The Road to Stardom: Start as a Slam Dunk Master.

Chapter 166 The finals begin!

"Xiangyang! Xiangyang! Xiangyang!"

"Shobei! Shobei! Shobei!"

As soon as he came out of the players tunnel, the noise in the stadium was already thunderous.

The entire stadium was boiling, and the voices of NHK hosts and commentators were echoing in the noisy scene.

"Dear viewers, this is the Yokohama Stadium in Kanagawa. The match between Shoyo and Shohoku that attracts national attention is about to begin!"

"As a young team that only attracted national attention after defeating Sanno, Shohoku is now even more popular in the country than Sanno Industries in the past. We expect Shohoku to perform at its best today and stand in front of a Japanese high school. Xiangyang, who is at the top of the basketball world, launches the strongest impact!"

"If you want to challenge Xiangyang, Lin Dong is undoubtedly a hurdle that Shohoku cannot get around. Although Sakuragi Hanamichi showed incredible defensive ability in the previous game against Sanno, when it comes to defending Lin Dong, I personally I feel like it’s still not enough.”

“Both teams are very capable of scoring and will quickly open up the score in a short period of time once they get going, so the first quarter is crucial for both teams.”

"Xiangyang will definitely still use Lin Dong's absolute ace as the main point of attack. This is their consistent tactic in the first 10 minutes. It has never changed since the summer league. Now it depends on how Xiangbei plans to respond."

"Both are Kanagawa teams, and the players of these two teams are quite familiar with each other in private. I even heard that Lin Dong and Sakuragi Hanamichi are still good friends. During the previous Hiroshima Summer League, Sakuragi Hanamichi was still friends with Lin Dongjun's father. We live together.”

"The competition between brothers makes the scene seem a little less smokey, but it also has more fighting spirit that makes people feel clean and refreshing."

"Hahaha, compared to the Mountain King battle with the involvement of the Basketball Association, this battle is indeed much cleaner."

"You can see that the players on both sides are in position, and the game will start immediately!"

Shhh!

Following the reminder of the referee's whistle, the noise at the scene was slightly quieted, and everyone stared intently at the five people taking their positions on the field.

翔阳首发：4号藤真健司、5号花形透、6号长谷川一志、8号高野昭一、13号林东。

Taku Ito, who had been the starter in the previous winter selections, was placed on the bench.

Coach Kitano's thinking is quite clear. Taku Ito is Xiangyang's system player when playing high-position dealing tactics, and he is obviously more offensive than defensive.

When Lin Dong is on the court, Xiangyang does not lack offensive firepower, and there is no need to immediately resort to high-position dealing tactics. That move is used for emergencies and to cultivate the future Xiangyang basketball system. At the moment, the so-called tactics may not actually involve giving the ball to Lin Dong alone...

On the offensive end, just let Lin Dong warm up. The important thing is to defend well and stop Shohoku's attack. In this regard, the 193-centimeter Takano Shoichi is undoubtedly much easier to use than Ito Taku.

湘北首发：4号赤木刚宪、7号宫城良田、10号樱木花道、11号流川枫、14号三井寿。

As has always been the starting five Tigers since the winter selection of Xiangbei, the depth of the bench is the most criticized problem of Xiangbei by the outside world, but it is indeed insurmountable. This starting lineup is also expected by everyone.

The players from both sides stood facing each other, and then there was an uproar in the stadium.

The starting lineups of each other were pretty much as expected, but the person responsible for facing Lin Dong...

"Isn't it the No. 10 Lin Dong from Xiangbei? Why is it the No. 11?"

"The defense of No. 11 is not as good as that of No. 10."

"Is it the wheel battle that the mountain king had when he fought against Xiangyang?"

"It could also be 2 against 1!"

There was endless discussion in the stands, and Rukawa Kaede was seen walking next to Lin Dong.

This guy who was beaten to the point of being autistic by himself in the summer league, and who always showed strong aggression and persistence when he saw himself in the training base, seemed to have truly calmed down at this moment.

I don’t know where Coach Anzai took him after he ‘escaped’ from the training base, but the feeling is indeed completely different from the Rukawa Kaede he once was.

Just as Lin Dong was thinking about it, he heard Rukawa Feng say a calm greeting.

"Hi."

"Ok?"

“Nike Basketball Summit, I’ll be there too.”

"Oh."

Rukawa Kaede said in a deep voice: "After defeating you Xiangyang."

Lin Dong laughed after hearing this.

He knew very well that Rukawa Kaede, who had been to the Lloyd training base, could not fail to feel how powerful he was, but he still had the courage to issue a challenge to him. This guy seemed to have really changed his mind.

Lin Dong smiled and said to him: "Come on."

Shhh!

The referee finally blew the whistle and threw the basketball high into the air.

Takenori Akagi and Toru Hanagata are still responsible for the jump ball.

This is the third time the two have met and the third time they have jumped the ball. From the first time Akagi won, to the second time they were evenly matched.

And this time...

The two had almost the same control and judgment of the timing of their jumps. They jumped high at the same time, with the same height, and even their wingspans were extremely close.

Snapped!

At this time, the two big hands were intertwined, and they were both running towards the half-court area behind themselves to shoot the ball, but they hit it together at the same time, and the basketball happened to be caught in the hands of the two people who were hooking back.

Hanagata Toru twisted her waist and abdomen in mid-air, trying to hook the ball back with the help of the twisting force of her waist and abdomen.

But what was reflected in the thick lenses was Takenori Akagi's eyes that were almost ready to burst into flames.

The opponent may really be Japan's best offensive center, but a comparison of strength?

"Roar!" Takenori Akagi roared, and all the muscles in his body tensed up at this moment.

I am better than myself!

The stalemate in the air lasted only for a moment, and the violent force then poured behind Takenori Akagi with an unstoppable trend.

The two intertwined hands suddenly made a point, and the basketball was slapped hard in the direction of Sakuragi Hanamichi in the Shohoku backcourt.

The opponent Shoichi Takano was obviously no match for him. He was stuck behind Sakuragi Hanamichi and successfully got the ball.

"Hanamichi!" Miyagi Ryota ran quickly and made a gesture to ask for the ball, and Fujima followed closely behind.

"Takenori Akagi seems to be in good shape. The momentum at the start is crucial to the team's morale. Let's watch this ball first!" The commentator's voice kept coming.

"Let Fujima face Miyagi. Judging from Xiangyang's plan, it seems that he is preparing to strangle the two organizational points of Miyagi Ryota and Rukawa Kaede, thereby blocking Shohoku's attack." At the same time, Rukawa Kaede also ran away. Towards the right front of the court, a quite aggressive offensive movement was made, but Lin Dong who was just behind him just looked relaxed and contented, and even seemed to be one step slower than Rukawa Kaede, but it still made people feel like Shohoku. Don't count on this at all.

With Lin Dong's defense, there is no chance of scoring... This seems to have become the common understanding of all fans.

"Both of the attacking points were strangled, Xiangbei... Huh?!"

However, Sakuragi Hanamichi swung his arm and chose neither Miyagi nor Rukawa Kaede. The basketball formed a long arc from the air and went straight to the left side of the front court.

Mitsui Hisashi!

This pass was both fast and accurate. Mitsui Hisashi moved ahead of schedule, his awareness was more than one level ahead of Hasegawa's, and he caught the ball with a 'pop' sound.

The commentator smacked the table excitedly: "I didn't see Sakuragi Hanamichi's impressive performance on the offensive end when we were playing Sanno. I really didn't expect that as a power forward, he would have such a passing vision!"

"Xiangyang's original intention was to freeze Xiangbei's attack launch points, but now it seems difficult to do so. There are too many points in Xiangbei that can be attacked."

"Yes, Xiangyang has Lin Dong. I believe that Xiangbei's defense will hardly cause him too much trouble in the first half, unless he is also exhausted. If he really wants to make Xiangyang feel threatened, he must also It depends on Xiangbei’s attack.”

"Hisashi Mitsui faced Kazushi Hasegawa. Although the latter was once the absolute main force in the championship team, compared to Hisashi Mitsui who completely destroyed Morohoshi in the Sanno War, I feel that the difference in strength between the two is still too much. It’s bigger.”

"It is absolutely the right choice to play against Hisashi Mitsui. If we score a goal first, it will be a great morale boost for Shohoku!"

Before the commentator finished speaking, Hisashi Mitsui, who was catching the ball, suddenly stopped.

Hasegawa barely stabilized his forward momentum, turned around and jumped up, but immediately saw Mitsui Hisashi holding the ball motionless.

Damn it, I was deceived!

Hasegawa was shocked. Although he knew that he was no match for Hisashi Mitsui, he did not expect that the first ball would be played by the opponent.

At this time, the momentum of jumping up was exhausted, and he couldn't control his body and fell down.

I saw Mitsui Hisashi making a shooting action at this time, with a slight smile on his lips, and the basketball came out...

Done!

Before Hasegawa could finish his thoughts, Mitsui Shou's smile suddenly froze on his face.

Immediately, I felt the sound of wind behind me, and saw Mitsui Shou's body feeling like it was covered by a dark shadow.

A figure had already sprung up behind him, stretched its extraordinary arms to the limit, and grabbed into the air.

Snapped!

The basketball that had just been released was actually caught in that person's hand.

No. 13, Lin Dong!

Mitsui Hisashi's face was full of surprise. When Sakuragi passed the ball, Lin Dong's position was still on the right side of the frontcourt a few meters away, but he caught the ball, fired up Hasegawa, and then took the shot. In a second or two, this... this was completely seen through by him!

boom!

Lin Dong held the ball in both hands and landed, but Rukawa Kaede, who was only half a beat slower at this time, had also blocked the ball.

He stretched out his two big hands and used Hasegawa Kazushi's body to block half of Lin Dong's body, firmly blocking Lin Dong who had intercepted the ball, but the next second...

Snapped!

A hit pass, the ball has been distributed to Fujima who came up.

Fujima held the ball for a fast break, and Shoyo advanced across the board. Miyagi Ryota's rapid defense blocked Fujima's footsteps, but he did not stop the basketball.

As early as he blocked it, Fujima had already separated the ball and passed it directly to Hanagata Toru near the free throw line.

Takenori Akagi stood in front of him.

The two major centers faced off, and Hanagata, who was holding the ball, took a deep breath.

Akagi is better at the basket technique, but this position is definitely his advantage area, he only needs one step back!

But before he could jump up, as soon as he thought about it, a big hand stretched out from the left side.

"Come back!" Sakuragi Hanamichi yelled, and when Hanagata Toru jumped, the basketball was actually grabbed by him and dragged over.

The arrogant force of grabbing the ball caused Hanagata Toru to stumble slightly at his feet, but before Sakuragi Hanamichi could be happy for half a second, when he turned around with the ball, he felt a figure flickering in front of him, and a big hand had already caught it. on his basketball.

Lose the basketball again.

Lin Dong!

The audience in the stands were a little stunned, and they didn't even have time to explain.

Frankly speaking, the scene seemed a bit chaotic, or the pace was too fast. After all, in just two or three seconds, the ball had been changed three times.

Rukawa Kaede appeared in front of Lin Dong in time.

He could feel that Lin Dong entered the game very quickly today. It was completely different from the usual 10-minute casual playing. He maintained a high level of concentration from the beginning, and the opponent was always one step ahead of him. Consciousness, this makes him always in a state of chasing the opponent.

This feeling is uncomfortable...but I finally caught up!

Sakuragi Hanamichi, who had the ball stolen, also reacted quickly. Before he could see the face of Lin Dong who had stolen the ball, his hands had already opened subconsciously. He and Rukawa Kaede, who came back to defend, formed a perfect two-man attack position, and the ball was broken. Lin Dong behind the ball was double-teamed!

Both of them have good heights and wingspans, and their double-team positions are just right, making it impossible to see any way Lin Dong can break through.

Rukawa Kaede's eyes were clear at this moment, while Sakuragi Hanamichi shouted: "Brother Takato!"

The interception of the ball just now was too fast, but my defense is not slow either. I have the defensive position, defend one first!

At this time, the commentator finally caught up with the reaction: "Perfect defense! So timely!"

"No. 11's return to defense, coupled with Sakuragi Hanamichi's flanking attack, the two of them cooperated perfectly..."

But before the word 'chu' came out of his mouth, Lin Dong's lips curved slightly and he stood up without hesitation.

There were many transitions of ball possession, offense and defense, and transitions from double-teaming to one-on-two shots. At this time, the commentator's voice could no longer keep up with the rhythm, and everyone was watching with confusion.

The pupils of Sakuragi Hanamichi and Rukawa Kaede suddenly shrank, they reacted and jumped to block the shot at the same time.

But the two of them had just raised their hands...

Swish!

The basketball has been released steadily.

Then there was a wonderful falling sound.

Two points from mid-range were scored, and Xiangyang got off to a good start.

2: 0!

(End of this chapter)