Inside a hotel near Tokyo Gymnasium.
The Kanagawa representative team had checked in here right after the opening ceremony.
Right now, everyone was gathered in a spacious lounge.
Shimizu Kanon stood at the front, holding a thick stack of documents, handing them out one by one. Her fingertips rustled softly over the pages as she flipped through them.
She faced the group and explained, "The Autumn National Athletic Meet is divided into Groups A and B. Each group has four teams. We're in Group A."
She paused, then continued, "Besides us, Kanagawa, Group A also includes Aichi, Shizuoka, and Hokkaido. Our first match tomorrow will be against Hokkaido. What you're holding now is the data on Hokkaido's roster."
Everyone glanced at the documents in hand—and couldn't stop their mouths from twitching and eyes from widening.
Brutal.
This left no room for Hokkaido to even breathe.
Not only did it list each player's height, weight, and key techniques, but it also had each player's weaknesses circled in red ink.
One Center had slow footwork. One Point Guard struggled with tight defense. One Small Forward had weak stamina… and on and on.
It even detailed habits like "tends to lower left shoulder when shooting from the 45-degree angle beyond the Three-Point Line."
You could already imagine the hopeless look on Hokkaido's players come game day.
Kiyota Nobunaga glanced at the info sheet and muttered with a mix of glee and pity, "Isn't this a bit too cruel?"
"You should worry about not embarrassing yourself," Sakuragi Hanamichi snapped back bluntly, clearly unimpressed.
"What did you say, you red-haired monkey!" Kiyota instantly flared up and shot back.
...
The two exploded into a shouting match out of nowhere.
It wasn't the first time. Everyone else was already used to this scene—nothing surprising at all.
Shimizu Kanon cleared her throat lightly and continued explaining, "The first round of matches will take place over three days. Since it's a points-based format, only the team with the most points advances. After Hokkaido, we'll still have to play Aichi and Shizuoka."
Mitsui Hisashi leaned back on the sofa, spinning a water bottle cap between his fingers. The crisp clicking matched the calm confidence in his sharp gaze. "What's so hard about that? They're just stepping stones."
Miyagi Ryota nodded with a dismissive smirk. "Yeah. Aichi, Shizuoka—whatever. We've played them before."
But Jin Soichiro advised caution. "Better to stay sharp. Moroboshi Dai and Morishige Hiroshi from Aichi aren't easy opponents. Don't take them lightly."
Sendoh Akira glanced at a name on the sheet, his interest clearly piqued. "Moroboshi Dai, huh? The 'Star of Aichi—I've been wanting to face him for a while."
Uozumi Jun, on the other hand, focused entirely on Morishige Hiroshi.
He knew full well that in the national tournament, Akagi Takenori had been completely suppressed by Morishige Hiroshi.
A sharp glint flashed through his eyes as he muttered in his heart, 'Akagi… just watch. The guy you couldn't beat—I'll take him down myself.'
Shimizu Kanon went on to explain key points to watch for in tomorrow's game. Then she concluded, "Overall, Hokkaido doesn't have any standout players. Their team strength is average. So in this first match, our main goal is to get used to the tempo and feel of the tournament."
After that, Shimizu Kanon gave a small nod to Anzai Mitsuyoshi, Taoka Moichi, and Takato Riki, signaling that her part was done.
Takato Riki nodded, then stepped forward and addressed everyone.
"Shimizu-san has covered all the essentials. I won't repeat anything. What's in your hands should be enough for tomorrow's game. Now let's move on to the starting lineup for tomorrow."
As soon as he spoke, the whole room straightened up, waiting quietly for the lineup announcement.
Takato Riki paused in thought for a while before speaking.
"Tomorrow's roster will be: Jin, Maki, Akagi, Mitsui, Sendoh, Uozumi, Hanagata, Fujima, Rukawa, Aoi, Fukuda… and lastly..."
At this point, only four names remained uncalled: Sakuragi Hanamichi, Kiyota Nobunaga, Miyagi Ryota, and Hasegawa Kazushi.
All four were visibly tense, holding onto the hope that their names would be picked.
"Sakuragi." After much deliberation, Takato Riki called the final name.
"Yes!" Sakuragi Hanamichi shot up from the sofa like a spring-loaded toy, his red hair leaving a vivid blur behind him.
The remaining three, though slightly disappointed, accepted the lineup without complaint. After all, this was just the first match—there would be more chances ahead.
Kiyota Nobunaga stared with jealousy and frustration at Sakuragi hopping around like a monkey, his teeth grinding with audible clicks.
'Damn that red-haired monkey. Why's he so lucky? I'm gonna explode here.'
Then Takato Riki continued, "Now I'll announce the starting lineup for tomorrow."
His sharp gaze scanned the room and then landed on Uozumi.
"Center, Uozumi."
"Yes!" Uozumi responded instantly.
He scanned again. "Shooting Guard, Jin."
"Yes…" Jin Soichiro gave a nod.
"Point Guard, Fujima."
"Yes…" Fujima Kenji replied.
"Small Forward, Rukawa Kaede."
"Yes…" Rukawa answered.
"And lastly, Power Forward…" His eyes hovered over Aoi Kunisaku, Sakuragi Hanamichi, and Fukuda Kicchou. Then he stopped on Fukuda.
"Fukuda."
Fukuda paused briefly in surprise but quickly responded, "Yes…!"
Thus, the starting lineup was finalized:
Center: Uozumi Jun, #5, 3rd year (Ryonan)
Power Forward: Fukuda Kicchou, #13, 2nd year (Ryonan)
Small Forward: Rukawa Kaede, #11, 1st year (Shohoku)
Shooting Guard: Jin Soichiro, #6, 3rd year (Kainan)
Point Guard: Fujima Kenji, #4, 3rd year (Shoyo)
Takato Riki's choices served two purposes:
First, to avoid revealing all of Kanagawa's strongest cards too soon.
Second, to test how well players from four different schools could mesh on the court.
Besides, the opponent was just Hokkaido. There was no need to go all out.
Even with this lineup, Kanagawa's strength would be overwhelming to Hokkaido.
Once dismissed, everyone returned to their rooms for the night.
Nothing of note happened that night.
The next morning.
Tokyo Gymnasium was already packed, a sea of people flooding into the arena.
Inside the venue for Kanagawa vs. Hokkaido.
The stands were filled to the brim—waves of spectators had gathered to witness the match.
When Hokkaido's players stepped onto the court first, the crowd remained lively, full of chatter and commentary.
But the moment Kanagawa's players entered, the entire gymnasium erupted as if set ablaze.
Cheers, screams, foot stomps all merged into a deafening roar, making even the ceiling lights tremble.
The explosive atmosphere instantly increased the pressure on Hokkaido's side.
Soon, under the referee's instructions and under the gaze of every spectator, the teams from Kanagawa and Hokkaido stood at the center of the court, waiting for tip-off.
Tweet—
A sharp whistle pierced the air.
The referee's whistle blew.
At the same time, the basketball in his hand soared between both teams.
Kanagawa vs. Hokkaido — officially underway.