Back to the point, the game can be lost, but Shirasawa must be crippled! Tsuyoshi Minami gritted his teeth, suddenly leaped forward, and swung his left arm straight at Shirasawa's neck, intending to give Shirasawa a brutal chokehold!
Shirasawa had been wary of Tsuyoshi Minami the whole time and had vaguely sensed movement behind him. However, even with his excellent vision, he didn't have eyes in the back of his head. It wasn't until Tsuyoshi Minami's hand was almost in front of his eyes that he realized what the other party was going to do.
In the blink of an eye, Tsuyoshi Minami hooked his arm back, while Shirasawa continued to charge forward, about to collide! In that instant, everyone on and off the field widened their eyes in shock. Tsuyoshi Minami's move was too ruthless; it was practically a crime!
The entire Shohoku Team was on tenterhooks, wanting to stop him but it was too late. They could even imagine Shirasawa clutching his neck and collapsing to the ground in pain the next second.
However, Shirasawa's reaction speed far exceeded their expectations! At the critical moment, Shirasawa suddenly turned to the side, barely dodging Tsuyoshi Minami's "claws". Although Tsuyoshi Minami didn't catch anyone, he grabbed Shirasawa's jersey tightly. With the help of inertia, there was a "rip" sound, and the jersey was torn open, showing how much force Tsuyoshi Minami used.
Tsuyoshi Minami himself hadn't expected to miss. Immediately afterward, he saw Shirasawa turn around quickly and throw the basketball at him hard! "Bang!" Tsuyoshi Minami instinctively raised his arm to block, and the basketball hit his forearm solidly, bouncing high into the air.
Having gone this far, Tsuyoshi Minami was completely desperate. He swung his fist and charged at Shirasawa, roaring, "I'll kill you!!"
Shirasawa had no more reservations and launched a flying kick. Both of them moved with lightning speed, and even if their teammates tried to break up the fight, they wouldn't have time to stop them.
With a muffled thud, Shirasawa's kick landed squarely on Tsuyoshi Minami's stomach, causing his punch to miss its mark. When it comes to fighting, Shirasawa is definitely Tsuyoshi Minami's grandmaster; a single round would be enough to decide the winner.
Shirasawa was truly enraged this time. One kick wasn't enough, now he had to choke him? "Go to hell!" After kicking, Shirasawa immediately followed up with a punch! "Bang!" This punch landed squarely on Tsuyoshi Minami's face.
Just then, teammates from both sides finally rushed over, and Kishimoto and Mitsuaki Iwata hurriedly stepped forward to protect Tsuyoshi Minami behind them.
The situation is completely different on the Shohoku side.
Stop them? Stop my ass! How dare they touch their Xiao Bai?
Hanamichi Sakuragi was the first to resist, letting out a roar and leading the charge, followed by a large group of people.
Hanamichi Sakuragi shoved Minori Kishimoto, sending her stumbling, yelling, "Get out of my way!"
Shirasawa grabbed Miyagi's shoulder, using the momentum to send him flying, and kicked out again.
He himself didn't know exactly who he kicked, but there was definitely one unlucky guy among Toyotama's group.
In the chaos, Toyotama's team was completely overwhelmed by Shohoku's momentum!
The five players on the field were pushed back one after another. Mitsuaki Iwata had just gotten up from the ground when his legs gave way and he fell on his butt with a cry of "Ouch!"
At this moment, the two referees on the field finally ran to the middle, spread their arms to block between the two teams, and blew their whistles so loudly they almost cracked.
Although they were a bit slow, they managed to stop Shohoku's attack.
Nobody expected a basketball game to turn out like this! But... it's so satisfying!
Tsuyoshi Minami was the catalyst for this conflict; everyone present clearly saw his chokehold move.
Therefore, Shirasawa and his teammates' counterattack was perfectly reasonable! Even Yohei and the others in the audience were so anxious that they almost jumped down.
At this moment, the entire stadium was filled with the curses of Shohoku fans, who were hurling insults at Toyotama.
The substitutes from both sides rushed onto the field and tried to break up the fight, which barely managed to stabilize the situation.
Ultimately, the referee decided to assign blame to both sides equally, preventing the dispute from escalating further.
Tsuyoshi Minami and Shirasawa were both sent off.
Although it was obvious to everyone that Tsuyoshi Minami started the trouble, Shirasawa's punches and kicks were indeed quite vicious, real attacks, and the referee couldn't possibly ignore them.
Tsuyoshi Minami's situation is more than just being sent off. His chokehold will definitely warrant further punishment from the organizing committee after the match, but that's a matter for later.
Hanamichi Sakuragi, Miyagi, Mitsui, and even Takenori Akagi each received a technical foul.
That's right, Akagi went up there too! With a single swipe of his big hand, a bunch of Toyotama's side collapsed.
Toyotama is dirty, but Shohoku is courageous! It's the most powerful counterattack against evil!
Seeing this, all the fans stood up, applauded, and cheered. This scene made the Shohoku players on the court feel like heroes.
Even after they were on the bench, the applause continued for a long time.
"Well done this time," Coach Anzai smiled, narrowing his eyes, and gave his final conclusion.
The group exchanged smiles. Indeed, this time no one felt they had done anything wrong. In that situation, if they hadn't rushed in, they wouldn't deserve to be on the Shohoku team!
No brothers, no basketball! Anyone who messes with their brothers on the court will have to pay the price!
Team chemistry is not just about teamwork; this cohesion is even more important.
On the other side, Tsuyoshi Minami had already been escorted back to the locker room. Shirasawa's kick had left him unable to straighten up, and the punch to his face was even more brutal, knocking out a tooth.
The so-called " Ace Killer " has been completely outmaneuvered this time, and is now in a sorry state.
If Kenji Fujima saw this scene, he'd probably burst out laughing, and might even be moved to tears...
On the Shohoku side, they fielded their second lineup, led by Kiminobu Kogure.
Toyotama, having lost its star player Tsuyoshi Minami, and all its members, including Kishimoto, seemed stunned by Shohoku's fierce attack earlier.
Even if they had the guts, they wouldn't dare to pull any tricks now, especially since the referee is keeping a close eye on them.
Therefore, the last ten minutes of the match were almost entirely devoid of intensity; both sides were essentially just wasting time.
But the Shohoku fans cheered for a full ten minutes. They were thrilled and excited by the game, and felt that supporting Shohoku was absolutely the right thing to do!
They are united, brave, and spirited; in the hearts of fans, they are the perfect team.
beep!!!
The referee finally blew the whistle to end the match. This round of 32, filled with flying elbows and the ever-present threat of conflict, was finally over. For the referee, it was a huge relief.
The final score was 108-65.
Shohoku defeated last year's quarterfinal team, Toyotama High School, by a huge margin of 43 points, securing their first victory in the national tournament!
This match is destined to be written into the history of the national tournament... or perhaps even a "dark chapter" in history.
However, there is absolutely no doubt that Shohoku won!
Shirasawa was ejected from the game for the first time in his career, but he contributed a spectacular stat line of 42 points, 6 rebounds, 15 assists, 6 steals and 5 blocks in just 30 minutes on the court, bringing his best performance to the national stage.
The entire stadium was chanting Shirasawa's name.
Shirasawa, wearing the torn jersey, opened his arms.
Beneath this jersey lies another set of "data": N elbows, one knee strike, one punch, two kicks, four fouls, and one ejection...
Unlike the Kanagawa Prefecture tournament, the national tournament doesn't offer time or space for teams to conduct post-match interviews. Especially in the first two days of the group stage, the schedule is incredibly tight.
As soon as the game between Shohoku and Toyotama ended, several reporters rushed to the sidelines and conducted brief sideline interviews with several key figures from Shohoku.
This match was incredibly captivating, especially for Shohoku, a team making their first appearance in the national tournament. They not only displayed an exceptionally high level of skill, completely dominating Toyotama High School, a perennial top-eight contender, on both offense and defense, but the game itself was also incredibly dramatic and unpredictable. Shohoku practically played the role of heroes, defeating the "bad guys" in the most forceful and direct way.
There were simply not enough questions to cover this topic within the limited interview time, so the reporters could only ask a few key questions concisely.
The reporters quickly dropped the bombardment with vague questions about mindset, feelings, and spirit, then proceeded to snap photos of Shirasawa. They were snapping away at his ripped jersey, the living symbol of the game, Shirasawa's iron medal for winning 06.
After a brief interview, the Shohoku team quickly disappeared back into the locker room.
"Oh no!! It's all over, it...!"
Suddenly, Hanamichi Sakuragi's loud voice erupted in the locker room. Everyone turned to look, and saw him hanging his head dejectedly, looking as wilted as a frostbitten eggplant.
"I..."
"I completely forgot to use my training shooting technique!!"
Sakuragi's performance in this game was only average, with 10 points and 16 rebounds. His rebounding ability is still unparalleled, living up to his title as the Kanagawa Rebound King. However, his scoring was definitely below his own expectations.
Having endured that hellish week with Coach Anzai, Sakuragi was bursting with confidence in his mid-range shooting. He wanted to show off in the first game and at least score 20 points to impress everyone, but he didn't expect that once he stepped onto the court, he would only focus on going head-to-head with his opponents and try to charge towards the basket for a dunk whenever he had an offensive opportunity, completely forgetting about shooting.
"I made a promise with Yoko that I would get 20 points..."
"She'll give me a reward if I do it..."
Sakuragi became increasingly aggrieved as he spoke, his eyes revealing a lewd and malicious glint.
Miyagi leaned over and said in a cheeky tone, "Idiot, we can negotiate and ask her to give us half the reward!" His shifty eyes and sneaky look were just like Sakuragi's.
This scene made Akagi, an upright and honest older brother, extremely uncomfortable, feeling as if he had stumbled into a den of scoundrels. However, he quickly realized a serious problem— Haruko was with Yoko! What if Yoko turned around and talked about this inappropriate topic with Haruko?
Thinking of this, Akagi's head was practically steaming, and he punched Sakuragi to the ground. "Damn it! From now on, all of you stay away from Haruko!"
Sakuragi covered his head, looking aggrieved. "It wasn't me, it was..." As he spoke, his gaze secretly drifted towards Shirasawa.
Shirasawa subtly gave Sakuragi a warning look—don't sell me out! Honestly, I haven't done anything yet, I can't let myself be targeted first! Those beautiful legs... those crystal-clear jade feet... those delicate lips... and that hotel...
Shirasawa suddenly revealed a simple, honest smile.
"What are you laughing at?" Akagi asked, frowning. So far, he hadn't connected Haruko's appearance with Shirasawa. After all, Haruko being with Yoko was most likely due to Sakuragi's influence or being brought there by Yohei Mito and the others. Although Akagi didn't think much of these people, he knew in his heart that Sakuragi and Yohei had no ulterior motives towards Haruko and would even take care of her, which made him feel somewhat at ease.