Yo Aoki stopped and wiped his sweat. "I know, but it's okay. I can't play now, but I can still play when I go to high school."
Shirota sighed, head down. "The training intensity in high school is on a completely different level from ours. I went to watch the Kanagawa tournament last year, when Kainan played against Shoyo. The pace was incredibly fast. Aoki, I'm not trying to discourage you, but you've only just started playing basketball. No matter how much you practice, you're no match for them."
After listening, Yo Aoki leaned closer to Shirota, stared into his eyes, and said, "I've suffered a lot, basketball is the only thing that makes me happy. It's my dream, and I will never give up."
Shirota stood there, speechless for a long time.
Yo Aoki chuckled inwardly; that performance just now was quite convincing.
He patted Shirota on the shoulder. "Did you see the match between Kainan and Shoyo? Weren't you shocked by Shinichi Maki? Tell me just how awesome Shinichi Maki."
Shirota asked in surprise, " Aoki -kun, you know Shinichi Maki?"
Yo Aoki laughed, "Of course, I also know Kenji Fujima from Shoyo. Don't call me Aoki- kun anymore, we're teammates."
"Okay," Shirota replied, but then suddenly frowned. " Aoki, you've only just started playing basketball. If you only focus on physical training, your physical fitness will improve, but basketball isn't just about physical fitness. If you train like this too much, your muscles will stiffen and your flexibility will suffer."
He pulled out his notebook, turned to a page. "These past few days you've averaged three sets of frog jumps, five sets of shuttle runs, five sets of sprint runs, and three sets of interval runs every day. These are all physically demanding activities. You need to understand that basketball is about skill; just training your physical fitness won't help."
Yo Aoki's performance these past few days has indeed changed Shirota's opinion. Perhaps it's because he's a teammate of the same grade, or perhaps it's because Shirota feels guilty for not letting Yo Aoki join the team before, but he wants to give him a helping hand.
"Thank you for reminding me." Yo Aoki sincerely thanked him, but not wanting to dwell on it, he changed the subject. "When you watched the Kainan vs. Shoyo game, did you see Takenori Akagi from Shohoku?"
Shirota thought for a moment, " Shohoku is a prefectural high school in Kanagawa Prefecture. Their strength is average. I don't remember this Takenori Akagi. Is he very good?"
Yo Aoki stared at the basketball on the sidelines and said, " Takenori Akagi, 1.97 meters tall, center, should be the strongest center in Kanagawa, and top-tier even nationally."
Shirota exclaimed in surprise, "Impossible! How could someone this strong be at Shohoku? How could Kainan and Shoyo not use such a good prospect?"
Yo Aoki recalled how Akagi made frequent mistakes when he first Shohoku Akagi in the manga and faced off against Hisashi Mitsui, and couldn't help but laugh out loud, "Haha, yes, they missed out on such a formidable opponent."
After saying goodbye to Shirota, Yo Aoki walked home while bouncing the ball.
Shirota's advice about training causing muscle stiffness was perfectly clear to Yo Aoki, so he planned to do high-intensity anaerobic training at school during the day and aerobic and flexibility training in the morning and evening, since he had received professional training before his transmigration.
After a week of training, Yo Aoki clearly felt that his ball control and stamina had improved a lot. In addition to his training methods, his body also performed well. On the first day of training, he found that his explosiveness, jumping ability and balance were far beyond those of ordinary people.
"Now I can slowly start technical training. With my current physique, I need to try more intense training methods and plan it out carefully."
After finishing his basketball practice, Yo Aoki stopped by the convenience store where he had bought the magazine last time. He peeked through the window and saw that " Basketball Weekly " had been updated, but the cover featured international basketball. After all, there were no cell phones or internet at that time, so the only way to find out about basketball news was through newspapers and magazines.
He wondered if this issue would feature teams from other counties. After all, neither the manga nor the anime gave much attention to teams from other counties, only mentioning a few ace players.
Furthermore, Yo Aoki really wants to know is which team will win the championship in the story's final year. Some people guessed it would be Meihou Industrial, but it's said that the original author denied that, so the rest are just speculating about Hakata Shodai Affiliated School or Daiei Academy.
But this is the real world; anything is possible.
The convenience store door was pushed open, and the clerk, Asatani, saw a student walk in with a basketball.
"How come this student is so tall!" Asatani watched him walk towards the magazine counter and suddenly felt he looked familiar. Wasn't this the blond kid from before? He'd shaved his head? And he was playing basketball? Could it be that my righteous aura last time turned this problem student into a sporty good student? Although I didn't know how Asatani could tell, I guess her intuition was right.
Asatani greeted him with a smile, "Guest, you've changed so much since you left last time!"
Yo Aoki was stunned for a moment, but then he remembered that it was the magazine he bought here that made him realize he had transmigrated into the world of Slam Dunk, so he sighed, "Yeah, this place has really changed my life."
Watching Yo Aoki pay and leave, Asatani felt a surge of accomplishment, secretly encouraging herself. "I want to let more people know that justice exists!"
Back home, Yo Aoki practiced his balance while pondering his upcoming training plan. He tossed aside the weekly magazine he had just bought; it was full of introductions to European and American team players, with nothing of interest to him—completely useless.
We still have to dig it ourselves!
The next day, on the school playground, Shirota called out to Yo Aoki, who was jogging. " Aoki, the high school basketball finals start this Sunday, want to go?"
"No training on Sunday?" Yo Aoki was somewhat tempted.
"Just tell the coach, after all, we're both third-year students." Shirota confidently.
"No problem, which school's match is on Sunday?" Actually, what Yo Aoki really wanted to see was Kainan vs. Shoyo. This year's Kainan was much stronger than in the original story, and he wanted to see how Fujima's Shoyo would deal with this ever-victorious team.
Shirota pulled out his notebook and read aloud, "First, it's Takezato vs. Ryonan, then the highly anticipated clash between the reigning champions Kainan, and Shoyo."
Seeing Shirota's envious look, Yo Aoki laughed, "At fifteen years old, you already love to think about these things." He then started imagining the competition himself.
Early Sunday morning, Yo Aoki and Shirota arrived at the Kanagawa Gymnasium. The stadium was packed with people, bustling with activity; as expected of a finals match, the attendance was incredibly high. On either side of the stands were the cheerleading squads for the four teams, and most prominently displayed were two giant banners that read "Ever-Victorious" and "Fighting Spirit."
After finding his seat, Yo Aoki looked around, hoping to see if anyone looked familiar, but the stadium was too crowded, and he couldn't find anyone. Just then, the stadium's loudspeaker announced the start of the game and invited a leader from the Kanagawa Prefecture Ministry of Education to give a speech. Five minutes later, the curtain officially rose on the high school basketball finals.
The first match today is Ryonan vs. Takezato. Yo Aoki is very familiar with Ryonan, after all, Sendoh's strength is top-notch in this world. He is also interested in Takezato. Takezato Kanagawa, he only knows one player named Murakima. Yayoi Aida said in the storyline, " Takezato isn't always a weak team. It's only been one year, and the difference in strength is so great." Will this match bring a surprise? Yo Aoki is a little excited.
The match began, and the two teams played fiercely. It wasn't as one-sided as it was in the original storyline; both sides had their chances of attacking and defending. Ryonan's offense was still initiated by Sendoh. Despite being only a first-year student, Sendoh already showed the composure of a great general, single-handedly carrying Ryonan's offense.
Sendoh and Kaede Rukawa are a bit like each other now, only knowing how to charge and attack recklessly. But as they both said, "Your outstanding one-on-one ability will actually hinder Shohoku from winning." Basketball games ultimately rely on teamwork.
"So strong." Yo Aoki slowly uttered two words, realizing he had underestimated their strength. Yo Aoki originally thought that with his basketball skills from his previous life, he could easily dominate the high school basketball scene, but Sendoh's current performance had completely woken him up. He had to work hard; he didn't have much time left.
The final buzzer sounded, and Ryonan defeated Takezato 63-59. Takezato relied on his accurate mid-range and long-range shooting to keep the score close, but Ryonan had many problems, and Uozumi's defense was indeed quite good.
However, their offense was practically nonexistent, and the rest of their teammates lacked accuracy and couldn't capitalize on scoring opportunities. This Ryonan was nowhere near the level of Kainan or Shoyo. Perhaps this game will help Sendoh figure out the secrets of team basketball.
Shirota let out a long sigh, his face filled with disbelief.
" Akira Sendoh, a first-year student at Ryonan High School, scored a whopping 35 points, dished out 11 assists, made 4 steals, and grabbed 10 rebounds. Is he really just a first-year high school student?"
Yo Aoki smiled but didn't respond.
"When we get to high school, there's this guy named Kaede Rukawa who's even crazier than this one."
As soon as the final whistle blew, the audience not only didn't disperse, but actually grew larger, because today's main event, Kainan University Affiliated High School vs. Shoyo High School, was the real deal.
The first team to arrive at the stadium was Shoyo High School. Fujima led the entire team to the bench amidst the cheers of the crowd and the screams of the female fans. The Shoyo coach gathered the players into a circle and squatted down to give them their final tactical instructions.
Yo Aoki stared at it for a while, then muttered to himself:
"It seems that at this time, Shoyo hasn't appointed Fujima as their coach yet."
"Look at their starting lineup, apart from Fujima, they're all third-year students, and none of them are particularly tall."
Suddenly, a deafening roar erupted – the King of Kainan had arrived.
The Kainan player leading the pack, Yo Aoki couldn't recall his name, only remembering seeing him in the manga the night before Shohoku played Sannoh, when everyone was watching the video. He remembered that this guy was guarding Eiji Sawakita and getting easily beaten. But Aoki didn't underestimate him, after all, anyone guarding Sawakita would have done the same.
Next up is Shinichi Maki from Kanagawa.
Yo Aoki glanced at Shinichi Maki, then at Fujima, and couldn't help but sigh:
" Kanagawa's two defensive pillars, Shinichi Maki's skills surpass Kenji Fujima's, but in terms of looks... well, God is fair after all."
At that moment, the referee blew his whistle, signaling both teams to take to the field. The players walked to the center of the field, glaring at each other with sparks flying in their eyes. Without anyone encouraging them, their fierce determination was already burning! The atmosphere on the field was so tense it was almost frozen, and the audience was also caught up in the excitement, chanting wildly for their favorite team.
Ryonan and Takezato, who had just finished their matches, also squeezed into the stands. Everyone's eyes were fixed on this match; a fierce battle was about to begin.