Another Side

"Congratulations!"

When they returned to the locker room, Naito Junko greeted the players with a sweet smile.

Wu Yufei noticed that there were still faint tear marks at the corners of Junko's eyes that she had not fully wiped away.

Had she cried?

Indeed, when Wu Yufei made that final layup, even he had been so excited he wanted to smash the floor to pieces, let alone an emotional girl like Junko.

Wu Yufei recalled Akagi Haruko from the original story, who often found herself shedding tears during intense games.

A great game could truly stir up all of a person's emotions. Even if you were not particularly fond of basketball, a certain moment could still leave you shaken and moved. That was the charm of competitive sports.

Moreover, this game had truly been thrilling and spectacular. It could be said that it had been intense from start to finish. Even when Ryonan had fallen furthest behind, their morale had not completely collapsed. Under Sendoh's leadership, they had stubbornly stabilized themselves and kept searching for an opportunity to turn things around.

Sendoh's stunning performance of scoring six straight points in the final minute had made a game that had seemed decided become unpredictable once more, forcing Wu Yufei to fight desperately for the basket that would put him back ahead of Sendoh in scoring on the final possession.

When that last shot went in, the cheers from the crowd had seemed powerful enough to blow the roof off the gym!

If that final shot had missed, then even if Miuradai had won the game, Wu Yufei's life would have been almost equivalent to a failure.

After all, the penalty for failing the mission was the complete shutdown of the Slam Dunk System.

Wu Yufei did not think his body lacked talent. Even without the system, he believed that with his talent and hard work, he could still make a living from basketball.

But people had to have dreams. Since he had the chance to climb to the top, why not give it a try?

Likewise, through this game, Wu Yufei had gained an even clearer sense of just how formidable Sendoh was—the will to win hidden beneath that harmless-looking smile, no less than anyone else's!

In the original story, even A Maki had acknowledged that Sendoh had reached the same level as himself. That level referred not only to basketball skills, but also mentality!

If his luck had not been so terrible, Sendoh would have had a strong chance of leading Ryonan into the National Tournament.

After all, in the original story, both games Ryonan lost had been filled with all kinds of regrets, and those regrets had also become the regrets of many fans who loved the team Ryonan and the player Sendoh.

Against Kainan, if Uozumi had been a little calmer and not confronted the referee, Ryonan's interior would not have been hammered apart by someone like Takasago, allowing Kainan to gradually close the gap and eventually take the lead.

Against Shohoku, if they had paid proper attention to Kogure and Sakuragi Hanamichi in time, they would not have tasted the bitter fruit of defeat at the end.

Unfortunately, in the original story, they had lost to Kainan and Shohoku in succession because of bad luck. Here, they had lost to Miuradai because of the gap in strength.

If Ryonan met the same fate as in the original story over their next two games, then they would become this year's Takezato, swallowing three defeats and ending their summer in regret.

"The result from the other side is out!"

Just as the Miuradai team had finished resting, packed their belongings, and prepared to leave the locker room, Naito Junko, whom Coach Harada had sent to inquire about the result of Shohoku versus Kainan, pushed open the door and called out loudly.

"Who won?"

Wu Yufei immediately pressed for an answer. This was the question he cared about most right now.

"It... it was Shohoku! I think in the end, that red-haired one, called..."

"Sakuragi Hanamichi?"

"Yes, yes, that's right, Sakuragi Hanamichi! I heard Shohoku and Kainan were tied in the final few seconds. Then Sakuragi Hanamichi grabbed the game-winning rebound and scored on a layup, beating Kainan at the buzzer!"

So that was it... Had the original plot finally changed completely?

Wu Yufei thought excitedly.

In the original story, Shohoku should still have been trailing Kainan by two points at the end. Yet after Sakuragi Hanamichi grabbed the most crucial rebound in the final moment, he had passed to the wrong person, ultimately leading to Shohoku's heartbreaking loss.

But here, the two teams had been tied in the final moment, and Sakuragi Hanamichi had made the game-winning shot.

The only thing that had not changed was probably that Sakuragi Hanamichi had still claimed the final, most crucial rebound.

Wu Yufei could imagine just how much a victory like this would boost the confidence of the entire Shohoku team, as well as Sakuragi Hanamichi himself.

"The next game is going to be tough."

After his excitement faded, Wu Yufei sighed with a bitter smile.

Next Saturday would be the day Miuradai faced Shohoku.

After consecutively defeating the teams universally recognized as the strongest and second strongest in the prefecture, every member of Shohoku would surely gain tremendous confidence from it.

Driven by that confidence, and with Coach Anzai's guidance, it was hard to say about future games, but at least in their next game, Shohoku would definitely be able to unleash at least one hundred and twenty percent of their strength.

Forget it, I won't think about it so much. The game isn't until next week anyway, and I have two Superstar Experience Cards in hand now. If I can't even handle Shohoku, then I might as well stop bragging about going to the NBA!

Wu Yufei encouraged himself inwardly.

Shohoku's morale was soaring after beating Shoyo and Kainan in succession? Wasn't Wu Yufei the same?

The first day of the Kanagawa Prefecture tournament's final four round robin had officially come to an end.

The two newcomers who had entered the final four for the first time this year had both defeated established powerhouse teams. It was an outcome many spectators had not expected before the games.

But after the shock came even greater delight.

The audience had watched Kainan dominate Kanagawa in the same unchanging fashion for far too long. Some older spectators had even been watching since Kainan's reign first began.

Tired of the same old thing, the spectators had long hoped for challengers like Miuradai and Shohoku to emerge, overturning Kanagawa's decades-old order and opening a new chapter for Kanagawa high school basketball.

So Miuradai and Shohoku's victories today could be said to have answered the people's wishes...

"What a wonderful performance. Congratulations on taking your first win in the final four."

As the Miuradai team walked out of the gym, they met up with the journalism club team led by upperclassman Takei Yumi. The moment they met, Takei immediately praised them.

"By the end, even my heart was in my throat. Of course, I took plenty of handsome photos of all of you as well. I believe that once the next school paper comes out, basketball might just leap straight into becoming Miuradai High School's number one sport!"

The Miuradai players naturally felt as though they were basking in a spring breeze at the beautiful upperclassman's praise, and they enjoyed every word of it.

On the bus ride back, Takei Yumi once again conducted postgame interviews with the players who had performed brilliantly in this game and with Coach Harada. The bus carried laughter and cheerful voices all the way back to Miuradai High School.

After returning to school, the basketball team did not immediately disperse. Instead, under Coach Harada's lead, they once again went to the same sushi restaurant as last time for a celebration.

After all, their next game was not until a week later, so celebrating their first win in the final four round robin a little did not count as getting carried away, right?

Wu Yufei remained very disciplined. He only ate a few slices of salmon, along with fruit and salad. After all, he still planned to continue with extra training that afternoon. If he ate too well or too much now, it would affect his practice later.

The celebration did not last long. Everyone was straightforward and efficient, so after quickly eating and drinking their fill, Coach Harada gave a brief summary. He then announced the training time for tomorrow morning, the weekend, before declaring the day over. Everyone was to go home, attend to their own business, and enjoy the remaining half day of vacation.

They said their goodbyes to one another outside the restaurant, and the day's schedule officially came to an end.