Chapter 233: Losing to First-Years? We Are Seniors Who Have Played Ball for Two More Years!

Time passed quickly, and before long, the day of the I·H qualifiers arrived; however, for Seirin, since they were the seeded team of the Tokyo region, their competition would begin at the Round of 16.

Several days later.

It was the day of Seirin's match.

The team leader, Kakita Yishi, declared the final goal of this tournament with absolute certainty:

"First, play steadily and secure the number one seed to advance to the nationals!"

Kakita Yishi extended one hand; immediately, the Seirin players gathered together and clasped their hands in unity.

"And then..."

"What we want is...!"

The Seirin team members shouted in unison:

"The championship!"

The moment they entered the arena under Kakita Yishi's leadership, a cacophony of noise rushed at them from all directions.

Although Yukimiya Kazuma had already participated in the All-Japan tournament at this level, when he embarked on the journey to the nationals once again, that deafening roar of cheers still made his heart beat a little faster!

For the first match of the Western King, Seirin, the spectators throughout the entire gymnasium were Full of Expectation, and as Seirin, dressed in their dark green uniforms, entered the court, this sense of anticipation clearly grew even stronger with the roar of 693 cheers.

"Look! It's the King, Seirin!"

"The strongest team in the upper half of Group D!"

"That's Kuriki Noboru!"

"Huh? There are so many people here I haven't seen before?"

At this moment, someone suddenly spoke mysteriously: "The starting lineup representing Seirin in this year's I·H consists entirely of first-years who enrolled not long ago!"

"Ah?"

"How is that possible?"

The man raised an eyebrow, clearly quite proud of the information he had learned in advance.

"Because this year's new students have caused a qualitative change in Seirin's strength compared to previous years; as far as I know, every team that has played a practice match against Seirin during this period has only one evaluation for them."

"Monsters."

"Especially that number 4, Yukimiya Kazuma!"

Upon hearing this, everyone was stunned and immediately looked in the direction of Seirin.

"Huh? Number 4? A first-year wearing the number 4 jersey? Wait... what is this name?"

"Yukimiya Kazuma from Bai Shui! He actually went to Seirin!"

As the 'King' of the upper half of Group D, Seirin would be the first to take the court, (caaj) to kick off today's match.

Their opponent in this round was Meijo Academy, a team that had upset the odds by passing through three rounds; it was a school with average strength in the Tokyo region, differing from Seirin by an entire order of magnitude.

This year, with the improvement in the strength of Meijo Academy's third-year players, they had reached the top 16 for the first time, even if it was merely the top 16 of the group stage in Group D.

When the spectators looked at Meijo Academy, they could still see the nervousness and unease on the faces of the Meijo players.

Until Meijo Academy confirmed Seirin's starting lineup...

"They're all first-years?"

"Yes, but..."

"The one with white hair seems to be the runner-up from middle school, the ace of Bai Shui, Yukimiya Kazuma."

"That uncrowned king beneath the miracle?"

"But he's still just a first-year, right?"

In front of Meijo's bench, the coach hurriedly relayed this news to his players, and everyone immediately began discussing it heatedly.

And it was very obvious.

With few new students and composed mostly of second and third-year players, Meijo knew a little about the Chinese Basketball World, but their specific strength was quite vague, just like Seirin before they had played against Seirin.

In fact, because of the filter of the stereotype of 'first-years', Meijo was now clearly overly excited.

"Are you sure?"

"Confirmed; Seirin's third-years are all on the bench, and the first-years are the ones warming up first."

"It really is true; do they look down on us?"

"Isn't this great? Perhaps we can really kick Seirin out of the top 16!"

"The opportunity is here!"

The coach and players of Meijo Academy's eyes all lit up!

Today!

It is today, everyone!

Taking advantage of Seirin's arrogance! They, Meijo, will break into the top 8 in one go!

Even if they cannot go further, as long as they can cut down Seirin on the battlefield, then the name Meijo will be enough to resound throughout the Tokyo region!

"Although they are first-years, their average height is impressive, but I believe that as long as we bring out our usual strength, it is absolutely possible; after all, we will definitely not lose to first-year brats!"

"Let's go without being careless!"

The captain of Meijo stood up and said with high spirits.

"The captain is right!"

"They're just first-year brats!"

"We are the seniors who have played ball for two more years!"

The match began quickly.

Every starter from Mingchang stepped onto the court with faces full of confidence, marching forward with fierce momentum.

And then...

From the jump ball.

Until Dakou Longzhi received the pass from Yukimiya Kazuma.

Dakou Longzhi caught the ball and started; Yukimiya Kazuma's 'Passing Control Master · Synergy' matched Dakou Longzhi's traits, and combined with Dakou Longzhi's own 'Stealth Step', making his burst speed in that instant astonishingly fast.

In the blink of an eye, he darted through the gap between two defenders!

Everyone from Mingchang: "!??"

The captain of Mingchang instinctively moved to help defend, and at that moment, he saw only the number 11 from Izumimachi on the opposite side suddenly execute a crossover in front of his body!