At 3 PM, Takato Taoka walked into the basketball court together.
"There's something I need to tell everyone before training," Takato said. "We'll be playing a warm-up match against the Chiba Prefecture Representative Team the day after tomorrow."
The team members' eyes widened immediately, and they all rubbed their hands together, whispering amongst themselves, eager for the fight to begin.
"Now let's talk about the starting lineup for the warm-up matches," Takato said softly.
The once noisy venue fell silent instantly; everyone shut their mouths and strained to listen.
"Starting captain, number four, Shinichi Maki!"
"Yes!"
"Center, number six, Akagi!"
"Yes!"
"Power Forward, number 18— Hanamichi Sakuragi!"
"Huh?" The team members all turned around and looked at Sakuragi, who looked completely bewildered.
Soichiro Jin was actually selected for the starting lineup?
"Hahaha! We still have to rely on this genius!" Sakuragi was already floating on air, jumping around Kaede Rukawa and Kiyota, looking extremely smug.
"I'm a genius! I'm a genius!" he shouted so loudly it almost lifted the roof off, completely unaware that his number 18 was the last one to be called out by the entire team.
Akagi, unable to bear it any longer, punched him in the back. " Sakuragi, behave yourself!" Sakuragi immediately quieted down.
Coach Takato spoke again, "Small forward, number 16, Kaede Rukawa!"
Sakuragi was clutching his head when he heard Kaede Rukawa's name, and he immediately bristled. "Damn it!"
"Shooting guard, the last one, number 17, Nobunaga Kiyota!"
"What? Even that Wild Monkey is in the starting lineup?"
The fact that he was paired with that Wild Monkey and that Stinking Fox as a starting lineup immediately dampened Sakuragi's initial excitement.
Apart from Sakuragi, everyone else looked completely bewildered, their hearts pounding: What kind of formation is this?
The starting lineup for the warm-up match that Coach Takato read out left the entire team completely baffled.
The Fujima wasn't selected might be because his position overlaps with Maki's, but the fact that Sendoh and Yo Aoki weren't in the starting lineup just doesn't make sense.
Sendoh's technique is undeniable, and his passing vision is exceptional. His role as the team's playmaker is even stronger than Maki's.
Yo Aoki relies on his superhuman physical abilities, his playing style is full of impact, and his offensive methods are varied, making him the team's number one scorer.
The way he dunks is so powerful, no matter who's facing him, it seems impossible to stop him.
These two are players on par with Maki! And they don't deserve to be in the starting lineup?
What's even more absurd is that the most incomprehensible thing is why Sakuragi was put in the starting lineup?
What's going on here? He's stronger than Aoki and Sendoh?
What is Coach Takato up to?
Everyone looked at each other, completely bewildered.
Unlike the others who were puzzled, Yo Aoki wasn't too surprised. This was just a warm-up match, and it didn't matter who started.
Nobody's saying that the current starting lineup has to be the fixed lineup in the future.
Therefore, choosing who to start is not important at all.
Yo Aoki stroked his chin, pondering Coach Takato's intentions in making this arrangement.
Takato is trying to hide his strength and prevent his opponents from figuring out our capabilities. The match the day after tomorrow might be open to the public, and people from other counties will definitely come to spy on us.
But he felt it wasn't that simple. Why didn't he just tell us not to go all out?
Are you afraid we won't act convincingly?
Could there be something special about this starting lineup that I haven't noticed?
Maki, Akagi, Kaede Rukawa, Kiyota, Sakuragi... wait! A sudden thought flashed through Yo Aoki's mind: replace Sakuragi with Jin —isn't that the starting lineup for the White Team in the previous scrimmage?
Is Takato planning something with Sakuragi?
Seeing the puzzled looks on everyone's faces, Coach Takato just smiled and didn't say anything.
Then he read out the numbers of the other players: Fujima #5, Uozumi #6, Takasago #8, Hanagata 9, Mitsui #10, Sendoh #11, Kogaku #12, Fukuda #13, Soichiro Jin #14, Yo Aoki #15.
"We won't study our opponents beforehand, and I won't give you any tactics!" Coach Takato said with a playful tone. "In other words, this match depends entirely on your own performance!"
"Huh?" Everyone was confused again. "You just give us this starting lineup and then leave us like this? What if we make substitutions? What if we need to time out?"
After afternoon practice, Yo Aoki, Sakuragi, and Kiyota left the gym together to go eat.
Sakuragi and Kiyota are both carefree; they don't care about anything as long as they can make the starting lineup.
Yo Aoki gestured to Sakuragi to show him the rotation route for the 23-man zone defense, when suddenly someone walked out from around the corner of the building. They were so close that Sakuragi, walking in the middle, almost bumped into them.
"It's her?" Yo Aoki and Sakuragi were both stunned. It was actually the girl who wrote Sakuragi a love letter before!
It was so sudden. Yo Aoki's hand was still raised in mid-air. After realizing what was happening, he immediately took a step back, walked around Sakuragi, and stood next to Kiyota.
He shouted at Sakuragi, " Kiyota and I have something to do, we're leaving now!" Then he grabbed Kiyota and ran.
After being pulled along by Yo Aoki for a while, Kiyota asked, confused, " Aoki, what's wrong? Why did we leave Sakuragi behind?"
Yo Aoki said, "That girl was the one who wrote Sakuragi a love letter before!"
"Why didn't you say so sooner!" Kiyota said, turning to run back.
Yo Aoki grabbed him, saying, "It's their business, why are you meddling? Let's go eat." He then pulled Kiyota towards the cafeteria.
Kiyota muttered to himself, "How come Sakuragi is so lucky!"
Yo Aoki laughed heartily, "You're such a typical single dog!"
Yo Aoki hopes that Sakuragi can find a girl who truly loves him. Sakuragi deserves it! Go Sakuragi!
Sakuragi and the girl were still standing face to face, the air thick with awkwardness. Finally, the girl broke the silence. " Sakuragi -kun, that night... why didn't you go?" Her voice was hesitant, yet also held a hint of anticipation.
Sakuragi read the letter in the restroom. The letter invited him to meet at the park one evening, but he couldn't think about Haruko Akagi and didn't dare to go.
" Reika," Sakuragi stared at Reika in front of him, his throat suddenly tightening, the words stuck in his throat. He could only make up an excuse, "That day... that day the team had extra practice and we were delayed."
To her surprise, Reika immediately beamed, her eyes crinkling into crescent moons. "Really? You were planning to go, right?"
Sakuragi stammered for a long time, "... I guess so."
"That's great!" A burst of cheerful laughter drifted over, and Reika chattered away, instantly washing away the previous awkwardness. "I thought you were annoyed with me and that's why you didn't come. I've been so frustrated these past few days. I was even planning to go to the basketball court to find you tomorrow, but those fierce-looking guys on your team, I just didn't dare to go near them..."
She had a cheerful personality, and as she spoke, she curiously looked Sakuragi up and down, " Sakuragi, you can jump really high!" " Sakuragi, I heard you used to be a really good fighter?" " Sakuragi, why is your hair red?"
" Sakuragi, I heard you guys have a warm-up match the day after tomorrow, I'll definitely come cheer you on!" After saying that, she gave Sakuragi a bright smile, turned around and skipped away.
Sakuragi's mind was in turmoil. He suddenly felt like he had let Haruko Akagi down, and this inner conflict was suffocating him. But if Yo Aoki were here, he would definitely laugh at his frivolity, "Your brain is really good at overthinking things!"
Even after Yo Aoki left, the Takezato Men's Basketball Team never stopped training. After the summer qualifiers, these guys were toughened up and started training like pros. After winning against Kainan, their confidence soared, and they trained with all their might every day, hoping to reach the level of Kainan and Ryonan in the next few months and compete in the national tournament alongside their ace, Yo Aoki!
Coach Akai took over the reins and spent every day on the court overseeing training. He was full of energy and extremely strict, not giving the players even the slightest chance to slack off.
"Footwork! Get your footing steady!" " Matsumoto, raise your hands higher!" " Yoshida, be tougher! Don't be a pushover!" " Nakako! Why didn't you pass to the baseline when it was open?!" "Get running! Don't just stand there like wooden stakes!" Coach Akai yelled, "With this kind of performance, you think you can represent Takezato?! The Winter Selection Tournament start in two months, so train with all your might!"
Coach Akai had just turned his head when he saw Shirota standing beside him, arms crossed, watching the players train, just like him.
" Shirota! What are you daydreaming about? Hurry up and write this down! Write down everyone's questions!"
Shirota looked at Coach Akai with a wronged expression. "Coach, I'm not a team manager. This job should be done by her!" He pointed at Oriyuki Iwasaki.
Coach Akai immediately yelled, "Idiot! How long has Iwasaki been here? How could he possibly master these technical skills so quickly? Hurry up and memorize them!"
"She's been here for months..." Shirota muttered under his breath, glaring angrily at Oriyuki Iwasaki, but she completely ignored him. Frankly, she doesn't respect anyone anymore!
Oriyuki Iwasaki rested her chin on her hand, twirling a pen in the other, her eyes glazed over, completely oblivious to the training session on the court, showing absolutely no semblance of responsibility as a team member. Coach Akai, however, didn't say a word to her. Shirota gave Coach Akai a resentful look. "The difference is too big! Even if she has powerful connections, she can't be this indulgent!"
"Sigh..." Shirota sighed, opened his notebook, and began to write things down in silence.
After a while, Coach Akai suddenly blurted out, "I wonder how Aoki is doing in Kainan."
Oriyuki Iwasaki was lost in thought, paused for a moment, her eyes instantly snapping back to reality.
Shirota chimed in, " Aoki said yesterday that the Kainan Team is becoming more and more coordinated, they're all ready, just waiting for the National Sports Festival to open!"
"How did you know?" Oriyuki Iwasaki asked immediately.
"We've always kept in touch; he always asks me about our team's situation."
"Do you have Yo Aoki's contact information in Kainan?" Oriyuki Iwasaki asked again.
" Aoki's currently living at school in Kainan, where would he get a personal phone number!" Shirota rolled his eyes at her. "He's the one who contacts me usually!"
Shirota slapped his forehead, "Oh right, they're playing a warm-up match against the Chiba Prefecture Representative Team tomorrow!"
Coach Akai felt relieved when he heard Aoki asking about the team, and said with a smile, " Aoki's concern for the team shows he really doesn't want to go to Kainan, that's great!"
With a sudden movement, Oriyuki Iwasaki stood up, her voice rising. "You said Yo Aoki is going to Kainan?!"
Coach Akai immediately put his index finger to his lips, "Shh! Don't shout!"
But Oriyuki Iwasaki's shout made quite a commotion, and the court fell silent instantly.
"What?! Aoki's going to Kainan?!" Everyone was shocked!
Coach Akai quickly smoothed things over, "Don't worry, everyone, Aoki won't be going to Kainan!"
Imamura leaned closer, "Coach, what's going on? Can you tell us?" The others also gathered around, staring at Coach Akai with tense expressions.