Slam Dunk: Sakuragi learned from Kawamura Eiki's experience

Chapter 91 Gorilla, you're on the bench!

Ryonan is on offense. After dribbling the ball across half-court, Sendoh Akira almost immediately lobs it into the paint.

Jun Uozumi positioned himself low on the left, backing down Akagi Takenori, caught the ball with both hands, and leaned back. Akagi braced his left foot on the ground, stepped back half a step with his right foot to brace himself, and clenched his teeth.

Uozumi made two consecutive post-up moves, his shoulder slamming into Akagi's chest with a dull thud, pushing Akagi all the way to the basket. Uozumi gathered the ball, turned towards the baseline, and raised it overhead with his right hand.

Sakuragi Hanamichi lunged at the weak side again. He immediately abandoned Fukuda Kichijou, his red buzz cut leaving a trail of afterimages under the lights. He leaped up, his right arm extended to its limit, aiming to block Uozumi's attack point.

Just as Uozumi was about to jump, he saw Sakuragi rushing towards him, and he also saw Fukuda Kichijou, who was completely left out of the way behind Sakuragi.

He pulled his right wrist back and flicked the ball away from under Sakuragi's blocking hand.

Fukuda received the ball on the right side of the basket. With no defender in front of him, he jumped up, raised the ball overhead with one hand, and slammed it into the basket.

The basketball hoop gave a dull thud.

8:0.

The Shohoku support area in the stands was silent for a full second.

They were down 8-0 at the start. Coach Anzai wasn't there, no one called a timeout, no one made substitutions, and no one told them what to do.

The five players from Shohoku stood on the court, each with a look of anxiety on their face.

Ryota Miyagi dribbled past half-court, his gaze once again sweeping over the paint as usual. Akagi was being held back by Uozumi, Rukawa was being closely marked by Sendoh, and Mitsui was being stuck to Ikegami.

Then he saw Sakuragi Hanamichi raise his hand for the ball beyond the three-point line on the wing. Not positioning himself inside, but beyond the three-point line. Miyagi gritted his teeth and passed the ball to him.

Sakuragi received the ball and faced Fukuda Kichijou's closing defense. He lowered his center of gravity, pushed off with his right foot, and made a strong drive from Fukuda's left side. He took two steps to the right side of the free-throw line, stopped abruptly, and jumped.

At the highest point of the flick of the wrist, the ball traces a flat arc and bounces off the backboard into the basket.

The Shohoku bench finally erupted in cheers.

8-2. Shohoku finally broke their scoring drought.

Taoka Shigeichi stood on the sidelines with his arms crossed and a wide grin on his face.

That's exactly what he was waiting for; Sakuragi pulled out and shot. That was the right move. With a 23-man zone defense tightly guarding the paint, Shohoku could only pass the ball around on the perimeter if Sakuragi didn't come out.

But making a mid-range shot only stops the bleeding, it's not a cure. If Coach Anzai were there, he would probably substitute Miyagi and bring in Kiminobu Kogure.

Adding a shooter who can hit three-pointers to the outside will stretch the defense wide, and with Sakuragi and Akagi protecting the boards inside, Ryonan's 2-3 zone defense will be torn apart.

But Coach Anzai isn't here today. Nobody will make that substitution decision.

More importantly, once Sakuragi pulls out of the paint, he's no longer inside. Plus, Akagi's not in form right now. That means the rebound is Ryonan's.

Ryonan's rebounding advantage became crucial to the outcome of the game.

The game continued. Ryonan attacked, and Sendoh directed his teammates' movements from the top of the arc. He gestured to his teammates to spread out further. Ryonan's formation quickly dispersed, clearing the paint for Uozumi and Akagi to play one-on-one.

Uozumi receives the ball, backs down, turns and jumps, the ball bounces off the backboard and goes in.

In the next round, Ryonan used the same tactic again. Koshino came up to set a screen for Sendoh, and Miyagi switched to defend Sendoh, who then pulled up for a jump shot over his head.

In the next possession, Sakuragi's long two-pointer missed under the double-team of Fukuda and Koshino, and the rebound was grabbed by Akagi after being blocked by Uozumi. Sendoh launched a fast break and passed the ball to Fukuda for a layup.

In the next possession, Mitsui Hisashi made a run without the ball, using Sakuragi's screen to receive the ball on the baseline and took a jump shot. Ikegami rushed in from his side, interfering with his shooting angle with his fingers. The ball bounced off the rim.

Under the basket, Jun Uozumi's rear end dipped low, firmly pinning Akagi behind him, and he grabbed the rebound at the highest point of his hand. Landing, he passed the ball to Sendoh, who leisurely dribbled past half-court and lobbed it back to the basket. Uozumi backed down, turned, and shot a jumper. The ball went in.

The score went back and forth, but the gap between the two teams was slowly widening due to Ryonan's more coordinated defense and Uozumi's rebounding advantage.

The first half has reached the 9th minute. Shohoku 11:23 Ryonan.

A 12-point difference.

Mitsui Hisashi stood with his hands on his hips, his chest heaving. He glanced at the scoreboard, then turned and grabbed Akagi Takenori's jersey.

His voice boomed from his throat: "Akagi—what the hell are you doing?!"

Akagi stumbled forward half a step as he was pulled, then lowered his head and remained silent. Mitsui's fingers gripped even tighter.

"Look at the state you've become! You can't score on offense! You get completely outplayed on defense! You can't even grab rebounds! Are you sleepwalking?!"

"Requesting a pause!"

Seeing the conflict and argument between Mitsui and Akagi on the field, Kogure hurriedly ran to the technical table to request a timeout.

"Whoosh—!" The referee's whistle blew! Shohoku called a timeout.

In the stands, Kenji Fujima frowned slightly as he watched the Shohoku team head towards the bench.

"Coach Anzai's absence already had a significant impact on Shohoku."

As captain, the team's spiritual core, and their pillar in the paint, Akagi's off-form has a double impact on the team.

Hanagata glanced at Akagi, who was drinking water on the bench: "The point difference is only 12 points, and the game is still going to last a long time."

"no the same."

Fujima interrupted him, his gaze falling on the tall, silent figure on the Shohoku bench.

"Akagi isn't a role player. He's Shohoku's anchor. If the anchor is loose, the whole ship will drift."

If Akagi doesn't quickly regain his form and stabilize the situation, the championship will belong to Ryonan.

On Ryonan's bench, Taoka's smile grew wider and wider. Looking at the Ryonan players who had gathered around him, he said, "That's it. Continue to let Uozumi be the main attacker inside, spread out and let him do one-on-one. Akagi isn't in form today, this is a great opportunity."

After glancing at the opposing Shohoku bench, he analyzed to his teammates: "Shohoku's lineup has Sakuragi and Rukawa as first-year students, Mitsui and Miyagi having a break from playing, Akagi not in form, and Coach Anzai not on the court. They will be in a leaderless state."

Keep it up! Don't hold back! Try to extend the lead to over 20 points by halftime and beat them in one fell swoop!

The atmosphere in front of the Shohoku bench was heavy, making Yasuda and the others afraid to even breathe.

But everyone's gaze fell on Akagi Takenori, who sat silently in his chair.

Akagi Takenori sat on the bench, his hands supporting his knees, looking down at the floor, and remained silent for several seconds.

"Don't waste your time pausing on things like this," Akagi said. His voice was deep and muffled, as if he were talking to himself.

Mitsui whirled around: "We need to use it now! If we don't, it'll be too late! Look at yourself—we're down by 12 points! 12 points! If you keep going like this, are we going to hand the game over?"

Just then, Sakuragi Hanamichi suddenly spoke up.

"Gorilla." Akagi looked up. Sakuragi's face didn't have a playful expression, only a matter-of-fact seriousness.

"I have a suggestion: you sit on the bench for now. Let Glasses Bro play. Once I've completely crushed that Monkey Boss on the other side, you can come on and reap the benefits. What do you think of that?"

"Anyway, we've already got our ticket to the national tournament, so losing this match won't be a big deal."

Mitsui put down his water bottle and immediately added insult to injury: "I agree with Sakuragi's method. Akagi should rest for now."

Upon hearing that he, the captain, was to be benched, Akagi immediately lost face. He jumped up from the bench, glared at Sakuragi, and roared like thunder: "Who wants to sit on the bench and take advantage of the situation?!"