Ruby, an aspiring cheerleader, always seems to mess up the cheers that involve spelling, but after a summer of study she aces the tryouts and goes on to win the spelling bee.
Mason and his friends are troubled when their basketball team, the Raptors, goes co-ed, even though they have a great player in Cindy; and the divisions caused by the change seem to be dooming their chances of making the national finals.
The members of the Shohoku basketball squad are involved in an on-court fight with a group of thugs and Kogure stops the confrontation by reminiscing about one of their opponent's past as a star player.
Coach Anzai knows he needs to do something quick in order to retake the lead from Shohoku, but is not sure if Mitsui has enough strength left in him to hit those crucial three-pointers.
Shohoku debuts in the National Championship, playing against Toyotama. Coach Anzai hopes his plan will take the team to the next level, but the Shohoku players are not sure they will be good enough to beat last year's champion, Sannoh.
Sakuragi Hanmichi, a freshman at Shohoku Prefectural High School, quickly becomes a standout on the basketball court and must learn to transfer some of that skill to the game of love.
The Shohoku basketball team avoids suspension over the on-court fight, but Coach Anzai decides on a starting lineup for Shohoku's game without Hanamichi, Rukawa, Ryota, and Mitsui as punishment for their lack of discipline.
At half time, Shohoku High is only down by six points in the game against Ryonan, but it remains to be seen if Shohoku can take advantage of that or if Ryonan's Coach Taoka is just waiting for the Shohoku team to slip up.
Rattled after being knocked down by Uozumi in Shohoku's game against Ryonan, Akagi doubts himself and defers plays to his teammates, which lets Ryonan pull ahead and makes Shohoku wonder if they have a chance of catching up.
Sakuragi Hanamichi, having joined the basketball team to impress his crush, Akagi Haruko, must decide whether she is worth the effort when he tires of the game after only one week.
