Shohoku vs. Miuradai

Kanagawa Gymnasium.

"The match between Shohoku High School and Miuradai High School is about to begin," the referee announced before walking to the center of the court between the two teams, ready to toss the ball.

The players from Shohoku and Miuradai were also ready.

Shohoku's starting lineup:

Center, #4, Akagi Takenori, 3rd year (Captain).

Small Forward, #5, Kogure Kiminobu, 3rd year.

Power Forward, #7, Kakuta Satoru, 2nd year.

Point Guard, #6, Yasuda Yasuharu, 2nd year.

Shooting Guard, #8, Shiosaki Satoshi, 2nd year.

Miuradai's starting lineup:

Center, #8, Kawasaki Akio, 3rd year.

Small Forward, #4, Murasame Kengo, 3rd year (Captain).

Power Forward, #6, Miyamoto Kazunari, 3rd year.

Point Guard, #5, Araki Kazuo, 3rd year.

Shooting Guard, #7, Takatsu Hiroshi, 3rd year.

Due to the previous fight, Coach Anzai did not allow Rukawa Kaede, Mitsui Hisashi, Miyagi Ryota, or Sakuragi Hanamichi to play.

Only the veteran players were on the court.

The Ryonan team members were all confused seeing Shohoku's lineup.

"It's finally starting, we need to study this carefully," Aida Kenichi said, fully prepared.

Koshino Hiroaki frowned upon seeing Shohoku's starting lineup. "Strange, why isn't Rukawa Kaede playing?"

Aida Kenichi blinked at this. "You're right! With Rukawa Kaede's skill, he should be a starter."

"Maybe they're saving him! The prefectural tournament just started, after all," Ikegami Ryoji analyzed.

While they were talking, the whistle for the start of the game blew.

Beeeep...

After the whistle.

The referee tossed the ball high into the air between the two teams.

Akagi Takenori and Kawasaki Akio leaped up, reaching for the ball in the air.

Although both players jumped at almost the same time, Akagi Takenori was far superior to Kawasaki Akio in terms of jump speed and explosiveness.

Unsurprisingly, Akagi Takenori touched the ball first.

With a gentle flick of his palm, Akagi Takenori batted the ball into Kogure Kiminobu's hands.

The Shohoku players immediately started running forward.

Without hesitation, Kogure Kiminobu dribbled the ball towards Miuradai.

Before reaching the three-point line, he habitually tossed the ball into the air.

Akagi Takenori suddenly appeared, leaped up, caught the ball in mid-air, and powerfully slammed it towards Miuradai's basket.

CRASH...

The sound of the slam dunk echoed throughout the stadium.

Shohoku got off to a great start.

"Good!" Akagi Takenori clenched his fists and shouted.

Seeing that the game had already started on the court.

Sakuragi Hanamichi, sitting on the bench, was getting impatient.

He went to Coach Anzai's side and asked in a low voice, "Hey! Old Man, why don't you ever let me play? Didn't you say I was a secret weapon?"

Coach Anzai remained silent, not answering Sakuragi Hanamichi.

Seeing that he wasn't speaking, Sakuragi Hanamichi narrowed his eyes and then pressed his face close to Coach Anzai's. "Hey! Old Man."

Suddenly, Coach Anzai turned his head to the side and said, "Because you guys got into a fight, you're being punished."

As soon as he said this, not only Sakuragi Hanamichi, but also Rukawa Kaede, Mitsui Hisashi, and Miyagi Ryota, who were sitting on the bench, were stunned.

Sakuragi Hanamichi went up to the three of them and scolded, "Hey! Old Man is angry! Little Mitsui, hurry up and think of something! You caused all this trouble."

"Who are you calling 'Little Mitsui'?!" Mitsui Hisashi was displeased and immediately stood up to retort. "Besides, you dare call Coach Anzai 'Old Man' in public? You're so rude, don't you know that?"

Miyagi Ryota also pointed at Sakuragi Hanamichi and said, "Sakuragi Hanamichi, it doesn't matter if you play or not. You're just a benchwarmer anyway, it's better for you to just sit here and watch others play."

"Ah... Miyagi, what are you talking about? How dare you speak to me, a genius, like that? Speaking of which, the reason we got into a fight was all your fault," Sakuragi Hanamichi said, his face full of indignation.

Listening to the bickering of the three people beside him, Rukawa Kaede sighed deeply, then blurted out, "Three big idiots."

His voice wasn't loud, but it seemed to possess a certain magic, and the three people arguing nearby heard him clearly.

Sakuragi Hanamichi, Mitsui Hisashi, and Miyagi Ryota's brows shot up, and their anger flared. They all walked up to Rukawa Kaede with displeased expressions, pointing at his nose and starting to lecture him. "Rukawa Kaede..."

Mitsui Hisashi: "You were the one who threw the first punch, you impatient guy."

Miyagi Ryota: "I'm your senior, and you dare call me an idiot."

Sakuragi Hanamichi: "Smelly fox, you talk so cocky. Do you want to fight?"

Rukawa Kaede remained silent, then put on an act of ignoring the three of them and said, "I can't see you."

His attitude infuriated the three, making them jump with rage. "What did you say..."

Just then, Ayako turned her head and stopped their argument. "Hey! You guys, quiet down. This isn't the time to be arguing. Look at the scoreboard yourselves."

Sakuragi Hanamichi and the others all looked up at the electronic scoreboard hanging overhead.

When they saw the score on the electronic scoreboard, they were all stunned.

At that moment, the electronic scoreboard showed Shohoku 4 to Miuradai 16, which was particularly striking.

"When did we fall behind by 14 points?" Sakuragi Hanamichi said blankly, looking at the score.

Miyagi Ryota corrected him, "It's 12 points."

Ayako explained, "Our defense is too weak, and we can't grab rebounds. Even though everyone saw the information Kanon gave us beforehand, it still requires people with execution to carry it out. It's really too difficult to play against Miuradai with our current lineup."

Swish...

The sound of a basketball brushing against the net rang out.

Miuradai scored another basket under Shohoku's defense.

Murasame Kengo looked at Akagi Takenori and provocatively said, "Akagi, what do you think? We're definitely going to beat Kainan this year and participate in the national tournament. Even if your Shohoku beats Ryonan, you're no match for us Miuradai."

As he spoke, the corners of his mouth curled up, and his eyebrows rose. He deliberately said with disdain, "Let me tell you, we're not like that lousy team Ryonan. Beating an insignificant team like yours is nothing."

As soon as he said this, the Ryonan members sitting in the audience had veins bulging on their foreheads, and they all gritted their teeth, angrily cursing Miuradai below.

"How dare you call us an insignificant team? What do you Miuradai think you are?"

"You damn guys are too arrogant."

"Shohoku, what are you guys doing? Hurry up and teach them a good lesson."

"We Ryonan are much stronger than you Miuradai."

Akagi Takenori glanced at the Ryonan members in the audience and thought to himself, "Those guys are so noisy."

He looked at his players and sighed inwardly. "Everyone on the team is completely suppressed by Miuradai's momentum, and as a result, they're not even playing at half their strength. It's just like Kanon said."

He recalled Shimizu Kanon's reminder from before.

"Captain Akagi, although Miuradai's overall strength isn't that high, you need to pay special attention on the game day. Because it's the first game, everyone might not be able to perform at their best due to psychological issues."

Time ticked by.

Miuradai continued to slaughter Shohoku at will.

The score between the two teams was continuously widening.

Shohoku's bench.

Coach Anzai looked at the increasingly grim situation on the court and finally spoke, "You guys won't get into fights with others anymore, right?"

As soon as he said this, the entire bench fell silent.

Sakuragi Hanamichi, Rukawa Kaede, Mitsui Hisashi, and Miyagi Ryota all moved in unison and uniformly shook their heads at Coach Anzai. "We won't fight anymore."

Ho ho ho ho...

Coach Anzai chuckled, then stood up.

At a vending machine in the gymnasium.

Sendoh came here to buy some drinks.

Just then, a voice suddenly rang out from behind him. "How is it, Sendoh? Shohoku, the team that gave you so much trouble."

Sendoh turned around and was also taken aback when he saw who it was. "You're Maki Shinichi from Kainan."

"Hi! Sendoh," Maki Shinichi greeted.

"I didn't expect the captain of the undefeated Kainan to show up in person. Which team are you aiming for? Is it Miuradai? Or..." Sendoh probed.

Maki Shinichi replied indifferently, "No matter which team wins in the end, it has nothing to do with us, and neither does Ryonan."

With that, Maki Shinichi turned and left.

Sendoh suddenly spoke again, "Is that so! But... this year might be different, Maki. Kainan's reign as kings might be in jeopardy!"

Maki Shinichi paused, turned to look at Sendoh, and then continued walking away.

Watching Maki Shinichi's retreating figure, Sendoh murmured to himself, "I wonder what would happen if you went up against that guy?"