Possibilities

Evening, Miuradai High School Basketball Gymnasium.

Duang! Swish! Swish! Duang! Swish! Swish! Swish!

Wu Yufei was practicing Three-Pointers. Aside from him and his girlfriend Junko, there were no other teammates in the entire gym.

After watching Kainan's game against Ryonan that morning, Coach Harada led the Miuradai team back to school.

They spent an hour analyzing the day's game, held a brief meeting, and then dismissed everyone.

Having won today's game, Kainan once again had a chance to contend for the championship. So tomorrow, they would definitely give one hundred and twenty percent, doing everything they could to defeat Miuradai and reclaim their throne as kings of Kanagawa.

Calling it "reclaiming" was not quite accurate. Until this year's Final Four Round Robin ended, Kainan still sat on that throne.

They had merely suffered an unexpected loss to Shohoku in the first game. It was Kainan's first loss in prefectural competition in recent years, and their only one. That was why the spectators had gotten the illusion that "Kainan was finished."

Although Kainan had only narrowly defeated Ryonan today with a game-saving counter-buzzer-beater, it still helped Wu Yufei settle his mindset.

Although Miuradai currently had two wins while Kainan had one win and one loss, that was not something to celebrate or feel proud about.

For tomorrow's game, everyone on Miuradai had to know their place, stay level-headed, and face Kainan with the mentality of challengers.

Otherwise, they would definitely suffer badly!

Swish!!

As Wu Yufei made another Three-Pointer, Naito Junko walked onto the court and handed him a towel.

"Yufei, you've already made three hundred Three-Pointers. Let's call it a day. It wouldn't be worth it if overtraining affected tomorrow's game."

"Yeah, you're right. Let's stop here for today."

Wu Yufei nodded as well, then picked up the ball and put it back in the basket.

He had just finished an intense game that morning, then trained extra for so long that evening. This was about enough.

After packing up, Wu Yufei and Junko headed home together.

Along the way, they talked about basketball and the games.

With Wu Yufei explaining things to her from time to time, Junko had now become quite knowledgeable about basketball. She knew no less than some of the basketball team members about many things concerning basketball and the NBA.

Because she liked Wu Yufei, she had gradually come to truly love basketball as well. That was what it meant to love the house and its crow.

"Make sure you do your best tomorrow!"

"Don't worry! Even for the sake of our promise, I'll definitely lead Miuradai to the Kanagawa championship!"

Meanwhile, the Shohoku players received terrible news halfway through the Kainan versus Ryonan game.

Coach Anzai had suddenly fallen ill and been hospitalized. He definitely would not be able to attend tomorrow's game with the team.

They had lost to Miuradai, and Coach Anzai had been hospitalized. Those two events in a single day cast a dark cloud over everyone at Shohoku.

That afternoon, after visiting him, they left the hospital and gathered in a restaurant to discuss tomorrow's game.

"This year's Prefectural Tournament qualification picture is incredibly complicated. Although Ryonan has already lost two games, they still have a chance to fight for the National Tournament. Miuradai may have two wins, but if they lose to Kainan tomorrow, they could lose their status as the top seed."

Ayako, who had joined them only after watching the game, looked at the notebook in her hand and spoke with a frown.

The current standings:

Miuradai: 2 wins, 2 points, point differential +22

Kainan: 1 win, 1 loss, 1 point, point differential 0

Shohoku: 1 win, 1 loss, 1 point, point differential -17

Ryonan: 2 losses, 0 points, point differential -5

"Looking at it now, the best-case scenario is for Miuradai to beat Kainan tomorrow. Then we only need to defeat Ryonan, and we can enter the National Tournament as the second seed."

Ayako continued analyzing the situation for everyone.

"But if Miuradai loses to Kainan, then not only do we have to beat Ryonan, we have to win by a huge margin—at least nineteen points. Otherwise, even if we all have two points, we'll rank third because our point differential is worse than Kainan's, and we'll lose our chance to go to Nationals."

"There's also a worst-case scenario."

Kogure, who had been silent for a long time, joined the discussion.

"That's if Kainan defeats Miuradai, and we lose to Ryonan. Then those two teams with two points each will go to the National Tournament together, while Ryonan and us will be eliminated outright."

"..."

After Kogure finished speaking, everyone present fell silent.

There were only two games tomorrow, which meant only four possible outcomes.

1. Miuradai defeats Kainan, and Shohoku defeats Ryonan. This was the simplest outcome. There would be no need to consider point differential. Miuradai would win the championship undefeated, Shohoku would follow with two points, and the two teams would advance to Nationals together.

2. Miuradai loses to Kainan, and Shohoku defeats Ryonan. Shohoku would then have to compete in point differential with Miuradai and Kainan. Miuradai already had a +22 point differential, so barring a crushing loss to Kainan tomorrow, at least one spot would be secure for them. Shohoku, meanwhile, would have to beat Ryonan by at least nineteen points, or they would have no chance.

3. Miuradai defeats Kainan, and Shohoku loses to Ryonan. Then Miuradai would win the championship undefeated, while Shohoku would have to compete in point differential against Kainan and Ryonan. Not only would Shohoku need to beat Ryonan by a huge margin, they would also have to pray for Miuradai to crush Kainan and lower Kainan's point differential.

4. Miuradai loses to Kainan, and Shohoku loses to Ryonan. This was the worst outcome Kogure had just mentioned. Shohoku would not even need to compete in point differential anymore, because there would be no point.

Of the four possibilities, Shohoku had a chance to reach the National Tournament in three of them, but all of those depended on the results of other teams' games.

"This is so damn frustrating! Our fate actually has to be decided by the results of the other two teams' game. It feels awful!"

Mitsui Hisashi clenched his fists and spoke indignantly.

"Exactly! What kind of messed-up thing is point differential anyway? It's not scientific at all! We beat Kainan, didn't we? Even if Kainan beats Miuradai tomorrow, as long as we beat Ryonan and all three teams have two points, we should rank first based on head-to-head results!"

Miyagi Ryota slapped the table in irritation.

"What you said is what's unscientific!"

As an honor student, Akagi Takenori held his forehead helplessly.

"That's right, Ryota. If we ranked by head-to-head results like you said, then Shohoku beat Kainan, Kainan beat Miuradai, and Miuradai beat Shohoku. All three teams would have beaten different opponents. Wouldn't that be like playing rock-paper-scissors? That's why point differential is a relatively more reasonable system."

Ayako patiently explained it to Miyagi Ryota.

After all, Miyagi was a regular when it came to failing exams. It was only natural that he could not wrap his head around such a complicated math problem.

"Do you have any thoughts, Rukawa Kaede?"

Ayako looked at Rukawa Kaede, who had not said a word since earlier, and asked him.

"Nothing to say. We just need to win tomorrow's game. There's nothing we can do to change anything else."

Rukawa Kaede answered flatly.

"That's right. Whether it's head-to-head results or point differential, the first and foremost condition is that we must defeat Ryonan tomorrow. At least then, we can keep the initiative in our own hands!"

Akagi Gorilla gave the concluding statement.

"This is the premise for everything! After tonight, forget all that other nonsense! Don't let it affect your performance tomorrow. Giving everything we have to defeat Ryonan is the only thing any of us needs to think about. Got it?!"

"Yes!!" XN

The next day, June 27th, was the final game day of the Kanagawa Prefecture Tournament Final Four Round Robin, and the day that would determine which teams represented Kanagawa Prefecture at the National Tournament.

The two games were Shohoku vs Ryonan at ten in the morning, followed by Miuradai vs Kainan at noon.

This arrangement suited Shohoku perfectly. They would not be affected by the result of Kainan's game against Miuradai, allowing them to focus entirely on defeating Ryonan first.

After all, Coach Anzai was still in the hospital today, so the entire burden rested on captain Akagi Takenori's shoulders.

At 9:50, after finishing their warm-ups, both teams returned to their benches for their final pep talks.

Ryonan's side...

"Although we unfortunately lost the first two games, just as I told you last night, as long as we win today's game, we still have a chance to reach the National Tournament!"

Taoka Moichi encouraged the team.

"Although we'll still have to depend on the results of Miuradai and Kainan's game, as long as there's one percent... no, even one-thousandth of a percent chance, we absolutely cannot give up!"

"If the chance is only one in a thousand, then put in a thousand times the effort to seize it! Believe in me, and believe in yourselves!"

"Yes!!" XN

Every Ryonan player roared in response.

They would give everything to win this game! To see scenery beyond Kanagawa!

On the other side, Shohoku's bench...

"Since Coach Anzai can't come here to watch us play in person, then..."

Mitsui Hisashi took a framed photograph from his bag. It showed Coach Anzai's kindly face.

"Coach Anzai, please bless us..."

After placing the frame in the seat where Coach Anzai should have been sitting, Mitsui Hisashi knelt down and prayed with utmost sincerity.

"Idiot! Don't do something so unlucky!!"

"Exactly! Coach Anzai is only in the hospital—he's not dead, you bastard!!"

Akagi and Miyagi immediately stepped forward to stop him.

"Hmph! It's only Ryonan, who've lost two straight. It doesn't matter whether old man is here or not. Monkey Boss, Sendoh, whoever—leave them to the genius Sakuragi!!"

Sakuragi Hanamichi had ultimately shaved his head.

Although he had not been particularly at fault for yesterday's loss to Miuradai, he still walked into a barbershop last night.

Perhaps this was the story's self-correcting mechanism. Whatever was meant to happen would always happen.

Watching Sakuragi Hanamichi's gleaming bald head on the court, Wu Yufei smiled wryly in the stands.

Though it might be a little disrespectful to say so, Coach Anzai falling ill yesterday is actually tremendous news for Ryonan!

Watching the chaotic scene in Shohoku's rest area, Coach Taoka thought to himself.

Beep—!!

With the referee's whistle, the game between Shohoku and Ryonan officially began.

During the first five minutes, Shohoku found themselves at a disadvantage.

Rukawa Kaede seemed out of form and did not display the unstoppable momentum he had shown in the previous games.

Akagi was also suppressed by Uozumi on both offense and defense, unable to help his team open things up inside.

Miyagi Ryota found it difficult to break through or pass smoothly against Sendoh's defense.

Mitsui Hisashi, meanwhile, was determined to score for the team with his Three-Pointers, but the game had only just begun and his hand was cold, resulting in a pitiful shooting percentage.

The only one performing relatively normally was Sakuragi Hanamichi.

While all his teammates were struggling, Sakuragi Hanamichi, with his monstrous body and boundless energy, grabbed six points, four rebounds, and a steal. He accounted for all of Shohoku's points and was the only bright spot on the team during the opening five minutes.

Kogure, acting as the temporary coach on the sidelines, decisively called a timeout after seeing his teammates' poor performance.

Although the game had only been underway for a few minutes, the score had already reached 15-6, and Ryonan's lead was about to hit double digits.

After adjusting during the timeout, the Shohoku team finally began to come back to their senses.

The Shohoku Five Tigers exploded collectively upon returning to the court, immediately answering Ryonan with a 10-0 run. They successfully took the lead, making the game even more exciting.

Ryonan regained the lead thanks to Fukuda's outstanding performance and maintained their advantage over Shohoku.

As Akagi came back to life, Shohoku kept chipping away at the gap as well, refusing to let Ryonan pull away.

By the end of the first half, Ryonan led Shohoku 32-28.

Compared to the original story, Shohoku had scored two more points, but the plot where Sakuragi Hanamichi was directly knocked flying while defending Fukuda, hit his head on a sideline chair, and left the game injured still happened.

"Hey, Sakuragi Hanamichi got injured and left the court. Shohoku is doomed now, right?"

After all, Sakuragi Hanamichi's reputation as the Rebound King was now known throughout Kanagawa's high school basketball scene. Having lost such a fierce player, although Shohoku had tenaciously cut the deficit to only four points by halftime, they would definitely be unable to contend with Uozumi and Fukuda's combination inside with Akagi alone as the second half went on.

"Not necessarily. Maybe this injury will make Sakuragi Hanamichi even more active in the second half."

Wu Yufei said with a smile.

"No way?"

"Hehe, let's just focus on watching the game."

Wu Yufei could hardly say, "I'm a transmigrator, and I've seen this game before," could he? So he could only smile mysteriously.

Since so many things from the original story had already happened, Wu Yufei had no doubt that Sakuragi Hanamichi would return to the court in the second half and unleash his full might.