Takeshi Jinguji was stopped by reporters at the door of the lounge for an interview. The players of Shohoku were not in a hurry to leave. They found a seat in the hall not far away and sat down, waiting for Takeshi Jinguji to finish the interview.
When Akagi Haruko saw that Jinguji Budo had actually attracted the attention of the media, she curiously watched from the side for a while, but when she saw Akagi and the others walking towards the hall, she hurriedly followed them.
"Let's go, Sakuragi, my brother and the others are coming out."
Haruko called out to Sakuragi Hanamichi behind her, but got no response. Turning her head, she found that Sakuragi Hanamichi was standing there, staring blankly at Jinguji Takeshi who was surrounded by reporters. The light in his eyes was so clear that even a fool like Haruko could see it clearly.
"Sakuragi?" Haruko walked over and raised her head slightly, looking at Sakuragi Hanamichi's face. It was the first time she saw such an expression on Sakuragi Hanamichi's face, hope and desire. At this moment, Sakuragi Hanamichi exuded an inexplicable charm.
"I've made up my mind!"
Suddenly, Sakuragi Hanamichi, who had been silent for a long time, uttered a word.
"What?"
"What was decided?"
Mito Yohei, Takamiya Nozomi and others suddenly heard what Sakuragi Hanamichi said, and gathered around Sakuragi Hanamichi, looking at him in confusion. As Sakuragi Hanamichi's best friends, Mito Yohei, Takamiya Nozomi and others knew Sakuragi Hanamichi's character very well. This kid, I'm afraid... .
"I want to be a real athlete. I want to be a player like Budo-ge!"
"And then.....accept interviews from the media!"
Sakuragi Hanamichi suddenly clenched his fists and said this with a solemn oath. Mito Yohei and the others showed an expression of "as expected" and looked at each other, full of helplessness.
"Hey~ Hanamichi, forget it. You'll never be a real athlete."
"We all know that your enthusiasm is only for three minutes. It's impossible, impossible~"
Takamiya Nozomi was the first to start mocking, shaking his fat hand quickly, without noticing that Sakuragi's face had turned a little unfriendly when he heard what he said.
"Yes! Yes! Hanamichi, you are just in a spur of the moment situation. Even if you are playing basketball now, you can't play for more than a few months."
“I guess… .Hehehehehe!
!”
Yuji Ohkusu also continued what Nozomi Takamiya said, and said with a smile. At the end, Yuji Ohkusu glanced at Haruko Akagi without leaving a trace and laughed.
Yuji Ohkusu's words were a bit incoherent, but the members of the Sakuragi Army understood Yuji Ohkusu's meaning at the first moment.
The reason why Sakuragi Hanamichi plays basketball is entirely because of Akagi Haruko. They all know that Sakuragi Hanamichi is interested in Akagi Haruko and wants to attract Haruko's attention and win her heart by playing basketball.
But the Sakuragi Army is not optimistic that Sakuragi Hanamichi can catch up with Akagi Haruko. A gentle and beautiful girl like Haruko is definitely very popular. No one will get the chance to be with a fool like Sakuragi Hanamichi. When Haruko falls in love with someone else, will Sakuragi Hanamichi still play basketball
Maybe, but by that time, Sakuragi Hanamichi’s “playing basketball” might not be the same as playing basketball in the conventional sense.
How could it be possible for Sakuragi Hanamichi, who had impure intentions, to become a player like Jinguji Budou? !
The people in the Sakuragi Army have known Takeshi Jinguji for a long time. Everyone knows how much time Takeshi Jinguji has spent on basketball and how terrifying his training is. Although Sakuragi Hanamichi is practicing basketball every day, the amount of practice he does is not even comparable to that of Takeshi Jinguji's toes.
"Hanamichi, you should give up your idea as soon as possible."
"But, becoming an athlete and getting interviewed won't work, but Hanamichi, you can find another way!"
"Becoming a nationally famous fool, there will definitely be reporters coming to interview you~"
"Ha ha ha ha!"
Takamiya Nozomi didn't notice at all how dark Sakuragi Hanamichi's face had become. He just kept talking and laughing to himself. He thought his words would draw unanimous approval from his friends, but he suddenly found that Mito Yohei, Noma and others who were originally standing beside him and surrounding Sakuragi had already distanced themselves from him by several meters.
"Why did you walk so far?" Takamiya looked confused and puzzled. What he didn't notice was that Sakuragi Hanamichi had appeared behind him with a dark face, his eyes fixed on Takamiya's back.
"There's murderous intent!" Takamiya suddenly felt a chill on his back for some reason. Just as he was about to turn around, Sakuragi Hanamichi's strong arms had already grabbed his neck.
"Damn you! How dare you laugh at me!"
"Go to hell, bastard!" Sakuragi Hanamichi shouted with gritted teeth, pinching Takamiya's arm tighter and tighter.
"Well!
”
"You ungrateful guys, come and help me!"
“I’m going to… die!”
Takamiya Nozomi was suddenly grabbed by the neck by Sakuragi. He struggled hard but couldn't get free. He could only look at Mito Yohei and others, but found that Yohei was pretending to pick his earwax, while Noma turned his head to look at the ceiling, pretending not to see it. As for Ohkusu Yuji, he had disappeared at this moment.
"Really~ How can you say that about Sakuragi-kun?"
"Sakuragi-kun, I believe you can become a real basketball player, you must work hard!"
Just when Takamiya Nozomi was about to roll her eyes, Akagi Haruko's gentle voice suddenly rang in Sakuragi Hanamichi's ears. Hearing this, Sakuragi Hanamichi's ears perked up, and he immediately loosened his arms that were holding Takamiya, and quickly came in front of Haruko, smiled and nodded heavily, and swore:
"Haruko~Don't worry, I will definitely become a real basketball star!
”
In front of Haruko, Sakuragi Hanamichi really looked like a good kid, with a simple and honest look on his face, completely different from before. Takamiya Nozomi was kneeling in the corner, rubbing his throat and coughing non-stop.
"I'm saved!" Takamiya breathed in the air in big gulps, feeling thankful. And until this moment, Mito Yohei and others came to his side, looking at Takamiya with a smile.
"Who told you not to read people's faces? You deserve it, hahaha!"
Mito was somewhat gloating and laughed at Takamiya. At the end of the corridor, Ohkusu Yuji poked his head out and saw Sakuragi Hanamichi talking to Haruko with a smile on his face. He also saw Takamiya Nozomi kneeling in the corner, having escaped. He couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, then walked out from the shadows whistling and mixed in with the Sakuragi Army and the others.
While Sakuragi and the others were playing around, Jinguji Budou had already finished the interview.
All the reporters have left by now. Everyone was smiling as they left. It can be seen that they gained a lot from this interview. Judging from their looks, they should have a clue about the headlines in tomorrow's newspapers.
"You, Yingmu, why are you guys here?"
"Didn't you watch the game at the stadium?"
After finishing the interview, Takeshi Jinguji was about to meet up with the Shohoku players. He spotted Sakuragi and the others in the distance in the corridor, so he walked over and asked curiously.
"Hey! Jinguji-senpai, are you done with your interview?"
"Congratulations, Jinguji-senpai, congratulations to Shohoku for advancing to the quarterfinals, and congratulations on breaking the tournament's scoring record!"
Akagi Haruko looked over and saw that it was Jinguji Takenori. She immediately smiled and congratulated him. Jinguji Takenori and her brother Akagi Takenori were teammates. And because of Sakuragi Hanamichi, Haruko was also familiar with Jinguji Takenori. She greeted him directly and said congratulations.
"Brother Wudao, your performance on the court is really great. Can you teach me your shooting?"
"I also hope that I can be as unbeatable as you on the court!"
Sakuragi Hanamichi was not at all shy in front of Takeshi. He walked up to Takeshi happily and without even a word of congratulations, he directly expressed his desire to learn shooting.
"Teach you? Of course there is no problem. As for whether you will be invincible after learning, I can't guarantee it."
"If you want to be like me, you need to put in a lot of effort. It's very difficult!"
Wudao smiled and patted Sakuragi's shoulder, then put his arm around Sakuragi and walked towards the hall.
"I am not afraid of hardship. As long as I can learn, I should make an effort!"
Sakuragi Hanamichi said loudly, looking fearless. Wudao also felt that Sakuragi Hanamichi seemed to be more enthusiastic than before, and even the words he said were a bit like a human being... .
"You... How could such words come out of this kid's mouth? This shouldn't be the case."
"If it was this kid, he would probably say something like 'I'm a genius, it's just shooting, right? As long as Budo teaches me, I can learn it right away!'..."
Wudao looked at Sakuragi Hanamichi's face suspiciously, and then looked at Mito Yohei and others. Although he didn't know what had happened, Wudao was sure that there must be a reason for Sakuragi's change.
What he didn't know was that the trigger was actually himself.
Takeshi Jinguji brought Sakuragi Hanamichi and others to meet up with the Shohoku people. The group did not stay in the hall for too long. Haruko chatted with Akagi Takenori for a few words and then left. She did not choose to act with the Shohoku people. Sakuragi Hanamichi also followed Haruko happily. As for Yohei and others, they went wherever Sakuragi went.
After parting with Sakuragi and others, the Xiangbei team returned to the stands to watch the next game.
Today is the round of 16, with a total of 8 games.
The national competition has reached this point. There are no weak teams anymore. All the participating teams are very capable. Therefore, today's game will be much more exciting than the previous few days.
As the competition progressed, the list of the top eight in the country was officially released.
In this national competition, the most dazzling team is undoubtedly Kanagawa Prefecture. Ryonan High School and Shohoku High School, which represented Kanagawa Prefecture in the national competition, both advanced to the top eight. Moreover, Ryonan defeated the previous overlord Sanno Industrial, and Shohoku High School crushed Aiwa, a veteran national top eight team.
The fact that Xiangbei and Ryonan were able to advance is totally without any water in the water; they achieved it through their strength.
At the same time, the ratings of Xiangbei and Ryonan were also adjusted from the B-level, which was not up to the standard, to the AA level. However, this adjustment has not yet been officially announced through a magazine, but is only being discussed and circulated among journalists.
In addition to Ryonan and Shohoku, the other six teams are Roan High School in Kyoto, Daiei Gakuin in Osaka, Hakata University of Commerce in Fukuoka, Kazami High School in Gunma, Naho Industry in Aichi Prefecture, and Kakuzuru High School in Kagawa Prefecture.
Among them, Kyoto's Loan, Fukuoka's Hakata, and Aichi's Meiho Industry, these three schools are all old and strong teams. They have participated in national competitions in previous years and won prizes. Loan and Hakata have both won runner-up and third place in recent years. The strength of the two teams is not much different. They are both top teams. In previous years, they were only slightly inferior to Sanno Industry.
As for Meipeng Industry, their best result in the national competition was the top 8. Their strength this year is not bad, but their advancement to the top 8 is actually also due to luck, after all, they were not placed in the "group of death".
Kazami High School and Kakuzuru High School were both high schools that were at the bottom of the national competition. They were able to advance to the quarterfinals this year thanks to their good luck in the group draw.
This year's list of the top eight is very different from last year. Previous top eight regulars, such as Aiwa Academy and Touoma High School, did not even make it to the top eight this year. The previous champion Sanno Industrial was eliminated by Ryonan High School early on. Even Kainan University Affiliated School in Kanagawa Prefecture, a regular top eight, did not even have the opportunity to attend the national competition.
Everyone knows that the biggest variable in this year's national competition lies in the two teams in Kanagawa Prefecture.
...
The next morning.
It was getting light.
Jinguji Takeshi's figure was no longer on his bed.
"Tap... tap... tap... tap..."
In the hotel's gym, a tall figure was running on a treadmill. The morning light shone into the room through the window, leaving a bright shadow on the ground.
"Hu...Hu..."
Takeshi Jinguji was jogging with a sweat towel covering his head. The vest he was wearing was already soaked with sweat, but his breathing was not only rhythmic but also powerful. From Takeshi's condition, it could be seen that although he sweated a lot, his physical strength was still very abundant.
"Finally... I get to fight that guy again."
"Although I had a lot of ball possession and a lot of singles in yesterday's game, that level of defense didn't consume much of my energy at all."
"After a night of rest, I have adjusted my condition to the best."
"The other players of Xiangbei didn't play much in yesterday's game either. They all have plenty of energy."
"We, Xiangbei, can face today's game with the strongest attitude!"
"I definitely don't want to lose again this time!"
After a long time, Jinguji Budo stopped the treadmill, grabbed the sweat towel covering his head, wiped the sweat off his face, walked silently to the window and looked out.
The morning light fell on Jinguji Takeshi's body, causing the crystal beads of sweat on his body to reflect colorful light.
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... .