As soon Shirasawa got out of the car, the beautiful female driver in the driver's seat winked at him and sped away.
"Why is it her again! She's always with Xiao Bai!"
"Exactly! Just because he's the agent, he's always taking advantage of his position!"
"Sigh... Although I can't stand her, she's undeniably beautiful, it's understandable that Xiao Bai couldn't resist her..."
The girls were so angry they stomped their feet.
Sanae is under a lot of pressure right now, not only in business, but also because female fans are practically treating her as public enemy number one.
Shirasawa walked into the school, and now all the main players of the Shohoku Basketball Team were present.
They were greeted by a tidal wave of cheers.
But at that moment,
A white figure forced its way through the crowd, causing chaos and falls wherever it went.
"Hmph, it's just a victory over Kainan, Akagi, you're getting too cocky already?"
As soon as the words were spoken, the newcomer appeared, dressed in a judo uniform, with his hair slicked back and a large flag slung over his shoulder. The flag prominently displayed the two characters: Victory!
With his physique, he certainly had a commanding presence.
This man is none other than Tatsuhiko Aota, the captain of the Shohoku Judo Club!
Just yesterday, he led the judo team to win the Kanagawa Prefecture championship, directly qualifying for the national tournament!
In terms of the goal of dominating the nation, thanks to the schedule, he was indeed a little ahead of Akagi.
but,
No newspapers reported this at all...
Not a single student mentioned the Judo Club...
Aota, feeling resentful, decided to carry the championship flag and show it off himself.
"Oh, congratulations then." Takenori Akagi replied dismissively, without much sincerity.
Tatsuhiko Aota, however, felt that Akagi was clearly jealous.
"Hmph, Akagi, if you're envious, then work hard for it yourself. I'm not looking for you today."
" Shirasawa! Sakuragi!"
"See that? This is the kind of activity a real man should be doing!"
"It's not too late to regret it now. With my status, I can get you into the national tournament right from the start! How about it, accept the King's invitation!"
Takenori Akagi snorted coldly, too lazy to pay him any more attention, and waved his hand to lead his team into the crowd.
Hanamichi Sakuragi strode over to Tatsuhiko Aota, who was looking on expectantly, and the two stared at each other for a second.
Then Sakuragi suddenly ducked his head!
Thump!
A single headbutt knocked the champion's star player to the ground.
"How annoying! We're doing so well right now, why are you jumping in and causing trouble? Besides, I don't even know you."
Shirasawa, standing nearby, chuckled and added insult to injury.
"Judo isn't a sport that men should play."
Sakuragi immediately understood and grinned, "It has to be basketball!"
Shirasawa smacked his lips, "Hmm... I guess so..."
That afternoon.
Sanae joined the Basketball Weekly magazine.
Returning to this familiar place, my identity is now completely different.
The way her former colleagues looked at her changed.
Most of them were filled with envy.
He works independently, free and unrestrained, and even dares to challenge his former employer.
A junior reporter has transformed into a sports agent, and now many newspapers have to defer to her.
Not to mention newspapers and magazines, I've heard that many brands are lining up to collaborate with her.
It hasn't been that long, and that once arrogant company president now has to humbly call her and invite her over for a chat.
Even the president probably didn't expect Sanae to agree so readily.
She was led into the president's office, where the president personally ground a cup of coffee and brought it to her, sitting somewhat awkwardly opposite Sanae.
Sanae exuded confidence, smiling as she held her coffee, her movements as graceful as ever, yet the distance between them was unmistakable.
The positions of the two have now been completely reversed.
Basketball Weekly... couldn't hold on any longer.
If we don't report on Shohoku soon, we'll really get crushed by the market.
Sales have recently plummeted, falling far behind several old rivals and forcing them to bow down to Sanae.
However, whether or not it's acceptable to lower oneself depends on whether the other party is willing to accept it.
Compared to real revenue, what does saving face matter?
After exchanging a few polite words, the club president rubbed his hands together and steered the conversation back to the main topic.
"Look... could we interview Shohoku? You have full control over the content, and everything is negotiable."
Sanae replied calmly, "Okay."
The editor-in-chief was overjoyed and quickly pressed his advantage, "Thank you so much! Does that include Shirasawa too? We'll do a feature on him! Put him on the cover! Whatever you say!"
Under the president's expectant gaze,
Sanae smiled slightly, her voice carrying a hint of a mature, older sister vibe, but there was no room for negotiation.
"Sure, but... there's no such thing as a free lunch."
Match day.
The second round of the county tournament's top four semifinals begins today.
It's still two matches, with four teams making their appearances.
Shohoku vs. Takezato, Ryonan vs. Kainan.
Today is a particularly crucial day; it could very well determine who goes to the national competition.
The maximum score for a tournament is 3 points.
Now, Shohoku and Ryonan have finished their first round of matches, each with 1 point.
If both teams win today, they'll both have 2 points.
Conversely, if Kainan and Takezato lose, they will only have one last game left to fight tooth and nail, and they will never have another chance to get 2 points.
So, based on this calculation, Shohoku and Ryonan will basically secure the top two spots after today, directly qualifying for the national tournament.
It's clear that Takezato can't stop Shohoku.
They were just crushed by Ryonan by more than 100 points in the last game. In terms of both strength and morale, they are not even in the same league as Shohoku, who defeated Kainan.
The only variable is the match between Ryonan and Kainan.
If Kainan wins, they will each get 1 point, the same as Ryonan.
The third round became particularly crucial.
Kainan is sure to beat Takezato and secure 2 points.
Their fate will then be in Shohoku's hands.
If Shohoku beats Ryonan, they will advance to the next round along with Kainan.
If Shohoku loses to Ryonan, then all three teams will be tied at 2 points.
The champion and runner-up will be determined by the point differential.
This three-way competition is rare, as each team not only has to ensure its own victory but also has to keep a close eye on its opponent's net points.
Nobody wants to lose because of a poor point differential; that would be incredibly frustrating.
Therefore, Takezato naturally became the unlucky one.
The other three teams, in order to accumulate net points, will definitely go all out against them...
Just like Ryonan, they've already ruthlessly racked up over 100 points, accumulating a substantial amount of resources.
But that's all speculation; it won't count until there's a next round.
All the answers depend on the result of today's second match between Ryonan and Kainan.
Seven o'clock in the morning.
The county gymnasium was already packed with people.
Two hours later, the first game of the day Shohoku vs. Takezato, will begin.
Shohoku became the first team to defeat Kainan, truly standing at the top of Kanagawa.
There's no need for much publicity; a large number of fans have already gathered here.
Holding up banners of Shohoku and waving posters of Shirasawa, the fans, led by Tetsuo Hotta, chanted slogans more and more in unison, gradually resembling a well-organized army.
As a highly sought-after media outlet, all kinds of media flocked to it.
Today, we also had an unexpected face: Yayoi Aida.
The president of the Basketball Weekly and Sanae had a pleasant conversation, with both sides getting what they needed and reaching an agreement.
Basketball Weekly aims to make a comeback and reclaim what it lost.
Sanae received were real, tangible benefits.
Needless to say, it's obvious to everyone that the Basketball Weekly has bowed down to her.
The key figure in all of this is, of course, Shirasawa.
Therefore, Shirasawa's commercial value needs to rise even further.
The player agent model has now officially made its name.
Players like Kaede Rukawa who signed contracts naturally saw their value rise as well.
However, at this stage, apart from Shirasawa, only Kaede Rukawa still has some commercial value.
Michael Okita and Ichiro Katsumi have not yet made their official debut.
Hanamichi Sakuragi, hiding under the protection of Shirasawa and Shohoku, has to find another way to get things done.
The news that super rookie Kaede Rukawa has signed with Sanae is no longer a secret.
His two consecutive 40+ point games in high school have already attracted the attention of some brands who want to promote him as the next Shirasawa.
Who would have thought that he was also one of Sanae's men!
This left the brands scratching their heads in frustration.
Ryonan also learned of the news. Players signing agents is a personal matter, and they have no right to interfere.
Having no Moichi Taoka had a private talk with Kaede Rukawa.
I also arranged to meet with Sanae.
The three had a deep conversation, and after listening Moichi Taoka finally felt relieved.
It turns out that the management team not only doesn't interfere with the players' playing, but also motivates them to strive for higher goals. They can also help with business oversight, allowing the players to focus more on the game.
Moichi Taoka was relieved and, incidentally, became a supporter of the player agent model.
Ultimately, he is a coach who genuinely cares about the players and hopes that every child can realize their potential and have a clear direction when choosing a university in the future.
It's better than many of the previous promising talents going astray without any clear direction.
He even considered getting Sendoh to sign as well.
However, he and Sanae were quite in sync, and neither of them brought it up... The time wasn't right yet, and given Sendoh's personality, he would probably shake his head.
Fifteen minutes before the start of the match.
The players from Shohoku and Takezato entered the court to warm up.
The cheers never stopped as soon as Shohoku appeared.
It's unclear who started it, but the shout of "Clap one!" gradually spread throughout the entire venue.
The dunking spree before the last game against Kainan clearly captivated the audience.
But this time, Shohoku didn't respond, and Shirasawa didn't move either.
Nobunaga Kiyota started this whole thing last time, so we can't just ignore it.
There's no need for this under normal circumstances, and Coach Anzai would never allow it.
We're here to play basketball, not to put on a circus act.
Coach Anzai is fine now and is sitting on the bench as usual, except he's carrying a thermos now, showing he's paying more attention to his health.
The referee blew the whistle, and both sides returned to the sidelines to make final arrangements.
"Give it your all! Everyone outside is laughing at us, saying we're here to give away points in the semifinals! We've become the key to those three teams racking up points, it's a disgrace! Do you understand? A disgrace!"
"Cheer up, everyone! Nothing is impossible on the court!"
Coach Takezato was speaking with great enthusiasm, so it's no wonder he was angry; the current situation was indeed somewhat humiliating...
Even if you can't win, you can't give up first.
Otherwise, if morale collapses, they won't even make it to the semifinals next year, and the team is counting on this reputation to rebuild.