The battle between the combo team and Shohoku has reached its climax, and the one deciding its conclusion is Sakuragi with a Slam Dunk. Though Shohoku has more important things to look forward to, such as the Inter High Tournament.moreless
Fujima starts passing more and shooting less 3 pointers, giving hims teammates more open looks and easy opportunities to score. But is it enough to overcome Shohoku?
The combination team has become even more formidable by adding Sendoh and Fukuda to their lineup, and while Sakuragi is still struggling, Shohoku retains the lead.
Rukawa garnered all the attention with his strong start to the game, but it was Sendoh who soon stole that spotlight when he entered the gym in his fishing clothes.
Sakuragi has been working hard for the past months to improve his basketball skills, but as a result, his shoes have torn. He visits none other than the man that gave him his first shoes.moreless
Haruka decides to reward Sakuragi for his hard practicing by taking him to the festival. Sakuragi sees this as an opportunity to try and get with her, but the process became harder then he had expected.moreless
Sakuragi continues his shooting practice while his team is off at Josei, battling equally with the former eight ranked team without Sakuragi's rebounding prowess.
It seems that some of Shohoku's players have more things to worry about other than the fearful opponents at the nationals. Their marks have been poor, and if they don't pass their upcoming tests, they'll be forbidden to play! Akagi decides to take in his teammates and have a study camp at his house.moreless
Understanding Anzai's words, Rukawa immediately makes it his goal to become the best player in Japan, even taking it at a higher level during practice against his own teammates.
Rukawa pleads to Anzai about his decision to play in America, though he rejects the idea. Rukawa is told the emotional story of Yazawa, a person like him who flew over to America in order to face better competition.moreless
Sakuragi goes with Maki to scout out some teams who'll also be heading into the national tournament. One freshman center instantly caught their attention.
Expectedly, the Shohoku basketball team is all the talk at Shohoku school, and everyone won't leave them alone, especially the school's news reporter Mari.
Kogure spotted up for a 3 pointer. During the ball's journey there to the net, Kogure gets flashbacks of the basketball trials he faced to get to the position he's currently at.
Uozumi gets a flashback of Coach Taoka's promise of bringing him to the national scene, but that promise is looking a little fuzzy with Shohoku dominating.
Sendoh and Rukawa continue to push against each other in the second half, but the highlight of it so far is Uozumi being forced to sit out with four fouls.
With Rukawa and Sendoh at full strength against each other, they've both carried their teams, advancing point by point in hopes of defeating one another.
Everyone was confused on Rukawa's performance so far, scoring only two points. Though it became apparent in the second half; he saved up his energy for the second half in order to prevent what had happened to him during the final minutes against Kainan!moreless
Ryonan's offense was concentrated around Fukuda, who has been constantly defeating Sakuragi. He was forced to sit out, sulking to himself of being beaten fair and square.
While Sakuragi was defeated, Shohoku wasn't, as Mitsui's three pointers pulled his team back within range of Ryonan.moreless