Slam Dunk:Starting with perfect copy

Soon,

The second half of the game began, and the attentive audience immediately noticed that Ryonan's players had changed again.

Another core player, Sendoh, was also put on the bench by Coach Tanaka, and replaced by first-year rookie Kazuki Kishino.

"It seems like Coach Tanaka is really preparing for tomorrow's game against Hainan!"

"Yes! This game is really important!"

"I'm really looking forward to it! I wonder who will win?"

After seeing Sendoh was also substituted, Buri thought their chance to catch up had arrived, but they were still beaten by Ryonan because Ryonan's captain, Yuzumi, remained on the court.

Coach Tanaka deliberately left him in to prevent any possible accidents.

And Yuzumi didn't disappoint Coach Tanaka.

Almost single-handedly, he eliminated any chance of a counterattack from Buri.

Soon, the game was over. Ryonan defeated Buri with a score of 118:32, securing their first victory in the county finals.

Next, as long as they won their next game, they would most likely earn a spot in the national competition.

After the game, Uozumi, who was named the best player of the game, was dubbed a "monster" by the audience.

During the interview session, the reporters finally stopped interviewing Kenichi Uesugi and Sendoh, which moved Yuzumi to tears. At that moment, he suddenly felt that his presence had become significant.

"Well, I should talk more with Uesugi and Sendoh!" he thought to himself.

On the other hand, when Coach Tanaka was asked by reporters about his thoughts on tomorrow's match against Hainan, Tanaka simply replied with,

"Let's wait and see tomorrow!"

He never liked to make predictions before a game. After all, it wouldn't help at all, and if they lost, he'd be ridiculed.

After returning to the locker room, while the players were changing, Coach Tanaka briefly summarized the game.

"Today, everyone performed very well, including the substitutes."

"But the opponent was weaker, this is a fact, so I hope you won't get complacent!"

"Tomorrow's game will be the real test!"

When he said this, Tanaka's expression suddenly became serious. The players understood that he not only wanted Ryonan to make it to the national competition but also had an obsession with defeating Hainan—something he had yet to achieve in all these years.

After leaving the basketball hall, Ryonan immediately took a car to another gym, where the game between Shohoku and Hainan was still in full swing.

When Tanaka and the Ryonan team appeared in the audience, they immediately attracted attention.

"Wow! That's Ryonan!"

"I heard they just won a huge victory over Buri and scored more than 100 points!"

"Yeah! I also heard they didn't even use their full strength. That yellow-haired guy barely played for a few minutes."

"Ah! So they're really strong!"

Not only the audience, but even the players from Shohoku and Hainan who were playing on the court also looked in Ryonan's direction. For a moment, it seemed as if Ryonan were the true masters of the stadium.

Amu looked at Uesugi Kenichi and muttered silently,

"What a glorious moment! He stole the spotlight as soon as he appeared!"

The players of Ryonan sat down in the seats they had reserved long ago. As soon as they sat down, Yuzumi's voice rang out.

"Where's Akagi? Why can't I see him?"

As their old rival, Yuzumi was naturally very concerned about him.

At this time, Hikoichi, who was good at gathering information, said,

"Akagi was injured not long ago and is back in the locker room now!"

"Is that so? If Akagi is injured, Shohoku is in trouble!" Yuzumi remarked.

"But Shohoku's score isn't far behind!"

Sendoh spoke up, pointing to the scoreboard.

Sure enough, the score was 49:45. Shohoku was only four points behind Hainan.

"Is Shohoku really this strong now? Can they beat Hainan like this without Akagi?" Yuzumi asked, surprised.

"It's Rukawa Kaede," Uesugi replied. "He just caught up with his personal ability!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Rukawa Kaede on the court intercepted Hainan's pass, then sprinted to the frontcourt and scored.

"It looks like this guy is having a great game today!" Sendoh said with a smile.

At that moment, Rukawa Kaede glanced in the direction of Sendoh. However, he wasn't looking at Sendoh but at Kenichi Uesugi, who was sitting next to him.

"I won't lose," Rukawa Kaede thought to himself as he stared at Uesugi.

The game continued, and Hainan tried to score again under the insistence of Coach Katou, but their shot missed the basket.

Rukawa Kaede seized the opportunity and countered, scoring another two points.

The first half ended, and the two teams were tied.

At that point, Shohoku's Akagi had returned to the bench.

Everyone in Ryonan felt that Shohoku would definitely launch a strong counterattack in the second half.

Only Sendoh looked at the scoreboard and felt something was off.

The second half soon began.

With Akagi back, Shohoku gained momentum and started to score continuously.

But Hainan didn't back down. Maki and Ashen worked hard to keep their team in the game.

The two teams soon tied the score.

The game turned into a tug-of-war. At the decisive moment, Hainan's superior teamwork allowed them to maintain the lead.

Finally, Sakuragi made a critical mistake, missing the chance to tie the score.

Hainan narrowly defeated Shohoku, securing the first victory of the county competition.

"It's a shame for Shohoku! They had a chance!"

"Yes! They played well today!" the audience murmured.

The players from Ryonan felt sorry for Shohoku, but Sendoh kept his eyes on maki, who was wiping sweat on the sidelines.

From the beginning to the end, Sendoh felt something was wrong with this game. In the first half, Shohoku was missing Akagi, yet kainan couldn't pull away. And judging by the second half, maki wasn't showing his true abilities.

Although he had personally guarded Rukawa and Sakuragi, Sendoh, who knew Amu well, realized that wasn't his full strength.

In this game, maki had never truly shown what he was capable of.

What was his purpose in doing this?

The answer was clear!

Sendoh turned his head to look at Kenichi Uesugi beside him.

"Maki... I didn't expect you to be afraid, too!"