Finally, the Shohoku basketball team had their first practice game against Ryonan. Their opponent, Ryounan, led by captain Jun Uozumi (“Uozumi”) and big ace Akira Sendo (“Sendo”), is the fiercest team in Kanagawa and Shohoku’s biggest rival. Both captains are fired up with fighting spirit even before the match begins. Nagaregawa, the cool ace, and Sendo, the loose ace who comes in late. What kind of moves these four players and Sakuragi, an amateur, will make is the highlight of this match.
Sakuragi starts on the bench as a secret weapon. The match is intense from the beginning with the four players mentioned earlier. Uozumi’s block completely stops Shohoku’s onslaught, and the ball is in Sendo’s hands. The performance of Sendo, a super high school level player, was outstanding, scoring a goal himself while creating the game with his brilliant assists. Both the players and the coach were in the mood for Ryonan in the early stages of the game.
Two men responded to Ryonan’s words, “We’re going to score 30 points,” and the two men lit up! Will Shohoku fight back?
Main Pillar, Akagi
Ryukawa cut off a pass to Sendo, who was on a roll, and began a counterattack by sampling Sendo’s famous line “Saaiko-ka”. Ryogawa and Akagi, who could not remain silent at Ryonan’s words, began to score more goals.
The Shohoku players, who had been tense and stiff, gradually relaxed and began to play well thanks to Akagi’s defense under the goal and his captain-like communication. Nagaregawa also began to get better, and the team as a whole became more energetic.
This is the role of Akagi, the mainstay of Shohoku! Shohoku is strong because of Akagi’s strong core. The first half ended with a small point difference and the second half began. Sakuragi is gutsy about Sendo, but Sendo also seems to feel something for Sakuragi. Even from the viewpoint of the famous player from Kanagawa, he seems to feel something for Sakuragi.
Dr. Anzai asks Sakuragi to warm up, but then an unexpected accident occurs.
Shohoku Rookie Rampage
Shohoku’s mainstay, Akagi, had an accident that cut his eyelid and had to go down to the bench temporarily. It is up to Hanamichi Sakuragi, the secret weapon, to fill in the inside position left vacant by Akagi.
Sakuragi was nervous for his first match, but he soon got into his stride with the help of Nagarekawa’s ass-kicking. He provokes Ryonan with his signature big mouth and plays with Ryonan with his unusual athletic ability and unpredictable moves (he just doesn’t want to pass the ball to Ryukawa)!
He also inspired Ryukawa, who had been showing some concerns about his physical strength. The two rookies went on a rampage! This puzzled Ryonan’s coach, Mr. Taoka. This was an explosion of Shohoku’s new power. Sakuragi jumped to a height of over 2 meters to grab a rebound from Uozumi, who was over 2 meters taller than Sakuragi. The flow of the game seemed to be Shohoku’s, but …….
Gori and the losers who came back.
Sakuragi shows great performance, but he is still an amateur. He is also starting to lose his rebounding skills, and Ryonan is right on his heels. The hole left by Akagi is large, and Ryonan is slowly pulling away from the team. However, there was a resounding “Chigai~~u~!
“No way~!
and a cry of “Chigai~~u~! Akagi, who had finished stopping the bleeding, had returned. He then sent a message to Sakuragi that his rebounding was not up to par. He takes over with Ryukawa and enters the court.
With Akagi back and the team tightened up, Shohoku began to fight back. Sakuragi also remembers what he was taught and plays as a rebounder. Sendo is a man who hates to lose.
Sento, a genius but an uneven player, was able to score more and more points as Shohoku gained momentum. Sakuragi’s rivalry with Sento is also flared up, and he desperately tries to catch up with Sento.
Watching Sakuragi, Ryukawa, who had been waiting for the last two minutes of the game, also took the court! The last two minutes of the game are now upon us, and the competitive players have gathered to play.
Ryukawa and Sakuragi double-team Sendo on defense. Akira Sendo happily responds. Director Taoka says, “I have never seen Sendo play so happily. Sendo, who innovated that they could be rivals in the near future, goes all out to beat them.
Sento overtook the two and immediately went into a three-way formation. Akagi and Ryukawa’s help did not arrive in time, and at the moment it looked as if they would be pushed out,
Sakuragi, who had returned immediately, blocked Sento from behind! Nagarekawa then made a 3 to bring the score back to 1 point. With only a few minutes remaining, Ryonan slowly turned the ball over. Akagi steals the ball and passes it immediately to Ryukawa, who runs onto the ball and receives a pass from Sakuragi.
Sakuragi is free and dashes to the bottom of the goal, and a slam dunk comes to mind. However, Sakuragi regains his composure at Haruko’s call and scores with a “commoner’s shot,” a weapon he has learned to use!
He succeeds in turning the game around! The Shohoku members are elated. However, Sento, who has not given up yet, sneaks up on them. In the end, Sendo’s double clutch shot in mid-air, which allowed Akagi and Nagaregawa to cross each other and score a goal, ended in defeat in Shohoku’s first game.
Despite the defeat, Shohoku showed their power clearly against Sendo and Ryonan led by coach Taoka. They left Ryonan with a vow to play another match at the Inter-High School Championships.
After the match, Sakuragi heads out to buy a new bash with a sense of regret and confidence in his progress.
