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

Chapter 18 Who is the strongest newcomer this year?
Lin Dong smiled. At this time, he was probably the only one who knew Sakuragi Hanamichi's inner monologue.

"Fujima."

Everyone was dumbfounded when a thick voice sounded.

It’s Takenori Akagi from Shohoku.

Although he is about the same height as Hanagata, his physique seems to be much larger than Hanagata. He is quite strong and has a steady temperament. At first glance, he looks like a traditional center type who can stick to the basket.

Takenori Akagi held Sakuragi Hanamichi's head back with one hand and asked Fujima: "This guy didn't say anything rude to you, did he?"

"Gorilla, what are you doing? Let go, I'm having a friendly exchange with our opponent!"

"It's okay, you're a very cute newcomer." Fujima smiled slightly and stretched out his hand to Takenori Akagi: "Please give me some advice today!"

"Both each other." Takenori Akagi shook hands with him and said calmly: "But the one who enters the semi-finals today will definitely be our Shohoku."

"...Let's ask our Hanaxing and Lin Dongjun first."

Fujima, who is kind on the surface but tough at heart, laughed when he heard Takenori Akagi's words: "If they don't agree, maybe it won't be my turn to give in."

Akagi's brows raised slightly.

That's it. Hanagata, who was in the second grade last year and was still sitting on the bench, has already shown quite amazing basketball talent using only a short time on the bench. He is known as the representative of Kanagawa's new generation center. He has made some progress this year. It’s not surprising to grow or even stand alone.

But, Lin Dong?
That bullfight defeated first-year freshman Fujima Shoyo?

This kind of thing cannot be hidden in colleges and universities, especially among several teams that regard each other as opponents.

Takenori Akagi smiled slightly and nodded: "He's just a super newcomer promoted by your reputation... You'll know the truth after he goes to the battlefield."

The players on both sides saluted each other under the arrangement of the referee, and then returned to the bench, leaving five starters on the court.

Shoyang's starting lineup: No. 5, center Toru Hanagata; No. 6, shooting guard Hasegawa; No. 8, power forward Shoichi Takano; No. 9, point guard Taku Ito; No. 13, small forward Lin Dong.

Shohoku starting lineup: No. 4, center Takenori Akagi; No. 7, point guard Ryota Miyagi; No. 10, power forward Hanamichi Sakuragi; No. 11, small forward Kaede Rukawa; No. 14, Hisashi Mitsui.

Players from both teams take their positions on the court, waiting for the jump ball to begin the game.

Lin Dong patted his legs relaxedly, and then saw a tall boy from northern Hunan walking up to him.

This boy has a very clean appearance. His height and wingspan are almost the same as Hanamichi Sakuragi's. He seems to have quite good athletic talent. He is wearing the No. 11 jersey. Although his eyelids are half-lidded, his eyes are quite focused.

Rukawa maple?
Rukawa Kaede glanced at Lin Dong, who was facing him, and obviously had no intention of saying hello, but just focused his gaze on the center line of the court.

Shhh!
With the referee's whistle, the basketball was thrown high into the air on the center line, and the game officially began.

The two teams responsible for the jump ball are Takenori Akagi and Toru Hanagata.

Both of them were extremely focused. When the ball was about to reach its highest point, they both jumped high almost simultaneously.

Bang!
The body inevitably collided, and Akagi's strength was obviously superior, which interfered with Hanagata's take-off. He reached the basketball in the air first and shot it in the direction of Sakuragi Hanamichi.

Lin Dong has been secretly paying attention. According to the plot of Slam Dunk, Akagi will be called for a jump ball violation at this time.

But obviously, whether it was because his appearance caused historical deviations, or because reality was different from the comics, the referee's whistle did not sound, and there was indeed nothing wrong with Takenori Akagi's jump ball.

"Sakuragi!" Akagi yelled as he landed on the ground, already one step ahead of Hanagata and started running forward.

It can be seen that Takenori Akagi is in quite good condition. He quickly enters the rhythm of the game. He is not as stiff and nervous as when he first faced Xiangyang in the plot.

And his good condition means that all members of Xiangbei are active.

Lin Dong smiled slightly. It seemed that this was not a cartoon after all, but just reality with it as the background.A Xiangbei team in good condition.

Good!

Sakuragi Hanamichi took the lead in getting the ball.

"Haha! Genius Sakuragi! The battle plan is successful!" He laughed proudly.

"give me!"

Behind him, Ryota Miyagi had already launched a fast break, taking advantage of Hanamichi Sakuragi's dislocation to throw away Taku Ito who was guarding him, and took the basketball away from him.

With such lightning speed, Ito Zhuo, who caught up from behind him after being blocked for a moment, could only eat ashes.

"Takano!" Hanagata shouted.

Takano, who stayed behind, took up the position in time.

The 1.9-meter-[-] big man guarded the basket. Miyagi jumped high into the air and pretended to be a layup. This not only caused Takano to take off, but also attracted a double-team from Hasegawa next to him.

A flash of joy flashed from the corner of Miyagi Ryota's eyes. With a change of wrist, the layup turned into a pass. With his right hand, he passed the ball from behind to Mitsui Hisashi who had already run to the three-pointer.

But the ball had just been obtained, and Taku Ito, who caught up with the defender from behind, had already filled in the position in time. After a month and a half of devilish training, even the averagely talented Ito Taku already had good explosive power, and he returned to defense to fill in the position in time.

Hisashi Mitsui was not in a hurry to seize the ball. He made a cross pass almost without stopping, and it fell steadily into the hands of Rukawa Kaede who came up.

"Ah! Mistress! That's the ball I grabbed!" Sakuragi Hanamichi's angry voice came to his ears.

At the same time, Lin Dong, who was facing him, had already stopped in front of Rukawa Kaede.

Rukawa Kaede subconsciously made a bowing motion with both hands. Seeing Lin Dong's movement of lifting his center of gravity, he immediately turned to holding the ball with both hands and pressing his center of gravity downward, trying to break through to the left.

But I didn't expect that the opponent's upward thrust was also a fake move.

Feint to feint, Lin Dong stood in front of him with a calm face, his hands spread out, and his extraordinary wingspan seemed to have formed a wall the moment the movement took shape. In line with the mountain-like momentum, The breakthrough move that Rukawa Kaede had just prepared was strangled in the basket.

He held the ball motionless and stared coldly at the so-called super newcomer who had suddenly appeared in front of him recently. However, he felt that the other person's eyes were unwavering, and he could not feel the slightest impact or murderous aura.

Although he is 193 centimeters tall, he can keep up with his own steps with a calm face and deceive his own fake moves in an instant. His defensive movements and momentum at this time are also perfect. The appearance of having enough energy reminded me at this moment of the pressure I felt against Akira Lingnan Sendō Akira in the previous practice match.

interesting……

There was a constant buzz in the arena.

“Xiangbei’s cooperation is so smooth!”

"Good conduction, Shohoku seems to be in good condition." Uozumi Jun said.

"New ace vs. new ace." Sendou Akira was lying on the fence in the stands, looking down at Rukawa Kaede and his opponent Lin Dong with an interested expression: "It seems that the newcomer from Xiangyang really put enough pressure on him. , Rukawa Kaede looks very serious."

"This may be the biggest highlight today, who is the strongest newcomer this year." Mu Shenyi also had a look of expectation on his face.

Nobunaga Kiyota cried out in displeasure: "What! Even Senior Amu said that, how can I help outsiders like this? The strongest newcomer is obviously me!"

Unfortunately, before he could finish his words, Amu held his head, turned his head, and looked directly at the field.

Amu said calmly: "Then you have to watch more carefully. If you don't understand your opponents, how can you defeat them?"

(End of this chapter)