Mitsui chuckled beside him, "This kid's got a short temper." Sakuragi and Kaede Rukawa chimed in simultaneously, "Idiot!" Kiyota, standing at the free-throw line, took a deep breath and was about to raise his hand when Yo Aoki suddenly yelled, "Get ready to grab the rebound!" Kiyota was stunned, "I'm shooting a free throw! What are you going to grab?!" Yo Aoki shrugged, "Oh, I misremembered."
Kiyota gritted his teeth, his knuckles white from gripping the ball so tightly. "I'll make it and show you!" His first shot bounced off the back of the rim. Yo Aoki waved his arm and shouted, "Good!" Kiyota glared at him, took two deep breaths, and raised his hand to shoot again. The ball bounced off the front of the rim. He grabbed his hair in frustration, "Ah!"
Yo Aoki leaped into the air, overpowering everyone to secure the ball. "Rebound!" He dribbled the ball to the frontcourt. Imamura, Shindo, Mizuki, and others kept running, trying to create open spaces, but Kainan Team's defense was impenetrable, and they had no chance to receive the ball.
" Kainan's defense is too tight! There's no space to shoot at all!" Sanada muttered, sprawled on the floor. "Damn it! If only Aoki could shoot, but unfortunately his left hand is injured." Coach Akai shook his head. "Who says Aoki can't shoot? I've seen him without his left hand."
Everyone in Takezato was stunned. Oriyuki Iwasaki laughed out loud, "10!" "9!" The audience had already started counting down! Yo Aoki was still dribbling the ball, Coach Takato shouted from the sidelines, "That's it! Don't let anyone else shoot three-pointers!"
Yo Aoki glanced at Shinichi Maki, who was only a step and a half away from him. He suddenly smiled, changed his dribbling position, supporting the ball with his left hand and holding it with his right. He bent his knees slightly, pushed off the ground with both feet, jumped up, raised the ball above his head in the air, and threw it with the power of his left wrist.
Maki Shinichi was taken aback. Shinichi Maki Coach Takato yelled, "There's no way it can go in!" Yayoi Aida was speechless with shock. Everyone looked up at the basketball, which arced through the air and swished through the net! The score became 75-76, Takezato had taken the lead!
The referee blew the whistle, "Beep! The match is over!" Coach Akai stammered, "We... we... won?" Sanada immediately threw himself into Coach Akai's arms, crying out, "Coach! We won!"
Mamoru Aoki outside the basketball court for more than ten minutes, but Yo Aoki and the others still didn't come out. Just then, he vaguely heard deafening cheers coming from inside the court! "Huh?" Mamoru Aoki was taken aback, "Could it be..." He quickly walked into the court, pushed open the door forcefully, and was immediately surrounded by huge cheers! " Takezato! Takezato! Takezato!" "They actually defeated Kainan!"
Mamoru Aoki steadied himself and looked onto the field. Sure enough, he saw Yo Aoki embracing and celebrating with his teammates. He shook his head with a smile and muttered, "That brat!"
Nagashima's eyes burned, he exhaled a long breath, and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Our Takezato actually defeated the king of Kanagawa!"
Ishizuka clenched his fist and jumped up. "This game gave me goosebumps all over! I still can't believe we won!"
Saki slapped his thigh and laughed, "These guys did something we never even dared to dream of!"
Morishita scratched the back of his head. "To be honest, they were just lucky. Not only did they all perform exceptionally well, but the Kainan group was completely offline the whole time!"
"Wow! Big brother is awesome!" Ryo Aoki jumped up and down like a spring, shouting at the top of his lungs.
But Ryoko Aoki wouldn't listen, grabbing his arm. " Ryo, don't go crazy! Calm down!"
Ryo Aoki sat back in his chair, turned his head and poked Asatani's arm. "My older brother's pretty tough, right?"
Asatani pulled his baseball cap down further, his tone tense. "That's ruthless enough!"
Asatani gripped the brim of his hat with his fingertips, his mind churning—if he hadn't pulled Yo Aoki into the ball-handling game back then, how could they be among the top five in the prefecture now? He still had to guide more people onto the right path in the future!
Fujima stared at Shinichi Maki in the center of the court, his heart heavy with mixed feelings. He both hoped Kainan would lose and couldn't bear to see them lose. Finally, he sighed and cried out, " Maki, our era is over!"
Yo Aoki glanced at Imamura Hojo next to him, his eyes reddening, while Shindo Sanada huddled together, shouting until his voice cracked. Coach Akai, sitting on the sidelines, was pulling Shirota into a dance party, a smirk playing on his lips.
He yelled at the top of his lungs, "It feels so good to win again! Playing with you guys was totally worth it!"
Mizuki moved closer to Yo Aoki and rubbed her red eyes. " Aoki, thanks."
Yo Aoki grinned. "Captain, this was all pieced together by everyone!"
Mizuki laughed, "Isn't that right? This ending is absolutely brilliant!"
The referee blew his whistle again, gestured towards the center circle, and shouted, "Players from both sides, get to the center circle!"
"In this match, Takezato defeated Kainan 76-75!"
The players from Takezato and Kainan bowed simultaneously. "Thank you for the concession!"
Yayoi Aida leaned closer to Coach Takato: " Coach Takato, did Kainan lose to save their energy for the national tournament?"
Coach Takato's face was ashen. " Kainan values every opponent and will not give up on any game! Takezato played tough enough today. In the first half, Aoki was aggressive in the paint, forcing me to substitute my starters, allowing them to finish the first half with a lead. That was the key to Takezato's victory."
In the second half, we substituted all our starters, but they still overwhelmed us with their momentum. Aoki's injury should have been a turning point, but instead it spurred the other players in Takezato to play even more aggressively, making the situation even more chaotic. In the end, I subjectively felt that Aoki couldn't shoot, so I focused my defense on other players, which allowed him to make that shot.
Yayoi Aida, recalling that left-handed shot, casually remarked, "So Takezato was just lucky?"
Coach Takato smiled, "Luck is also a part of ability."
Next, Shohoku faced Ryonan. Ryonan storyline was pretty much the same as the original, with Shohoku winning thanks to Kogure's flashback and Sakuragi's putback.
In the end, both Kainan and Shohoku had two wins and one loss. Due to the head-to-head record, Kainan won the championship, and Shohoku came in second. The same logic applied to Takezato and Ryonan. Ryonan beat Takezato and came in third, while Takezato came in fourth.
During the awards ceremony, the loudspeaker announced, "The champion of this preliminary round is Kainan University Affiliated High School!"
But the Kainan Team showed no joy at winning the championship; instead, they looked dejected.
"The runner-up is Shohoku Prefectural High School!" "Congratulations to both teams for securing their tickets to the national tournament!"
In the post-match evaluation, Shinichi Maki from Kainan won the MVP of the preliminary round. He, along with Akagi from Shohoku, Sendoh from Ryonan, Rukawa from Shohoku, and Yo Aoki from Takezato, formed the top five teams in the prefecture.
The Kanagawa Summer High School Basketball Preliminaries have come to an end, and a new chapter for Yo Aoki has begun.
Knock, knock, knock! The early morning knocking woke Yo Aoki from his deep sleep.
" Yo, get up!" It was Ryoko Aoki's voice from outside the door.
Yo Aoki rubbed his eyes and glanced at the clock on the wall. It was already 7:30. This was the latest he had gotten up since he transmigrated.
After getting dressed, he dawdled downstairs, only to be pounced on by Ryo Aoki, who shook his arm and exclaimed, "Big brother, you were amazing yesterday! So many girls screamed for you until their voices cracked, I'm so envious!"
Yo Aoki rubbed his head. "Small in stature, but plenty of farts."
Ryoko Aoki leaned closer. " Yo, does your hand still hurt?"
"The hospital treated it yesterday, and it's fine now."
At the dining table, Mamoru Aoki put down his newspaper and looked at Yo Aoki: " Yo, you played really well yesterday."
Yo Aoki said politely, "Thank you, Brother Shou."
Mamoru Aoki didn't feel awkward at all; on the contrary, he was quite satisfied and hummed in agreement. "Don't get carried away, keep going."
"Yes!"
After leaving the house, Yo Aoki went to the convenience store where Asatani worked, intending to say hello, but when he entered the store, he found that the person was not there.
After asking around, I finally figured it out: Asatani submitted his resignation yesterday.
Yo Aoki stopped a new clerk to ask what was going on, and the clerk laughed and said, " Asatani said he has to go do something important to 'uphold justice,' so he can't stay here any longer."
Yo Aoki laughed after hearing this; Asatani really was a chuunibyou to the core.
Upon arriving at the basketball gym of Takezato High School in the afternoon, it was so quiet that the dull thud of the ball hitting the ground could be heard. Coach Akai coughed first and then said, "Before training begins, I have a few important things to tell you all."
First of all, starting today, Mizuki, Shindo, Sanada will be leaving the basketball team to focus on preparing for the college entrance exam. Although everyone had a premonition, hearing it with their own ears still made them feel a bit dejected.
However, since Mizuki has left, the captain position needs to be re-selected. I discussed it with Mizuki, and Yo Aoki will be the new captain.
Yo Aoki immediately replied, "Yes, teacher." In fact, Coach Akai had spoken to Yo Aoki about this matter before the assembly. In terms of both ability and status in the team, Yo Aoki was the only choice for captain, so he did not refuse and readily agreed.
Sanada stepped forward first and said briefly, "Once we beat Kainan, we'll be fearless. Go, Takezato!"
Everyone shouted, "Go for it!"
Shindo also came out. "Last year we came in fourth, but this year is different. That feeling of helplessness from last year is long gone, now it's all about not giving up. Even though I can't play with you guys anymore, I'll definitely come to cheer you on often. You guys have to keep going!"
Everyone responded, "Yes!"
Finally, it was Mizuki. He suppressed his emotions and spoke to Hojo first, " Hojo, you're the point guard. You need to stay calm at all times. Don't be afraid. Believe in yourself."
Hojo's eyes were a little red, and he choked out, "Okay... okay, Captain."
Imamura, you need to keep practicing your outside shooting. It will be our scoring weapon in the future. Don't take on the team's problems yourself; we are a team.
Imamura replied, "Yes!"
Shirota, although you are good at data statistics, don't neglect your training.
Shirota wiped his eyes and replied, "Mm!"
Finally Mizuki turned to Yo Aoki and said, " Aoki, being the captain is tough. You have to lead everyone and set a good example. The Takezato basketball team is in your hands now. You must lead us to the national competition."
Yo Aoki replied with a smile, "Yes, Captain."
Mizuki nodded in satisfaction, then turned to Coach Akai and said, "Coach, I'll have to trouble you to take good care of these guys."
Coach Akai's eyes also welled up with tears. He nodded emphatically, "Don't worry, leave it to me."
Mizuki three of them exchanged glances, smiled, and waved to everyone. "Goodbye!"
Everyone bowed together. "Thank you, senior!"
Coach Akai quickly composed himself. Seeing that everyone was still grieving over the separation, he immediately raised his voice and shouted, "Don't just stand there! You don't have time to be sad!"