The night before the national competition. The bright moon hangs high, and stars fill the night sky. However, not many people have the time to appreciate such a beautiful night view.
In the common room of the hotel where Shohoku stayed, the lights were brightly lit, and what was playing on the TV was the video of the match between Sanno Industrial and Lingnan High School in last year's national competition.
Coach Anxi sat on the blanket, leaning against the sofa with his back and one hand on the coffee table, staring closely at the game video being played on the TV.
This afternoon, the opening ceremony of the national competition was held at the Center Arena in Hiroshima. Tomorrow morning, Shohoku High School in Group A will face Toyota High School from Osaka in the first game.
Although Shohoku High School's first game tomorrow is Toyotama High School, the TV in front of Coach Anzai is playing last year's game between Sanno Industries and Ryonan.
In the eyes of Coach Anzai, the threat from Toyotama High School to Shohoku High School is almost zero.
"There is no doubt that Sanno Industries is indeed a very good team."
"Last year, martial arts and the others competed against Sanno in the Autumn Kingdom Sports, but... the Autumn Kingdom Sports and the national competition are still different."
"The biggest problem why Lingnan was able to win against Sanno was not how good Shinomiya Tōno was. The problem was that Sanno's Zebita Eiji was too young."
"Sanno's Kawada Masashi is definitely the top center in the country. If Sanno plays purely inside and mobilizes Shinomiya Tano to defend the inside, then the outside team will have enough room to display."
"Fukatsu Kazunari's strength is also significantly higher than that of Fujima Kenji. The two complement each other. In front of Lingnan, he will definitely be able to catch Lingnan's flaw and defeat it with one blow."
"Tang Ben trusted Zebei's power so much that the Mountain King suffered such a big loss at the hands of Lingnan!"
"After experiencing the baptism of last year's IH, Autumn National Sports and Winter Games, Sanno Industries will definitely pay attention to this issue."
"Zebei Eiji's personal strength has definitely improved tremendously compared to last year!"
"I'm afraid, there will be a huge change in the style of play!" Coach Anzai was watching the game and grabbed the tactical board beside him. He scribbled on the tactical board with a marker, deducing in his mind the encounter between Shohoku High School and the Mountain King. Possible war situations in industry.
This is the first time since coach Anzai coached Shohoku that he has taken it seriously, scrutinizing the opponent and deducing the battle situation as seriously as he does now.
"The inside combination of Akagi and Sakuragi may not be able to suppress Masashi Kawada of Sanno."
"In terms of rebounding, we in Xiangbei should still have a chance to compete with the opponent."
"Our biggest advantage in Xiangbei is actually the absolute advantage of martial arts in holding the ball and attacking."
"But if you rely too much on the power of martial arts, he will definitely consume a lot of energy. In the back-to-back competition system, even martial arts may not be able to withstand it. Therefore... Mitsui Hisahi and Rukawa must be able to assist him in attacking on the court. .”
"Tomorrow's game against Toyotama, we also need to use the minimum physical exertion to defeat the opponent." Coach Anzai was doing deductions on the tactical board, and he had already established the tactics against Sanno Industries in his mind.
At this moment, the door to the lounge rang twice, and then was pushed open.
"Teacher Anxi, haven't you rested yet? Are you...watching the match between Sanno and Lingnan?"
"Have you already started studying our opponents in the second round of Shohoku? As expected of Mr. Anzai." Hisashi Mitsui stood at the door and saw Coach Anzai watching the video. He smiled and complimented Coach Anzai.
"Oh...Mitsui!"
"come in."
"It's so late and you haven't rested yet. What's wrong with you?" Coach Anzai turned his head and saw Mitsui Hisashi. He pushed up his glasses and asked with a smile. However, the eyes behind the glasses showed a dull look. severe.
It's already 11 o'clock at night, and tomorrow's game in Xiangbei is at 8 o'clock in the morning. Normally, the players have to get up at 6.30 and rush to the venue to do some pre-match preparations.
Mitsui Hisashi is still awake at this time, and the rest time is simply not enough.
"Sorry, teacher."
"I'm so excited that I can't sleep." Mitsui Hisashi felt the emotion of coach Anzai, scratched the back of his head, and said a little embarrassed.
Hearing this, Coach Anzai was surprised. He did not expect that a player like Hisashi Mitsui would have such emotions.
If the person who said this was a first-year rookie, he would still be able to understand it, but Mitsui Hisashi would not have such emotions.
Mitsui Hisashi, who is now in his third year of high school, has played in countless competitions. This is not the first time he has played in a national competition. Coach Anzai did not expect that such emotions would arise.
"Excited...rather than nervous."
"Mitsui..." Coach Anxi didn't finish. Mitsui Shou walked directly into the door, sat on the blanket next to coach Anxi, and said to himself: "Teacher, I am already a senior in high school. If I can't get the exam this year, If you get to the national championship, you won’t be able to win it in the future.”
"We must be strong, I'm sure of that."
"But, teacher, how can there be any certainty about the competition?"
"While I am excited, I am also a little scared. I am afraid that Xiangbei will make mistakes and lose."
"I don't want to..." Before Mitsui Hisashi finished speaking, coach Anzai already knew why Mitsui Hisashi had such emotions.
People who want to be strong also have strong self-esteem. The more such a person is, the more serious they are. The pressure that Mitsui Hisashi carries is not only given to him by himself, but also given to him by his teammates, and even by Mitsuyoshi Anzai!
Patting Mitsui Hisashi on the shoulder, Coach Anzai's eyes were filled with tenderness.
"Mitsui, I have always believed in you."
"He is the strongest!"... [Please ask members of both sides to enter the arena immediately. 】In the Hiroshima Center Gymnasium, the broadcast sounded.
The player tunnels on both sides of the basketball court opened, and the Toyama High School players wearing blue uniforms slowly entered the court amid the cheers of the audience.
"Huh~ there are really a lot of people!"
"Okay, defeat Xiangbei in front of so many people and advance to the second round! Fight all the way to the finals and win the national championship!"
"We must prove to everyone that Coach Kitano's tactics can win the national championship!" Miri Kishimoto said excitedly while looking at the cheering audience around her. At the same time, she quickly scanned the stands, trying to find the thin old man. .
Coach Kitano, the former coach of Toyotama High School, once guided a series of Toyotama third-year players such as Nan Retsu and Kishimoto to embark on the correct basketball path.
But a year and a half ago, Coach Kitano was fired from the school. The reason is also very simple, that is, under the leadership of coach Kitano, Toyotama High School has never broken through the best result of the top 8 in the national competition.
Not all school leaders are like Xiangbei and do not pay attention to awards and achievements in basketball games.
Toyotama High School, which regards basketball as a development focus, cannot tolerate such things happening. Therefore, coach Kitano was replaced and replaced by coach Muramasa. However, last year, Toyotama was eliminated in the second round, and coach Muramasa was directly dismissed and replaced by the current coach Jinping.
However, Nan Lie and others who were trained by Coach Kitano have deep feelings for Kitano. They know that Kitano left because of their poor performance. While blaming themselves, they also eagerly hope to perform well and clear Coach Kitano's name. Let Coach Kitano return to the team.
But Toyotama had bad luck last year. In the second round, they encountered Shohoku High School led by Jinguji Budo and Hisashi Mitsui, and ended up losing miserably.
This year, Toyotama met Shohoku High School again. Although Miri Kishimoto was very harsh on the train, he actually knew very well that it would not be easy to overcome the obstacle of Shohoku!
Coach Jinping is a latecomer, but his prestige among the team is pretty good now. Toyotama High School experienced last year's disastrous defeat. Before leaving, Coach Muramasa had a good heart-to-heart talk with the Toyotama players, which somewhat changed some of the extreme ideas of the Toyotama players.
After taking over, Jinping originally planned to completely deny run and gun and switch to defensive counterattack. However, under the persuasion of his former coach Muramasa, he decided to let the team mainly focus on run and gun, supplemented by other offensive tactics.
This has made the team members of Jinping and Toyotama get along much better. Although Toyotama still ran into Shohoku this year, every one of the players is very confident in their team.
What? Did you lose to Xiangbei last year? That's just because our team hasn't adjusted well yet! This is what Toyotama's team members think in their hearts. They want to find their victory in Shobei!
"Tap...tap..." Footsteps sounded in the players' tunnel, and the Toyotama players looked sideways. They happened to see Coach Anzai leading the Shohoku players out of the channel, and the Jinguji Martial Arts standing behind Coach Anzai, far away. He glanced at Toyotama High School and a smile appeared on his face.
And when the Xiangbei players entered the stage, in the stands
With a "wow", amazing cheers broke out. The intensity of the cheers was completely different from when Toyotama's team members entered the venue.
Sakuragi Hanamichi waved to the stands in a familiar manner with a look of enjoyment on his face. Kiyota Nobunaga and Nango were enveloped by the cheers and secretly thought in their hearts.
"It's amazing, we are really famous in Xiangbei!" He tried hard to maintain a calm and serious look on his face.
quite a bit
The demeanor of a “strong team player.”
"Here we come, Xiangbei!" Nan Lie saw Jinguji Martial Arts in the Xiangbei team from a distance, his expression condensed, and his mind couldn't help but recall the scene when he and Jinguji Martial Arts faced each other last year.
that scene
"Military training", Osaka's scoring champion has never forgotten it to this day. Later, Nan Lie also witnessed the scene where Jinguji Martial Arts led Xiangbei to fight against Lingnan. From that time,
He no longer cares about the false title of "Osaka Scoring King". What he wants is to defeat Jinguji Martial Arts!
Use running and gunning to defeat Shohoku High School!
"Let's go, today, we are going to get our own victory!" Nan Lie secretly felt cruel in his heart and led the team members into the field to warm up.
The Xiangbei players entered the venue, put down their things in the rest area, and began to warm up. Rukawa Kaede, Sakuragi Hanamichi, Nango Koichiro, Miyagi Ryota and Kiyota Nobunaga changed their jerseys early to warm up.
However, Jinguji Budo and Hisashi Mitsui wore white training uniforms and walked to the court to pass the ball to these players.
The rest of the Shohoku players came in to warm up, all wearing team uniforms, which made Budo and Hisashi Mitsui, who were wearing white training uniforms, particularly eye-catching.
"Hey~ Jinguji Budo and Mitsui Hisashi haven't changed their clothes yet."
"Aren't they going to play?" In the stands, all members of Lingnan High School who had a bye in the first round were still present. Watching today's game, Aida Hikoichi held a notebook in his hand and saw the warm-up situation on the Shohoku side and whispered. .
"Well, it looks like that's right."
"And...the few players on the Xiangbei side who are actively warming up are all first and second graders." The Xiangbei players began to warm up. Coach Taoka looked at the Xiangbei half and nodded slightly.
After saying that, Coach Taoka suddenly smiled and said: "It seems that Coach Anzai is planning to preserve his strength."
"After the match with Toyotama, Shohoku will face off against Sanno Industries!"
"There is no doubt that Sanwang is one of the strongest teams in this conference besides our Lingnan team."
"It's normal to be prepared and vigilant!" Coach Taoka immediately understood Coach Anzai's plan and explained to the players with a smile.
However, when Aida Hikoichi heard this, he scratched his hair in confusion, frowned and asked, "I see."
"But... wouldn't this arrangement be too much?"
"I know Toyotama High School. Although they lost to Shohoku last year, Toyotama's record in Osaka this year was almost complete, with only one loss."
"Moreover, the games we won were always ahead by a big margin. Even the game we lost, Daiei Academy only beat them by three points."
"Nan Retsu from Toyotama High School is still Osaka's scoring champion."
"Toyotama High School, which is an A-level team like Shohoku, did Shohoku not send Jinguji Budo players to play, but sent some first-year players who had never played in the national competition. Did they really win Toyotama?" After all, they are both from Kanagawa Prefecture. Representative team, at this moment, Aida Hikoichi actually started to worry about Shohoku High School.
"No need to worry. I'm afraid Coach Anxi has already calculated the strength of the two teams."
"There is a difference between an A-level team and an A-level team! The strength of Xiangbei High School can hardly be described with an A."
"And... the quality of the first-year students in Xiangbei... is excellent!" After saying that, Coach Taoka pursed his lips and looked unhappy.
The rising stars of Shohoku High School were all excellent players that he envied. Even the most obscure Sakuragi Hanamichi, Coach Taoka saw a lot of talent in him.
Compared with Xiangbei, which is full of talented people, Lingnan High School led by coach Tian Gang... is really...
"Damn it!" Coach Tian Gang gritted his teeth, clenched his fists, and already had a plan in mind! After this year's competition, third-year mainstays such as Kenji Fujima, Jun Uozumi, and Toru Hanagata will enter high school. Although Shinomiya Tōno and Sendō are still there, Lingnan has begun to face a situation of stagnation. On the other hand, Shohoku, There are many talents in the first grade, and Jinguji Martial Arts is also there in the second grade.
Next year, Xiangbei's strength may not necessarily weaken, and may even become more terrifying.
Absorbing outstanding freshmen is something Lingnan must consider. Coach Tianoka is not only worrying about team competitions during this period, but he is also paying attention to junior high school competitions in order to find good enough players.
In fact, there is now a third-year junior high school point guard in Yokohama named Yuta Tabashi who has attracted his attention. In this year's National Middle School Basketball Conference, this kid performed brilliantly, and many teams have already paid attention to him. , and Coach Tianoka is also waiting for an opportunity to intervene and include that player in his bag.
This year's national championship is what Shigeichi Taoka is looking for.
"opportunity"! While Coach Taoka was thinking, the warm-up of the players on both sides of the field had already ended. As expected by coach Tian Gang, as the referee blew the whistle, the players from both sides entered the court.
The players on the Shohoku side are first-year Nango Koichiro, Sakuragi Hanamichi, Rukawa Kaede, Kiyota Nobunaga, and a second-year Miyagi Ryota.
Many of the spectators on the sidelines know Shobei, and they also know that Shobei's most famous ace is the second-year Jinguji Martial Arts.
But at this time, seeing the formation in Xiangbei, in the stands
There was a buzz of discussion. Nan Lie, who walked into the court, was adjusting the position of his wrist guards. He looked up and saw the players on the Xiangbei side. After a brief daze, he felt a surge of anger in his heart.
"Ju... unexpectedly..."
"How dare you underestimate us!!"
"Xiangbei!"................................
