Chapter 241: Shutoku Battle

The Winter Cup tournament schedule was out, and each basketball club reacted differently.

However, there was one point that all participating teams had in common.

They regarded Kirisaki Daiichi as their final goal.

After learning that they would face Kirisaki Daiichi in the first round, Midorima stayed to practice rebounds that night.

The people from Seirin also picked up basketballs and started practicing hard.

This was the pressure Kirisaki Daiichi gave people now, and also the oppressive feeling Tiandao gave people.

Facing him, doing your best wasn't enough; you had to break your own limits and do better than 100% to have a chance to defeat him.

And Kirisaki Daiichi.

They were preparing for the match normally.

"An alley-oop three-pointer coordination, huh."

Tiandao was clear about Seirin's trump cards, and he was equally clear about Shutoku's.

"No problem at all."

A few days later, the Winter Cup tournament kicked off.

The high school basketball world, which had been calm for a summer vacation, was surging again.

Fans from all over the country filled the arena again, with 20,000 fans at the scene.

"They're here, the final winner of the Inter-High, Kirisaki Daiichi!"

As usual, there would still be a team parade before the match.

As the Inter-High champion, Kirisaki Daiichi was arranged to appear last.

The few of them were simply like a male model group; as soon as they appeared, they triggered all kinds of screams.

Not to mention Tiandao, a handsome guy even more handsome than Kise, with the strongest high school student and star halo on his head, he was the dream lover of countless girls.

As for Haizaki, he wasn't as handsome as Tiandao, but this guy had a kind of ruffian air that attracted a certain group of people.

Hanamiya Makoto, Yamazaki Hiroshi, Hara Kazuya, and others also had distinct personalities.

The few of them came out of the tunnel, not like they were here to play ball, but more like they were walking a runway.

Because besides their looks, the average height of Kirisaki Daiichi also exceeded 5cm.

Pat Riley once predicted that the future NBA would be an era of five forwards around 2 meters tall.

Facts proved he was right.

Although not entirely right, the subsequent NBA was indeed very unfriendly to centers, and the pace of the game was too fast.

Heavy centers couldn't keep up with the frequent counterattack rates at all.

By 2025, when fans talk about forwards, they can name a bunch, but when talking about centers, there is only one Jokic.

Embiid?

Sorry, this guy is a back-forward.

And this lineup of Kirisaki Daiichi, with enough height and the fastest speed in the country, is definitely the most perfect lineup configuration in the heart of the "God of Calculation."

Because it's a high school student's match now, the average height of forwards in the country is around 185cm.

"Really amazing, even from so far away, I can feel their aura..."

"That's for sure, they are the team that took Rakuzan down!"

The audience paid attention to Kirisaki Daiichi one after another.

The latest issue of the Youth Sports Newspaper's power ranking.

Kirisaki Daiichi topped the list; they believed that with the addition of Haizaki, Kirisaki Daiichi, who was already a champion, was now invincible.

The Winter Cup was already in their pocket, and other teams were just here to fight for second place.

Afterward, after a generous speech by the organizer, the Winter Cup officially began.

Kirisaki Daiichi had no match on the first day.

Their duel with Shutoku was arranged at the end of the first round, as the grand finale.

Rakuzan fired the first shot of the Winter Cup, and after a 40-minute match, Rakuzan easily defeated their opponent.

Then Seirin, Yosen, and Kaijo all easily defeated their opponents to enter the next round.

The match day entered the third day.

The highly anticipated Shutoku vs. Kirisaki Daiichi was finally about to begin.

In Shutoku's locker room.

Midorima was unwrapping the bandage on his left hand bit by bit.

He protected his shooting hand very well.

Even the length of his nails was carefully controlled to ensure it wouldn't affect his shooting accuracy.

Beside him, there was also a Sailor Moon figure.

"Is this today's lucky item?"

"Is it Sailor Moon?"

Shutoku's teammates were already used to Midorima's paranoia.

"It's Sailor Jupiter (the green one)!" Midorima corrected them seriously.

"Is that so? The color matches you quite well; it seems luck is on our side today."

Otsubo Taisuke smiled and then clapped his hands to let everyone get ready to go out.

Midorima heard this, picked up the figure, and walked out of the locker room with the team.

He wasn't really obsessed with fortune-telling to the point of being unable to extricate himself.

But, the three words "do your best" had already been integrated into Midorima Shintaro's life.

No matter when or where, he had to ensure he achieved a true 100%.

Only by ensuring everything was done well could he maintain 100% trust in his shooting.

This was a psychological suggestion that allowed Midorima to shoot with confidence without reservation.

The warm-up session was skipped directly.

The ten players from both sides came to the center line and looked at each other.

This was an important battle belonging to the national king and the Tokyo king.

The 10 people looked at each other, none of them flinching.

"...I thought we would meet earlier; I didn't expect to wait until the Winter Cup."

Tiandao spoke first; his choice of words was very subtle.

He used the word "wait," invisibly mocking Shutoku again.

Midorima was a smart person and immediately heard his potential subtext.

It was nothing more than mocking himself for being eliminated in the Inter-High group stage.

"It's not too late now; the one who laughs last is the winner."

"You're right, so I'm laughing, and you're still keeping a straight face."

Midorima didn't want to talk anymore; in terms of verbal fighting, he was no match for Tiandao either.

The referee blew the whistle and entered the court with the basketball.

The match began.

In this match, Haizaki's position was thrown to power forward by Tiandao to counter Shutoku's two interior players.

The Generation of Miracles had one heaven-defying point, including Haizaki.

Every member had height if they needed height, and weight if they needed weight.

This allowed them to be competent in most positions on the court, not giving opponents a chance for mismatches.

Hmm, except for Akashi; he single-handedly lowered the average height of the Generation of Miracles by several centimeters!

Akashi in the audience suddenly felt a sense of annoyance, not knowing why.

Tip-off session.

Otsubo Taisuke got the first offensive opportunity for Shutoku.

Otsubo Taisuke, 198cm tall and 98kg, was one of the best centers in the Tokyo area.

Right from the start.

Shutoku showed excellent discipline.

During the process of Takao Kazunari dribbling across the half-court, there was always a teammate responsible for receiving the ball.

This was a good habit.

And Tiandao, he had been targeting Midorima since the start of the match.