"According to the tournament schedule, our first opponent is Ryonan, followed by Shohoku, and finally Kainan."
"Just two wins and we'll secure a spot in the national tournament!" Coach Akai flashed a V-sign.
"The match between Ryonan and Shohoku is crucial; everyone must take it seriously."
" Shirota, please give us a briefing on Ryonan."
Shirota pulled out his worn-out notebook and immediately hit the nail on the head regarding Ryonan's defense. " Ryonan is a tough defensive team, like a plaster, you can lose the ball if you're not careful."
"Their starting center is Uozumi, a third-year student. He's 2.02 meters tall, the tallest tower in Kanagawa. With a single swipe of his hand under the basket, no one dares to venture into the paint."
Shirota glanced at Yo Aoki and continued, "According to Aoki, they also have a second-year student, Kiccho Fukuda, whose cuts to the basket and scoring are among the best in the prefecture. The rest, like Hiroaki Koshino, Tomoyuki Uekusa, Ryoji Ikegami, are all tough opponents."
Shirota took a deep breath and announced the last name, "Next up is Ryonan's ace, Kanagawa's superstar— Akira Sendoh!"
" Sendoh is top-notch in both offense and defense. He's the brain of Ryonan. He can drive and shoot. If we can't contain Sendoh, we have no chance of beating Ryonan."
After Shirota finished speaking, the arena fell into a deathly silence. Everyone was filled with unease. Who hadn't heard of Sendoh's strength? Could they withstand a real fight?
In the suffocating atmosphere, Yo Aoki suddenly laughed, slapping his thigh and saying, "Don't worry about Sendoh, I'll take care of him."
These words, though spoken lightly, were like a warm compress to everyone's hearts. No one thought Aoki was bragging—given his previous performance, he had the confidence to say so.
"But that Uozumi a big one, so we'll have to rely on you guys!" Yo Aoki changed the subject, pointing to the ceiling and laughing.
"Hahahaha," everyone burst into laughter, and the oppressive feeling from before completely dissipated.
Coach Akai smiled and nodded, "That's how an ace should act!"
" Ryonan is strong, but we're not pushovers either. Our victory against Shoyo really honed our skills; both our mentality and technique are on point. What's there to be afraid of!"
" Takezato, keep going!" " Takezato, keep going!"
The day before the race, Imamura wiped the sweat from his brow and encouraged himself. "Just one more kilometer and I'll make it!"
After resting for a while, he started walking again, thinking to himself, "Finally, we're going to face that big Uozumi. I have to defend him like crazy. If I can shut him down, I can relieve the pressure on Aoki and pave the way for the team to win."
By this time, his jersey was soaked with sweat.
"I'm home!" Hojo's eyes lit up as soon as he opened the door, drawn by the table full of food.
" Shunya, congratulations on making it to the semi-finals!" Hojo's mother greeted them with a smile.
Hojo's father, holding his teacup, said with a smile, "I heard from the neighbors that you played pretty well in that match. Your mother and I have decided that we'll go to the semifinals to cheer you on."
"Then what about you two working?" Hojo scratched his head.
"You can make money anytime, but if you miss such a crucial match, you'll never get another chance!"
"I'll definitely play my best!" Hojo's eyes welled up with tears.
Hojo's father patted him on the back of the head. "Don't push yourself too hard, just have fun."
Mizuki pushed open the study door, and saw her father staring blankly at the lesson plan.
Seeing him come in, Mizuki's father took off his glasses. " Masanobu, have you decided which university you want to go to?"
"Not yet, Dad."
"You'd better hurry up; there seem to be a lot more club activities lately."
"This is my last game. No matter the result, I will retire from the basketball team after the national tournament."
Mizuki's father hummed in agreement and then lowered his head to continue working on the lesson plan.
Mizuki stepped out of the study, clenching her fists. "This is my last chance!"
The doors to the stadium in Takezato were pushed open, Shirota poked his head in.
"Oh? You haven't gone home yet?" Yo Aoki, who was practicing, saw him and teased with a smile, "Want to come and practice with me?"
Shirota laughed and waved his hand, "I can't handle your devilish intensity. Didn't Imamura and Hojo- senpai train with you?"
"Practicing without rest can easily lead to injury; rest is also part of building up strength."
"Then why don't you rest?"
"I'm used to it."
Upon hearing this, Shirota curled his lip and snorted, mentally labeling Aoki a "monster".
Shirota picked up the basketball from the ground, dribbled it twice, and then leaped into the air to shoot. The basketball drew a crooked line in the air and hit the floor without even touching the rim. Shirota's face flushed, and he coughed, scratching the back of his neck.
Aoki chuckled and nudged him, "You should also spend some time practicing every day, instead of always obsessing over those stats."
Shirota glared at him. "Stop talking nonsense!"
I don't know if it's just my imagination, but last year we were just sitting in the stands watching Shinichi Maki and Sendoh play, and this year we're actually competing against them?
Aoki nodded. "Absolutely!"
I remember you saying you wouldn't seriously play basketball until high school. I told you back then that the level of competition in high school was beyond your imagination.
Aoki chuckled and shrugged, "Isn't this a slap in the face?"
Shirota rolled his eyes. "This isn't even humanly trained."
Aoki raised an eyebrow. "Are you insulting me?"
After they finished laughing, Shirota suddenly stopped laughing, leaned over and asked, "Hey, Aoki, are you nervous?"
Aoki thought for a moment, "I wouldn't say I'm nervous, I'm just inexplicably a little excited."
Shirota then asked, "So, do you think we can beat Ryonan?"
As soon as Shirota finished asking the question, Aoki didn't reply, but instead launched a super long three-pointer. Before the ball even touched the rim, Aoki turned his back, not even looking where it would land, and just shouted to Shirota, "Let's just give it our all, and leave the outcome to fate!"
On Sunday, June 20th, the final stage of the Kanagawa Prefecture High School Basketball Preliminary Tournament officially began. All matches were held at the prefectural basketball stadium, consisting of three rounds, with two games per round and a one-week break in between.
Aoki tightened his grip on the ball; this day had finally arrived. Although he remembered that in the manga, the first round was held separately in two different arenas, why were they all combined this time?
This would make it far too easy to expose their true strength in front of strong teams like Kainan and Shohoku! Aoki's heart skipped a beat, and he felt a little panicked.
In the locker room, Coach Akai was standing in front of the team, giving final instructions. " Aoki, you stick to Sendoh tightly, don't let him connect with his teammates!" " Imamura, you mark Uozumi closely, don't let him cause trouble inside!" " Hojo, you lead the offense, don't shoot recklessly!"
Hearing these arrangements, Aoki couldn't help but sigh. What kind of tactics are these?
It wasn't until he saw Coach Akai's hand trembling slightly as he gripped the tactics board that Aoki realized—the coach was even more nervous than he was.
Aoki rallied everyone into a circle, each person putting their arm around the shoulder of the person next to them. Aoki shouted at the top of his lungs, "Everyone in the arena thinks we're pushovers, that Takezato is a weak team. But we're not! We'll show everyone that Takezato is not to be trifled with! We're not afraid of anyone! We'll fight to the last second, we'll never give up!"
He suddenly raised his voice. " Takezato!"
Everyone roared in unison, "Go for it!!!" The shouts shook the entire stadium!
Inside the Kanagawa Prefecture basketball arena, the audience was buzzing with excitement. One person shouted, "I think Ryonan will beat Kainan this year!" Someone next to him chimed in, "Absolutely! Ryonan is ridiculously strong this year!"
Someone else chimed in, " Takezato had terrible luck today." "I heard Takezato and Shoyo drew in the practice match?" " Shoyo didn't even make the semifinals this year, they're finished. What's so surprising about a draw?"
The two men were talking animatedly, completely unaware that several rows behind them were occupied by members of the Shoyo team.
"Damn it!" Takano slammed his hand on the chair in anger and was about to rush forward when Fujima grabbed him.
Fujima pressed down on his shoulder. "Don't be impulsive. They're just a bunch of amateurs. It's not worth getting angry with them." After a pause, Fujima added, "After this match, they'll realize how stupid they were."
Hanagata watched the two teams enter the field and asked, " Fujima, who do you think will win?"
Fujima didn't answer directly, only saying, "Time will tell."
Fujima stared at Sendoh, pondering: Sendoh was already top-tier last year, how much will he improve this year? Then he shifted his gaze to Yo Aoki, muttering, "But Aoki from the Takezato..."
Cheers suddenly erupted from the stands as Takezato and Ryonan entered the field side by side. Aoki, his face expressionless, glanced at the stands and immediately spotted the Kainan and Shohoku players sitting on either side.
There's a red-haired guy on the Shohoku side, he's really eye-catching. Aoki smirked, it seems this game will be even more interesting with you watching me play.
Coach Akai cleared his throat, his voice a little strained. "Everyone, don't panic, let's warm up first."
Just then, a man and a woman entered the stadium. If Aoki had seen them, he would have recognized the short-haired woman as Yayoi Aida, a reporter from Basketball Weekly.
Aida laughed and said, "The place is packed."
Nakamura chimed in, "It's rare to see so many spectators at a high school competition, even though it's just the finals."
Aida nodded. "Of course, Kainan and Ryonan are top-tier teams." She breathed a sigh of relief, "Luckily, we were moved to the same venue at the last minute, so we don't have to run between the two."
Nakamura asked, " Aida, who do you think will win the first match between Ryonan and Takezato?"
Aida thought for a moment and said, "Last year, the two teams were about the same strength, but this year Ryonan's core players are all still there, while Takezato lost most of its main players last year and hasn't added any strong players this year, so Ryonan has a better chance of winning."
What she didn't say was—no one in Takezato could stop Sendoh.
In the stands, Kainan coach Riki Takato with a paper fan, asked the people around him, "Which team do you think will win?"
Nobunaga Kiyota quickly shouted, "Of course it's Ryonan!"
Soichiro Jin glanced at the field and said, "I think it's too early to say what the result will be. These guys from Takezato aren't as timid as they used to be; on the contrary, they're full of energy."
Nobunaga Kiyota, upon hearing this, curled his lip in disdain. "Purely ignorant of one's own limitations."
Riki Takato turned to Shinichi Maki and asked, "Which team do you think will win?"
Shinichi Maki glanced sideways at the Ryonan and Takezato teams, acting all high and mighty. "This is just a bunch of kids fighting over territory, winning or losing is normal."
Although both teams had already taken their places on the court, the stadium's loudspeaker announced on time, "Next up is today's first match, between Ryonan High School and Takezato High School. Let's introduce the starting lineups."