During halftime, Shinichi Maki ran into Shoyo's Kenji Fujima outside the basketball arena's restrooms. As longtime rivals, the two naturally struck up a conversation.
Their topic was, of course, Shohoku High School, which had emerged as a surprise contender.
Kenji Fujima spoke first. "Maki, which team do you think is stronger, Shohoku High School or Sannoh Industrial High School?"
As a member of Kainan, which had faced Sannoh Industrial High School the previous year, Shinichi Maki was the most qualified to judge.
After thinking for a moment, Shinichi Maki gave his answer.
"Sannoh Industrial High School is stronger. Aside from Ryota Kudo, Shohoku's standout player, the others still fall short of Sannoh."
That was indeed the case. As the final boss of the Slam Dunk World, Sannoh Industrial High School was extremely strong at every position.
It could be said that Sannoh Industrial High School had almost no weaknesses, making it incredibly difficult to beat.
In the original story, when the Shohoku Team defeated Sannoh Industrial High School, practically every player had activated their plot armor and played beyond themselves.
Looking purely at their strength on paper, Shohoku's main cast really did fall short of Sannoh Industrial High School.
With a sigh, Shinichi Maki continued.
"But basketball is always unpredictable. Maybe Shohoku can pull off a miracle."
Kenji Fujima nodded in agreement. Having also lost to the Shohoku Team, both of them felt that the team had tremendous potential.
In the Shohoku Team's locker room, everyone received some good news.
Coach Anzai had woken up. He was past the critical stage and out of danger.
The atmosphere around the Shohoku Team immediately relaxed. Their last remaining worry had disappeared.
Hanamichi Sakuragi, who had behaved himself for quite a while, immediately perked up. He suddenly sidled up to Ryota