Returning to the Swimming Pool

Sakuragi and Rukawa Kaede's rookie season had come to an end. Though they had failed to reach the playoffs, the team management and even owner Takayama Kenichi were fairly satisfied with fifth place. The fans also understood that they could not ask for much more from such a young team.

"Everyone did their best. We had a wonderful start to the season, and although we made quite a few mistakes afterward, we corrected them in time and found the reasons behind them. That gave the team a more stable performance in the second half of the season. I'll say what I said before: we are not a championship-caliber team right now. Our goal is to become that kind of team in the future. At the very least, this season, we laid down a solid foundation. Our young players made tremendous progress, and that let us see that we have a chance to become the team we want to be. Maybe we still won't be able to compete for the championship next season, but don't forget, these kids are only , years old. What we hold isn't the present—it's the entire future!"

At the Jaguars' season wrap-up meeting, Coach Omoki spoke first. From his words, it was clear that he held a very positive view of the team's prospects.

Afterward, owner Takayama stepped forward to speak as well.

"First, I'd like to thank Coach Omoki Ishimoto for his contributions to the team this season. Indeed, just as Coach Omoki said, the team is now full of youthful energy. We have rebuilt step by step, and I highly approve of the players we selected. I wouldn't dare say our rebuild is complete, but at the very least, all our work is now proceeding in an orderly manner. So I still want to thank every member of our Jaguars family for their efforts. I hope our team will reach even greater heights next season!"

Owner Takayama's speech was not long, but he gave high praise to the work done across every part of the team.

Although the Jaguars' season was over, the rest of the JBa League was still in full swing, and the most intense, crucial stage—the playoffs—had arrived.

This season's JBa playoff matchups saw the first-place Kagoshima Antlers face the fourth-place Nagoya Ninjas, while the second-place Sendai Wanderers faced the third-place Fukuyama Flying Waves. After rounds of fierce competition, the Antlers eliminated the Ninjas :1, while the Wanderers narrowly defeated the Flying Waves on the other side. However, the team's key player Fukuda missed the finals due to injury. In the end, Maki Shinichi's Antlers and Xiandao's Wanderers met in the final championship series. It was also the second straight year the two teams had met in the finals.

Perhaps because Fukuda was absent, Maki played with remarkable ease in the finals. Combined with the return of the veteran Xinshan Fan, who had recovered from injury and rushed back into action, the Antlers became even more formidable.

:, the Antlers swept the finals to claim the title. It was the fifth championship in Antlers history, and after 5 years, they once again captured the Golden Basket! Maki also won the second championship of his career! Nobunaga won a championship in his very first year after joining the JBa, making him exceptionally fortunate. After all, many players spent 15 seasons without ever reaching the finals, let alone winning a championship.

The defeated Wanderers missed their chance at back-to-back titles. Although they lacked a dominant center like Maruyama Kojiro, this season had thoroughly established Xiandao as the backbone of the team. It had also given Xiandao the fullest possible workout, and his improvement was tremendous. If the team could bring in a solid interior player during the offseason to complement Xiandao, the Wanderers would still be a championship-caliber team.

And so, the JBa's 6--7 season came to an end. There was still much to be done for this not-yet-mature league. At the very least, it needed a Vp award and a more complete draft system. Perhaps the long offseason would bring all the answers.

After the season ended, the Jaguars gave all their players a month and a half off. Letting them relax properly was the top priority of the offseason. Mitsui and Miyagi went traveling in Southeast Asia, Rukawa Kaede returned to South Korea to visit family, while Akagi went back to his former university to resume the business administration courses he had fallen behind on throughout the season. Akagi had always been like that: the ruler of the paint on the court, the top student in the classroom.

Sakuragi did not go far, but he was still busy—so busy that he did not even look for Haruko, because he had once again come to what was perhaps his favorite place outside the basketball court—the swimming pool.

"Senior Maekawa! Senior Maekawa! ..."

Sakuragi arrived at the swimming pool and could not find Coach Maekawa Yuanhang, so he anxiously shouted everywhere.

"Hey, hey, hey, stop shouting. What do you need Mr. Maekawa for?!"

A security guard stopped Sakuragi.

"I'm looking for him to train. Where is he?!"

Sakuragi looked quite anxious.

"He's over there..."

"No need, I see him!"

Before the guard could finish, Sakuragi looked around and finally found Coach Maekawa standing by the pool, teaching the swimmers.

Sakuragi had wanted to surprise Coach Maekawa, but the swimmers recognized him. Even though Sakuragi pressed a finger to his lips to signal them not to say anything, perhaps startled by suddenly seeing him, they shouted, "Big Brother Sakuragi!!~~"

They all rushed over and hugged Sakuragi.

"The moment you show up, I don't even know who I'm supposed to have teach them anymore! Haha!"

"Sorry, Senior. I came to visit without notifying you!"

Sakuragi's attitude was extremely humble.

"What, the season's over?!"

"Yes. A season goes by so quickly!"

"Didn't you say you could win a championship? But it seems someone else won it!"

"We still weren't good enough in every aspect this season, but sooner or later, I'll bring back a championship!!"

Whenever Sakuragi mentioned a championship, he was always so determined.

At the swimming pool, Sakuragi began chatting with Coach Maekawa, whom he had not seen in a long time.

"The last time you came here for special training, I taught you pretty much every technique there was for recovering your lower back. There really isn't much else!"

That afternoon, Sakuragi asked Coach Maekawa for some new training methods, but the answer he received would probably disappoint him.

"There must be other methods! Teach me, please!! Senior!!"

Sakuragi's eagerness to learn was intense.

"You're still a basketball player, after all. Your training should be on the basketball court!"

"But I've noticed that my flexibility is still a little lacking. Swimmers always seem to have excellent flexibility!"

"But look at these kids. They've trained from the start, while you..."

"Senior!!!! You have to help me!!! Whether I can improve this offseason depends on you!!!"

Sakuragi began pleading.

"This..."

Seeing that Sakuragi was practically about to kneel, Maekawa found himself in a difficult position. His mind raced as he thought of a training method that could help Sakuragi.

"How about this? I'll take you somewhere, but you need to be prepared. This training method is quite dangerous!"

"When has Sakuragi ever been afraid? Bring it on!! Haha, I knew you still had a secret weapon, Senior!!"

Hearing Maekawa's words, Sakuragi immediately went from looking miserable to beaming with joy.

"All right, follow me. You really are persistent."

With that, Coach Maekawa brought Sakuragi to a training room filled with "danger."

"There, this is the place..."

Following Coach Maekawa's guidance, Sakuragi saw a room that looked like a factory when he looked up—it was incredibly high. But when he looked down, it felt more like an amusement park, filled with large trampoline-like mats packed tightly together. The mats were covered in heaps of what looked like foam balls. The entire place was one giant trampoline.

"Huh!? No way, Senior. Isn't this an amusement park...?"

Sakuragi stared curiously at everything before him.

"This is no ordinary place. It isn't where us swimmers train professionally. It belongs to our neighbors—the divers."

"Di... diving!!??" Sakuragi understood less and less.

"That's right. This is a very important part of divers' daily training—simulated diving! The athletes spring upward off the trampoline, and once they reach a certain height, they begin simulating the dive they perform from the pool platform. This kind of training saves time and effort, while also helping the athletes memorize the full sequence of movements and improve the flexibility of their lower backs and abdomens!"

"Oh, then this really is quite a test!"

Maekawa's explanation seemed to give Sakuragi a rough understanding.

"Yes. Because of your old lower-back injury, I didn't want to bring you here for this training. But seeing how badly you want to learn, we can give it a try. But! You must know your limits! Don't rush things. If you get injured, Omoki will have me killed!"

"I won't! Don't worry, Senior, I'm in great shape! Let's begin!!"

And so, under Coach Maekawa's guidance, Sakuragi began trampoline training.

"Whoa~~ whoa~~ whoa~~ whoa~~ haha!"

Sakuragi had the time of his life on the trampoline, as though he had truly mistaken the place for an amusement park.

Over the next month and a half, Sakuragi would once again spend his days here. With his personality, he got along extremely well with the other athletes every day. Though this was special training Sakuragi had sought out for himself, judging from the process, it looked more like a "vacation."