Opening Night, Full of Confidence!

After a not-too-long offseason, the new JBa season was about to officially begin.

During the offseason, the JBa committee had proposed expanding the current number of teams and conducted research on several clubs qualified to join. However, the teams hoping to enter the JBa league faced significant constraints.

First, the leagues these teams belonged to were Japan's second-tier basketball leagues (JsBa, Japan, sened, baskeba11, assne). Though they operated professionally, they were far from meeting JBa standards in terms of finances and ability.

Second, if these teams joined the JBa league, the corresponding number of JsBa teams would decrease. This was something JsBa did not want to see, so JsBa's refusal to release them temporarily shelved JBa's expansion plans.

But it also had a certain stimulating effect. Once news of JBa's expansion plan came out, several powerful conglomerates hoping to own a JBa team began asking around. If they could not buy an existing JBa team, they could first purchase an affordable JsBa team, strengthen its roster, and seize any chance to enter the JBa league. That would be success!

So, JBa still had only 1 team competing this season, but next season was anyone's guess!

Back to the games themselves: the first JBa game day of the new season would feature two games. The first was the opening game, with last season's champions, the Kagoshima Antlers, hosting the Aomori Green Pythons, who had selected first overall pick Fukatsu Kazunari this year. The other game would see Sakuragi's Jaguars hosting the formidable Nagoya Ninjas.

In the first game, the Deer Horns cruised at home and crushed the Aomori Green Pythons 11::89. Deer Horns star Maki Shinichi was scorching hot, scoring 8 points in only three quarters. The defending champions clearly had not relaxed after winning the title; instead, they seemed even stronger. The Deer Horns looked set to be major championship favorites again this year.

Meanwhile, new first overall pick Fukatsu Kazunari had an ordinary JBa debut. In 8 minutes of play, he went 1-for-5, made no three-pointers, hit 4 free throws, and finished with only 5 points, along with 4 assists, 1 steal, and 1 rebound.

"Playing 8 minutes and taking only 5 shots tells you what kind of player Fukatsu Kazunari is. Just as the experts analyzed before the draft, Fukatsu has never been a player who relies on shooting on offense. Creating opportunities for his teammates is what he enjoys most. So if this Green Pythons team does not have an outstanding shooter or scorer, having Fukatsu alone is obviously not enough. Talking about becoming a playoff team would be empty talk."

The television commentator used Fukatsu's rookie performance to analyze the Green Pythons from another angle. Indeed, this young team still had a long way to go.

Likewise a young team, and likewise one that had gone through a long rebuild, the Jaguars had gradually assembled their roster through yearly drafts. This season, they hoped to become a playoff-caliber team.

The first game of the new season was also their first home game. The Jaguars hoped to show off the results of their offseason training and give all their fans a fresh impression.

"As everyone knows, it was during last season's preseason game that these two teams had a serious physical confrontation. The Jaguars' power forward, Sakuragi Hanamichi, was suspended, while the Ninjas' interior player Takano Jinglei was beaten so badly that he was sidelined for nearly half a season before returning. So when these two teams meet again, there will naturally be plenty of gunpowder in the air. There is no shortage of things to watch."

The commentator was also warming up the crowd for the upcoming game. For both sides, it was the first game of the new season, and both wanted to start with a win!

"Sakuragi, you must control your emotions. They may make plenty of moves against you, but you have to restrain yourself and appeal to the referees in time. Remember, do not act on impulse."

Inside the Jaguars' locker room, Coach Omoki gave Sakuragi his final instructions like a military commander. After the previous lesson, Coach Omoki was surely prepared. Even if they could not win, he would not let Sakuragi get suspended again.

"Don't worry, Coach. Tonight, I'll only speak with my actions!"

Sakuragi's gaze was incredibly firm. As he clenched his fist, it was as if the crackling of his joints could be heard.

Hearing words like that come from Sakuragi truly made the teammates and coaches present somewhat unable to believe it. After everyone fell silent for a moment, Coach Omoki said, "All right, since Sakuragi is ready, let's take the court and fight for our first home victory!"

"Yeah~~~!"

Roused by Coach Omoki, everyone raised their arms and shouted as they left the locker room, ready to head out!

"Are you ready!!!"

The host at the Jaguars' home arena, the Water Pump Center, shouted loudly, stirring up the fans' emotions. With it being the first home game of the new season, the atmosphere inside the arena needed no explanation.

The Jaguars' lineup had not changed at all. It was still Shohoku's Five Tigers from last season! But...

"But has everyone noticed? Whether it was a backstage clerical error or intentional, Rukawa Kaede and Mitsui Hisashi had switched positions on the Jaguars' roster. Rukawa Kaede was listed at small forward, while Mitsui was listed at shooting guard!"

The television commentator spotted the clue. It seemed Coach Omoki's change had been kept remarkably secret, and even now, the outside world had not figured out whether the staff had reported the positions incorrectly or whether it was truly the case.

The Ninjas' lineup had also undergone a subtle change.

Last season's starting shooting guard, Tamaki Zhi, had disappeared from the roster. Replacing him was the rookie the Ninjas had selected this year—Takeuchi Rihei.

"It was precisely because of Takeuchi Rihei's offseason training performance and his play in several warm-up games that the team decided to focus on developing him. They therefore traded their former shooting guard Tamaki Zhi to the Sendai Wanderers. This game will also be a test for Takeuchi, and it will show whether the Ninjas' management has good judgment. As the game goes on, we will gradually introduce this rookie."

From the commentators' analysis, it could be concluded that both teams had changed from last season. The question was which of these two teams that had actively sought change could change for the better—and change in the right direction!

The game was about to begin.

"You aren't wearing protective gear."

As Sakuragi exchanged handshakes with the Ninjas' players, he dropped those words when he reached Takano Jinglei.

"Hmph. If you're not afraid of getting ejected and suspended, then try it!"

Takano Jinglei answered with a harsh retort.

Akagi and the Ninjas' center Ojide stood on either side of the center circle, ready for the tip-off.

"Smack!" Akagi was fully focused and reacted in an instant, quickly batting the descending ball into his own half.

The Jaguars gained possession and began their first offensive possession of the game!

Miyagi dribbled across half court and signaled a play with his hand before immediately passing to Mitsui, who had come up to receive the ball.

"So it wasn't a mistake. The Jaguars really did switch Rukawa Kaede and Mitsui Hisashi's positions. Right from the start, Mitsui came to receive the ball like a guard. That's a signal. It looks like Omoki came up with some new trick!"

Ninjas head coach Minami Morishiro said this as he watched the Jaguars move the ball. It appeared the Jaguars wanted to test this new style of play right from the opening.

Mitsui caught the ball and used a jab step, a completely guard-like move. Then he suddenly accelerated and drove into the paint. Takeuchi, who was defending Mitsui, was a rookie playing his first game and was more or less nervous. Mitsui blew right past him.

After driving into the paint, Mitsui faked a layup, but brought the ball back down!

"It's a pass!"

Guard Ishii Yanfu read Mitsui's intention and warned his teammates, but it seemed too late.

Mitsui dished the ball to Rukawa Kaede, who had cut into the lane. Seeing Ojide had already been faked into the air by Mitsui, Rukawa took one gather step after receiving the ball and slammed it home with a two-handed power dunk!

"Yeah~~~!!!"

A tidal wave of cheers instantly erupted from the arena. The crowd likely had not expected the first basket of the new season to come so quickly—or so fiercely!

(The following words should originally have gone in the author's note, but if this was a tribute to him, why impose so many restrictions?)

Kobe had never been the author's favorite player, never. Whenever the author remembered those seven brutal games against the Rockets, the author wondered why they could not just get rid of that guy. Somewhere along the way, Kobe became an unbeatable god in people's hearts!

Kobe was one of the players the author admired most. But that was Kobe. The author had personally witnessed his banked three-pointer game-winner against the Heat. After watching it, the author immediately ran to the basketball court near home. Even though it had just rained, the author still wanted to imitate Kobe, wanted to make those moves of his. That was influence. Basketball made Kobe, and Kobe made basketball even more captivating!

The author had not witnessed Jordan's era, but had been fortunate enough to take part in Kobe's.

That was Kobe. He might not have been every fan's favorite, but when he left, every fan chased after him. Years were enough. Years—thank you for being there. To borrow a netizen's words: Kobe, you were the man who defeated sports headlines.

A sentence from the author: "Kobe, I can't bear to let you go!"