Attention from a Host of Teams

A week later, the Shohoku Basketball Team was running laps to warm up.

Takenori Akagi walked in with a sheet of paper in his hand and shouted.

"Everyone, stop for a moment! The schedule and opponents for the Kanagawa Prefecture tournament are out. Come over and let's go through them!"

The basketball team immediately gathered around Takenori Akagi. The paper in his hand listed Shohoku High School's game dates and opponents for the tournament.

Starting on May 19, the Shohoku Team would face Miuradai, Kakuno, Tsukubu, and others in succession.

After emerging from those teams, their quarterfinal opponent would be last year's Kanagawa Prefecture runner-up, Shohoku High School.

Shohoku High School's schedule this time was downright terrifying, and their opponents were extremely strong.

"This year's schedule really isn't in our favor. We'll have to beat Kenji Fujima's Shoyo team to reach the Kanagawa Prefecture final four.

Shoyo made the national top eight last year. This year's going to be tough for us..."

Kiminobu Kogure pushed up his glasses and offered his analysis calmly.

The other players who had participated in last year's high school basketball tournament, including Takenori Akagi, all had some fear on their faces.

That showed just how frighteningly dominant Shoyo had been last year.

The trio of star first-year newcomers, however, all looked unconcerned. Kaede Rukawa and Hanamichi Sakuragi feared nothing.

Ryota Kudo, meanwhile, knew that the Shohoku Team had beaten Shoyo in the original story even without him.

Now that Ryota Kudo himself had joined, losing would be far too embarrassing.

So, while Ryota Kudo did not underestimate Shoyo, he did not worry too much about them either.

In the end, Takenori Akagi stepped forward to steady the team's morale. "Don't think that far ahead. We need to take this one step at a time. Only after beating every opponent before them can we stand before Shoyo!"

Shohoku High School's first opponent was Miuradai. They were actually a decent opponent, having only lost last year when they came up against Kainan.

After a year of practice, Miuradai's goal this year was to defeat Kainan and reach the National Tournament.

Miuradai had a few decent players. Their captain, Kengo Murasame, was a third-year small forward who stood 186 cm tall. He was the team's leading scorer and had a very brash personality.

Their ace, Tetsuya Naito, was a second-year power forward who stood 196 cm tall. Originally a rugby player, he was exceptionally athletic. He had only joined the basketball team this year, and since he had not been playing basketball long, his skills were rough.

Their other role players were also brash types, with mediocre basketball skills.

All the information-gathering work was left to the team manager, Ayako. Everyone else only needed to focus on training.

After a few days of training, one thing that disappointed Ryota Kudo a little was the former middle school MVP, Hisashi Mitsui.

Ryota Kudo had watched Hisashi Mitsui's middle school games. Back then, Mitsui's isolation scoring, three-point shooting, and defense had all been first-rate. He had played entirely as the team's centerpiece.

But now, not only had Hisashi Mitsui's stamina declined badly, his athleticism had also deteriorated considerably after several years of undisciplined living.

Hisashi Mitsui still had his three-point shot, though. He had become a shooter who primarily relied on shooting threes.

Hisashi Mitsui still had a long way to go before he could regain the glory of his MVP days.

Soon, May 19 arrived, and the Shohoku Team faced Miuradai.

While the players from both sides were still in their locker rooms, the spectators in the stands were already buzzing, because a group of tall basketball players had entered the stands.

The most eye-catching was still Akira Sendoh, who stood amid his teammates with his hair spiked straight up. His handsome looks made many of the girls scream despite themselves.

"Damn it, why's everyone looking at Sendoh? Isn't anyone going to notice me?" Kiccho Fukuda looked at Akira Sendoh with envy written all over his face. He wanted lots of female fans too.

Jun Uozumi, standing beside Kiccho Fukuda, grinned as he teased him. "That's because you're too ugly, Fukuda. Those thick lips of yours would scare the girls."

"You're the one who looks scarier, Uozumi!"

Chatting as they went, the Ryonan Team found some good seats and sat down.

Their team manager, Hikoichi Aida, even took out a notebook to take notes. He took the Shohoku Team very seriously.

They had just sat down when another group of tall figures appeared in the stands opposite them.

"It's Kainan. They came too!"

"That's normal. With an opponent like Shohoku High School in the mix this year, it's only natural for everyone to be nervous."

Akira Sendoh stood up calmly and even gave the Kainan Team players opposite him a friendly wave.

Leading the Kainan Team on the other side was a muscular boy, though his face looked as mature as a middle-aged man's.

He was Shinichi Maki, one of Kanagawa's two great point guards-a monster whom people often suspected of lying about his age.

Before the Kainan players could sit down, Shoyo's players also entered the stands nearby.

Leading Shoyo was an absurdly handsome boy. He was their captain and coach, Kenji Fujima.

Compared with the handsome Sendoh, Kenji Fujima had much more delicate features.

Kenji Fujima was a star player in Kanagawa and had a huge number of fanatical female fans.

As soon as he arrived, Kenji Fujima was surrounded by girls, all hoping to get his autograph.

Kenji Fujima also had a very nice personality, patiently signing autographs for the girls.

And he wore a charming smile the entire time. No wonder he had so many female fans.

A few minutes later, the players from Shohoku High School and Miuradai came out.

The moment they stepped onto the basketball court, they noticed the many powerhouse teams from Kanagawa in the stands.

Shohoku remained fairly calm. They quietly went to their seats and sat down, preparing for the upcoming game.

Miuradai, on the other hand, was far more arrogant. Their captain, Kengo Murasame, even ran to the center of the court and shouted provocatively at the stands.

**"Hey! You guys from Kainan, Shoyo, and Ryonan! You're all here to watch yours truly, right?

Don't worry! Once I'm done with Shohoku, I'll take you down one by one!"**

Most of the powerhouse teams in the stands paid no mind to a clown like Kengo Murasame. They merely watched him coldly, with no intention of responding.

Some, however, had fiery tempers. A boy from the Kainan Team sprang up from his seat.

**"Who are you, ugly? You actually dare to challenge us at Kainan?

With a super genius like me, Nobunaga Kiyota, here, I can take down your whole Miuradai team by myself!"**

Nobunaga Kiyota was a first-year newcomer at Kainan. He had been a member of last year's Kanagawa middle school championship team.

That was the opposing middle school in the final Kaede Rukawa had missed because he overslept.

He was full of confidence and somewhat conceited.

"Sit down, Kiyota! Don't disrupt the upcoming game." With just those words from Shinichi Maki, Nobunaga Kiyota obediently sat back down.

That showed just how much authority Shinichi Maki held as the Kainan Team's captain.

After that farce, the game officially began.

Unlike in the original story, none of the basketball team members had been in a fight, so Coach Anzai would not keep them on the bench and refuse to let them play.

The Shohoku Team's starting five were point guard Ryota Kudo, shooting guard Hisashi Mitsui, small forward Kaede Rukawa, power forward Hanamichi Sakuragi, and center Takenori Akagi.

Ryota Miyagi, Kiminobu Kogure, and Emperor Kakuta sat on the bench, along with a few assorted extras.

Looking at the teammates around him, Ryota Kudo could not contain his excitement. He had never played with such an abundance of talent on his side.