But it's a different story for Shohoku Shirasawa, Hanamichi Sakuragi, and Ryota Miyagi will all be on the team next year. Take Shirasawa for example, if Sannoh loses Eiji Sawakita next year, how will they compete against him? Domoto Goro is probably under a lot of pressure Goro Domoto.
The two major honors of Rebound King and shot block champion were both won by Meihou Industrial's freshman superstar, Hiroshi Morishige. This is the first time in the national competition that a freshman has won both awards, and he has left the second place far behind.
Hanamichi Sakuragi was second on the rebounding list. The Rebound King hadn't won a national honor, and he was furious. Clenching his fists, he roared, "Damn it! That damn monk! Next year I'll make sure he can't even hold the ball properly!"
However, Miyagi's trip was worthwhile. On his first time stepping onto the podium, the national steals title went to the Red Ghost of Shohoku. The Ghost had appeared, and this was the first time Miyagi had won a national honor that belonged solely to him. That spirit was exactly the same as when he broke through the defense back then.
The top scorer title goes without saying; it was unsurprisingly won by Shirasawa, whose terrifying average of 51.3 points per game surpasses all other players. Don't forget, this is a result of coming from the most difficult group stage. In terms of prestige, no other team in the national tournament has ever achieved this. Moreover, given this random grouping method, it will be difficult to create such a hellish group again in the future. If it were to happen again, no one would dare to say that they could achieve such results.
Shirasawa's performance in this national competition has been phenomenal. For at least the next three years, he'll probably be the only one who can come close to or even break his record.
Next up is the best offensive and defensive lineup, consisting of five players each for offense and defense, with duplicates allowed. This award is second only to the national MVP in prestige, and those in the know understand its significance.
Although most of the players have already left Hiroshima, the star players of each team are still eagerly hoping to make the All-NBA Team. This is a real and hard-earned honor, and who wouldn't want to win it?
The format is the same as the prefectural tournament: two guards, two forwards, and one center. There's no suspense at the center position; Masashi Kawata Hiroshi Morishige is strong, he lost because he didn't make it to the finals, and compared to Takenori Akagi, he's still not as good as Masashi Kawata —no one would question that.
The All-Out Offensive Team roster has been announced: guards Shirasawa and Dai Moroboshi, forwards Eiji Sawakita and Ken Hoshino, and center Masashi Kawata. The five of them combined are averaging nearly 200 points per game, and that's after Sawakita and Kawata coasted through the earlier games. If you calculate their actual skill level, the numbers are unimaginable. Compared to last year, only Shirasawa replaced Hajime Chiba; the other positions are still very solid.
The All-Defensive Team lineup has also been announced: guards Shirasawa and Kazunari Fukatsu, forwards Eiji Sawakita and Hanamichi Sakuragi, and center Masashi Kawata.
When Hanamichi Sakuragi's name was called, he was stunned. It wasn't that he couldn't believe it; he had just learned that such an award existed. After all, there was no such award in the county tournament, and he had never even heard of it before.
Hanamichi Sakuragi has truly achieved great success this time. This honor carries far more weight than the Kanagawa Rebound King or the National Rebound King, and he absolutely deserves this spot. He shut down Toyotama, exhausted Hoshino Kishimoto against Hakata Shodai Affiliated Ken Hoshino, defended Hiroshi Morishige in the semifinals, and his game against Sannoh in the finals made him a household name. He himself is unaware that the whole country will remember his name.
This is quite something. Shirasawa, Eiji Sawakita, and Masashi Kawata have all occupied the best offensive and defensive positions. This is the first time in the history of the national tournament that such a situation has occurred. Each of the three positions is occupied, and they are all monsters who can fight both offense and defense.
"Now, let's announce the MVP player for this year's Summer National Tournament!"
As soon as the organizing committee finished speaking, the entire stadium erupted in cheers, the loudest shouts being " Shirasawa! Shirasawa!" The shouts almost lifted the roof off.
" Shohoku, number 9 Shirasawa!"
Amidst cheers from the crowd, Shirasawa walked onto the podium and accepted the heavy MVP trophy. As a freshman, he led the once-weak Shohoku to a phoenix-like rebirth, sweeping all the major honors. The last player to be this dominant was last year's Rookie of the Year, Eiji Sawakita, but Shirasawa's statistics were significantly higher than Sawakita's, and he even beat Sawakita this year.
Confetti rained down from the stadium roof, mingling with the cheers from the crowd, creating an incredibly lively scene.
As media reporters thronged past the arena fences, the national tournament, which had seen rookies dominate and stats explode, finally came to a complete end. Like Kanagawa's Kainan University Affiliated High School, Sannoh Industrial High School suffered a major setback this year, its years of hard-earned strength completely overturned.
Shohoku High School emerged as the biggest comeback winner and the ultimate victor in this tournament! When it comes to the next dynasty, the next legend, the most popular choice is Shohoku 0...
Everyone believes that Shirasawa and Hanamichi Sakuragi, both first-year students at Shohoku High School, will continue this spirit of comeback. They are the present, and they are also the future!
As for Eiji Sawakita, he went crazy for a whole year before quietly making his exit. He never Nobunaga was coming, but the torch really went out. That's how times are; no one remembers the second place winner, and regret is only temporary. Everyone will only hold the current king in their hands. The number one high school student in the country, Shirasawa!
The entire Shohoku team posed for a group photo, holding the championship trophy and the school flag. This picture will definitely dominate the covers of every newspaper and magazine tomorrow. Basketball Weekly, of course, will be on the front page.
After leaving the court, the entire Shohoku team rushed to the locker room to change. They didn't even have time to catch their breath before being dragged to the media room for interviews. Yayoi Aida was there too; this woman was currently the hottest media personality and immediately took the first interview spot.
Her questions were all pre-prepared guiding questions, and the Shohoku Team could answer them perfectly without even thinking. Sakuragi originally wanted to say something irrelevant, but after being glared at by Yayoi Aida and the staff member next to him, he immediately swallowed his words and hung his head without saying a word.
By the time all the interviews were over, it was already past noon. The celebration banquet was scheduled for the evening, since the main players were all so exhausted they could barely stand up straight. Even Sakuragi, that crazy guy, seemed to have lost his soul; all the energy he had in the finals had completely dissipated.
At 5 p. m. on the day of the national tournament finals, the entire Shohoku team was present in the lobby of the guesthouse. After an afternoon of rest and adjustment, everyone was much more energetic, and their faces were full of undisguised excitement.
Several tables were pushed together, and everyone sat around them. The tables were piled with the various trophies won that day, the largest of which was, of course, the national championship. Coach Anzai sat in the main seat, smiling like Maitreya Buddha, reverting to his usual kind and benevolent " White-Haired Buddha father" appearance.
His " White-Haired Devil " state lasted for less than ten minutes. You have to understand that in those ten minutes, Coach Anzai was transported back to ten years ago, when only this devil could keep Sannoh's Goro Domoto in check. If a kind old man had come back then, he wouldn't have been able to control the situation at all.
After the match, Goro Domoto bowed deeply to Anzai. The respect a junior should show to a senior, and a student to a teacher, was all conveyed in that bow. He admitted that he was far inferior, not only in tactics but also in his ability to train people.
After all, the whole country knows the story of Shohoku: Hisashi Mitsui turned over a new leaf, and it would have been impossible for him to have done so with any other team, especially a disciplined team like Sannoh. When Mitsui first returned, his physical condition and mentality were both lacking, and many strong teams dared not take him. There's also Hanamichi Sakuragi, the big rascal from Wako Junior High School, and Miyagi Ryota Miyagi from Shohoku. Apart from Toyotama's crappy team, which other team in the country could put together these two clowns?
Back then, Sakuragi was a complete basketball novice, and Miyagi wasn't particularly strong either. Yet, this group of people, under Anzai's guidance, transformed from thugs into elite players, their individual abilities skyrocketing to the top of the nation. That novice Sakuragi, four months later, could actually take on the Kawata brothers one-on-one—what else could that be but a miracle?
Finally, and most importantly, there's Shirasawa, the nation's top high school player, averaging 51.3 points per game! He spent three years on the bench during middle school, only playing 20 seconds in the final game, where he made an assist. This player, overlooked by all high schools, was recruited by Anzai.
From the moment he joined Shohoku, Shirasawa's stats were phenomenal. To call that an exaggeration would be an understatement. Although Sawakita's stats were phenomenal in middle school, after joining Sannoh, his progress was more methodical, and it would be a stretch to call it growth.
This is what Domoto found terrifying about Anzai, and what he couldn't catch up to in a short time. So Domoto finally mentioned becoming Anzai's apprentice, it wasn't just for show; he genuinely wanted to become Anzai's student because he knew he couldn't learn Anzai's skills within the system. A nationally renowned coach bowing his head to become Anzai's apprentice—this is truly a legend among legends.
Coach Anzai didn't take the bait at all. Among the students he trained in his early years were the young coach Kazumi Kawasaki and the rising star junior high school coach Kazuharu Takizawa. He had taught all of them, and he didn't want to waste his energy on them now.
According to Anzai's plan, he only had two years left in his coaching career. After Shirasawa and Sakuragi graduated from Shohoku, he would retire and live a quiet life at home. His message to Domoto was very straightforward. "Forget about becoming his apprentice, but we can exchange ideas. Come over to my house sometime, have a cup of tea and chat."
Although Domoto had some regrets, he was also content and immediately patted his chest. "Let's chat! I'll come every week!" Anyway, Sannoh would cover the round-trip train tickets, and he even declared that he would acknowledge Anzai as his teacher from now on. Little did Anzai know that since Kazuharu Takizawa, that wicked disciple, he had gained another "scoundrel," and he would have another way to send gifts during holidays.
Back to the present, the Shohoku Team is missing two key players – Shirasawa and Sakuragi. As soon as Sanae and Yayoi Aida heard about Sakuragi's injury, they practically dragged him to the hospital. Player injuries are the top priority for the management team, and there can be no ambiguity.
Shirasawa naturally followed along. If Sakuragi wasn't seriously injured, they would return to the celebration banquet that evening. The two guys who had been working the hardest in the finals hadn't even had a chance to catch their breath, especially Shirasawa, who hadn't even expected there to be a tiebreaker.
Rewind a little, and Shirasawa, Sanae, and their group took Sakuragi to the hospital, accompanied by Sakuragi's girlfriend Yoko Shimamura. After leaving the stadium, Sakuragi's tense nerves relaxed, the painkillers wore off, and pain instantly spread throughout his body.
Yoko cried her eyes out the whole way, but Sakuragi had a big smile on his face. He was a simple-minded person, and his mind couldn't possibly think about the future. He had just been selected for the National All-Defensive Team, and he even chased after Yayoi Aida to ask if his national ranking could be improved.
Yayoi Aida said decisively, "We'll definitely be in the top ten!" Sakuragi immediately felt that even if his basketball career ended here, he would have no regrets. It was something he could brag about for the rest of his life, especially to Kaede Rukawa. His only regret was that he didn't catch Kaede Rukawa right after the game.
At the hospital, Sakuragi underwent a thorough examination, and the results were similar to what the team doctor had said: nothing serious. It was just a stenotic strain. If he hadn't played in the last two minutes, he would have recovered in three to five days. Playing the game aggravated it, so it would take two to three weeks. Given Sakuragi's recovery ability, he could probably recover even earlier.
That afternoon, Sakuragi stayed in the hospital for initial rehabilitation therapy, and Shirasawa and the others finished their mission, so everyone was happy. Theoretically, Sanae and Yayoi's matter was also settled. The celebration banquet Shohoku night was organized by the school. They won the championship, so they should eat and drink as they pleased, and anyone who tried to stop them would be in trouble.