam Dunk: Sakuragi learned from Kawamura Eiki's experience

Chapter 89 The Palace Becomes the Breakthrough Point

As the players from both sides ran out of the tunnel, the stands erupted in cheers.

On the west side of the blue support area of ​​Ryonan, a huge banner was hung up with four large characters written in calligraphy: "Courageous and Brave".

Shohoku was not to be outdone.

The moment Horita Tokuo and his three henchmen unfurled and hung up the flag, everyone saw the crooked, large characters on the flame pattern: "Flame Man ~ Mistress".

Horita Tokuo stood with his hands on his hips, his nostrils pointing to the sky, his face full of pride.

Mitsui Hisashi stormed down to the stands, tilting his head back and yelling at Tokuo, the veins in his neck bulging: "Who told you to hang that! Take it down! Don't hang it!"

The four men, including Horita Tokuo, ignored him and carefully hung up the flag.

Then they all shouted together: "Go, mistress! Rise up, mistress!"

Suddenly, a chorus of unified female screams erupted from the other side of the stands.

Rukawa Kaede's fan club occupied the best seats in the Shohoku stands, all dressed in white short skirts, with banners embroidered with "Rukawa's Destiny".

A girl kicked her thigh and led the chant, "Lucawa! Lukawa!" The entire guard followed in unison, their rhythm perfectly synchronized.

The four members of Sakuragi's gang occupied the front row. Together, they roared at the top of their lungs towards the field: "Hanamichi—! Go for it—!"

After the warm-up, both teams' players returned to their respective benches.

The Ryonan team members formed a semi-circle. Sendoh Akira glanced casually in the direction of the Shohoku bench, paused for a moment, and then turned to look at Taoka.

Uozumi noticed this too. He frowned slightly and asked in a gruff voice, "Is Coach Anzai not at Shohoku?"

Taoka Shigeichi crossed his arms, his gaze returning from the empty folding chair on the Shohoku bench: "I just heard that Coach Anzai fell ill after yesterday's game and won't be able to attend today."

The Ryonan players looked at each other. With Coach Anzai gone, Shohoku had lost a pillar of their spirit.

Taoka raised his voice: "But don't go easy on us because of that. And don't let our guard down just because we beat Hainan yesterday and secured our place in the national tournament."

We must give it our all to win the county championship. Do you understand?

The Ryonan team roared in unison, "Ryonan will win! Champions!"

The atmosphere in front of Shohoku's bench was completely different from that on the other side.

A group of people stood together, but the chubby figure was missing from the middle, and an unsettling silence hung in the air.

Mitsui suddenly took something out of his bag and carefully placed it on the folding chair that Coach Anzai usually sat in.

It was a framed photo of Coach Anzai. Mitsui had his hands clasped together, bowed devoutly, and muttered something.

"Mitsui, stop right there!" Akagi and Sakuragi yelled simultaneously. "The coach's still alive? That's bad luck!"

After the farce ended, Akagi took a deep breath, and everyone quieted down.

With Coach Anzai absent, he was the only one directing the team on the field.

"Today's tactics are simple. Man-to-man. Everyone should keep an eye on their assigned man, don't leave anyone open, and don't give anyone an open space."

When you have the ball, find the best offensive option. Give it your all and win the championship.

Everyone: "Shohoku will win!"

The match time has arrived, and the starting players from both sides have entered the field.

The host introduced the starting lineup one by one, and the sound system made each name echo for a long time.

Taoka Shigeichi's gaze swept over the faces of Shohoku's starting five, and with each person he looked at, he felt a growing ache in his groin.

Mitsui Hisashi, middle school MVP. Miyagi Ryota, the fastest point guard in the entire prefecture. Rukawa Kaede, a super rookie. Sakuragi Hanamichi, the most talented monster he had ever seen.

He personally visited all four of them, but none of them came to Ryonan.

Taoka took a deep breath and swallowed back the blood welling up in his chest.

Then he touched his chin, and a smile slowly appeared on his lips.

"But it doesn't matter." His voice was so soft that only he could hear it. "Coach Anzai isn't here today. The tactics I prepared should catch Shohoku off guard. I didn't even use these tactics against Hainan yesterday."

His gaze shifted from Sakuragi to Sendoh. "If we unleash this ultimate move today, perhaps—we can snatch the championship from Shohoku."

Sakuragi leaned close to Akagi and whispered, "Gorilla, your foot injury... want me to help you with the jump ball? Dealing with Boss Monkey is a piece of cake!"

Akagi shoved Sakuragi away from his ear, his face stern, and said, "No need!"

The referee blew the whistle. The players took their positions on either side of the center circle. Jun Uozumi and Akagi stood on either side of the referee. Uozumi glanced down at Akagi's left foot, while Akagi looked back expressionlessly.

The two top centers from Kanagawa met each other's eyes like those of a giant ape and a giant gorilla, with flashes of electricity seemingly flying between them.

The whistle blows.

The basketball was tossed vertically upwards, tracing an orange arc.

Akagi and Uozumi jumped off the ground at the same time. Uozumi's fingertips were half a hand's width higher than Akagi's, and he swung his racket towards the backcourt at the highest point.

Seeing Uozumi successfully jump the ball, Kogure frowned. Was Akagi's foot injury still not fully healed?

Koshino Hiroaki received the ball and immediately passed it to Sendoh Akira.

Sendoh dribbled the ball across half-court. He positioned himself at the top of the arc, facing Rukawa's defense. Rukawa lowered his center of gravity, spread his arms, and stared intently at Sendoh.

The entire arena fell silent for a moment; this was the first official match between the two. Sendoh wore that lazy smile, while Rukawa remained expressionless.

Rukawa lowered his center of gravity, assumed a horse stance, and prepared to back down his opponent.

However, the off-road vehicle came from the side and came to a steady stop on Rukawa's right side. It stood with its feet firmly planted and its body slightly turned to the side to set a screen.

Rukawa was momentarily caught by Koshino's body. In that instant, Sendoh lowered his center of gravity and cut past Rukawa from the side, easily dribbling into the paint.

Ryota Miyagi, who was originally marking off-road, moved over to cover for Sendoh. His 168cm height blocked Sendoh's view, and he desperately tried to distract Sendoh with both hands.

Sendoh didn't even bother with a fake move; he pulled up for a jump shot over Miyagi's head. With a flick of his wrist, the ball arced towards the basket.

Swish—the hollow part enters the net.

In the stands, Kenji Fujima's brow twitched slightly.

"Ryonan is intentionally using a pick-and-roll to get Miyagi to switch onto Sendoh, and then Sendoh uses his height advantage to shoot comfortably over Miyagi. This mismatch is very difficult for Shohoku to defend."

Hanagata adjusted his glasses: "With Coach Anzai gone, can Shohoku adjust on their own?"

Fujima didn't answer. He just glanced at the Shohoku bench, where Coach Anzai's photo framed on the empty folding chair stood out starkly under the light.

On the sidelines, Shigeichi Taoka crossed his arms, the smile on his lips slowly deepening.

That's it.

He raised his chin slightly, having already calculated the score in his mind. In the Shohoku team, there was only Miyagi Ryota, a 168cm point guard, whose height disadvantage on the defensive end was an objective fact.

Using Sendoh's omnipotence to precisely exploit Miyagi's height difference was his specially prepared first move against Shohoku.

It wasn't about Uozumi's strong inside attacks, nor Fukuda's cuts. After all, with Akagi and Sakuragi as two defensive anchors in the paint, the best offensive option wasn't inside.

Instead, they used pick-and-roll to force Shohoku to switch defenses, and then had Sendoh mismatch and exploit the shortest link on Shohoku's defense.

Taoka glanced at the empty folding chair on the Shohoku bench, then turned back to look at Miyagi Ryota, who was running back to the backcourt.

"With Coach Anzai absent, how will Shohoku adjust and cope? This is the biggest disadvantage of not having a coach on the court!"

He touched his chin, a mysterious confidence on his face.

>