Ryonan vs. Shohoku (1)

He paused, sweeping his gaze over the teammates before him, and said calmly, "When I said we might lose, I meant if all of us let our guard down. As long as we take this seriously, victory will definitely be ours."

Time ticked by second by second, while the arena remained filled with noise.

At last, it was time for both teams to enter. A dull sound rang through the arena as the Shohoku group filed out of the players' tunnel.

"They're out! It's Shohoku!"

"Shohoku, we've been waiting for you for so long!"

"Go! Go! You have to give it your all!"

The moment Shohoku emerged, waves of cheers immediately rose from the stands. Yet most of those cheers were simply urging Shohoku to work hard and keep going.

From the sound of those cheers, it was clear that while the spectators shouted their encouragement, they did not truly think highly of Shohoku. It felt more like they were cheering on a team that needed extra support.

Another dull sound spread throughout the arena.

The next second, the doors to Ryonan's players' tunnel slowly opened.

Almost the instant the doors opened, the attention of the entire arena, which had just been fixed on Shohoku, seemed drawn by an invisible force. It turned in unison toward the tunnel on the other side, and even the scattered murmurs in the stands paused for half a beat.

The footsteps were not especially neat, even carrying a somewhat loose, casual rhythm, but they echoed one after another from Ryonan's players' tunnel.

Before long, Ryonan's players finally emerged from the tunnel.

The instant Chi Tong led the team out of the tunnel, the stands seemed like a powder keg being lit, erupting in a tidal wave of thunderous cheers that nearly lifted the roof