Only Nobunaga Kiyota, with his refusal to admit defeat even if it killed him, could have kept going. Anyone else would have surrendered by now.
He thought he should hold on a little longer. Even scoring just one basket would be something.
Nobunaga Kiyota's persistence also pleased Satoshi Ichinokura. He wanted to take this opportunity to show the people of Kanagawa Prefecture why Sannoh Industrial High School had remained dominant nationwide.
Ten minutes later, Nobunaga Kiyota had exhausted all his strength without scoring a single basket. He lay helplessly on the ground, gasping for breath.
For those last five attempts, Nobunaga Kiyota had already given up hoping to penetrate inside and score in the way he did best.
Nobunaga Kiyota had started taking three-point jump shots over Satoshi Ichinokura's defense, which amounted to gambling on luck.
But luck seemed to be on Satoshi Ichinokura's side today. Nobunaga Kiyota had been shut out.
Once the game ended, Shinichi Maki walked up to Satoshi Ichinokura and said graciously, "Thank you very much for helping coach my junior."
Satoshi Ichinokura still respected Shinichi Maki. He nodded and quietly apologized.
"Sorry about that, Shinichi Maki. We'll be leaving now."
"All right. See you at the National Tournament!"
Only after the spectators dispersed did Shinichi Maki pull Nobunaga Kiyota to his feet.
Shinichi Maki had no intention of blaming Nobunaga Kiyota. He simply brushed the dust off him and then said,
"Kiyota, let's go back and get some extra practice!"
At the train station, Ryota Kudo saw off the Sannoh Industrial High School players and prepared to head straight back to Shohoku High School.
It wasn't that Ryota Kudo was a masochist who liked nothing besides studying and basketball. There really weren't many entertainment options in this era, and they didn't suit him either.
For example, the five members of the Sakuragi Gang loved playing the little steel-ball game known as "pachinko" more than anything else.
It was a little game that could leave many Japanese men penniless, yet it was legally available in convenience stores everywhere.
Whenever the Sakuragi Gang earned money from their part-time jobs, they would stay in convenience stores playing pachinko, even if it meant having no money left for food.
As he walked toward Shohoku High School, Ryota Kudo thought about Satoshi Ichinokura's terrifying performance in that one-on-one game.
That game had given Ryota Kudo quite a shock. It wasn't that Satoshi Ichinokura could shut him down just because he could shut down Nobunaga Kiyota. Ryota Kudo was still confident he could handle him.
Rather, Satoshi Ichinokura's "mad dog" style of defense drained the offensive player's stamina, and that worried Ryota Kudo a little.
When it came to perimeter defense, Satoshi Ichinokura was undoubtedly the strongest, but Ryota Kudo had absolutely no intention of copying his defensive techniques.
That relentless, hounding style of defense consumed tremendous stamina. Satoshi Ichinokura dared to play that way because he was a pure defensive player, and the team didn't need him to contribute on offense.
Ryota Kudo was different. He needed to save more stamina to participate in the offense.
That was why a defensive approach relying on defensive awareness suited Ryota Kudo better.
At an intersection not far from Shohoku High School, Ryota Kudo spotted Haruko Akagi and her two close friends.
That wasn't the important part. The important part was that a blond guy was blocking their path and saying something to them.
That blond guy was, of course, Koichiro Nango. He had clearly lost his bet with Hanamichi Sakuragi and was supposed to stop pestering Haruko Akagi. Why he had appeared here was anyone's guess.
"Hey! Koichiro Nango, what the hell are you doing here? Don't harass Haruko!"
Ryota Kudo naturally couldn't stand by and watch a blond guy harass the goddess of the Slam Dunk world. He shouted and ran over in long strides.
"Don't get the wrong idea, Kudo! I'm not here to harass Haruko Akagi. I came to apologize!" Koichiro Nango hurriedly explained in fright.
Although he was much more muscular than Ryota Kudo, Ryota Kudo's terrifying performance on the court had intimidated Koichiro Nango. He really was a little afraid of him.
"Really?" Ryota Kudo eyed Koichiro Nango suspiciously, then turned to Haruko Akagi and asked,
"Is that true, Haruko? Don't be afraid. If this blond guy dares to harass you, I definitely won't let him get away with it!"
"It's true, Kudo. He came to apologize." As Haruko Akagi spoke, two hearts suddenly appeared in her eyes. "Thank you, Kudo, for coming over especially to protect us."
Haruko Akagi could be described as a little boy-crazy, drawn to strength, and a sucker for good looks. This had been shown many times in the anime.
With his solid basketball skills and looks that rivaled Kaede Rukawa's, Ryota Kudo was naturally her type too.
Faced with Haruko Akagi like this, Ryota Kudo's scalp prickled. He had only one thought now: run.
"As long as you're okay, Haruko. I'll be off, then. If you think there are any bad guys around, remember to tell Captain Akagi."
With that, Ryota Kudo was off like a shot.
As far as Haruko Akagi was concerned, Ryota Kudo most hoped she would end up with Hanamichi Sakuragi. He had shipped that couple for years.
If Haruko Akagi ended up with Kaede Rukawa instead, that would still be acceptable.
As long as she didn't wind up marrying someone like Nozomi Takamiya or Koichiro Nango.
Soon, it was time for the Shohoku High School vs. Shoyo High School Quarterfinal.
Unlike before, when the players had made their own way to the venue, the school had arranged several buses this time.
Shohoku High School, which was not known for basketball, had made it into Kanagawa Prefecture's top eight, and the school administration had begun taking it seriously.
Not only had they arranged buses to transport the Shohoku Basketball Team's players, but the school had also organized a cheerleading squad of over forty people to cheer Shohoku High School on at the venue.
Inside the bus, Hanamichi Sakuragi was bouncing around smugly.
"Pops! This genius gets to start today, right? You're not going to make me come off the bench again, are you?" Hanamichi Sakuragi kept flicking Coach Anzai's plump cheeks, which looked very satisfying to touch.
But Hanamichi Sakuragi was the only one who dared do anything like that. The others still showed Coach Anzai basic respect.
Coach Anzai didn't answer and simply smiled kindly. He was actually very fond of Hanamichi Sakuragi.
In the end, Takenori Akagi punched Hanamichi Sakuragi on the head. Akagi grabbed him and dragged him to the back of the bus.
"Sorry, Coach Anzai. I'll teach this idiot a proper lesson."
"Ho ho ho ho. It's all right, Akagi. Sakuragi is just full of energy," Coach Anzai said with a smile. The atmosphere within the Shohoku team was quite harmonious.
Unlike his earlier relaxed state, Hisashi Mitsui sat there without a word this year. His body was tense, and he looked extremely nervous.
Ryota Kudo, who was sitting beside Hisashi Mitsui, smiled and put an arm around his shoulders.
"Why the long face, Mitsui? Worried about today's game?"
Hisashi Mitsui shook his head, his slightly nervous expression turning confident.
"We're not going to lose. I was thinking that I have to score thirty points on Kazushi Hasegawa today!"
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