He said he "wouldn't bully honest people," but really he just wanted to see if he was truly sincere...
Tetsuo Hotta let out a long sigh, his face full of worry.
"To be honest, I had to come today, but not for myself, but for Mitsui..."
The audience is here, the referees are here, the media are here.
Eiichi Harada has also arrived...
Yayoi Aida was nowhere to be seen in the media section of this match.
Since the last match against Kakuno,
Yayoi Aida, representing Basketball Weekly, made a huge fool of herself in front of her colleagues.
When he returned to report, the president's reaction was predictable.
Aside from venting his anger, he was anxious to figure out what Sanae was planning.
Until we figure it out, we have no choice but to strategically give up following the news about Shohoku and Shirasawa...
Amidst a roar of cheers, the starting lineups of both teams entered the field.
As is customary, before going on stage, Takenori Akagi led his teammates in shouting slogans, displaying great momentum.
Takahata is a team that has won two consecutive rounds, so they are definitely stronger than Kakuno.
However, everyone knew that they were not on the same level as Shohoku.
However, most people believe that Shohoku will encounter virtually no obstacles before reaching the quarterfinals.
The only team that could be considered a true rival is probably Shoyo, who are still in the quarterfinals.
Shirasawa is currently incredibly popular. Whenever he appears, the cheers never stop, especially from the female fans. The scene is even more exaggerated than the one at Takezono.
Shirasawa and Sanae were quite satisfied with the scene, estimating that their first business collaboration invitation shouldn't be far off.
There were quite a few familiar faces in the audience.
Uozumi from Ryonan, Hanagata from Shoyo, and Soichiro Jin from Kainan all came.
Fujima Shinichi Maki from Kainan and Fujima from Shoyo didn't show up, otherwise the scene would have been even more lively.
There was another person sitting in the audience, but he was much less famous than the others.
He is Tomokazu Godai, the captain of Tsukubu High School, a potential opponent of Shohoku in the next round!
Tsukubu was in the quarterfinals last year, and he's doing well this year, having just secured his place in the round of 16.
In the next quarterfinals, their opponent will be either Shohoku or Takahata.
Actually, Tsukubu should have been a favorite team this year...
Unfortunately, Shohoku suddenly appeared and stole all the limelight.
So now the entire Tsukubu team is holding back their energy, just waiting to give Shohoku a taste of their own medicine!
That's right, they didn't think Takahata could win at all...
On the field, both teams' players took their positions.
The referee blows the whistle, and the match officially begins!
Takahata's coach gave a strict order before the match: they must not give up like Kakuno did!
Even if we lose, we have to show our own style...
rub!
The two centers jump for the ball.
Takenori Akagi easily deflected the ball, which flew directly towards Shirasawa.
In the blink of an eye,
Miyagi, Mitsui, and Hanamichi Sakuragi have already shot off like three arrows!
The overall propulsion speed was more than one level faster Takahata's.
Shirasawa made a pass that spanned the entire court, sending the basketball over three Takahata players and accurately delivering it to Hanamichi Sakuragi, who was following up in the middle!
The defenders were hot on their heels, putting immense pressure on the defenders.
Hanamichi Sakuragi's eyes sharpened.
Only one sentence kept buzzing in my head.
Deduct it from his account!!
" Sakuragi!"
When Hisashi Mitsui on the left saw his posture, his heart skipped a beat, and he already guessed what he was going to do.
Tap tap!
Hanamichi Sakuragi takes two big steps forward!
The defender jumped with all his might!
The difference in their physical abilities became immediately apparent at that moment.
"Ah!!"
Hanamichi Sakuragi let out a loud shout and twisted his body in the air.
All he could see was that basketball hoop!
The entire audience involuntarily widened their eyes.
Right at the start, this red-haired kid's already trying to dunk over someone?
Seizing the opportunity, Hanamichi Sakuragi steadied himself and, over the descending defender, slammed the ball into the basket!
Bang!!
Goal!
The defender was knocked off his balance, stumbled a couple of steps after landing, and collapsed to the ground.
Hanamichi Sakuragi slammed the ball in so hard that he spun around on the rim before barely landing.
The referee hesitated for a moment with the whistle in his mouth, but ultimately didn't blow it.
nice shot!
The stands erupted instantly!
"Wow! That dunk! Shohoku is full of monsters!"
"I didn't expect this red-haired guy to fight so fiercely!"
"That was brutal! He knocked him down with a dunk!"
"..."
On the court, Hisashi Mitsui ran over and punched Sakuragi in the back.
"Beautiful shot, Sakuragi! I knew you were going to dunk! That's a great shot!"
Hanamichi Sakuragi seemed to only then come to his senses.
He listened, somewhat dazed, to the cheers erupting from the crowd.
" The Mitchy, are they... should they be speaking up for me?"
Sakuragi's unusual calmness startled Mitsui for a moment, but he quickly realized that he had been in a similar situation before.
"Enjoy this, genius," Mitsui laughed. "Now's your time."
Hanamichi Sakuragi glanced around at the bustling stands, but felt a sense of peace within himself.
Until he saw Shirasawa on the other end, smiling and pointing at him.
Sakuragi's lips curled into a confident smile.
"I'm determined to be the power forward, Hanamichi Sakuragi!"
Shohoku certainly didn't disappoint, electrifying the crowd right from the start.
Hanamichi Sakuragi's dunk over an opponent immediately sounded the charge.
In the audience, Haruko Akagi shook her head, both surprised and delighted.
" Sakuragi finally showed his true potential! I always knew he was going to be amazing!"
"Even though I knew Sakuragi was talented, seeing it in person was still incredibly impressive! His dunk was so powerful!"
Yohei Mito smiled faintly, his gaze shifting to an inconspicuous corner to the side, and muttered to himself, "That guy is risking his life for you."
Sitting in that corner was Yoko Shimamura.
Yoko Shimamura attended all three of Shohoku's consecutive matches.
Aside from the first match, which Yohei happened to see, Yohei had actually noticed the latter two matches much earlier.
He just didn't tell Sakuragi.
Especially in the last game, he knew that Sakuragi was not satisfied with his performance, and talking to him would only distract him.
In Yohei's view, Yoko's feelings were actually quite clear.
Now, let's see how this genius performs.
However, Tetsuo Hotta's mind was not on the game at all. He was either lost in thought or looking at Hisashi Mitsui on the field with a troubled expression.
In the blink of an eye, Shohoku had unleashed a 25-4 offensive surge.
Hanamichi Sakuragi was indeed eye-catching today; during this offensive, Shirasawa fed him two more chances.
One of them was a behind-the-back pass while moving, Sakuragi caught the ball, stood up, and immediately slammed it home with a one-handed dunk!
Sakuragi cut along the baseline for the second time; the ball arrived just as he did.
He catches the ball and jumps up to smash it!
Although he was slightly interfered with during the jump and ultimately missed the basket.
But with that brute force, he managed to swing the ball in!
The basket exploded three times in a row, making Takahata's inside line very nervous.
Even Akagi couldn't help but nod.
Indeed, no one is more suited to this reckless, headstrong style of play than Sakuragi!
But the prerequisite is that there must be a Shirasawa in the team.
He can use passes to dribble with Sakuragi, and he can also precisely tear apart the defense to deliver the ammunition to him.
On Takahata's side, he faces a challenge from the inside against Takenori Akagi.
He swayed left and right a few times, then suddenly took a step forward.
But they still couldn't escape Akagi's massive defensive range.
In a moment of desperation, he made a low layup, sending the ball directly into Akagi's hands.
Akagi immediately tossed the ball forward, not participating in the fast break himself, and stayed in the backcourt waiting for his teammates to add two points.
Following this defensive counterattack, Shohoku launched their second wave of attack.
This surge carried them all the way to halftime.
73 to 9.
They built a 64-point lead by halftime!
It's like high school students beating up kindergarteners.
In the audience seats.
Hikoichi Aida great hurry.
"Captain! Captain! Guess who I just saw!"
He didn't wait for Uozumi to guess before revealing the answer.
"It's Hanagata! Toru Hanagata, the second-in-command of Shoyo! It seems they've started paying attention to Shohoku and are convinced Shohoku 'll make it to the top eight!"
Uozumi nodded noncommittally.
"Of course. This year, Tsukubu can only blame his bad luck."
He paused, then continued.
"Furthermore, Shoyo didn't just notice this opponent now; Hanagata already came in the last match."
"It seems that Shoyo cares about this quite a bit now."
Hikoichi Aida gasped.
"This year, Shohoku... is going to defy the odds."
After a short break, the second half of the game resumed.
The nightmare that Takahata's team had just woken up from seamlessly continued.
Hisashi Mitsui was on fire in the second half.
Seeing that he was in good form, Shirasawa fed him the ball repeatedly.
Four consecutive three-pointers from different angles, each one swishing through the net!
The veteran spectators who had seen Mitsui play couldn't help but sigh, "He hasn't lost any of his MVP flair from back then."
After being fed a bunch of pancakes, the guys were all munching away, their mouths dripping with oil.
Shirasawa's assist count also skyrocketed.
Takahata's indomitable head coach shouted from the sidelines.
"Keep a close eye on that number 9! Cut off his connection with his teammates!"
Of course, the score couldn't be caught up; in fact, he knew the outcome before the game even started.
In his mind, this match was just a training exercise.
There's no chance this year, so let's use Shohoku as a whetstone to train the first and second-year students. Getting beaten is the best way to grow, and we can come back stronger next year.
The team members obeyed orders.
Shirasawa had just received the ball in the backcourt when a defender came to cover him.
The opponent attempted a risky steal, but Shirasawa easily defused it with a behind-the-back dribble.
Facing the second defender, he immediately used a sharp crossover to get past him, continuing to charge forward without stopping.
Just as I reached the top of the arc, the third defender arrived as expected.
Shirasawa also found it interesting.
With a spun turn, he dribbled the ball from behind his back to in front of him as the defender moved, spinning around in place and completely disorienting his opponent.
He passed three people in succession, moving smoothly and without pausing for a moment.
The audience members spontaneously stood up.
Shirasawa had already charged into the paint area. Team Takahata was going all in, determined to stop this shot no matter what!
The two big men completely abandoned their assigned opponents and rushed in to double-team!
Seeing this, Shirasawa smiled slightly and made a passing feint while moving, instantly fooling another person.
Finally, facing the last line of defense, he leaped into the air!
Time seemed to slow down at that moment.
Shirasawa didn't rush to attack after jumping up; his body continued to rise.
The center under the basket had already begun to fall.