"Good!!"
" Takezato-- "
"Never give up!!!"
After training, Coach Akai called out to Yo Aoki, " Aoki, come to my office."
The two entered the office, Akai, sitting in a chair, asked with a smile, " Aoki, what are your thoughts on Takezato's future?"
Yo Aoki thought for a moment, "Although we lost this time, we still have a chance in the Winter Selection Tournament!"
Coach Akai nodded in satisfaction. "So what do you think of Kainan and Ryonan? If you had joined either of those teams, you would definitely have been a starter."
Yo Aoki laughed, "So the teacher was afraid I'd transfer schools?"
"Don't worry, coach, I love the Takezato Team and I enjoy playing with everyone! My goal is to lead Takezato national dominance!"
Coach Akai slammed his hand on the table excitedly, "Great! Aoki, I knew I hadn't misjudged you!" He then said earnestly, " Aoki, can you play as a substitute for tomorrow's game against Kainan? You used up too much energy today, I'm worried about your stamina."
Yo Aoki's eyes narrowed. "Teacher, I have to play tomorrow! My stamina is fine!"
Coach Akai shook his head. " Aoki, don't be impulsive. Kainan is one of the top four teams in the country; their strength is beyond our reach. You've exhausted yourself today; there's no point in forcing yourself to play."
Yo Aoki said seriously, "The basketball rules don't say that weaker teams have to lose to stronger teams. Besides, tomorrow might be Captain Mizuki and the others' last game, so I have to play."
Yo Aoki said firmly, "And even more importantly, I've found Kainan's fatal weakness!"
Coach Akai was stunned. "What? Why didn't you tell everyone earlier?"
Yo Aoki laughed and said, "That tactic was too risky!"
With the Kanagawa District preliminary rounds set to conclude on June 27th, the first match of this round will be between Kainan High School and Takezato High School, followed by Ryonan High School and Shohoku High School. Kainan has secured its advancement with a perfect 2-0 record, while Shohoku and Ryonan, both with one win and one loss, still hold onto the hope of securing the last spot in the national tournament. Takezato, having lost both of its matches, is already eliminated from the main tournament.
Today's game has two main highlights: first, whether Kainan can break their 17-year undefeated record, and second, whether Shohoku or Ryonan will secure the last qualifying spot. The main hall of the Kanagawa Basketball Arena was packed with spectators, including fans of their respective teams, as well as players from Shoyo, Miuradai, and Hinode West.
Eiji Nagashima and several of his former teammates were busy finding open shots. These included Eiji Nagashima, who used to play small forward; point Saki; power forward Morishita; and center Ishizuka. Ishizuka wiped the sweat from his brow and said, " Nagashima, how long has it been since you watched a game? Is basketball really that popular now?"
Eiji Nagashima looked around as he replied, "How long has it been since you last came? It's different now." He suddenly pointed to a row of empty seats and shouted, "There are seats over there!" The group quickly went over and sat down. Saki spoke first, "This scene really brings back memories."
Morishita, clutching the back of his head, sighed, "Yeah, the female fans back then were just as crazy as they are now." Ishizuka chuckled and retorted, " Morishita, you're married now, can't you be a little more reliable?" Saki quickly chimed in, "Exactly, exactly, since you and Nagashima both have families, those girls are just for me and Ishizuka."
Eiji Nagashima quickly tried to smooth things over. "Alright, stop joking around, the match is about to start, focus on the game." Morishita then became serious. " Nagashima, our Takezato still didn't advance this year?" Nagashima sighed, "What can I say? All the good prospects are going to Kainan."
Ishizuka interjected, "But I heard that Takezato played quite well this year, almost losing their first two matches, much better than in previous years." Saki nodded, "Last year we barely made it to the semifinals, this year's performance is already quite respectable." Morishita said quietly, "I'm just afraid that today's match will leave a psychological scar, like when we played Kainan back then."
Morishita said that, everyone fell silent. Not far behind Nagashima and the others, Ryo Aoki shouted at the top of his lungs, "Dad! Mom! There are seats here!" Today, Mamoru Aoki was unusually not wearing formal attire; he and Ryoko Aoki were both dressed casually.
Ryoko Aoki asked, "Where's Yo?" Ryo Aoki replied, "Big Brother hasn't gone on yet. They'll announce his name over the loudspeaker later." Ryo Aoki muttered to himself, "I didn't expect so many people to come to a basketball game!"
A young man approached and asked, "Excuse me, is this seat taken?" Seeing an empty seat next to Ryo Aoki, he added, "Are all the other seats full?" Ryo Aoki waved his hand, "No one's here, please sit down." "Thank you!" The young man bowed slightly and sat down.
While the stands were buzzing with excitement, the Kainan Team's locker room was abuzz with tactical planning. Coach Takato, fanning himself with a folding fan, told his players, "I know exactly what Takezato is like from the previous two matches. In short, they love to play clever tricks!"
He snapped his folding fan shut and continued, "In the match against Ryonan, we forced Uozumi and Fukuda to be fouled out; in the match against Shohoku, we even shook Akagi's confidence. We gained a lot of advantages from these games! But this also proves that Takezato isn't strong enough!"
Nobunaga Kiyota, "I'd like to see what tricks Takezato will use against us!" Soichiro Jin chimed in, "Maybe he'll have Yo Aoki keep an eye on Maki." Kiyota chuckled mischievously, "If that's the case, they're just asking for trouble. No one in Kanagawa can keep an eye on Captain Maki!"
He patted his chest again. "Even if I were the best rookie, he couldn't hold his own!" Shinichi Maki spoke up, " Kiyota, don't underestimate him!" Coach Takato nodded. "Although Takezato isn't as good as us, that Yo Aoki is not to be underestimated!"
Kiyota patted his chest. "Coach, I'll guard Yo Aoki!" Coach Takato laughed, " Kiyota, there's quite a height difference between you and Yo Aoki, guarding him might be difficult." Kiyota straightened his back. "Don't worry, Coach, height isn't a problem!"
Coach Takato pondered for a moment, then said, "Alright! Yo Aoki is in your hands." Kiyota immediately assured him, "Don't worry, Coach, I can definitely handle him!" Coach Takato, worried Kiyota might get cocky, quickly added, " Yo Aoki is like Sendoh from Ryonan and Kaede Rukawa from Shohoku, Kiyota, you'd better be careful." "Understood, Coach!"
Coach Takato then instructed, " Muto, you're in charge of number 4, Takezato, from Mizuki. You two are old rivals." Muto nodded, "Understood, Coach." Tadashi Muto 1.85 meters tall and has outstanding defensive abilities. He and Mizuki went to the same junior high school and were teammates, so he knows Mizuki very well.
Coach Takato then said, " Takasago, Takezato's center, Imamura, Imamura about the same height as you, but he has a wider scoring range, so you have to be careful!" "Understood, Coach!"
Finally, Coach Takato glanced at Shinichi Maki and said, " Maki, the pick-and-roll tactics for Takezato are yours."
Shinichi Maki's lips curled up slightly, but he remained silent.
But then Coach Takato laughed and said, " Takezato is definitely going to pull off some unexpected moves. I'm actually looking forward to it; that's what makes a match exciting."
In the locker room of the Takezato Team, Yo Aoki was fiddling with something in his hands with his head down.
Shirota leaned closer for a look and asked, puzzled, " Aoki, why did you buy mouthguards? And a red one at that?"
Yo Aoki didn't even look up. "Of course I'm protecting my teeth."
Shirota pressed further, "I know, I mean why did you wear your mouthguard today?"
After putting on his mouthguard, Yo Aoki bit down hard twice and mumbled, "Because today's match will be especially fierce!"
As soon as the players from Kainan and Takezato stepped onto the court, the Kanagawa Basketball Arena erupted in deafening cheers.
"Yo, they're here! It's finally time to start!" "Those are the Kainan University Affiliated High School students!" "Isn't that Shinichi Maki?" "I can't wait to see Kainan break records!"
Takezato's group moved to the "520" reserve area. Yo Aoki scanned the area but couldn't find the person he was looking for.
Coach Akai took a deep breath and shouted, "Come on, everyone! Today we're going to show the champions what we're made of!"
Mizuki gathered everyone into a circle and said, "This might be my last match. It's really great to be able to play with everyone."
Both of Mizuki's parents are teachers and have high expectations for him. Mizuki, who has been sensible since he was a child, knew what his parents wanted, so as soon as the Great Cold passed, he made up his mind to leave the basketball team!
After he joined the team, Takezato had already reached the top four in the county for two consecutive years. This result was not bad, but he still wanted to leave something else for Takezato.
Mizuki glanced at the somewhat nervous team members. Although we might not be able to make it to the national tournament, we have to fight to the very end in every game!
"I'm not a particularly talented player, but I hope that through this match, I can leave Takezato with the spirit of never giving up, and leave it with you all!"
" Takezato --Go for it!!!"
That was quite a loud shout, prompting other spectators to chime in: "Wow, Takezato's got real fighting spirit!" "Hopefully he doesn't lose too badly, haha."
Ding-- The stadium loudspeaker blared. "The match between Kainan University Affiliated High School and Takezato High School is about to begin. Let's introduce the starting lineups for both schools."
"The people wearing white jerseys are from the Kainan University Affiliated High School."
"Number 4, Shinichi Maki!"
The audience erupted in a deafening roar of cheers!
"Wow!! It's Maki!!" "That's so intimidating!"
"Number 5, Kazuma Takasago!" "Number 6, Soichiro Jin!" "Number 9, Tadashi Muto!" "Number 10, Nobunaga Kiyota!"
When he read out Kiyota, he burst into laughter and pointed in the direction of Takezato, shouting, "Today I'll show you the might of a king!"
Takezato's group stared wide-eyed, and Akiyama immediately cursed, "Bastard! Too arrogant! Aoki, you'd better teach him a lesson later!"
Yo Aoki smiled slightly, "Okay."
After the Kainan Team took their positions in the center circle, the loudspeaker announced again, "Next, let's introduce the Takezato High School players in red jerseys."
"No. 4, Masanobu Mizuki!" "No. 5, Tatsu Shindo!" "No. 6, Tomoya Imamura!" "No. 8, Shunya Hojo!" "No. 10, Yo Aoki!"
The stadium erupted in a deafening roar, " Aoki! Aoki! Aoki!"
Nagashima exclaimed in surprise, " Yo Aoki, he's actually a starter? And so popular!"
Ishizuka asked, "Is this Yo Aoki the student you mentioned before who acted bravely?"
Nagashima replied, "Yes, that's him. I remember he was in first grade."