She knew her brother's ankle was actually fully healed; the coach was just being cautious and concerned.
Akagi sighed. "I know the coach means well. But without me around, I don't know what kind of trouble those guys will cause. Kogure can't possibly control them."
Haruko smiled helplessly; she knew her brother was just being stubborn.
He said he was worried about those problem children causing trouble, but actually he just cherished the time he spent training with everyone.
They cherish the current Shohoku Basketball Team even more.
After the national tournament, he will retire from the Shohoku Basketball Team and return to being a top student who focuses solely on his studies, aiming to get into his dream university.
This has nothing to do with whether or not you go to Fukazawa Sports University.
Top students have their own pride; even if they enter university as athletes, they absolutely cannot fall behind in academic performance...
That's why he cherished his last days with Shohoku so much.
"Brother, you guys absolutely have to win the championship tomorrow!"
Akagi gazed at the hazy moonlight outside the window, the faces of the Problem Children Army seemed to reappear before his eyes.
A confident smile unconsciously crept onto his lips.
"Of course. Those guys... will never accept defeat."
Boom--!
early morning.
Thunder rumbled across the sky over Kanagawa, and torrential rain poured down.
Today is a day off, and in this kind of weather, nothing is more comfortable than staying home and sleeping.
However, there were still many pedestrians on the street, wearing raincoats or carrying umbrellas.
The crowd grew larger and larger, all converging on the Kanagawa Prefecture Gymnasium. Although the rain was pouring down, it did nothing to dampen everyone's enthusiasm.
A young girl, without an umbrella, used her bag to shield her head, while clutching a piece of cardboard tightly in her arms. She hunched over, afraid of getting the cardboard wet.
"This awful weather, of all days!" she had just finished complaining when an arm reached out and held up an umbrella to shield her from the rain.
"It's raining so hard, didn't you bring an umbrella?" the man said with a hint of reproach.
The girl turned her head and saw that the man was more than a head taller than her, with a straight nose and a well-defined jawline. She thought he was quite handsome and looked somewhat familiar.
"Thank you," the girl smiled gratefully. "My home is far away, and the weather was fine when I left. What bad luck."
The man laughed, "You're here to watch the game, right?"
"Yeah! Getting those tickets wasn't easy! Did you too?" The girl perked up immediately.
"Oh... So which team do you support?" The man didn't answer, but asked casually instead.
The girl pursed her lips and said proudly, " Shohoku! Look!" She carefully handed over the cardboard sign, which had a picture of Hisashi Mitsui shooting a basketball.
A loud clap of thunder startled the girl, who quickly shrank back and clutched the cardboard sign to her chest. "Um... excuse me, are you also going to the game? Can I ride with you under your umbrella?" she asked shyly.
The man smirked and shoved the umbrella into her hand. "Next time you forget your umbrella, use this cardboard. It's not that delicate." With that, he turned and walked into the rain.
The girl froze, the words still echoing in her mind. Suddenly, her heart raced, and she pointed at the figure disappearing into the rain, shouting, "You! You're Mitsui!!"
The man turned around and smiled warmly.
" Mitsui!!!" The girl covered her mouth, unable to believe it.
Mitsui smiled and pointed at her, "Remember, Hisashi Mitsui isn't that delicate. Also, thank you for your support of Shohoku. This umbrella is for you." After saying that, he quickly walked away.
As he walked, he muttered to himself, "Damn, why is the rain so heavy!" This was completely at odds with his earlier nonchalant demeanor.
The girl stood there, dazed with happiness. Watching Mitsui's slightly disheveled figure, she gripped her umbrella tighter and whispered, "Good luck, Mitsui!"
Two hours before the start of the match, the rain hadn't stopped at all. More and more people gathered at the entrance of the county stadium.
The Ryonan and Shohoku fans naturally split into two groups, creating a slightly tense atmosphere. Tetsuo Hotta, holding a megaphone, shouted, " Shohoku fans, come this way! Let's get this party started!"
Standing next to him were a few people, Yohei Mito, who were always late for school but never late for watching games.
Inside the stadium, the match between Kainan and Takezato was underway. It was a third-place game, not much to watch, but the stands were still packed.
Most people came to watch Shinichi Maki's farewell match. Coach Riki Takato fielded his full starting lineup, giving the fans a pleasant surprise.
Kazuma Takasago won the jump ball, and Shinichi Maki received the ball in the backcourt, waving to the fans with his teammates. Clearly, Kainan had given up on this attack.
There was this Takezato who blindly charged forward, only to be yelled at and sent packing by his own coach. But then again, sometimes in a match, you really do need a bit of ceremony.
This farewell from Shinichi Maki is far more important than winning or losing. Besides, it was Kainan's own mistake that led to this, Takezato didn't suffer any loss, so everyone tacitly understood.
Eight seconds later, amidst cheers from the crowd, the referee blew his whistle.
Shinichi Maki's last game in Kainan ended with a single mistake. Coach Riki Takato then substituted the entire starting lineup.
Not entirely.
Nobunaga Kiyota remained on the court. The kid was unusually well-behaved today; he didn't put on any dunking show before the game, just diligently warmed up, with a smile on his face, looking much more composed than usual.
Gao Riki Takato had considered why Kiyota was allowed to stay on the field. Firstly, Kiyota was a newcomer, and Kainan's glory in the previous two years had little to do with him. In theory, he didn't need to participate in this farewell ceremony. However, Riki Takato insisted on starting him, wanting him to experience it firsthand.
Feel the glory that our predecessors fought for. As their successors, we cannot rest on our laurels; we must take up the mantle and pass it on, just as they are still standing on the field today.
Secondly... Kainan really can't afford to stumble again. If they lose again, their morale will be completely shattered, and it will be difficult to recruit players next year. Kiyota's task is to lead the team to victory in this last match and save face for Kainan.
At the same time, this can be considered the first battle in which Kainan was officially handed over to him.
Kiyota didn't disappoint the coach, playing for a full forty minutes and racking up a triple-double of 32 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists, leading the team to victory. The last rebound was intentionally given to him by his teammates, allowing this new successor to have a perfect ending.
A triple-double to end his rookie season—the stats speak for themselves, and anyone with eyes can see that the new Kainan is about to set sail.
"Let's go! Let's get in!"
As soon as the game between Kainan and Takezato ended, Tetsuo Hotta started shouting through a megaphone, waving his hand and leading the Shohoku fans into the stadium. Because of the rain, fans were allowed to enter early, which was a thoughtful gesture from the organizers.
They were actually quite helpless. They had originally planned to set up a second venue, but the terrible weather ruined the whole plan. Many fans without tickets showed up, and the staff could only apologize to them one by one. What could we do when the weather was so uncooperative? They almost got into a fight over it, which was quite a first for a county-level competition.
They could only sigh inwardly, realizing just how terrifying Shohoku's influence was in Kanagawa...
" Haruko, stay close to me. There are too many people, it's dangerous."
In the queue to enter, Haruko and Yohei were lined up together. The one who spoke was Tatsuhiko Aota. This was his first time watching a live match, and Haruko didn't understand why he had come.
At this moment, the expression on Aota's face... was somewhat improper.
However, Aota is essentially a gentleman. He has liked Haruko for many years and has never done anything out of line. Haruko has always been popular since childhood, but she has never encountered any bad guys or troublesome suitors. It's not that she lacks charm, but all thanks to Aota secretly protecting her.
While he claimed to like her, Aota actually saw Haruko more as a younger sister, though he himself was somewhat confused about his feelings. Although his expression was a bit lewd, his heart was as pure as a lake... Haruko, however, understood this perfectly.
She always regarded Aota as her second older brother.
"It's alright, Brother Long," Haruko said with a smile, "I often come here with Yohei and the others, and they take good care of me."
Tatsuhiko Aota snorted.
" Yohei Mito? He's just a small-time thug leader, what kind of power could he possibly have?"
Yohei could only smile wryly. Aota's judo club never got involved in delinquent affairs; both sides were quite skilled fighters, yet they tacitly kept to themselves. Because of Haruko's connection to the basketball team, Yohei didn't pay much attention to Aota's words.
In terms of skill, Yohei admitted that he definitely couldn't beat Tatsuhiko Aota on the court. But if they weren't on the court... then the outcome would be hard to say.
Haruko quickly jumped in to smooth things over. "Brother Ryu, you mustn't say that about Yohei! He's my friend, a very nice person!"
Yohei smiled, touched. "It's alright, Haruko. He's obsessed with Sakuragi and Kaede Rukawa, so it's understandable that he takes it out on me, his brother."
Upon hearing those two names, Tatsuhiko Aota's eyes lit up.
"Today! It's the big day they're joining the judo club! I'm sure... well, I think... there shouldn't be any problems..."
Yohei and Haruko exchanged a glance and both smiled. What could they say to Aota's obsession except to smile?
"Oh, right, Haruko," Yohei suddenly remembered something and asked, "I heard there's an awards ceremony after the competition today?"
He really didn't know much about basketball. He watched so many games purely to support his friends and, incidentally, to support Shohoku. As for the ins and outs of basketball, he was completely clueless, let alone knowing that there were any awards for playing basketball.
"Yes!" Haruko's eyes sparkled, her voice full of excitement. "As per tradition, the season awards will be presented right after the competition!"
"You know MVP, right? It's the best one," she added.
Yohei nodded; of course he knew that, wasn't Hisashi Mitsui?
"The MVP award is the most prestigious individual award besides the championship," Haruko continued. "Next up is the All-Star Team, which selects the five best players from all teams."
"There are also individual awards, such as scoring champion, Rebound King, assist champion, and so on."
"Anyway, every award is quite important to the players; everyone hopes to win one."
Yohei stroked his chin, pondering, " The Rebound King... it should be that kid Sakuragi, right?"
"Yeah, I think it's a sure thing!" Haruko said confidently. "And Xiao Bai's assist title and scoring title are basically guaranteed too!"
Hearing that both brothers could go on stage to receive awards, Yohei felt happy too.
"Hey, Haruko," he suddenly remembered something, "You didn't mention MVP, shouldn't that award go to Xiao Bai? He's Shohoku's ace."
Haruko smiled confidently, "The MVP award is hard to say, because according to past practice, it's only given to the player on the championship team."
"So we'll only know who it is after the match is over."
"But I believe Shohoku will definitely win! Xiao Bai will definitely be the new MVP!"
The MVP issue was already a hot topic in the newspapers yesterday.
Various analytical articles are flying around, but the conclusions are surprisingly consistent—they all point to Shirasawa.