He faced Shirasawa one-on-one in the attacking third.
The Shoyo team members tacitly moved to the side, entrusting the team's final attack to Fujima, their captain and coach.
It was handed over to the man who had led them through three years of fighting.
Whether this attack succeeds or fails, it signifies the end of an era for Shoyo.
Starting next year, most of the team's main players will graduate, Shoyo will have to be completely rebuilt.
On Shohoku's side, Akagi made a hand gesture, and the team members understood immediately. Amidst the cheers of the crowd, they gave up the final stage to the two aces. This was a final show of respect for Shoyo and for Fujima.
Fujima adjusted his breathing, searching for even the slightest opening.
Shirasawa didn't stick too close, maintaining a distance of about two steps.
Time ticked by, and both of them were on edge, the only sound they could hear was the basketball hitting the ground.
Fujima suddenly launched a powerful attack, setting up his shield and driving hard from his best left side!
Having faced him for the entire match, Shirasawa had long since figured out his move and immediately turned sideways to block it with his body.
Fujima immediately switched hands and turned around, gathered the ball outside the three-point line, took a step back, and then launched a fadeaway jump shot!
A step back and a lean back created space.
However, Shirasawa's figure still appeared in his field of vision, and the height of his jump was ridiculously high.
The basketball was slapped away by Shirasawa.
At the same time, it seemed that Fujima's last remaining hope was also extinguished by that slap.
Tap... tap... tap...
The basketball bounced a few times on the ground and slowly rolled towards the backcourt.
Fujima seemed to have also woken up from that reckless and obsessive state.
He gasped for breath, glanced at Shirasawa in front of him, and then looked up at the scoreboard.
There, the score and time were relentlessly ticking away.
3...2...1...
Time, under Fujima's watchful gaze, reached its final second.
"Beep--!"
The referee's whistle pierced the air in the stadium, officially ending the game.
Takenori Akagi suddenly raised his arms, tilted his head back to the sky, and let out a deep, resonant roar. They had really won! Shohoku had defeated Shoyo and made history by advancing to the semifinals of the national tournament!
Led by Akagi, the entire Shohoku team rushed onto the court like madmen, hugging each other and jumping for joy. This was the moment they had been dreaming of.
Although Hisashi Mitsui was exhausted, a smile appeared on his face as he slowly walked towards his jubilant teammates. It seemed like only three years ago that he had felt such a surge of emotion.
Hanamichi Sakuragi and Ryota Miyagi, those two clowns, bounced around on the sidelines, as if the fierce battle hadn't taken a single drop of their energy.
Before long, the cheers from the entire audience gradually coalesced into a single name.
Amidst the deafening cheers, Shirasawa smiled and waved to the stands, exuding the composure of a victor.
On the sidelines, reporter Eiichi Harada's camera shutter was practically smoking from clicking away, frantically recording everything.
In this game, Shirasawa played the full forty minutes, scoring 51 points, along with 13 assists and 5 blocks. It's no exaggeration to say that he was the number one contributor to Shohoku's victory.
In this battle, Shirasawa broke countless records. The media reporters in the stands must be frantically flipping through materials right now, trying to figure out how to write tomorrow's headlines.
From today onwards, the name Shirasawa will likely be relegated to a separate category in the Kanagawa basketball world.
However, all the cheers and glory belonged to Shohoku, while Shoyo appeared particularly lonely on the side.
Kenji Fujima stood rooted to the spot, his eyes somewhat glazed over, watching the Shohoku players run past him, celebrating and cheering.
Shoichi Takano, Mitsuru Nagano, and Kazushi Hasegawa... these big guys had their lips twitching, their eyes red-rimmed, and tears welling up in their eyes. They weren't crying because they couldn't accept defeat, but because they knew in their hearts that their high school basketball careers had come to an end.
These past three years have been full of ups and downs. They finally had their strongest year, only to fall in the quarterfinals. Sometimes, fate just doesn't want you to succeed.
But Fujima didn't think so. He always believed that fate only picked on the weak, and as long as you didn't give in, it couldn't do anything to you. Even when the last ball was swatted away, he didn't feel that he had lost to fate.
The one who defeated him from beginning to end was that guy named Shirasawa.
He may have always been dissatisfied with Shinichi Maki, but today, he was impressed by Shirasawa. Shirasawa won all his respect with a performance that was almost insane. Even if it happened a hundred times over, he believed that Shirasawa would probably be the one laughing last.
Regret? Of course. But the regret after giving it your all seems... not so painful anymore.
Toru Hanagata walked over and gently placed her bandaged right hand on Fujima's shoulder.
Fujima turned around and saw Hanagata's raised fist. The two, who had fought to the very last moment, looked at each other and suddenly smiled.
" Fujima," Hanagata's voice was calm, "These past three years have been tough on you. You've done right by Shoyo, and by each and every one of us. Now... you can rest."
Upon hearing this, Fujima's shoulders slumped, as if the string that had been taut for so long had finally snapped. He let out a long, complete sigh.
Only then did he truly let go of everything.
Tears streamed down my face without warning.
"Thank you, Hanagata. Thank you, Takano. Thank you, Nagano..."
He called out each of his teammates' names, saying thank you after each one. For the past three years, he had carried so much on his shoulders; without these guys behind him, he probably wouldn't have been able to hold on.
His teammates silently gathered around him, surrounding him. Then, in unison, they all shouted out those two words—the two words that had made them proud for three years:
" Shoyo!!!"
That single word, " Shoyo," marked a grand farewell.
With tears streaming down his face, Fujima shouted with all his might, " Shoyo --!!!"
At that moment, the entire audience, regardless of which team they supported, spontaneously stood up and gave a long and enthusiastic round of applause to Shoyo and Fujima.
In the stands, Ryonan's coach Moichi Taoka, stood up and led his players to leave the stadium.
He took one last look at the center of the court. The era of Shoyo had come to an end. In the end, they couldn't overcome the mountain that Kainan.
Next, only Shohoku and Ryonan are qualified to challenge Kainan's throne. In a three-way battle for supremacy, one of them is bound to be injured.
Moichi Taoka's gaze hardened, he nodded, and turned to leave.
It seems it's time to call that person back.
Fujima wiped his face, picked up the match ball from the sidelines, and walked over to Shirasawa.
"Take this," he said, handing the ball over. "It should be quite meaningful to you."
Shirasawa took the basketball, weighed it in his hand, and said, "Thanks. You're a rare opponent."
Fujima smiled with relief, "You too. I wish Shohoku... the best of luck in winning the national championship."
The two extended their hands and shook them firmly.
" Shirasawa," Fujima looked into his eyes and said earnestly, "I look forward to our next match. Next time, I will be the winner."
Upon hearing this, Shirasawa gave a meaningful smile, "Next time... maybe it won't be too long."
Fujima was slightly taken aback, not quite understanding the meaning behind those words, but he didn't think much of it. He simply nodded and turned to call his teammates to assemble and line up.
The players from both sides lined up in two rows along the midfield line.
Fujima shook hands with Coach Anzai for the last time as Coach of Shoyo.
Then, he led all the team members to face the Shohoku Team and bowed deeply. "Thank you for your guidance!"
The story of Shoyo has come to an end.
Their glory will fade with time and be forgotten... After all, people are always more willing to look to the future than to dwell on the past.
And now, Shirasawa and Shohoku represent that future full of possibilities!
After the game, the Shohoku Team returned to the locker room as usual.
The area outside was already crowded with media reporters waiting to conduct interviews.
However, the interview time arranged by Manager Sanae today was unusually short. The team members only gave a few perfunctory replies before it was over in a hurry.
Shohoku's victory over Shoyo to advance to the semifinals is hardly a story in itself, but it's definitely a hot topic.
However, looking to the future, we've already reached the semi-finals, so who's thinking about anything else? Even Takezato is probably dreaming of winning the national championship.
Shohoku doesn't need to waste any more words; by tomorrow, all sorts of reports will be praising them to the skies.
Secondly, the semi-finals are about to begin.
Three spots have already been secured: Shohoku, Ryonan, and Takezato.
The last spot was reserved by Kainan sixteen years in advance.
Although the competition isn't over yet, no one thinks Kainan will be absent.
Unless Shinichi Maki betrays them and goes to help Takezono.
The rules for the semi-finals have changed; it's no longer a one-on-one battle, but a tournament format.
In other words, the teams that advance from groups A, B, C, and D will have to face each other in the order of their groups.
Each team has to play once.
The champion and runner-up will be determined by the number of wins.
The champion and runner-up teams will represent Kanagawa Prefecture in the national tournament.
Judging from the group assignments, Shohoku is having a tough time, as their first opponent is the reigning champion Kainan University Affiliated High School!
That's why they rushed to end the interview and head to another stadium to watch Kainan's game.
I reckon they can still get some playing time in both halves.
Even though you can't see much and might not be able to figure out anything, taking a quick look at your opponent before the match always makes you feel more at ease.
The most impatient one here is definitely Hanamichi Sakuragi.
" Kainan! Kainan!"
The entire Shohoku team had barely entered the gymnasium when their ears were filled with this shout.
The cheers from the Shohoku fans were equally unified, but their shouts were filled with anticipation and energy.
But when the Kainan fans shouted it, it carried a sense of composure and authority.
This is the team that has dominated Kanagawa for sixteen consecutive years; even the fans seem a bit different.
It's not just their presence that's noticeable, their age is also obvious.
Many fans bear the marks of time on their faces.
That's understandable; the most die-hard fans have followed for sixteen years.
They don't like any particular star player; they like the act of winning.
There are very few female fans in Kainan; you can only see a handful at a glance.
The contrast with Takezono is too great.
Although there weren't many female fans at Takezono today.
After all, nobody wants to watch their favorite team lose.