Slam Dunk: My physical abilities can be increased indefinitely.

Chapter 22 Mutual Destruction, Who Will Break Down First?

Four minutes into the second quarter, Maki Shinichi had already scored eleven points.

There were no crossovers, no layups, and not even many feints.

He relied purely on his physical abilities, turning his back to the basket, pushing in twice, turning, jumping, and shooting a mid-range jumper. He did the same move four times and made four shots, including a 2+1 play.

When Sendoh defended against him, he could feel that force coming from his chest. It wasn't a collision, but a push, like a bulldozer pushing forward little by little. Each step was slow. You knew what he was going to do, but you just couldn't stop him.

Sendoh wiped the sweat from his face, and some of it got into his eyes, stinging a little.

During Hainan's offensive possession, Maki Shinichi called for the ball in the low post again. Sendoh tried to defend him from behind, but Maki Shinichi blocked him with his arm, and with a quick flick of his left hand, he passed the ball over his head.

Sendoh was stuck behind and couldn't reach the ball. Maki received the ball, dribbled once, turned to the left, Sendoh moved to the left, and Maki suddenly turned to the right, executed a beautiful footwork under the basket, jumped, and banked the ball.

Goal!

After landing, Sendoh almost stepped on Maki Shinichi's foot, twisted his ankle but didn't fall, and staggered a couple of steps to regain his balance.

Mu Shenyi glanced at his feet. "Are you alright?"

"It's nothing." Sendoh straightened up and clapped his hands.

Lingnan launched an attack.

After receiving the ball, Sendoh did not call for a screen; he wanted to go one-on-one. Maki Shinichi's defensive positioning was further forward than in the first quarter, almost right next to the three-point line, not giving Sendoh any space to shoot.

Sendoh dribbled with his right hand and broke through to the right. Maki slid to follow up. Sendoh stopped abruptly, switched his hand behind his back to the left, and Maki shifted his weight. Sendoh stopped abruptly again, switched his hand between his legs to the right.

Despite three consecutive changes of direction, Maki Shinichi's footwork remained steady. He didn't lose his position or get shaken off, but what Sendoh wanted wasn't to shake him off, but to find an opening to attack.

After his third change of direction, Sendoh didn't continue dribbling. He jumped directly, taking a fadeaway jump shot. His body leaned back at such a large angle that when Maki's hand swept past him, it didn't even touch his chin.

The ball flew from my fingertips in a high arc.

Hollow-core netting.

When Sendoh landed, he took two steps back before regaining his balance; the backward momentum was too great.

Mu Shen looked at him and said, "Aren't you afraid of falling with that angle of your back?"

"I fell. I fell many times during training."

"How long have you been practicing?"

"One week."

"Can you develop this kind of lean back in a week?"

"He's talented."

Mu Shenyi's lips twitched slightly, but he didn't say anything more.

The two sides traded blows, with the score fluctuating back and forth.

Sendoh made a fadeaway jumper, and Maki responded with a back-to-the-basket mid-range jumper; Sendoh drove to the basket and drew a foul, and Maki used his body to overpower him and score off the backboard.

The two players have completely different ways of scoring. Sendoh relies on rhythm, change of direction, lean back, and speed, while Maki relies on strength, footwork, confrontation, and stability.

The drumbeats from the stands never stopped. The support groups from Ryonan and Hainan seemed to be competing to see who could shout the loudest. The voices from the two camps blended together into a rumble without any melody.

Sometimes the referee's whistle is hard to hear; you have to look at his hand gestures to know what he's blowing.

With three minutes remaining in the second quarter, the score was 32-31, with Ryonan leading by one point.

Hainan had possession of the ball. Maki Shinichi dribbled the ball to the frontcourt, where Sendoh was on defense.

This time, Maki Shinichi didn't turn his back to receive the ball. He dribbled at the top of the arc at a slow pace, scanned the positions of his teammates on the court, and then suddenly accelerated, either changing direction or breaking through in a straight line, using his body to clear a path.

Sendoh lost his balance after being bumped by him and took half a step back. Maki Shinichi had already rushed to the free throw line.

Uozumi rushed out from under the basket to help defend, but Maki Shinichi didn't force his way in. Instead, he passed the ball to Takasago under the basket. When Takasago received the ball, there was no one in front of him. He jumped up and dunked. Uozumi turned around and chased back, but it was too late. He could only watch the ball being smashed into the basket.

32-33, Hainan takes a two-point lead.

Taoka called a timeout from the sidelines, calling everyone to squat down. He picked up the tactical board, made a couple of strokes, and then stopped. He looked up at Sendoh and asked, "How's your stamina?"

Sendoh took a breath. "That's enough."

You lied to me.

"...not enough."

Taoka didn't ask any more questions. He directly drew a new defensive formation on the tactical board. "Uozumi, you don't need to go up to help defend Maki Shinichi anymore. Let him drive in. Just stay in position under the basket and protect the rebounds. Koshino, come from the weak side to double team. When he drives below the free throw line, leave Kiyota Nobunaga alone and rush over to block him. Uekusa, rotate to the corner to cover Jin Soichiro. Sendoh, you only need to do one thing: let him go to the left. Don't worry about anything else."

The timeout is over, Hainan launches an attack.

Maki Shinichi dribbled the ball to the frontcourt, where Sendoh was on defense. This time, Sendoh positioned himself to the right, leaving the left flank completely open. Maki hesitated for a fraction of a second, thinking it was a trap. What kind of defender would intentionally leave one side open? But the ball left no room for hesitation. He broke through to the left, and Sendoh didn't chase him hard, but simply followed him on the left side to interfere.

Shinichi Maki rushed to the free-throw line, and Koshino rushed over from the weak side to double-team him, with both arms reaching out from the side. However, he did not panic and switched the ball from his right hand to his left hand, intending to pass it to Soichiro Jin in the corner, but Uekusa was already standing in the passing lane.

Mu Shen pulled the ball back, stopped it, and was trapped between two people at the free-throw line, unable to move. He jumped up and forced a pass, but the ball was touched by Yueye, changed direction, and rolled out of bounds.

Lingnan ball rights.

Yueye jumped on the edge of the road, clenched his fist, and shouted something, but it was unclear.

Sendoh ran over and patted him on the back of the head. "Don't get excited, there are still two minutes left."

"So what if I'm excited? I defended against Kanagawa's best player! Even though I only touched his pass, it was still me who touched it!"

Sendoh didn't reply and ran towards the front.

Shinichi Maki's breathing also became heavier.

In the final two minutes of the second quarter, Sendoh did not score again, but he delivered two assists in a row, one to Fukuda's cut and the other to Uozumi's basket.

Fukuda scored that ball despite being defended by Jin Soichiro, while Uozumi received the ball and immediately turned and hooked it, which Takasago couldn't reach.

On the Hainan side, Maki Shinichi also failed to score. He was double-teamed by Sendoh and Koshino, limiting his two shots. One shot went wide, and the other was blocked by Uozumi.

Takasago grabbed the offensive rebound and scored, while Jin Soichiro hit a three-pointer from the corner.

The whistle blew to signal halftime.

The score is 36-38, with Ryonan trailing by two points.

The numbers on the scoreboard were a bit glaring under the lights. Sendoh glanced at them and looked away, then lowered his head and walked toward the locker room.

Koshino caught up from behind and put his arm around Sendoh's shoulder, practically hanging on him. "How many points did you get in the second quarter? I didn't count."

"Nine points."

"I scored three points, one three-pointer. Uekusa scored zero points but had four assists. Fukuda scored six points, and Uozumi scored four points. How many points did they add up?"

Sendoh didn't calculate, opened the locker room door and went in. Uozumi was already sitting in front of the locker, covering his face with a towel. His chest was heaving, and his breathing was very noticeable in the quiet locker room.

Uesugi was taking off his shoes, but stopped halfway through, staring at the shoelaces, seemingly lost in thought. Fukuda leaned against the wall with his eyes closed, his cheeks twitching slightly, probably because he still had chewing gum in his mouth.

Taoka was the last to come in and close the door, shutting out all the noise from outside.

"In the first half, Sendoh and Maki Shinichi tied, something that has never happened before in Kanagawa."

No one spoke in the locker room.

"However, Sendoh is already tired, and Maki Shinichi is also tired. Whoever can't hold on first in the second half will lose."

Sendoh took the towel off his head. "I won't be the one who gives up first."

Taoka looked at him but didn't reply.

The locker room was silent for a few seconds. Uozumi pulled the towel off his face and said in a muffled voice, "I don't know either."

Fukuda opened his eyes. "No." Uesugi retied his shoelaces, making sure they were tight. "No."

Off-road spoke last, his voice trembling slightly but each word clearly enunciated, "No."

Taoka put down the pen in his hand.

"Then go out and win it back."