The next day, the drums of the National Tournament officially sounded, and the first match had already begun.
This tournament adopted a cruel single-elimination system; every contest was a matter of life or death, allowing no room for slack.
The Ryonan Basketball Team also appeared at the side of the court, their objective clear: to focus on observing the match between Qingfeng Team and Mamiyanishi High School.
This was because the winner of this game would face Ryonan in the second round, becoming the first hurdle on their path to advancement.
Although it was only the first match of the National Tournament, the stadium was already bustling with people.
At just 9 AM, the stands were gradually filling up; supporters from various schools held cheering signs and shouted loudly, while fans simply there to watch the excitement held drinks and snacks, filling every corner of the stands, with many people even standing in the aisles on tiptoes to get a look.
Even before the whistle blew, the roar from the sidelines had already started.
A slight observation would reveal that Qingfeng Team's cheering was clearly louder than Mamiyanishi's—in Qingfeng Team's fan section, uniform blue cheering sticks banged thunderously, a female leader strained her voice to chant slogans, and even the family and friends behind the substitute bench waved banners in rhythm;
In contrast, while many loyal fans from Mamiyanishi also shouted encouragement, their voices were scattered, and compared to Qingfeng Team's unified momentum, they were clearly at a disadvantage.
“It seems Qingfeng Team is very popular,” Ikegami said softly from Ryonan's section of the stands.
Coach Taoka stood at the edge of the court with his arms crossed, his gaze sweeping over the two teams warming up on the field, his brows slightly furrowed: “High popularity means they have strength to back it up, so don't take it lightly. Watch their coordination carefully, especially that Qingfeng Team center's positioning.”
Hearing this, everyone immediately put aside their casual chatter and turned their attention to the center of the court.
However, when their gaze swept to Qingfeng Team's substitute bench, Moriyama Ryota was just sitting quietly in a corner, still in his practice uniform, clearly a fringe substitute with almost no presence compared to the starters warming up on the court.
At this moment, Aida Hikoichi had already brought his notebook over to the Ryonan members, his finger quickly pointing at the information as he whispered: “Qingfeng Team's starting lineup is basically unchanged—point guard #4 Kato Ryohei, 177 cm tall, extremely fast, good at steals and fast breaks;
Shooting guard #6 Kimura Iho, 180 cm tall, three-point shooting percentage consistently above 60%;
Power forward #8 Yamazaki Ken, 192 cm tall, aggressive in rebounding;
Small forward #11 Araki Shingo, 183 cm tall, good at pull-up jump shots:
And center #12 Suzuki Kakuei, 194 cm tall, is the absolute core of the team, with 'relatively' strong dominance in the paint.”
He spoke rapidly, his eyes fixed on the few people warming up on the court, even the punctuation seeming to carry a tense rhythm: “These guys have been playing together for three years, they have great chemistry, and last year they made it to the quarterfinals of the National Tournament with this lineup.”
Sakuragi Hanamichi leaned over, his gaze sweeping back and forth over the several starters, and suddenly asked, “Is Moriyama Ryota mentioned in the data?”
Hikoichi flipped through two pages and shook his head: “It only says he's a second-year substitute, playing less than five minutes per game, with no outstanding stats…”
Before he finished speaking, Qingfeng Team's starting center, Suzuki Kakuei, made a thunderous dunk that vibrated the hoop, and the cheers from the stands instantly rose another notch.
Before long, the referee's whistle blew, and the game officially began.
In the jump ball, Qingfeng Team's center, Suzuki Kakuei, used his height advantage to tip the ball to his teammate Kato Ryohei, who drove forward like an arrow from a bowstring.
Mamiyanishi's guard quickly defended but was passed by Kato with a change of direction, scoring an easy layup.
Qingfeng Team took the lead early, and blue streamers instantly flew across the stands.
Mamiyanishi did not panic and quickly found their rhythm with precise passing and cutting, with their small forward's pull-up jump shot and guard's drive and layup consecutively scoring, quickly tying the game.
In the first half, both sides went back and forth, with extremely fast offense and defense; Mamiyanishi's interior play was particularly aggressive, intercepting Qingfeng Team's passes several times to launch fast breaks;
Qingfeng Team, on the other hand, maintained their lead with Kimura Iho's outside threat and Suzuki Kakuei's strong attacks in the paint.
When the halftime whistle blew, Qingfeng Team led by only two points, 45:43, and the game remained tight.
The Ryonan members watched with bated breath, Coach Taoka tapping his knee with his finger: “Mamiyanishi's resilience is good; being able to keep up the score in the first half shows their stamina and tactical execution are on point. Qingfeng Team's starters haven't fully exerted themselves yet; in the second half, we need to focus on their adjustments.”
As the second half began, Qingfeng Team's pace suddenly quickened.
Kato Ryohei's defensive intensity sharply increased, making consecutive steals and launching fast breaks, directly tearing open Mamiyanishi's defense;
Yamazaki Ken, in the battle for rebounds, was like a fierce tiger descending a mountain, snatching the ball from over opponents' heads several times, creating second-chance opportunities for his team;
Suzuki Kakuei also completely unleashed himself, with turn-around hook shots in the paint and thunderous dunks from teammates' passes scoring consecutively, gradually widening the score difference to double digits.
Mamiyanishi tried their best to catch up, with a substitute guard hitting two consecutive three-pointers, briefly narrowing the deficit to 6 points, but Qingfeng Team quickly stabilized their position with a series of precise passing plays, and Kimura Iho once again showed his power from beyond the arc, hitting two consecutive three-pointers that completely extinguished Mamiyanishi's comeback attempt.
At the final whistle, the scoreboard read 84:72. Qingfeng Team defeated Mamiyanishi by 12 points, successfully advancing to the next round.
The cheers of Qingfeng Team fans in the stands almost blew off the roof, while the Ryonan members' gazes fell on the celebrating Qingfeng Team players on the court.
Sakuragi Hanamichi scratched his head, then suddenly grinned: “Perfect, next game, we'll have a good time with them!”
Gu Jin leaned against the railing in the back row of the stands, his fingertips unconsciously tapping the metal handrail.
The cheers of the Qingfeng Team players on the court seemed to be behind a layer of glass, blurred and distant.
His gaze swept over Suzuki Kakuei's sturdy back—that thunderous dunk indeed had momentum, but his footwork was unusually heavy, stamina being a fatal flaw; if he met a strong interior player, he would likely be completely lost.
Kato Ryohei was still high-fiving teammates; he had enough drive, but during several fast breaks earlier, there were clearly better passing options, yet he insisted on going for it alone. Such assertiveness in high-intensity games was just giving away points.
Yamazaki Ken was fierce when grabbing rebounds, but his box-out was always half a beat late, relying entirely on brute strength;
Kimura Iho's three-pointers were accurate, but his running routes were too fixed; a slightly targeted defense would silence him.
Gu Jin let out a soft scoff and withdrew his gaze.
Qingfeng Team was like a sharp but unsharpened knife; they could make a mark against an opponent like Mamiyanishi, but if they met a steel plate, they would be the first to break.
He pulled a bottle of mineral water from his pocket, twisted it open, and took a sip. Ryonan's next game probably wouldn't require too much effort.