The Road to Stardom: Start as a Slam Dunk Master

"Wouldn't it be nice to have fewer reports? It wouldn't be too noticeable if we lost." Rukawa now looks much more cheerful and talkative than before.

Rukawa has actually been through a lot in the past few years. He has a girlfriend and already has three children.

The object is a former high school classmate from Lakeside High School, an American, yellow-skinned Indian girl.

The two fell in love when Rukawa was at a low point when he went to the Supersonics. The girl took the initiative to be his oral teacher because of unrequited love. The two fell in love with each other over time. They had been dating when Rukawa was still staying at Sakuragi's house. The year before last, the girl even gave birth to three little princesses for Rukawa.

However, the girl asked to get married, but Rukawa was hesitant.

His parents' divorce had a huge impact on him since he was young, which made him always have a resistance and fear of marriage. In addition, his pursuit of basketball is endless. Even with children, he still spends much more time on the court than at home.

The young lady waited for a long time but could not get the marriage and sense of security she wanted. After the passionate love, she was left with a mess of life. Raising three children alone at home was simply an unimaginable nightmare for an American mother who pursued women's rights.

Two lovers with different personalities, different beliefs, and different cultural backgrounds always had too many problems in life, so there were more and more conflicts with Rukawa Kaede, until the end of last year when their patience ran out. Rukawa Kaede gave the other party a large sum of money and broke up peacefully, and all the children were given to Rukawa Kaede.

So Rukawa Kaede had another girlfriend at the beginning of the year, mainly to find someone to help take care of the children, but the other party was a model, with her own life and work. Although she was beautiful, she had no patience with the children, so they broke up again in just two months. Now he has asked someone to hire two nannies from Japan to take care of the children at home in Seattle. Instead, his life has suddenly become leisurely and comfortable, as if he has entered a life track that suits him best.

He often asked the nanny to take the children to the gym to watch him play. The company of the children and the responsibility of being a father not only made him cheerful and talkative, but also made the three little ones the new favorites of the Sonics, especially the second child, Mai Rukawa. Every time she saw the players in the gym, she would watch them intently, with her big black eyes rolling around in excitement. Even at an age when she couldn't speak properly, she was influenced by her father and liked basketball...

Children can always heal everything.

Nowadays, Rukawa Kaede often smiles on his face instead of being cold. Whether in the Sonics or the Japanese national team, he occasionally tells a few jokes that don't have much technical content.

However, this time the joke seems a bit too much.

Everyone was stunned when they heard Rukawa's joke, and then threw the messy bags at him in anger: "If you can't talk, don't talk! What do you mean you don't look bad after losing? We haven't even started playing yet!"

"That's right! The cool, silent Rukawa is still cute!"

"How did you become like this? Oh my god, you're ruining your youth! Are you still the Rukawa I know? In a few years, will you also become a greasy uncle with your three daughters?"

Rukawa smiled. He was only responsible for teasing, not good at finishing.

After all, he just became more open-minded, but being dumb is something that is cultivated over the years. If it was Sakuragi Hanamichi, he would probably have rushed up and shouted, "Play is play, joke is joke, don't joke with my kids."

Everyone else in the room laughed.

Those sitting here are undoubtedly the most glorious generation of Japanese basketball.

The world's No. 1 power forward Hanamichi Sakuragi, NBA All-Star Rukawa Kaede, point guard Akira Sendoh of the UEFA Champions League 2nd Team, center Shigehiro Mori of the UEFA Champions League 2nd Team, and Eiji Sawakita and Masashi Kawata of the La Liga 3rd Team.

Even Fujima, Jun Tsuchiya and others who have not yet made their names internationally are now the rising stars that attract much attention in the La Liga.

In addition, there are luxurious backing teams, such as Hanagata Toru, who is now the assistant coach of the Japanese national team, Mitsui Hisashi who has sponsored many players, Shinichi Maki and Takenori Akagi, who were then the staff members of the Ministry of Education's Basketball Association, the assistants of the Olympic men's basketball team, and the sponsors of the players, etc.

Frankly speaking, Coach Anzai has always been the one who sees it most clearly.

It is certainly a lot of luck for this team to be able to enter the Olympic finals, but to be honest, except for the United States and Dragon Country, they are not afraid of any other teams in the world.

This is the most glorious generation of Japanese basketball, and perhaps it will also be the peak moment of Japanese basketball in the next hundred years.

As for mentality…

Coach Anzai sat happily holding a thermos cup, looking at these guys who seemed to be joking and laughing, and couldn't help but recall the time when Lin Dong came to Japan, before the first summer national league finals, he went to give psychology lessons to Fujima, Hanagata Toru and others, stacking buffs, and later when Xiangbei faced Shoyo where Lin Dong was, he called Sakuragi, Rukawa, Mitsui, Akagi and others one by one for psychological counseling.

The nervous and immature faces when facing strong enemies have now turned into mature faces that can still smile before the most important world competition.

But Coach Anzai understands that their smiles do not mean that they don't care about tomorrow's game, and their jokes are definitely not about not caring about the media's contempt for Japan. In fact, Coach Anzai knows that these guys have been secretly training these two days.

They still want to win, but to be honest, no one knows how to beat the current Dragon Country team. Facing the unmatched God of Basketball and his invincible army, they have been preparing for two full years. The United States collapsed in front of them...

Regardless of any competitive event, if you don’t have the will to win and if you are easily willing to fail, you will never become a strong person.

They are already strong, so it is impossible for them not to care. The calmer they appear on the surface, in fact, it just means that they have heavier pressure and baggage in their hearts.

They are just more mature than before. They know that tension and anxiety are not helpful to themselves and the team, so they hide that tension perfectly.

They did better than they imagined.

After experiencing so many competitions and so much growth, their personal abilities, understanding of basketball, and even their own psychological adjustments have long surpassed themselves, the teacher who is regarded as the godfather of modern Japanese basketball.

I can no longer give them psychological lessons, and there seems to be nothing left to teach them... No, maybe there is one more thing.

"Hehehehe!" Coach Anxi interrupted everyone's noise and enthusiasm with a smile.

"Children, reaching the Olympic finals is something I could never even dream of."

"It is true that our opponent tomorrow is extremely powerful and is the invincible god of basketball. Even if we lose, no one will blame us. We have made history. Everyone is relaxed externally and tense internally. Everything I understand all of this and have nothing to guide you, but... I still want to ask you a question."

The room gradually became quiet, and everyone looked at Coach Anxi intently. The chubby white-haired old man asked with a smile: "What is your pursuit of basketball?"

Everyone was stunned, and no one could think of a good answer for a moment.

The pursuit of basketball? There are so many answers to this question.

Some say it is for the pursuit of higher, faster and stronger;

Some say it is for spiritual beliefs, to pass on courage and wisdom, and to inspire people to climb to more incredible peaks.

Some people say that all sports are to stimulate human potential and improve physical fitness. Some people who like big goals say that they are to promote social progress and development, and to enhance national pride and national honor.

These are the most common answers, not only for basketball people, but also the standard answers that every sports person can recite.

But since it was coach Anxi who brought it up here at this moment, it obviously wouldn't be a similar cliché.

"It is true that after the baptism of time, everyone will have a different answer to this question, but what if we go back to the beginning?" Coach Anxi chuckled, he looked at Sakuragi and said: "Sakura, you just started Why do you want to play basketball?”

Sakuragi Hanamichi was stunned.

If you ask him why he wants to play basketball now, then maybe the answer will be 'to become a leader like Brother Gao Ren'. After all, since he realized Lin Dong's pursuit of basketball, he feels that this is probably what he can imagine. , a supreme goal.

But I have to ask why I wanted to play basketball in the first place.

Sakuragi Hanamichi couldn't help but flashed back to the sweet, short girl who stood in front of him when he first entered high school and asked, 'Sakuragi-san, do you like basketball?'

So, is it because of young love?

"Because, because of Haruko?" He scratched his head in embarrassment.

"Hehehehe." Coach Anxi was noncommittal and looked at Rukawa Kaede with a smile: "Rukawa, what about you?"

Rukawa Kaede pondered for a moment, remembering that when his parents had just divorced, his father worked overtime all day without anyone around him. At a young age, he had already learned to keep a straight face all day long, until one day he saw a group of children on the school field. Running and laughing freely, parents also put down their work and took time off to come to the sidelines to cheer the children crazy... He also wanted to laugh like those children, and he even wanted his father to stand on the sidelines and applaud him like those parents.

"Maybe it's loneliness," he replied.

Coach Anxi smiled and looked at the others.

Zebei thought of the basket his father built with his own hands after moving, and the joy he felt when he and his father cheered wildly in celebration after throwing a basketball into the basket for the first time.

Shigehiro Mori thought about the frustration he felt when he was on the rugby team, and recalled the sense of accomplishment that came to him after he first came into contact with basketball because of his strong body and running on the court.

Fujima thought of his father's posthumous appearance and the burned certificate of honor, as well as his father's happy smile when holding a basketball in old photos.

Sendō couldn't help but remember that when he was a child, he wanted a fishing rod, but his father refused to buy it because he was not doing his job properly. However, he was depressed when he happened to see the announcement of the Tokyo Elementary School Basketball Competition, and each team member had a bonus of 30,000 yen...

Everyone had a different answer, and the complex atmosphere in the room, which was originally tight inside and loose outside, gradually became quiet after each answer appeared, as if it led everyone into a distant and pure reverie.

"Hehehe...Have you finally discovered it? All the answers actually have one thing in common."

"It comes from happiness... When we need some kind of emotional sustenance the most, and when we are the most innocent, basketball fills our needs in the purest way, achieves our youth, and brings us hapiness."

"So, basketball is pure, it is originally happy, without any other factors. It is only because when it is more deeply entangled with your life, all kinds of redundant ideas are born, and your original intention of pursuing basketball is changed."

Coach Anxi said with a smile: "This is just like tomorrow's game."

"Don't think about gains and losses anymore. You are already great and you deserve everyone. So, find the original purity and happiness of basketball. Forget that this is the Olympics, forget how strong your opponents are, forget your identity as a professional player, and forget the mess that is mixed into basketball because of your life."

"Enjoy the game, enjoy the happiness that basketball brings us! Enjoy your youth!"

The crowd stopped laughing, but the atmosphere in the room has gone from superficial relaxation to silence, and then from silence to a relieved smile.

Some things, even if they are not expressed, are always bad to keep in your heart.

They are already great and should not bear any other pressure.

"Our goal tomorrow."

Coach Anxi stretched out his hand, and all the players stacked up one by one.

"Don't let down your youth, don't forget your beginning, fight with all your strength, and don't leave any regrets for yourself!" Coach Anxi said happily: "For Japanese fans, for fans all over the world, and for ourselves, let's give a wonderful game!"

"HOHOHO! Do your best!" Everyone shouted, and Sakuragi Hanamichi's neck was the thickest: "Don't let down your youth, don't forget your beginning, come on!"

………………

On August 24, the much-anticipated Olympic finals finally kicked off at the Yanjing Wukesong Sports Center.

Although no one in the world was optimistic about the Japanese team, including the Japanese themselves.

Although everyone thought that this would be a one-sided battle and there would be no accidents, Longguo was destined to reach the top and become the champion of this year's Olympic men's basketball event.

But this did not affect the ratings and popularity of this game worldwide.

There is no doubt that almost all the people playing basketball in the world are fans of Lin Dong. They all want to witness and witness their idol holding up this trophy with the highest gold content in the basketball world.

This is destined to be a moment that will go down in history...

At this time, the Wukesong Stadium was already a sea of ​​red.

There were countless five-star red flags flying around the stands of the stadium, and it was also filled with countless shouts and screams.

If we only look at the semi-finals, most of the audience felt that in addition to Lin Dong's extraordinary performance, Longguo basketball has indeed improved as a whole, and Longguo basketball has played well as a whole.

After the semi-finals, various expert ball reviews, various tabloid news and Internet public opinion finally made people understand why this Longguo national team is so strong.

Whether it is connecting the entire team, or directly dominating the court and controlling the outcome of the game in an invincible manner in the last quarter.

All this is because of the basketball god, because the basketball god has superb skills, because the basketball god has the most sincere and selfless basketball heart that no one in the world can match!

——Lin Dong! Lin Dong! Lin Dong!

The cheers from the whole stadium made the whole stadium seem very lively and noisy. Big-name fans from all over the world gathered, and various celebrities on the big screen were also endless.

There were various business bigwigs and entertainment stars in the stands, but the big screen gave the most shots, not these celebrities who were usually high and mighty, but gave more shots to the family and friends of the heroes.

Yang Dong and Lao Lin sat hand in hand in the front row of the stands. The old man and grandma also went crazy with the young people for the first time. They printed the national flag on their faces, held small colored sticks in their hands, and their faces were full of red and smiling like spring.

Of course, there was also a large group of old comrades and old neighbors sitting next to the old man, chattering and praising the old man excitedly, which made the old man very proud.

The happiness of the Dragon people is often simple and simple. It seems to be loose with the family as the boundary, and each sweeps the snow in front of the door, but at some times there is also an extremely cohesive atmosphere... This is something that most foreigners can't imagine.