In the stands, Shohoku's supporters erupted in thunderous cheers. Hakata Shodai's players stood dejectedly on the court, many with tears in their eyes. They had never imagined that, on the stage of the National Tournament, they would be overturned and defeated by a team making its first appearance.
With that, Shohoku held a ten-point lead and successfully defeated National Tournament semifinalist Hakata Shodai, advancing to the national final four.
The National Tournament's quarterfinals had come to an end. The cheers and sighs in the gymnasium gradually faded, but the uproar stirred by these games did not subside. Instead, like ripples raised by a boulder cast into a lake, it only grew fiercer and swept through the entire high school basketball world.
The fall of two established final-four teams left countless followers of the tournament sighing in disbelief.
Before this, almost everyone had assumed those two teams would advance smoothly and might even contend for the finals. After all, they had remained among the national final four for years. Both their tactical systems and player strength had been tempered through countless major tournaments, making them universally recognized powerhouses.
Yet no one had expected that these two seemingly unshakable teams would ultimately be defeated by Lin Nan and Shohoku from Kanagawa Prefecture.
Even more shocking, Lin Nan and Shohoku not only came from the same place, but were also making their first appearance on the National Tournament stage.
This result completely shattered everyone's fixed perception of the National Tournament landscape.
The emergence of these two dark horses also brought far more speculation and uncertainty to this year's National Tournament.
The teams once favored to win the championship now had no choice but to reassess the strength of these two new forces. The previously clear path to advancement had also become blurred with