Chapter 499

The Seirin players were not at a disadvantage when matching up against Rakuzan.

"That guy Tetsuya? Didn't Akashi say his basketball wouldn't win?" Although Haizaki was unhappy with Akashi and held a grudge against him, he acknowledged Akashi's eye for people.

"He can't win alone, but his team is very excellent. Be careful not to flip your car during the Winter Cup."

"The stronger the opponent, the better!" Aomine was extremely confident and almost blurted out, "The only one who can beat me is me."

Thinking that Tiandao was also present, he held the words back.

Tiandao didn't continue.

After all, no one would have thought that after one summer, Seirin could grow to that extent, beating all the Generation of Miracles once.

Especially the core, Kagami Taiga, who caught up to Aomine, Akashi, and the others in just a few months.

The speed of his upgrade was staggering.

Just like that, not long after.

The Winter Cup preliminaries officially kicked off.

Tiandao didn't go to pay attention to the preliminaries, dragging his teammates to practice tactics in the basketball club.

Only occasionally during breaks would he watch the matches through the animation to see if anything had deviated from the plot.

The result was that there hadn't.

After the Winter Cup started, Seirin, Shutoku, and Too advanced side-by-side, winning every match easily.

It wasn't until the last round of the group stage that Too and Seirin met unexpectedly.

"It's starting."

Tiandao put down the ball in his hand and decided to go to the scene to take a look.

"Tiandao, where are you going?"

"To the match venue."

"The match between Too and Seirin? We're going too!"

The people from Kirisaki Daiichi had long since grown tired of such boring training, but they could only endure it under Tiandao's tyranny.

Now that the team leader was finally going out, they naturally had to follow.

"Then come along."

It was already winter, and the sky turned dark faster than ever before.

When Tiandao arrived at the arena, the sun was already preparing to set, and the sunlight was no longer warm, carrying a hint of chill.

They arrived just in time; both sides were doing their final warm-ups, and the match was about to start.

The audience soon noticed them.

As the new champions, the Kirisaki Daiichi players were now considered celebrities, especially in the home region of Tokyo.

"Look, it's Kirisaki Daiichi!"

"Even they came?"

"After all, it's a match between Too and Seirin, who are also Kirisaki Daiichi's main opponents; it's normal to come and watch."

"By the way, why didn't they play in the Winter Cup?"

"Are you stupid? Kirisaki Daiichi is the National Tournament champion and was directly invited to the final knockout stage."

"Eh, is it that good?"

"What's good or not? Even if they had to play the qualifiers, they would still advance; it's the same."

"No, don't you guys feel like one of them looks familiar?"

"Which one?"

"The one with the dreadlocks; it's like I've seen him during the National Tournament."

"You remembered too? I thought I had seen wrong."

"Who?"

"Haizaki Shogo; it's said he's also a player from Teikou, and his strength is super strong."

The audience discussed it among themselves.

Haizaki had at least shown his face at the National Tournament; although he was taught a harsh lesson by Akashi, his strength in beating the five generals of Rakuzan was real.

Now that he had joined Kirisaki Daiichi, Kirisaki Daiichi's hope of winning the Winter Cup was even greater.

"Coach, look over there."

"What is it?"

During the warm-up stage, the people from Seirin also noticed these uninvited guests.

Aida Riko looked in the direction the player was pointing, and her pupils instantly contracted.

She noticed Haizaki's presence immediately, and in her mind, she imagined how many more tactical choices Kirisaki Daiichi would have with an extra Haizaki, and how much stronger they would become.

Aida Riko took a deep breath, forcing herself not to think too much and to focus on the match in front of her.

If they couldn't even beat Too, what qualifications did they have to challenge Kirisaki Daiichi?

"Don't think too much; focus on playing today's match well."

She felt that her team's draw luck was really bad.

During the National Tournament, they had to fight Shutoku for a group qualifying spot.

In the Winter Cup, it was their turn to fight Too for a group first place; it was like they were locked in a struggle with the Generation of Miracles.

But she didn't stop to think that when their team's strength reached a certain level and they kept winning, they would always end up facing the Generation of Miracles; this was unavoidable.

"Do you really think Seirin can win? The opponent has Daiki."

Haizaki had asked Tiandao not long ago who would win the match, and Tiandao's answer exceeded his expectations; he actually thought Too would lose.