Chapter 55: National Tournament Grouping

"There are about four thousand junior high teams in the country." Bai Jin Yongzhi explained the simple 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 opportunity 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 teams to play for.

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

In other words, a junior high student has at most 3 opportunities to enter the National Tournament and compete for the championship.

That is why in Slam Dunk, Kogure Kiminobu would shed tears of emotion when he saw the team break into the National Tournament, and the Ryonan players who were regretfully eliminated would be unable to control their tears.

It is really because the competition for the National Tournament every year is very fierce and cruel.

Bai Jin Yongzhi continued, "Among them, our Tokyo region is the region with the fiercest competition of all."

"The selection tournament will be grouped, with a total of 4 groups, and only the top of the group is qualified to break into the final round-robin."

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

It was no different from what he had learned.

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

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

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

Because he discovered that the camera was pointed here.

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

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

'I understand.'

'What do you understand again?'

'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 result in the final round-robin!"

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

Bai Jin Yongzhi heard this and asked Momoi Satsuki to distribute the already printed materials to everyone.

It even 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 all seeded teams. For example, we Teikou are a 5-star team."

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

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

It wasn't that he was conceited; with his strength, he was qualified to play as a starter on any team.

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

Among the first-year students, the only ones qualified to serve as starters were Murasakibara and Tiandao.

They were one inside and one outside, the defensive core of Teikou today.

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

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

Tiandao was a bit more normal, relatively more normal!

He was watching the barrage and didn't pay much attention to the content of the meeting; he looked like he was zoning out.

"Why is it these two guys?" Midorima retracted his four eyes unhappily.

Do your best, and leave the rest to fate!

This was his life creed.

He was 100% serious about matches and basketball; even his shooting fingers would be wrapped in bandages, he cared for them frequently, and he even had strict requirements for the length of his nails.

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

Compared to those two, Aomine, this 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 illusion." Midorima adjusted his glasses and refused 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.

There were more or less problems with their personalities, but in terms of talent, they were absolutely not below him!

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

The prestige of this club president was still very high; if they didn't listen, they would be like Tiandao, being beaten all day long!

"Don't consider the round-robin yet; every year in the National Tournament, many dark horses emerge."

"Even for 5-star teams, it's common to be upset and eliminated, so naturally, we Teikou must also be careful."

Bai Jin Yongzhi didn't talk nonsense and pressed the remote control, making everyone focus on the projector.

It showed several teams that he considered to be the biggest obstacles for Teikou to advance to the National Tournament.

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

There was no room for error; if you lose one match, you have to go home, so there was no need to worry so much about the round-robin.

The first one, Kaisei Junior High.

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

Momoi Satsuki gave them a 4-star rating.

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

The second one, Musashi Junior High.

Established in 1922, it is also an all-male school, and the school style emphasizes self-discipline very much; last year, they also broke into the final round-robin.

There were no star players in the team, they pursued team supremacy, it was a team composed entirely of laborers, famous for their iron-blooded defense.

The team's strength was 4.5 stars.

The advantage of this type of laborer-style team is that everyone is a soldier, they are of one mind, and they are united.

The disadvantage is that they lack powerful players who can make the final decision.

The third one, Kaicho Junior High.

A high-level private institution that emphasizes internationalization; players of different skin colors from Europe and America often appear in the team.

Unlike the laborer team like Musashi Junior High, this team plays the superstar player model.

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

The team's strength was 5 stars.

There are a total of 7 5-star teams in Tokyo, and as a result, there are 2 in Group C where Teikou is located.

It's no wonder everyone's expression was so solemn; this was a death group in the true sense. ===== CHAPTER 57 =====