These reporters absolutely adore him right now...
Ryonan fans were anything but happy; Shirasawa's action had completely ignited their anger.
"Defeat Shohoku!"
The entire stadium erupted in a unified roar. The fans cheered with gusto, but inadvertently, it also boosted Shohoku's morale.
The manager, Sanae, watched from the sidelines, clicking her tongue in amazement. This newbie had really Xiao Bai marketing...
Shirasawa's move did indeed boost the morale of the entire Shohoku team. Amidst a chorus of "Defeat Shohoku," Takenori Akagi waved his hand and led the Shohoku Basketball Team, managing to exude the air of a champion's exit.
This feeling of going against the whole world ignited a fire in everyone's heart!
Defeating Ryonan and taking the championship is a no-brainer!
Outside the stadium, Takenori Akagi announced the immediate disbandment of the team.
The team will gather early tomorrow morning for a day of special training to prepare for the final the day after tomorrow! As for today, whether or not to train is entirely up to the individual. However, Akagi himself is willing but unable; he needs to rest properly until the day of the match and dares not do anything reckless again.
After the group dispersed, Shirasawa and Sanae pulled Hanamichi Sakuragi into the car.
"Hey, where are you taking me? I made Yohei to play pachinko with Yohei and the others..." Sakuragi yelled.
Shirasawa laughed, "I thought you had to rush back for extra practice."
Hanamichi Sakuragi grinned confidently. "I'll definitely practice, but first I need to get my hands dirty... pachinko, hehe."
"So where are we going?" he pressed.
As soon as she finished speaking, Sanae gestured with her chin towards the car window.
"Everyone's here, let's go."
"Why did you come along too?"
Hanamichi Sakuragi's face scrunched up like a bun, his disgust practically oozing from every pore.
At that moment, Sanae was driving, with Shirasawa in the passenger seat and Sakuragi and Kaede Rukawa squeezed into the back. Kaede Rukawa had rushed back to the locker room to change his clothes as soon as the game ended, and was coming to meet them as agreed. Sanae was going to take them to the company's basketball arena, which they had just finalized the day before.
The arena wasn't very big, with only two full-court indoor courts, and it was sponsored by Shirasawa himself. After playing so many games, he had indeed saved up a considerable amount of income, and besides, the agency was his own business, so spending this money was perfectly reasonable. So, following his wishes, Sanae looked for several places and finally settled on this one.
After all, we'll be signing more and more players in the future, and we'll need to arrange training and matches, so having a fixed base is definitely not an option. Right now, our financial situation is limited, so we can only make do for now. When we have more money in the future, we'll build a top-notch stadium in the country as our Base Camp.
Now that the arena was ready, the team members naturally had to familiarize themselves with it. It was open 24 hours a day for the contracted players, so they could train anytime. Take Kaede Rukawa, for example. When the Ryonan Arena was closed, this riverside basketball legend basically practiced at the open-air court near his home. But public courts are inconvenient; people come and go, making it impossible to clear the court, and it's unusable in wind or rain, not to mention the scorching Taiyo. Now that they had their own arena, it felt like a new home for Kaede Rukawa. He was so excited when he heard about it he almost jumped for joy.
Sakuragi didn't specifically notify them; since he was on the same team as Shirasawa, he could just bring them along. Meanwhile, Michael Okita and Ichiro Katsumi were also on their way to the new arena, waiting to meet them.
Sakuragi was naturally happy after figuring out what had happened, feeling like his status had been elevated significantly... But what annoyed him was that Kaede Rukawa was there too! And he was even squeezed into the same row of seats as him! Sakuragi had known that Rukawa was on the team, but knowing it didn't make him feel comfortable. The genius still held a grudge about being used as a human cushion by this guy last time!
Faced with Sakuragi's provocation, Kaede Rukawa didn't even bother to lift his eyelids. He put on his headphones and looked out the window, completely ignoring the air next to him.
Hanamichi Sakuragi, furious, ripped off his headphones. "Stop pretending!"
Kaede Rukawa's eyes suddenly turned cold, and without saying a word, he grabbed Sakuragi's wrist.
"Give it back to me."
"What can you do if I don't pay it back?"
Want to get beaten up?
"Ha, the last person to talk to me like that is probably buried three meters tall by now."
The two glared at each other, their hands gripping each other tightly, and it looked like they were about to fight.
Shirasawa couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of this unlikely pair. Fate was truly wondrous; even though they weren't on the same team anymore, they still managed to form a grudge by some twist of fate... Perhaps this could be considered an inseparable destiny.
Shirasawa loves a good show and enjoys making things worse, but Sanae can't stand it. How can she lead the team if they're constantly causing trouble like this?
"Both of you shut up!" she suddenly raised her voice, "If you keep making a scene, neither of you will be allowed into the new stadium!"
The woman was indeed the key to calming the men's fight; her unique sense of pressure came at just the right time. The two immediately let go of each other, each pressing close to the car door, afraid that if they got too close, they would lose control and start fighting again.
Kaede Rukawa then pulled out a tissue and wiped his hand that had touched Sakuragi with a look of disgust.
Hanamichi Sakuragi immediately retorted with a "tsk," then pulled out two pieces of paper and began rubbing his hands together vigorously.
Sanae shook her head. Without a doubt, the players they signed later would all have strong personalities, and getting them to coexist peacefully would be a real challenge. Now it seemed that signing Ichiro Katsumi was a stroke of genius... He had played the role of a mediator to the fullest extent.
Twenty minutes later, the group arrived at the stadium and successfully met up with Michael Okita and Ichiro Katsumi. As soon as they met, Ichiro Katsumi became lively, readily using various smooth-talking techniques. Thanks to his mediation, the atmosphere finally became much more harmonious.
Under the watchful eyes of several veteran players, Shirasawa pushed open the stadium door. The decor wasn't luxurious, and the space was limited, but everyone's eyes shone with anticipation for the future.
"This will be our base from now on, and it won't be open to the public for now," Sanae said as she handed out keys to everyone. "I'll gradually add training equipment and make this the most complete stadium in Kanagawa."
She suddenly remembered something and turned to Kaede Rukawa: "Oh right, you have a business event at seven tonight, remember to be on time, I'll wait for you there."
Kaede Rukawa nodded expressionlessly. "Understood."
This was his second time undertaking a commercial event. Having experienced the previous one, he had complete trust in Sanae's arrangements. She planned everything meticulously and thoughtfully, so he hardly had to use his brain. Moreover, the event was of high quality and had a significant positive impact. Of course, the compensation he received was also quite substantial.
Aside from following the agreed-upon procedures, Kaede Rukawa left everything else to his manager and didn't have to worry about anything.
Sanae never forced him to change anything. Since that's just his personality, it's fine to keep things as they are. There's no need to pretend.
This made Michael Okita extremely envious.
But as much as they envied them, they had chosen Ryokufu in the first place, so all they could do now was wait patiently. However, they weren't idle; they were all training with all their might, hoping to make a name for themselves in one battle.
Sanae had actually been arranging the transfers of Michael Okita and Ichiro Katsumi. Her original plan was to send them to teams in other prefectures.
But Tsukubu's young coach had been eagerly waiting to get the player.
He had specifically told Sanae beforehand: if there are any good prospects, be sure to consider Tsukubu first!
We absolutely cannot miss out on another Shirasawa!
However, if both of them stay in Kanagawa, a problem arises—the internal competition is too fierce.
This will inevitably reduce the chances of her players making it to the national tournament.
Sanae is really having a headache over this.
So a final decision hasn't been made yet.
However, she wasn't in a hurry, because she already had other plans for Ryokufu, and perhaps things would take a turn for the better.
After settling things in at the stadium, Sanae left first.
Because Shirasawa and Kaede Rukawa have recently become incredibly popular, her workload has piled up.
I've been busy, but I'm quite happy.
As for the few who stayed behind, whether they continue training or go on to do something else is entirely up to them.
However, it seems that no one intends to move.
Kaede Rukawa, carrying a basketball, approached Shirasawa.
"Let's have another match." He said bluntly.
Shirasawa shook his head upon hearing this. "You have so much energy! The match just ended, it seems Shinichi Maki didn't give you enough intensity..."
He did not accept Kaede Rukawa's challenge.
The reason is simple: if we fight now, the outcome won't change.
Kaede Rukawa himself understood this principle, but as soon as he saw Shirasawa, he couldn't help but take action.
Instead of wasting time repeating known results, it's better to schedule some more useful training.
Shirasawa was eager for them to become stronger, and he was really looking forward to it.
Improving the team's overall strength will benefit its future development.
Of course, he wasn't idle either; he was secretly making progress.
Not only does it grow faster than anyone else, but its methods are also much simpler...
"You spar with Michael," Shirasawa instructed in a captain's tone, "Practicing offense and defense together will be more effective."
Although no one has officially mentioned the title of captain, everyone assumes it belongs to Shirasawa.
After all, he built the team, and his abilities speak for themselves; he's more than qualified to be a key figure.
In a basketball team, the captain's word carries considerable weight.
Kaede Rukawa had no objection to this arrangement.
He even thought it was a good idea, since his weakness was indeed defense.
He had also witnessed Michael Okita's offensive firepower.
Since both of them are passionate about one-on-one matches, this is the perfect training method for them.
They also came up with an even more interesting "three-dribble" rule: in one offensive possession, you can only dribble the ball a maximum of three times before you have to shoot.
This significantly raises the bar for shot selection and footwork when driving to the basket.
You can either use three dribbles to shake off the defender, or go for a strong three-step move or a pull-up jumper.
This forces attackers to reduce ineffective dribbling and improve efficiency.
It also trains the defender's pressure, requiring them to lock down the opponent within seconds.
Soon, the two occupied half of the court and got into position.
Kaede Rukawa attacks first.
Hanamichi Sakuragi and Ichiro Katsumi were immediately drawn over, and Sakuragi started cheering for Michael Okita without even thinking.
"You blondie! Give this genius a good lesson to this Stinking Fox!" he shouted with great enthusiasm.
Neither of these nicknames sounds pleasant.
However, Michael didn't mind; he thought Sakuragi was quite interesting and easy to get along with.
Kaede Rukawa is different; the word "idiot" sums him up perfectly.
Michael passed the ball to him and immediately closed in, giving him no space at all.
Under the rule that allows only three dribbles, his aggressive defense is remarkably effective.
Kaede Rukawa turned sideways to protect the ball, trying his best to create dribbling opportunities for himself.