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

Chapter 31 Xiangbei Basketball Club

People blocked the gym at noon, and there was no training after school. Lin Dong went to the field field in front of his home to complete the last [-] shots and the remaining basic training of the day.

Since I was sweating profusely, I naturally wanted to go to the Mito bathhouse to relax.

I casually bought a copy of Basketball Weekly from a newsstand on the street.

Mito baths usually start to have customers after 8 pm. For example, the period from [-] to [-] or [-] pm after school is relatively quiet, which is perfect for soaking in the baths and reading books or newspapers.

Boss Kawarayi played him the nostalgic hit that he had become accustomed to listening to recently.

Soaking in the hot spring, listening to music and reading the newspaper, the fatigue of the day seems to disappear.

At least one-third of the reports in the newspaper were related to his single-quarter performance in yesterday's victory over Xiangbei, but there were also many pages reporting various other interesting information.

Although there were some professional clubs in Japan at this time, they were usually mixed with corporate basketball teams for competitions. The professional B league would not appear until 15 years later. Therefore, high school basketball, college basketball, national youth and national teams, It is the main component of Japanese basketball in this era, and most of the news reported in Basketball Weekly is these.

Now that the summer league is in full swing, most of Kanagawa's basketball weekly magazines focus on reporting on high school basketball leagues.

Lin Dong flipped through the newspaper and saw a familiar name - Takehiko Sugita.

The trainer of the Japanese National Youth Team in the 2025 U17 World Championships has also been invited by the NCAA and worked for the Florida Cougars for one year. He is considered one of the top trainers in Asian basketball. It's a pity...

Although the name, experience, age, etc. all match, this guy is now one of the teaching assistants at Sanno Industries. With the courage of the Xiangyang School Board, he probably doesn’t have the guts to go to Sanno Industries to recruit people. Even if he wanted to, he wouldn’t be able to recruit most of them. move.

Other than that, there is nothing to gain.

……well enough.

At least I saw a familiar name when I read the newspaper for the first time.

Lin Dong thinks this is a good start. If you pay more attention in the future, you will always find something.

While I was reading the newspaper, I suddenly heard a customer entering the store. The sound insulation effect of Mito Bathhouse was indeed average.

"No, no, we agreed that Sakuragi and I will treat you today. Is that okay, Dad?"

"They are all from the Shohoku Basketball Club. They played well in the game yesterday. I also went to watch the game. That guy Hanamichi even cried..."

"Uncle Kawarayi!"

"Hahaha, okay, okay, no money, no money, just go in and have a good time. Yesterday's game must have been very hard, so just relax."

"Sorry to bother you." Two steady voices spoke in unison, obviously not belonging to the chirping Sakuragi Legion.

Someone from the Shohoku basketball team?Listening to the voice, it seemed to be Mitsui and Miyagi.

Lin Dong takes a bath here every day and has met the Sakuragi Legion several times, but this is the first time he has seen other members of the Shohoku Basketball Club here.

"Oh, I don't even want to fight Akagi. I don't think we will ever be able to break out of Kanagawa... bother."

"Can you bother me? That guy Akagi can still go to college, but don't even think about my grades. I originally expected to get some results in the summer league and get a special recruit for college, but I encountered that obstacle. What's even worse is winter. The league is probably a dead end. After all, the winter selection is for one county and one team. Even if third-year students like Fujima and Amu don't participate, as long as No. 13 from Xiangyang is there... I think I have a chance to go to college. All gone."

"Hahaha, it doesn't matter. There are still several months left for the winter selection, right? We have ikebana, and ikebana is a genius!"

"Yes, yes, maybe in this winter league, Hanamichi will beat Takato-san?"

"You can't win, you guys don't know anything." Sakuragi Hanamichi's depressed voice sounded: "Dad even said there was no chance, that guy is too powerful." "Wow, Hanamichi also admits defeat sometimes? This is not like you The style is ikebana.”

"He really wasn't exaggerating." Miyagi Ryota said: "Coach Anzai said that guy was at the national team level, so Akagi gave up even the winter selection. He probably felt that there was no hope at all."

Then Mitsui Hisashi's voice became even more melancholy: "A guy like this is actually only in the first grade... My basketball dream was completely strangled by this guy. Alas, I will still have to play small steel balls for the rest of my life."

It seems that he is really autistic.

The voices were getting closer and closer, and soon, several people appeared at the entrance of the bath. They were the five members of the Sakuragi Legion, Mitsui Hisashi and Miyagi Ryota.

Seeing someone in the bath, several people were slightly startled. When they saw clearly that it was Lin Dong in the bath, their expressions became a little embarrassed.

Even if he was beaten to the point of being autistic by this guy, it was even more depressing to have this guy hear his words of giving in.

Miyagi Ryota and Mitsui Hisashi both coughed dryly, Sakuragi Hanamichi looked listless, but Takamiya Nozomi and others greeted him first: "Brother Takato!"

He is also very familiar with the Sakuragi Legion.

"Party?" Lin Dong responded.

"We lost the game yesterday. Let's all come out to relax and comfort this guy." Mito Yohei patted Sakuragi Hanamichi's shoulder next to him.

"It's just a game." Lin Dong smiled.

"Of course the winner said so." Hisashi Mitsui got out of the bath. If it weren't for the fact that this guy was the first to applaud after the game yesterday, he would have cursed.

"It's not just a game!" Sakuragi Hanamichi said angrily: "The gorilla said that he would not play basketball in the future. The junior could have gone to college with basketball, but now he can't go. Dad Anxi said... ...Damn it! Even dad said we can't catch up with you, no matter how hard we try..."

Lin Dong looked at him.

Frankly speaking, he doesn't like Japan very much.

But basketball is pure.

A person like Hanamichi Sakuragi, who has an innocent heart and a talent for basketball, should not be led away by a game and a few bad friends before he has a correct understanding of basketball.

He asked Sakuragi: "Do you believe what others say? Have you tried hard?"

Sakuragi Hanamichi choked when he heard this, and couldn't find anything to say to refute for a while.

"He is a real genius who is praised by the newspapers. A guy like him who can play basketball based on his talent and can be in the newspapers after just playing a game has probably never tasted losing in his life."

Miyagi Ryota leaned against the pool and said lazily: "What does he know about the pain of a loser? What does he know about the powerlessness and despair of being unable to catch up even if you try your best? This is already Mitsui and Akagi's last county match. It’s a big competition, does he understand what that means? So, no matter how much you talk to him, you’re just talking about it.”

Seeing that the atmosphere was not right, Mito Yohei was afraid that the two sides would quarrel: "Don't say that, Lin Dongjun also has good intentions, not to mention he is still our friend..."

Loser's pain?The despair of not being able to catch up even if you try your best?

Lin Dong said nothing.

The mist in the hot spring steamed before his eyes, as if it brought him back to some kind of memory.

(End of this chapter)