Sakuragi, having joined the basketball team in order to impress Haruko, the sister of the team's captain, has trouble staying on the bench when the opening minutes of the big practice game against their Ryonan rivals do not go well.
Rukawa learns something about Coach Anzai that makes him determined to become Japan's best high school basketball player. Then, while the Shohoku team goes to practice with another team in the ten days before the beginning of the national tournament, Sakuragi stays behind for special practice sessions that will push him to the limit and hone his skills.
Shohoku, trailing Ryonan in the final seconds of the game, has the opportunity to beat their rival when Hanamichi blocks a shot, giving Kaede Rukawa a chance at shooting the winning basket.
Sakuragi gets a break when Coach Anzai decides to give him a crack at playing center, but, with only three days before the game against Takezato, that means a gruelling training regimen of five hundred shots a day.
Sakuragi Hanamichi tries to leave his bad-boy image behind and start anew on the school's basketball team, but when he does not see eye-to-eye with the team's captain, he struggles to stay on the right path.
Hanamichi finally has a chance to prove himself on the basketball court when he is allowed to play in the place of Akagi, who is injured, but his efforts might not be enough to make him the next team captain.
Athlete Kyoharu Togawa, chosen to compete for a spot on Japan's National Wheelchair Basketball Team, looks back over how far he has come since losing a leg to cancer.
Paraplegic and basketball enthusiast Hisanobu Takahashi tries to cope with his demanding physical therapy and the reality that his life is no longer easy.
Kiyohiko Togawa, confined to a wheelchair after a bout with cancer, struggles to overcome his physical limitations and fulfill his dreams of being a basketball star.
