The semifinals of the national tournament are not a round-robin tournament, but rather a single-elimination match between two groups.
The two losing teams will play another match to compete for third place, while the two winning teams will play in the finals.
Shohoku High School and Meihou Industrial High School were grouped together.
Ryonan team was grouped with Sannoh Industrial.
At this moment, the Ryonan team's game has already started, and the entire Shohoku team is sitting in the stands watching the game.
Kogure Kiminobu said, "Sendou is very strong, but this battle will be difficult for them!"
These words resonated with Sakuragi Hanamichi and others.
After all, their opponent is the Sannoh team, the three-time national champions!
How many basketball players haven't heard of the Sannoh team?
Akagi Takenori's gaze was fixed on Sannoh's number 7 player, Kawata Masashi.
Masashi Kawata, center for the Sannoh team, is 194cm tall.
It is said that Masashi Kawata has played point guard, small forward, and power forward.
Now he plays center!
Masashi Kawata is simply an all-around giant!
Although Takenori Akagi was very confident in himself, he felt very heavy-hearted after learning about Masashi Kawata's situation.
Rukawa Kaede's gaze remained fixed on Sannoh's number 9, Sawakita Eiji.
As everyone knows, Eiji Sawakita is not only the super ace of the Sannoh team, but also the number one player in the national high school basketball world!
Whoever can defeat Eiji Sawakita will become the number one in the nation!
Sakuragi Hanamichi noticed the murderous intent in Rukawa Kaede's eyes, so he nudged Rukawa lightly with his elbow and teased, "Hey, Rukawa, don't worry, you're even more handsome than that Sawakita Eiji!"
These words caused Rukawa Kaede to freeze in surprise, clearly not having reacted yet.
I'm thinking about how to beat Eiji Sawakita, but you're talking about who's more handsome?
Is this something I care about?
But a moment later, Rukawa Kaede inexplicably felt that those words were actually quite agreeable.
At this point, both Ryonan and Sannoh were already in good form.
Sendoh Akira, who had a seal on his body, had the seal broken very quickly this time.
There was nothing we could do; our opponent was the Sannoh team.
Seeing that the usually lazy Sendoh Akira had broken free of his seal, Sawakita Eiji was very excited. He smiled and said to Sendoh Akira, "Sendoh! Come here!"
Sendoh Akira smiled brightly and said, "Alright!"
Immediately, the match between the two ace players from Ryonan and Sannoh began.
In a one-on-one fight, Eiji Sawakita has a slight edge.
However, Akira Sendoh's ability to organize attacks is stronger than that of Eiji Sawakita.
As the two players unleashed their power, the entire stadium erupted in thunderous cheers from time to time.
Jun Uozumi and Kichijo Fukuda also performed well.
Hiroaki Koshino and Tomoyuki Uekusa also played very steadily.
At least from the start so far, Ryonan's momentum is no less than Sannoh's.
However, it cannot be denied that in terms of overall strength, Ryonan is still inferior to Sannoh Industrial.
In the latter half of the game, Sannoh Industrial's advantage became more obvious, and the gap between the two teams gradually widened.
Fortunately, Sendoh Akira had another breakout performance, managing to close the gap somewhat.
Ultimately, the score between Ryonan and Sannoh was 78-88.
Ryonan lost the game.
To be honest, it's already quite impressive that Ryonan managed to achieve this score!
You know, last year the Sannoh team beat the Hainan team by 30 points!
Ryonan only lost to Sannoh by 10 points today, they're already very strong!
At this moment, everyone on the Shohoku team looked solemn. Having witnessed the Sannoh team's game firsthand, they realized what it meant to be the strongest champion in the country!
Sannoh Industrial lives up to its reputation!
Sakuragi Hanamichi, worried that everyone might lose confidence, said in a lighthearted tone, "Hey! Did you all see that? In the do-or-die match in Kanagawa a little over a month ago, we beat Ryonan by 4 points, and today Sannoh only beat Ryonan by 10 points. So, Sannoh isn't that much stronger than us!"
After saying that, Sakuragi Hanamichi burst into laughter.
Objectively speaking, Sakuragi Hanamichi's logic does have some merit.
No problem!
Seeing that everyone's expressions had relaxed considerably, Sakuragi Hanamichi continued, "You know, we've undergone even more rigorous, hellish training over the past month, and we're stronger than we were a month ago!"
Sakuragi Hanamichi pointed at Mitsui Hisashi and said, "Mitsui! His physical abilities have become even stronger!"
Mitsui Hisashi's eyes lit up, his face full of confidence, and he said, "Don't worry, everyone! My physical fitness is fine, I won't hold you back!"
Sakuragi Hanamichi then pointed to Miyagi Ryota and joked, "Ryota, well, he hasn't grown any taller..."
Ryota Miyagi's face immediately darkened.
But Sakuragi Hanamichi suddenly laughed again, "Just kidding, just kidding, don't be angry... Ryota, let me tell you, Sannoh's number 4, who is also their captain Fukatsu Kazunari, don't be intimidated by him. Actually, it's the agile little guy like you who gives him the most trouble!"
With that, Sakuragi Hanamichi patted Miyagi Ryota on the shoulder, "Ryota! I have faith in you!"
After that, Sakuragi Hanamichi looked at Akagi Takenori.
"Gorilla! Don't be intimidated by Masashi Kawata. I'm here under the basket! When the two of us team up, we're invincible under the basket! Anyone who comes near is dead! I'm telling you!"
Sakuragi Hanamichi spoke these words with a fierce and imposing manner, exuding a powerful and domineering aura!
Akagi Takenori walked toward Sakuragi Hanamichi with a solemn expression.
Sakuragi Hanamichi instinctively reached out his hand, wanting to give Akagi Takenori a high five.
But suddenly!
Akagi Takenori rushed forward in one stride.
Akagi Takenori immediately used a chokehold to subdue Sakuragi Hanamichi!
"You bastard! You deserve a beating! How many times have I told you! Don't call me gorilla when there are a lot of people around!"
Akagi Takenori gritted his teeth, one arm locking around Sakuragi Hanamichi's neck, while the other hand gave Sakuragi Hanamichi's head two sharp taps!
"Ah! Big... Brother Akagi! I'll be more careful next time! Next time we're alone together, I'll call you gorilla again! Stop it!"
Sakuragi Hanamichi begged for mercy repeatedly.
But Takenori Akagi got even angrier. "Idiot! You can't call me gorilla when we're alone! Don't call me gorilla anymore!"
The people around watched Akagi Takenori and Sakuragi Hanamichi's performance with smiles on their faces, and no one went up to stop them from fighting.
Everyone knows that what the two of them needed right now was this kind of playful banter.
But Haruko Akagi couldn't hold back any longer. She rushed forward and stopped Takenori Akagi, who seemed to want to continue his outburst.
Sakuragi Hanamichi chuckled, showing no sign of injury whatsoever.
Finally, Sakuragi Hanamichi, with an incredibly smug grin, pointed his thumb twice at his face, "Most importantly, there's me, the genius Sakuragi Hanamichi! I'm our team's ultimate secret weapon! The results of my special training haven't even been fully realized yet!"
Upon hearing this, Ryota Miyagi asked curiously, "By the way, Hanamichi, what exactly is your special training?"
Sakuragi Hanamichi was overjoyed, thinking to himself, "Ryota! My bro! You've got the Best Supporting Actor award for sure!"
Sakuragi Hanamichi cleared his throat and said loudly, "Um... well... I can't tell everyone yet."
"Chirp!!!"
"cut!!!"
"You're so arrogant!"
Sakuragi Hanamichi's words drew a chorus of boos.
Sakuragi Hanamichi quickly straightened up and said, "Hey! Don't worry! I'll step in when it counts!"
Everyone scattered, too lazy to pay any more attention to the arrogant Sakuragi Hanamichi.
Sakuragi Hanamichi's lips curled up. "That's more like it! It should be this lively and energetic. If Sannoh plays a game and they're so lifeless, what's the point of them playing?"
Suddenly, Sakuragi Hanamichi, who was all alone, was grabbed by a hand!
Sakuragi Hanamichi turned around and saw that it was Rukawa Kaede.
Unexpectedly, Rukawa Kaede deliberately walked behind Sakuragi Hanamichi.
Rukawa Kaede casually said, "So, it has nothing to do with me, right?"
Sakuragi Hanamichi suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. Only then did he realize that he had forgotten about Shohoku's top scorer, the Nine-Tailed Fox Rukawa Kaede, in his passionate speech!
At this moment, Rukawa Kaede's tone clearly carried resentment.
That kind of resentful woman, confined to her chambers, who has lost the emperor's favor, harbors resent
"hiss!"
Sakuragi Hanamichi gasped!
"Rukawa Kaede, let me explain! Let me explain..."
Rukawa Kaede gave a haughty "humph" and strode away.
This is truly a case of: torturing your friends may be fun for a while, but chasing them will lead to disaster!
...Divider line...
I was drinking on the nights of the 6th and 7th, drinking for two nights in a row, and I didn't get home until midnight each time.
I was working overtime on the evening of the 8th.
On the 11th, which was yesterday, I went to the hospital to have two wisdom teeth extracted. It almost killed me, and I'm still in a lot of pain.
This is why there was no update this week.
I'll say it one last time: this book will not be abandoned. Even if the Earth explodes or the universe is destroyed, this book will not be abandoned.
However, due to various reasons, I have been unable to maintain a stable update schedule.
Please forgive me.
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