Chapter 27

These regions with particularly fierce competition get extra spots for the National Tournament.

For example, Tokyo has three spots, while Kanagawa has two.

Scattered together, in the end, there are only sixty teams that can participate in the final round of the National Tournament.

But the number of teams participating in the preliminaries can be as many as hundreds!

"There are about four thousand middle school teams in the country." Platinum Kōzō explained the basic information about the National Tournament to everyone. "But in the end, only 60 teams can enter the National Tournament."

A true case of thousands of troops crossing a single-plank bridge!

Most players never have the chance to participate in a National Tournament in their entire lives.

Therefore, players with the conditions, who don't have any special beliefs, will choose powerhouse schools to play for.

From middle school to high school to university, each stage only lasts a short 3 to 4 years, and there is only one chance per year.

In other words, a middle school student has at most 3 chances to make it to the National Tournament and compete for the championship.

That's why in Slam Dunk, Kogure Kiminobu sheds tears of emotion when he sees the team make it to the National Tournament, and the Ryonan players who were regretfully eliminated couldn't stop their tears from flowing.

It's just that the competition for the National Tournament every year is very fierce and cruel.

Platinum Kōzō continued, "Among them, our Tokyo region is the most competitive region of all."

"The qualifying tournament will be divided into groups, with a total of 4 groups. Only the top team in each group is qualified to break into the final round-robin."

"Before the round-robin, the group stage uses a single-elimination format. That is, as long as you lose one game, you have to pack your bags and go home."

It was exactly as he had understood.

Whether it's Slam Dunk or Kuroko's Basketball, both shows use the rules of the real-world National Tournament.

"Then we'll just keep winning all the way." Tiandao Tiandao Tiandao Jingyan said confidently, but he was immediately glared at by Nijimura Shūzō. "Tiandao, take off those damn sunglasses!"

"......Oh." Tiandao Tiandao Tiandao Jingyan was actually wearing sunglasses to the meeting on purpose.

Because he discovered that the camera was pointed this way.

It was highly likely that this meeting was being used to explain the rules of the National Tournament to the audience, as well as the opponents Teiko would face.

'As expected of you, wearing sunglasses to a meeting!'

'I get it now.'

'What do you get now?'

'Sunglasses are Tiandao's true form.'

'.......'

"The specific schedule is like this. To break into the National Tournament, first we must break out of the group stage and achieve a top-three finish in the final round-robin!"

"What about our opponents?" Aomine only cared about this.

Hearing this, Platinum Kōzō had Momoi Satsuki distribute the already printed materials to everyone.

It clearly stated the difficulty level, from 1 star to 5 stars.

"What does this star mean?"

"It means the strength of the opponent." Momoi Satsuki coughed and said, "Teams marked with 5 stars are seeded teams. For example, we, Teiko, are a 5-star team."

"In other words, there are actually 7 teams in the Tokyo region that are on our level?" Midorima felt surprised.

His contact during this period made him fully realize how strong his own team was.

But at Teiko, he could only play as a substitute.

They, one inside and one outside, were the core of Teiko's defense now.

Thinking of this, Midorima and Akashi couldn't help but cast their eyes toward those two.

Murasakibara was crunching on potato chips, as if nothing had anything to do with him.

Tiandao was a bit more normal, relatively more normal!

He was looking at the comments and didn't pay much attention to the content of the meeting; he looked like he was spacing out.

"Why does it have to be these two guys." Midorima retracted his four eyes in annoyance.

Do your best, and leave the rest to fate!

This was his life motto.

He was 100% serious about games and basketball; he even wrapped his shooting fingers with bandages, took care of them often, and had strict requirements for nail length.

To him, the pre-game meeting was also an important part of the game; being so careless really didn't fit his personality.

Compared to those two, Aomine, that idiot, had become normal.

"Hey, Midorima, why are you looking at me like that?" Aomine keenly noticed Midorima's gaze and felt offended. "Do you think I'm an idiot?"

"It's just your imagination." Midorima adjusted his glasses, refusing to admit it.

Although the person was a bit stupid, this guy's intuition was too accurate!

Just like Tiandao and Murasakibara, including Akashi as well.

Their personalities had more or less flaws, but in terms of talent, they were definitely not below him!

"Don't slack off." Nijimura Shūzō scolded, and Midorima and the others immediately shut their mouths obediently.

The prestige of their club president was still very high; if you didn't listen, you'd be like Tiandao, getting hammered all day!

"Don't think about the round-robin yet. Every year in the National Tournament, many dark horses emerge."

"Even for 5-star teams, being upset and eliminated is common, so naturally, we at Teiko must be careful."

Platinum Kōzō didn't talk nonsense; he pressed the remote control, making everyone focus on the projector.

It showed several teams, all of which he considered to be the biggest obstacles for Teiko to advance to the National Tournament.

For powerhouse schools like them, the group stage was the hardest to play.

There was no room for error; if you lost one game, you had to go home. The round-robin, on the other hand, didn't need to be worried about as much.

The first one, Kaisei Middle School.

Established in 1871, it is an all-boys school and also a nationally famous sports powerhouse, with super strong competitiveness in various sports.

Momoi Satsuki gave them a 4-star rating.

This meant that this team had the strength to compete for a spot in the National Tournament.

The second one, Musashi Middle School.

Established in 1922, it is also an all-boys school. The school's style emphasizes self-discipline, and it also broke into the final round-robin last year.

There are no star players on the team; it pursues team-first, and is a team composed entirely of role players, famous for its iron-blooded defense.

The team's strength is 4.5 stars.

The advantage of this type of role-player team is that everyone is a soldier, united as one.

The disadvantage is the lack of a powerful player who can seal the deal.

The third one, Kaijo Middle School.

A high-end private institution that emphasizes internationalization. Different skin colors from Europe and America often appear on the team.

Unlike the role-player team like Musashi Middle School, this team plays the superstar player model.

The players have clear divisions of labor and perform their own duties; those who should score score, and those who should defend defend.

The team's strength is 5 stars.

There are only 7 5-star teams in Tokyo, and yet there are 2 in Group C, where Teiko is located.

It's no wonder everyone's expressions were so heavy; this was a "group of death" in the true sense.