[Every year, there are many teams participating in the National Tournament, but in the end, only 64 teams can make it to the main tournament.]
[Although the Tokyo area has 3 qualifying spots, the number of participating teams in Tokyo is also the highest in the country, with a full three to four hundred teams.]
[In Tochigi Prefecture, the number of participating teams is less than 30% of the Tokyo area, with only a hundred or so teams participating.]
[The qualifier rules remain unchanged, but due to the number of participating teams, the Tochigi Prefecture group stage will only be divided into three groups: A, B, and C. The three teams that eventually emerge from the groups will compete in a single round-robin format.]
[Because it is not unprecedented in history to have tied points, once a tied points situation occurs, there will be no extra match. Instead, the qualifying right will be determined by point difference.]
[Point difference is calculated from the start of the group stage, eliminating any possibility of identical point differences.]
[Soon, the qualifiers began. You followed the team to the tournament venue.]
[The organizers held a mobilization meeting and speech. You were so bored you wanted to sleep.]
[Group A matches were held on the first day. Homi Academy had no games, so you and your teammates watched games at the arena all day.]
[A day later, Homi Academy welcomed its first battle of the qualifiers. The entire team took this game extremely seriously because the group stage schedule is very cruel: completely BO1 (Best of 1). Lose one game and you go home to fish.]
[You started the game, wearing the number 10 gray-white jersey. 10,000 spectators came to watch the game, and the arena was packed.]
[This is Tochigi Prefecture, a small town with a population of only 160,000. People from Tokyo and Kanagawa always mock it as Tochigi Village rather than a Prefecture. This dilapidated arena can only hold 10,000 spectators.]
[The game started. He opened fire immediately. Tim Duncan's Big Fundamental made you feel like a fish in water during the game.]
[You received a pass from a teammate, shook off the defender without any sloppiness, cut into the enemy's restricted area, and opened the scoring with a turnaround bank shot.]
[Standard movements, solid fundamentals. The basketball grazed the backboard at a precise 45-degree angle and fell into the net.]
[But your performance had just begun.]
[Even though your body had only recovered to 70%, you were still Homi Academy's best perimeter defender. You were assigned by the geezer coach to mark the opponent's key player, a bamboo-pole guard only 1.75m tall. You felt that with a little force, you could knock him into the Pacific Ocean to drink homemade nuclear wastewater.]
[The opponent tried to shake you off, but you were as steady as Mount Tai. The opponent tried to use speed to get rid of you, but you retreated a step in advance, giving him no chance. The opponent was defended by you to the point of near suffocation.]
[You completed a beautiful defensive play. Homi Academy's counterattack opportunity arrived.]
[You sprinted to the free-throw line in one breath. After receiving the pass, you jumped without hesitation, hands raised above your head. The shooting motion, as if straight out of a textbook, made the eyes of some knowledgeable people in the audience light up.]
[You made the shot. You scored consecutively, continuously helping the team expand its lead.]
[The first half ended. Homi Academy led the opponent by 10 points. The team's morale was like a rainbow.]
[Returning for the second half, the opponent targeted you with specific defense. Your scoring opportunities became smaller, but this didn't stump you. You understood that Tim Duncan was never a scoring machine.]
[Even if he had the ability to become the scoring champion, he would not place his selfish desires above the team. This is his greatness.]
[You started driving and kicking. Your movements were as concise and effective as ever, but even so, the opponent needed to send at least 2 defenders to stop you.]
[You started looking for teammates and distributing the ball. Your assist stats began to increase. Under your leadership, Homi Academy blossomed on multiple fronts.]
[The geezer coach was astonished. Your modern small forward playing style made him suddenly realize that basketball could be played this way.]
[It is currently 2009. The NBA is still in a continuous physical brawl. People are more willing to send the ball to the paint to play for high percentage shots. The closer to the basket, the easier it is to score; this is the truth of basketball.]
[Your change in style enlightened the geezer coach. Some other ideas suddenly appeared in his mind.]
[Beep~]
[The game ended. Homi Academy defeated the opponent by a 15-point advantage, getting off to a good start in the National Tournament qualifiers.]
[The audience gave you warm applause. Your playing style is concise and not eye-catching. Many people didn't notice your existence. People are always more willing to see criminal crossovers and explosive dunks.]
[However, some people knew that you were the one truly controlling the overall situation.]
[Post-game stats: You quietly put up a team-high 25 points, 11 rebounds, and 7 assists.]
[You happily left the arena and returned to school.]
[Nagisa Kazuha came over personally to congratulate you. You smiled and thanked her, stating that your journey had just begun. Your confidence felt familiar to Nagisa Kazuha, and she didn't take out the black board to smack you.]
[The next day, Homi Academy came to the competition venue again.]
[You won against the opponent by a large margin again. It's not that there are no strong teams in the remote countryside, but that Tochigi Prefecture has no strong teams. The only national-level team has dominated the Tochigi Prefecture qualifying spot for a full twenty years. Their monopoly was only broken by Homi Academy last year, and they were assigned to a different group from you.]
[Once again, you quietly put up 24 points, 9 rebounds, and 8 assists. You were still not noticed by too many people; everyone focused more on your team's center.]
[He was Homi Academy's original carry. In two games, he averaged excellent stats of 18.4 points and 16 rebounds. His height of 1.87 meters allowed him to complete dunks several times during the games.]
[But your opponent today noticed something wrong because a large amount of Homi Academy's ball possession gathered on you.]
[Your geezer coach has already outlined a bold idea in his mind.]
[Island nation basketball is very rigid, at least the basketball in anime is very rigid. Shooting guards run to shoot threes, centers box out for rebounds and scoring is concentrated under the basket, point guards are responsible for organizing the team offense, small forwards hold the ball to attack the rim, and power forwards assist the center in rebounding while also shouldering scoring duties.]
[But you can do all these jobs, and do them well. The geezer coach plans to establish your core status.]
"Isn't it a bit late to realize this now?"
Outside the simulation, Yuuto felt that his coach should have done this last year.
[The game ended. Your coach returned to his office and burned the midnight oil conceiving new team tactics. He believed that this brand-new tactic could greatly help Homi Academy qualify for the National Tournament.]
[The next day, he informed the team of the tactics, establishing a tactical mindset with you as the absolute core.]
[You put forward your own ideas: add players around you who can defend and have excellent ability to seize open shots.]