Second Round

A week passed quickly. On June 26, the second round of the Kanagawa Prefecture Tournament Final Four Round Robin officially began amid great anticipation.

Unlike the first matchday, both games today would be played one after another in the same venue.

The first game began at 10:00 in the morning, featuring Miuradai and Shohoku, two highly anticipated rising teams.

The second game began at noon. Kainan and Ryonan, two established powerhouses, would battle to defend their respective pride. The losing team would very likely lose its chance to compete for a National Tournament berth altogether.

At 9:50 that morning, the players of both teams changed in their locker rooms before slowly emerging from the tunnel amid the cheers of the spectators, stepping onto the court to warm up.

Meanwhile, in the stands, the players of Kainan and Ryonan also ran into each other head-on.

"Yo, A Maki. Who do you think will win this game?"

Uozumi asked. This was not the first time he had asked A Maki a question like this.

"Shohoku, by around five points."

A Maki answered directly, then asked in return, "What do you think?"

"Miuradai! By fifty!"

Uozumi's answer was domineering, but it sounded more like he was trying to compete.

"Heh. You're still saying the same ridiculous things as always. See you on the court later."

"A Maki, even though this may no longer be appropriate to say after you lost to Shohoku in your last game, I still have to tell you this. Starting today, your position as Kanagawa Prefecture's number one will belong to someone else!"

Uozumi made another shocking declaration.

A Maki smiled.

"You're not qualified yet, Uozumi."

A Maki spoke with confidence.

"No, not me. Sendoh of Ryonan!"

In an instant, everyone on both teams turned to look at Sendoh nearby.

Sendoh looked utterly innocent. He had clearly said nothing, yet he was somehow subjected to the stares of all the Kainan players.

"Is that so? Then I'll look forward to it for now."

After the two captains exchanged a few barbs, they each led their teammates to the stands and waited for the game to begin.

On the court, both sides continued warming up at an unhurried pace.

Beeep—!!

"The game is about to begin!"

The staff entered the court for their final inspection and cleanup, while the players from both teams waited in their respective bench areas for their coaches' final instructions.

Coach Harada looked at the players before him, his heart swelling with ambition.

After announcing the starting lineup, Harada said to Wu Yufei and the others, "I have nothing else to say about this game. Just one thing: crush Shohoku!"

"Yes!!" XN

"Miuradai..."

"Let's go!!"

On the other side, Shohoku had also completed its final rally. The five starting players strode onto the court with overwhelming momentum.

Ding-dong—!!

One minute before the game began, the system sounded in Wu Yufei's mind once again.

Nice! Let's see what this mission is!

Wu Yufei immediately entered the system in his mind to check the details of this mission.

Main Quest: Dominate Japan's High School Basketball Scene!

Japan's tiny high school basketball scene is merely an insignificant stop on the road for someone determined to enter the NBA. Dominate and rule Japan's high school basketball scene, take a solid first step toward your basketball dream, and make every spectator go wild and cheer for you!

Current Quest Step 11: Final Four Round Robin, Second Round. Your opponent is Shohoku High School, fresh off defeating the reigning champions Kainan and riding high on momentum. They believe no one can stop them from dominating Kanagawa anymore. It is time to correct that mistaken belief!

Quest Requirement: Lead your team to victory and limit Rukawa Kaede to 25 points or fewer!

Quest Completion Rewards: ① Distributable Attribute Points x2;

② Item [Derrick Rose Layup Experience Card] x1

Quest Failure Penalty: A random ability stat -5, and the loss of all items in your inventory.

This is awesome!!

Wu Yufei roared inwardly.

Sure enough, playing strong teams was different. The mission rewards were all so tempting!

But what concerned Wu Yufei even more was the punishment for failing the mission.

The penalty for failing previous missions had always been the system shutting down entirely. Yet today's penalty was merely a reduction in ability stats and the loss of items in his inventory.

Compared to the previous punishments, this one was simply far too friendly.

Does that mean even the system acknowledges that Shohoku's ability to turn the tables in desperate situations is completely unreasonable?

Wu Yufei grumbled helplessly in his heart, while his concerns over today's result grew a little deeper.

Both sides took their positions at center court and waited for the referee.

The referee looked at the time on his watch and put the whistle in his mouth.

Five... four... three... two... one!

Beeep—!!

At exactly 10:00 a.m. on June 26, the second round of the Kanagawa Prefecture Tournament Final Four Round Robin, Miuradai High School versus Shohoku High School, officially began with the referee's whistle!

"Haaah!!"

Akagi Takenori was now undeniably Kanagawa's number one center. Though he was not as tall as Uozumi, he surpassed him in every other aspect.

Therefore, while Naito Tetsuya had been able to contend with Uozumi through sheer brute force in the previous game, he was clearly much more inexperienced against a seasoned player like Akagi Gorilla.

The basketball was smoothly tapped by Gorilla toward Miyagi Ryota, giving Shohoku the right to attack first.

Wu Yufei was not surprised by this result. There was indeed a gap in strength between them, so the instant the opening tip was decided, Wu Yufei lunged straight at Miyagi, denying him the chance to launch a fast break.

The moment Miyagi got the ball and prepared to initiate his most familiar fast break, he found Wu Yufei already standing in front of him.

"Tch!"

Seeing Wu Yufei standing a full twenty centimeters taller than himself, Miyagi could only abandon the idea of a fast break. He began protecting the ball carefully and advancing slowly.

Wu Yufei had halted Shohoku's fast-break momentum and bought his teammates time to get back on defense.

After crossing half court with the ball, Miyagi immediately passed it to Rukawa Kaede on the left, intending to let Rukawa score first and build Shohoku's momentum.

Murasame Kengo immediately pressed up on him and assumed a textbook defensive stance.

Hmph, some super rookie? Let's see how I shut you down!

"Come on!!"

Murasame roared to pump himself up.

However, Rukawa Kaede was not intimidated by Murasame's shout. He began showing off his moves right in front of him.

After receiving the ball, Rukawa paused for two seconds. Then, with a sudden feint, he shook Murasame off. Using his right foot as a pivot, he spun past Murasame Kengo and drove into Miuradai's paint.

Facing Ohno Kazuki's help defense, Rukawa remained calm and bounced the ball to Akagi Gorilla, who had established position beneath the basket.

After catching the ball, Gorilla immediately backed Naito Tetsuya down, using all his strength to force his way toward the basket.

But at that moment, Gorilla finally understood Uozumi's frustration.

Naito's technique might have been rough, but his 120-kilogram weight was undeniably real.

Even as the top center in the prefecture and one of Japan's best power centers, Gorilla found it extremely difficult to move Naito Tetsuya, who outweighed him by dozens of pounds.

If brute force would not work, then he could only win with skill.

Abandoning the idea of overpowering him, Gorilla began to display his own technique.

A series of fakes combined with footwork finally fooled Naito Tetsuya, allowing him to squeeze beneath the basket.

However, because he had spent several seconds forcing his way in, he had also given Wu Yufei an opportunity.

Just as Gorilla leaped up, preparing to open Shohoku's scoring with a thunderous dunk, Wu Yufei had already arrived in front of him and jumped to nearly the same height!

Bang!!

Facing Gorilla's two-handed dunk, Wu Yufei did not dare be careless. He also slammed both hands onto the basketball.

The two wrestled in midair.

"Haaah!!"

"Urgh..."

Wu Yufei had come prepared, while Gorilla had been caught off guard. With one gaining and the other losing ground, Wu Yufei successfully won this battle of strength and knocked the basketball out of bounds.

The referee blew the whistle, signaling that possession remained with Shohoku.

"You..."

After landing, Akagi Gorilla looked at Wu Yufei, who had ruined what should have been an easy dunk.

"Don't be so impatient, Akagi-senpai. The game has only just begun. There's still plenty of time."

Wu Yufei replied with a smile.

The game continued. After receiving a pass from his teammate, Miyagi Ryota protected the ball while scanning the court, considering this possession.

Wu Yufei remained in front of Miyagi Ryota, constantly applying pressure.

Although the mission required him to limit Rukawa Kaede's scoring, Wu Yufei understood that if he put enough pressure on Miyagi Ryota at the source, Shohoku's entire offense would weaken considerably. Naturally, Rukawa Kaede's scoring would fall as well.

Besides, their captain Murasame Kengo had just been embarrassed by Rukawa Kaede. If Wu Yufei went over and asked to switch defensive assignments now, Murasame would probably be unhappy about it too.

And things unfolded exactly as Wu Yufei had anticipated.

Wu Yufei was not much slower or less agile than Miyagi Ryota, and his height and wingspan completely overwhelmed Miyagi's.

Under Wu Yufei's active defense, Miyagi could never find a good passing opportunity.

As the seconds ticked away, not only Miyagi Ryota but his other teammates also began growing impatient.

"Give it to me!!"

Mitsui Hisashi immediately ran over to support Miyagi. After getting the ball, he forced his way into Miuradai's paint and attempted a floater over Ishiyama Jun.

"It's up to you! Akagi! Sakuragi!!"

Mitsui Hisashi knew perfectly well that the odds of such a reckless shot going in were pitifully low, so the instant he released it, he shouted toward the paint.

"Ohh!!"

"Leave it to me, Mitchy!!"

Under the basket, Akagi, Naito, Sakuragi, and Ohno began a fierce battle for position.

Clang!!

The shot struck iron, and the basketball bounced out.

"Haaah!!"

"Oohhh!!"

Everyone beneath the basket had already secured their positions. In an instant, they all jumped at once, stretching their arms toward the basketball in the air.

Slap!

However, something shocking happened in the next moment.

The rebound was not seized by Shohoku's Gorilla brothers, nor was it grabbed by Miuradai's human tank, Naito Tetsuya. Instead, it was claimed by Wu Yufei, who suddenly charged in from the right.

And most of the credit for that went to the blue-collar player Ohno Kazuki.

The moment he saw Wu Yufei rushing in, Ohno decisively boxed Sakuragi Hanamichi out, creating perfect space for Wu Yufei to take a running jump.

"Alright, now it's our turn."

After firmly securing the basketball, Wu Yufei raised one finger and spoke to everyone.

Shohoku High School's first offensive possession of the game had ended in failure. Now it was Miuradai's turn.