With this game over, the matchup for the Autumn National Sports Festival final was set at last.
The two sides in this clash at the summit were the Kanagawa Prefecture Representative Team, which had powered through every round with unstoppable momentum, and the Akita Prefecture Representative Team, a formidable squad with a rich legacy. An ultimate showdown that would grip every basketball fan was about to unfold.
As for the Great Axe Representative Team and the Aichi Prefecture Representative Team, whose semifinal runs had ended in disappointment, their journeys at this Autumn National Sports Festival were not over yet.
According to the schedule, the two teams would face off before the final to compete for third place.
Before long, the complete schedule for the remaining Autumn National Sports Festival games was officially posted, clearly laying out their times and matchups.
The eagerly anticipated final was scheduled after a one-day break-the day after tomorrow.
The schedule was neatly arranged. The morning would begin with the Autumn National Sports Festival third-place playoff between the two losing semifinalists, the Great Axe Representative Team and the Aichi Prefecture Representative Team. Only in the afternoon would the tournament reach its ultimate showdown, the clash at the summit in the final.
No one on the Kanagawa Representative Team gave the third-place game any thought, let alone devoted any energy to following it.
At that moment, all their attention and energy were focused without reservation on a single opponent: Akita Prefecture. More precisely, on the nationally renowned basketball powerhouse, Sannoh Industrial High School.
At the mention of that name, a trace of gravity flashed in every other Kanagawa player's eyes. Only Chi Tong remained calm, his expression unchanged.
They knew better than anyone that without Chi Tong anchoring the team, their own abilities gave them no confidence