Star of Tomorrow

"You played great today, Akagi. This victory belongs to you!"

"You just didn't bring out your full strength, Kogure. Keep training hard, and you'll get even better!"

"Got it. You too. Sakuragi and the others have improved so much. I believe the team will only get better and better!"

After the game, Akagi and Kogure embraced without a word. On the court, they had been fierce rivals; off the court, they were brothers in all but blood.

"Sakuragi Hanamichi, you've improved a lot. Next time, I won't let you have your way so easily!"

"Hmph, next time? Next time, I'll beat you by four points!"

Fujima and Sakuragi chatted after the game as well. Fujima was not upset by the loss, and Sakuragi's bold claim actually made him laugh.

"Glasses! Hahaha, you weren't on your game today!"

"Your shooting wasn't very steady either, Sakuragi!"

Kogure and his old teammates joked around with one another, creating a remarkably harmonious atmosphere.

As for the stats, all five Jaguars starters scored in double figures. Rukawa Kaede still led the team with 6 points, while Sakuragi contributed 1 point, 1 rebound, and 4 blocks in the second game of his professional career, recording double-doubles in back-to-back games! Though Fujima scored a game-high 6 points, he still could not lead his team to victory.

"The Jaguars played very well today and taught us a lesson. Fortunately, the season has only just begun. It's a good thing for the team's flaws to be exposed. We'll go back and review things carefully, striving to find our own rhythm again."

Just as Flying Waves head coach Moriyama said after the game, losing one game was not frightening. The most important thing was adjusting in time, identifying the problems, and solving them.

And so, the game everyone had expected to be fiercely contested ended in a resounding Jaguars victory! Sakuragi earned the first win of his professional career!

"The Jaguars have also reached a 4-1 record. This should be their best start in recent years. Their summer rebuild appears to have worked quite well, and the Jaguars may very well become this season's dark horse."

That was how the television commentator assessed them. With the arrival of Rukawa Kaede and Sakuragi, these new Jaguars—the old Shohoku—were gradually shedding their identity as a bottom-feeding team.

"Everyone, look! The Wanderers game has gone into overtime!"

Inside the Jaguars locker room, while everyone was still immersed in the joy of victory, Miyagi's words drew everyone's attention.

"The two teams have been locked in a tight contest all game, trading the lead back and forth. With Lavender guard Zhongyuan Qujiang missing his final jump shot, the teams were tied at 9 at the end of regulation and headed into overtime."

Following the arena commentator's report, we turned to another game of this round—the one Miyagi had been watching in the locker room: the Sendai Wanderers at home against Hokkaido Lavender.

Just as the commentator had said, neither team had ever led by more than five points. The deadlock lasted until the very end. Lavender had originally had a chance to hit the game-winner, but guard Zhongyuan Qujiang missed his shot, allowing the Wanderers to escape disaster. The five-minute overtime was about to begin.

"Overtime means fewer mistakes and greater efficiency, so we'll play like this..."

Sendai Wanderers head coach Zhuangsi Xiti was unlike other coaches who screamed themselves hoarse while explaining tactics. After speaking calmly for a few moments, he began drawing on the clipboard like a teacher writing on a blackboard, while the players watched with complete focus.

Zhuangsi Xiti, the Sendai Wanderers' head coach, had thick hair and a full beard connected to his sideburns, all silver-white like an old man of a hundred. Yet Coach Zhuangsi was only in his early fifties. During games, he did not stand by the sideline waving his arms around like other coaches. He simply sat there peacefully, and whenever the team ran into trouble, he only used a whistle to remind the players on the court.

He occasionally revealed a faint smile, like an elderly man fishing by the river. From afar, he really did resemble the old man from KFC.

Zhuangsi Xiti's tall frame showed that he had once been a basketball player. Indeed, Coach Zhuangsi had played in the same era as the Jaguars' Coach Omoki. However, Zhuangsi Xiti had played for the most glorious team in JBa history—the Tokyo Tower. Not counting the championships he won as a coach, Zhuangsi Xiti had already earned 5 JBa championship rings as a player alone. Adding the rings he won after becoming a coach, he had 8 championship rings in total. He could truly be called the Lord of the Rings!

That was enough about the coach. Now, back to the teams.

The Sendai Wanderers had been briefly introduced before. This championship team from last season had encountered no small amount of trouble this season. The biggest issue was the departure of center Maruyama Kojiro, whose status within the team had even surpassed Xiandao's last season. That greatly weakened the Wanderers. Though they had drafted a promising rookie in Mito Yohei, Sakuragi's best friend, the team still found it difficult to reach last season's heights. Their title defense would be exceptionally difficult.

On the other side were the Hokkaido Lavender.

Hokkaido was famous for producing lavender, so the team was named after it. The Lavender had also enjoyed a glorious period in their history. In the 1991~199 season and the 199~199 season, they won the JBa championship two years in a row, establishing the Hokkaido dynasty. The team had reached the finals again afterward, but had never managed to touch the highest honor once more!

In recent years, the team's results had been far from ideal. The organization hoped to build a new arena to replace its outdated current venue, but Hokkaido government legislators believed that doing so would waste both money and manpower, so nothing had come of it. Recently, it was also revealed that the owner and management had decided that if the legislators still refused to approve a new arena, the team would likely move out of Hokkaido! Thus, this Lavender team was also in a state of turmoil.

However, the team had no shortage of promising newcomers. As the game unfolded, we would gradually come to know them.

As they spoke, the players from both sides returned to the court, and overtime was about to begin.

Xiandao was still talking with the team's power forward, Fukuda, who had also been his high school teammate. With the game having reached this point, neither side wanted to lose.

Lavender ball. Overtime began.

Zhongyuan Qujiang, the point guard who had missed the potential game-winner earlier, brought the ball up and organized the offense. Lavender used their most reliable scoring method: the pick-and-roll they had employed all game.

Before long, Lavender center Miyake Jiang stepped up to the perimeter to set a screen for Zhongyuan. The Wanderers' center, Watanabe Chisato—the younger brother of Kagoshima Antlers center Watanabe Takasato—stood 15 meters tall, but his speed and footwork limited him. Whenever Lavender ran a pick-and-roll, Qianli could not keep up to hedge. As a result, every successful Lavender pick-and-roll left Wanderers point guard Otake Shunta defending two players by himself. This time was no different. Otake desperately tried to slip around behind Miyake, but Miyake's enormous waist and back were like a mountain that Otake simply could not cross.

Seeing that Otake had not followed him, Zhongyuan pulled up directly for a jump shot from one step inside the three-point line.

Swish! Nothing but net.

"Good, Zhongyuan! Make those teams that passed on you in the draft regret it!"

The Lavender head coach shouted from the sideline, encouraging his players.

"Beautiful, Zhongyuan!"

The head coach's shouts seemed to have worked. On the Wanderers' baseline inbound, Mito Yohei saw that Xiandao had already sprinted ahead and tried to catch them off guard. Unfortunately, the pass lacked force and was intercepted midway by Zhongyuan.

Swish!

Taking advantage of the chaos, Zhongyuan used his speed to drive in again and hit a floater. Zhongyuan scored 4 straight points.

"Good, Zhongyuan! That's it! Take them down!"

The Lavender coach used exaggerated body language to cheer his players on.

Zhongyuan Qujiang was an undrafted rookie this year. His greatest trait could be summed up in one word: fast!

There had once been rumors that Zhongyuan could run 1 meter in 11 seconds! But Zhongyuan's problem was that he had suffered too many injuries, especially to his ankles. That made many teams unwilling to take the risk, causing Zhongyuan to go undrafted this year. However, Lavender gave this older rookie an opportunity, signing him to a veteran-minimum contract. Through the first four games of the season, Zhongyuan's performance had left many experts astonished.

This rookie, with delicate features, permed curls, a thin body, and a mole beside his mouth, was doing exactly as the Lavender head coach had said—making all the teams that had passed on him regret it!

"Those teams didn't draft you because they didn't understand you. They only knew how many ankle surgeries you'd had, but they didn't know how stubbornly you returned to the court every time. They only knew that you entered the draft after three years in college, but they didn't know how many hundred-meter records you broke during those three years! Maybe you aren't one of the league's best right now, but in the future, you will definitely become Lavender's leader. You are the Star of Tomorrow!"

Seeing Zhongyuan perform like this, the Lavender head coach felt his heart surge with emotion. He was overwhelmed with excitement and became even more convinced of what he believed in his heart.