After a final night of "celebration,"
The next day, Seiho left the inn and officially began their journey in the national tournament.
On the first day of the tournament, Seiho played the Round of 32, advancing to the Round of 16. With Seiho's current level, unless they ran into the "Generation of Miracles," there was no real problem. This round passed smoothly.
============
The next morning, in the Round of 16 to advance to the quarterfinals, Seiho again did not face any of the "Generation of Miracles," so they moved forward without issue.
That afternoon, the members of Shutoku and Seirin skipped training at the inn and headed to the venue to watch a match: Kaijo vs. Tōō Academy.
It was the "Generation of Miracles" match: Kise Ryouta vs. Aomine Daiki.
Even though Akashi Asuka's subtle butterfly-wing influence had stirred some things behind the scenes, certain outcomes remained unchanged.
This was the first official tournament encounter between the core members of the "Generation of Miracles," so even Shutoku and Seirin, who were still in training camp, couldn't resist watching.
The result was largely as expected: Aomine Daiki emerged victorious, but Kise Ryouta experienced a crucial personal breakthrough in this match.
With the match concluded, Seiho's next opponent was officially determined.
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Day 3: Round of 8 to advance to the semifinals
Members of Seirin and Shutoku arrived early to the stands.
Unlike many who assumed Seiho would lose easily, those who had faced Seiho in person felt that something extraordinary might happen in this match.
============
"Let's go!"
In the Seiho locker room, Tsutomu Iwamura took a deep breath, then was the first to push open the door and enter the player tunnel.
The players' expressions today were different from the previous two matches. Facing Tōō Academy, no team could ever feel relaxed.
Seiho had already played with Tōō Academy once before. Even though they hadn't gone all out, the information gleaned from that preliminary match was enough to put them on high alert.
So today, Seiho was fully focused.
However…
When the Seiho team entered the court, they were shocked to see Tōō Academy's lineup, Aomine Daiki was missing.
On the other side, the Tōō Academy team was in a panic. The match was about to start, but Aomine still hadn't arrived.
"Hey, still no contact with Aomine?"
"I'm really sorry… his phone is unreachable," Satsuki Momoi apologized.
"This is troublesome!"
Tōō Academy captain Shoichi Imayoshi grabbed his hair in frustration. "Even though we doubled their score in the preliminaries, I have a bad feeling about this match!"
Satsuki Momoi replied, "I'll contact Aomine as soon as possible. For now, please follow the pre-match strategies."
Imayoshi nodded. "We have no choice."
Beep~~~
The electronic whistle sounded. The match began.
"Oh? I didn't expect Aomine to be so reckless in the nationals. Looks like Tōō Academy's coach really spoils him," Akashi Asuka observed, smiling as she looked at the Tōō Academy lineup.
Hearing this, Imayoshi's heart skipped a beat, his uneasy premonition growing stronger.
"What do you mean by that, Akashi?"
"Nothing," she replied. "You'll see soon enough."
Whistle blow!
The referee tossed the ball for the jump ball.
"Ah~~~"
Tōō Academy center Kousuke Wakamatsu leapt with full force, but halfway up, a much longer arm lightly tapped the ball, sending it directly into Seiho's Kasuga Ryuhei's hands.
Tōō Academy immediately retreated, all players compacting into the paint.
"Wait? Everyone's staying in the paint? No one on the perimeter?" Hyuga Junpei on the stands gasped.
"Because Seiho has no perimeter threat,"
Aida Riko explained. "They're a top defensive team. Their offense is decent, but primarily through stable passes and inside plays. Without a sharpshooter, limiting their inside attacks greatly reduces their scoring potential."
"Still, it's surprising that an ultra-offensive team like Tōō Academy starts with full-line defense," Riko added.
"Without Aomine, it's too hard for the others to handle Seiho, huh?"
Indeed, Aomine not starting wasn't unexpected. During the preliminaries, he played roughly twenty minutes per match, including the game against Seirin.
Yet, Riko sensed something different today…
Hyuga muttered, "Good thing Aomine isn't on our team. That reckless guy… I'd never be able to control him."
"Yeah… it's somewhat understandable. In the preliminaries, Tōō Academy beat Seiho by double points. A little carelessness is normal… wait?"
Riko's eyes narrowed. Something clicked in her mind: Could it be that Seiho has already…
"Oh? That's a solid defense,"
Kasuga Ryuhei dribbled to the three-point line, eyeing Tōō Academy's 2–3 zone.
Imayoshi narrowed his eyes, smirking. "Thanks for the compliment. We know… you deliberately lost the preliminaries by double points, right? To make us careless in the nationals?"
"Without Aomine, Tōō Academy's attack is weakened. Breaking your defense is tough, but as long as we limit your scoring, the effect is the same," Kasuga countered, smiling.
"Congrats, you guessed… half right. The preliminaries were intentionally lost, but that was only a small part of our plan," Kasuga added.
"You have a skilled manager collecting intel. But could she have guessed this?"
Kasuga casually tossed the ball to Akashi Asuka.
He caught it, stepped behind the three-point line, raised his hand… and shot.
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