Akira Sendoh's stunning goal once again changed the score.
At this moment, Ryonan has 87 points and Shohoku has 86 points.
Ryonan team takes the lead again.
However, there were only 2 seconds left in the game!
Kogure Kiminobu quickly passed the basketball to Akagi Takenori, but by the time the basketball reached Akagi Takenori, there was only 1 second left.
Meanwhile, all the Ryonan players were tightly marking the Shohoku players, and Takenori Akagi couldn't even find an opportunity to pass the ball.
"drop!"
The referee blew his whistle, and the match ended.
At that moment, the Ryonan players roared with jubilation, "We won! We won! That's great!"
Ryoji Ikegami and Hiroaki Koshino immediately gave each other a bear hug to celebrate their victory!
Jun Uozumi grinned. Although he hadn't truly defeated Takenori Akagi, Ryonan had still won against Shohoku. Basketball wasn't just about individual pride; it was about the overall result.
Even Sendoh Akira breathed a long sigh of relief. Although he had been very excited and happy during the fight, he had to admit that he had given his all in that final attack, after all, it was a one-against-three situation!
Especially when Sakuragi Hanamichi's monstrous finger actually touched the basketball, Sendoh Akira was really worried that the ball would miss and Ryonan would really lose the game.
At that moment, Sendoh Akira glanced at Sakuragi Hanamichi. This Sakuragi Hanamichi was truly unfathomable.
Despite the cheers and celebrations from the Ryonan team's bench, Coach Taoka slumped into his chair, exclaiming, "My God! I never expected this match to go this far. If it weren't for Sendoh's last goal, we would have lost this game."
Then, Coach Taoka looked at Coach Anzai and muttered, "As expected of Coach Anzai! He managed to train the Shohoku team, which only had Akagi Takenori and Rukawa Kaede, to be like this. Oh, no, and Sakuragi Hanamichi too..."
At that moment, Coach Taoka recalled his opening statement that he "must beat Shohoku by at least 30 points," and couldn't help but chuckle to himself, "It seems Sendoh was right before; Shohoku isn't as weak as I thought."
While the Ryonan team was celebrating their victory with great joy, the Shohoku team remained completely silent.
Everyone on the Shohoku bench stood up, but no one could say a word. Something seemed to be flickering in their eyes. They pursed their lips, gritted their teeth, and looked at their teammates on the court with heavy expressions.
The five Shohoku players on the court—Takenori Akagi, Hanamichi Sakuragi, Kaede Rukawa, Kiminobu Kogure, and Yasuharu Yasuda—had already tried their best and even helped the team overtake Ryonan twice.
In the end, Shohoku still lost to Ryonan.
Even the eldest sister, Ayako, plopped down on a stool at this moment, hunching over and supporting her chin with her arms and legs, remaining silent.
Haruko Akagi looked at her brother Takenori Akagi and Hanamichi Sakuragi with heartache, and murmured, "Brother, Hanamichi, you..."
At this moment, Mito Yohei and his fellow Sakuragi Army brothers didn't know how to comfort Sakuragi Hanamichi.
Takamiya Nozomi tentatively said in a soft voice, "Brothers, how about we..."
But Yohei Mito waved his hand and said in a deep voice, "No! Let's stand here and wait for Hanamichi. I believe that Hanamichi is not the kind of man who will lose confidence because of a single loss in a match."
At that moment, Takenori Akagi addressed Sakuragi Hanamichi, Rukawa Kaede, Kogure Kiminobu, and Yasuda Yasuharu on the field: "Everyone, line up."
In any competition, there will always be winners and losers. Once the results are in, you should learn to accept them calmly.
However, Shohoku's performance in this game was indeed quite good.
You know, Ryonan team was one of the top four teams in Kanagawa Prefecture last year!
What is Shohoku? Last year, Shohoku was not even ranked. That's why Coach Taoka shouted at the beginning that he would beat Shohoku by 30 points!
The fact that Shohoku managed to push Ryonan to this point and only lost by one point is quite an honorable defeat.
Kogure Kiminobu let out a soft sigh of relief and said frankly, "Akagi, although I'm very unwilling, we are really much better than last year."
Akagi Takenori nodded and looked at Sakuragi Hanamichi and Rukawa Kaede standing to the side.
To everyone's surprise, Rukawa Kaede seemed to be acting strangely.
Sakuragi Hanamichi frowned and asked with concern, "Rukawa Kaede, are you alright?"
Rukawa Kaede clenched his fists, staring intently at Sendoh Akira's retreating figure, and said, "So close! Just a little bit more!"
Upon hearing this, Sakuragi Hanamichi was shocked. He hadn't expected Sendoh Akira to have such a strong impact on Rukawa Kaede today.
Sakuragi Hanamichi walked over to Rukawa Kaede, gently patted him on the shoulder, and comforted him, "Good brother, you played exceptionally well today. Without you, Sendoh's score would have been much higher. And that pass you just gave me was so cool! Our teamwork is amazing!"
Rukawa Kaede was not discouraged by Sendoh Akira's amazing performance; he was simply reflecting on how he should have done better!
But undeniably, Sakuragi Hanamichi's words did gradually dispel Rukawa Kaede's previously conflicted expression, and Rukawa Kaede nodded, "Yeah, your dunk was great too."
Then, Sakuragi Hanamichi walked over to Yasuda Yasuharu and patted him on the shoulder, saying, "Hey bro, that three-pointer of yours was amazing too!"
Yasuda Yasuharu grinned sheepishly. "Oh, not at all. You were the most surprising one today, Sakuragi. Your performance today was really amazing, full of fighting spirit."
Sakuragi Hanamichi grinned smugly and said proudly, "Of course! I'm going to be a genius basketball player!"
Immediately, Sakuragi Hanamichi burst into laughter.
Everyone could tell that Sakuragi Hanamichi was joking; he wanted to lighten the mood and comfort his teammates who had lost the game.
Akagi Takenori said earnestly, "Sakuragi, you did really well today. Keep it up."
Sakuragi Hanamichi nodded and raised his fist.
Haruko Akagi, watching from the sidelines, saw Sakuragi Hanamichi comforting his teammates and trying to liven up the atmosphere, and her eyes involuntarily welled up with tears. "Hanamichi, at a time like this, you're still thinking about comforting others..."
Haruko Akagi even felt an urge to rush up and hug Hanamichi Sakuragi; she wanted to comfort him!
At this moment, Coach Anzai unusually addressed all the players, saying, "Everyone performed very well today. This match was very meaningful. Now, let's go back."
Upon hearing Coach Anzai's voice, everyone on the Shohoku team seemed to have received a magical calming and pain-relieving pill. Their initial disappointment vanished instantly, replaced by a serious reflection on the game and a commitment to continuous improvement.
Coach Taoka led the Ryonan players to say goodbye to Coach Anzai.
Coach Taoka bowed respectfully and said, "Coach Anzai, thank you very much!"
Coach Anzai smiled and said, "Not at all, we're just learning from each other. Well then, we'll take our leave."
Look up
Sunshine, cicadas chirping, sea breeze, blue sky, white clouds.
A peaceful summer.
The adorable, chubby Coach Anzai led a group of burly men toward the tram station.
Suddenly, Sakuragi Hanamichi turned around abruptly in the crowd and shouted, "Hey! Sendoh! I was serious about what I said about fishing. I'll come fishing with you sometime!"
Sendoh Akira smiled and waved to Sakuragi Hanamichi.
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