Takenori Akagi is 197cm tall and weighs 93kg. His physical attributes are definitely top-notch among center forwards in Kanagawa.

He became fascinated with basketball in elementary school and poured all his passion into it, training relentlessly. As a result, his basketball fundamentals are very solid, and he excels in both offense and defense.

His excellent physical qualities, solid basic skills, coupled with Akagi Takenori's firm belief and tenacious will, have earned him the reputation of being the best center forward in Kanagawa Prefecture.

However, compared to his powerful offense under the basket, his impenetrable defensive skills are his greatest strength.

At this moment, he stood inside the three-point line, waiting for Sakuragi Hanamichi's attack.

Sakuragi Hanamichi, standing in midfield, dribbled the basketball, intently watching Akagi Takenori.

As a time traveler, Sakuragi Hanamichi was well aware of Akagi Takenori's terrifying defensive abilities.

Moreover, at this point, Sakuragi Hanamichi only knew simple dribbling and powerful dunks under the basket.

He can't do any of those things: mid-range shots, layups, three-pointers, or fancy dribbling!

Now, facing Takenori Akagi, it seems the only way to break through is the method that Hanamichi Sakuragi came up with in the anime.

He unexpectedly slammed the ball towards the backboard, and before Akagi Takenori could react, he quickly rushed towards the backboard, grabbed the rebound, and then slammed it down!

But now there is a very tricky problem.

That is, in the anime, after Sakuragi Hanamichi slammed the ball towards the backboard, Akagi Takenori was the first to grab the rebound. However, the Sakuragi Hanamichi in the anime was cheating, and he actually managed to grab the basketball that Akagi Takenori was already holding in mid-air, and then slammed the ball and himself into the basketball hoop.

Honestly, this is so illogical!

Sakuragi Hanamichi now seriously doubts whether he can do the same.

After all, many things were different from those in the anime after he came to this world, such as the delinquent youths and Aota Tatsuhiko coming to the basketball court to snatch players, and so on.

If he manages to slam the ball into the backboard and Akagi Takenori still manages to grab the rebound first, he won't be able to pull off the amazing feat of slamming the ball and himself into the basketball hoop in mid-air.

Then he would have absolutely no chance of getting past Akagi Takenori's defense today.

You could say he only has one chance.

He had to make sure he could hit the ball on the first try and score with a dunk!

After some thought, Sakuragi Hanamichi decided not to use that move yet, but to wait for an opportunity to use it unexpectedly.

Bang bang bang.

Sakuragi Hanamichi dribbled the ball towards Akagi Takenori.

"Captain Akagi, I know you're a very strong defender," Sakuragi Hanamichi said earnestly.

Akagi Takenori smiled slightly and said, "Whether it's strong or not, we'll only know after we try."

At the same time, Takenori Akagi spread out his long arms and assumed a defensive stance.

Clearly, Takenori Akagi is in a good mood right now because he doesn't have to think about any messy things.

At this moment, everything depends on basketball skills!

As Kanagawa Prefecture’s top center, Takenori Akagi is confident that he can completely defend against Hanamichi Sakuragi, a beginner, and prevent Sakuragi from scoring a single basket!

Akagi Takenori's radiant and spirited state also inspired Sakuragi Hanamichi's desire to challenge him.

Since arriving in this world and experiencing Sakuragi Hanamichi's monstrous physical abilities, I have never faced a true powerhouse.

Come on, gorilla, let's see if your physical abilities are stronger, or mine, Sakuragi Hanamichi's.

At this moment, Sakuragi Hanamichi decided to go head-to-head first.

Close-range, powerful strikes!

This style of play is usually a duel between two centers, and it's only used under the basket.

It's all about who's stronger and has more power.

You're going to play defense, huh? I'll stick close to your body and attack!

I'll push you back step by step, until I'm under the basket, then I'll turn and shoot!

At the three-point line, dribbling past opponents usually involves fancy dribbling techniques or passing the ball to a teammate, then quickly repositioning to evade the opponent's defense and receive the pass again.

Alternatively, if you have a strong pitching ability, you can first make a fake move to fool the opponent's defense, and then get up to throw the ball.

However, Sakuragi Hanamichi currently lacks both fancy dribbling skills and the ability to shoot.

After much thought, he decided to use his monstrous physical abilities to have a head-on clash with Akagi Takenori!

At this moment, Sakuragi Hanamichi had already turned sideways and pressed against Akagi Takenori, and began to exert force, trying to push Akagi Takenori towards the basketball hoop step by step.

To be honest, Akagi Takenori was also quite shocked. He had never seen anyone so close and aggressive against him from the three-point line.

After a brief moment of shock, Takenori Akagi's lips curled into a smile. "Sakuragi, I thought you were going to try to get past me with your speed or take a long-range shot to try your luck, but I didn't expect you to choose this method to counter my defense. You know what? My strongest point is close-marking defense!"

Sakuragi Hanamichi smiled and said, "Oh? Is that so? Then let's see who's stronger!"

After saying that, Sakuragi Hanamichi began to exert his strength.

The instant their bodies clashed, Sakuragi Hanamichi clearly felt as if he had hit a wall! He couldn't budge it at all!

As expected of a gorilla! Truly powerful!

So Sakuragi Hanamichi continued to exert his strength!

My basketball fundamentals may not be as good as yours, Akagi Takenori, but when it comes to strength, I, Sakuragi Hanamichi, am definitely on par with you!

At the same time, Takenori Akagi was also very shocked.

He hadn't expected Sakuragi Hanamichi's impact to be so powerful; at the moment the two collided, he almost broke through his defenses!

Perhaps only Jun Uozumi of Ryonan has the ability to do this?

As a result, Akagi Takenori, who had previously underestimated Sakuragi Hanamichi, now completely stopped underestimating him and devoted himself wholeheartedly to defense.

"Oh my god! I never expected Sakuragi Hanamichi to choose this method to counter Captain Akagi's defense."

"Yeah! I doubt anyone on our basketball team could use their physical strength like that to get so close and tough on Captain Akagi."

"Sakuragi Hanamichi looks amazing!"

"Yes! If he could join our basketball team, our interior defense would be even more solid!"

"That's right!"

The members of the Shohoku basketball team were all talking excitedly.

Even the taciturn Rukawa Kaede was watching intently as Akagi Takenori and Sakuragi Hanamichi were locked in close combat.

To be fair, Rukawa Kaede believes he himself cannot do that kind of close-quarters, forceful attack against Akagi Takenori.

Therefore, he felt that this red-haired Sakuragi Hanamichi was indeed very strong in some respects.

Kogure Kiminobu was also watching Sakuragi Hanamichi's movements intently, and he increasingly felt that Sakuragi Hanamichi was exactly the kind of talent the basketball team needed.

Aota Tatsuhiko shared the same idea as Kogure Kiminobu. Aota Tatsuhiko clenched his fist, thinking that he must find a way to get Sakuragi Hanamichi into the judo team!

Yohei Mito and others shouted and cheered with all their might.

"Good luck with your flower arrangement!"

"Hanamichi, show the ferocity you have when you fight, don't back down!"

...

Haruko Akagi's eyes sparkled; she hadn't expected Hanamichi Sakuragi to be so strong!