The hotel where Takeishi Junior High School was resting was only a dozen minutes away from the Tokyo Gymnasium. Early in the morning, the players of Takeishi Junior High School boarded the bus to the gymnasium.
There are a total of fifty-nine teams participating in the national competition, divided into four large groups, ABCD. At the same time, each large group is divided into two small groups for competition, and each group has 7-8 teams.
Generally speaking, there will be two seeded teams in a large group. The top eight teams in previous years are usually the seeded teams of this year. Often, these teams have a bye in the first round. If the luck of the draw is bad, the average team will meet the seeded team after passing the first round.
However, Takeishi Junior High School was luckier. In the second round, they did not meet a seeded team, but instead faced another team that participated in the first round.
In the second game, Takeishi Junior High School played against a team from Kagawa Prefecture. The opponent was also entering the national competition for the first time and was not very famous.
However, when the players of Takeishi Junior High School arrived at the stadium, the stands were still full of spectators. However, most of these spectators were not here to watch the games of schools like Takeishi Junior High School. Today was the second day of the national competition, and all the seeded teams had games today. Most people came to watch those teams play.
Takeishi's match is the second one of the day. Before them, their group will play a match first. The winning team will face Takeishi's group-qualifying team in the round of 16.
So after arriving at the stadium, Anxi Zhengyi and his team found a seat in the stands and sat down. In the stadium, two teams were warming up.
Soon, Wu Dao was attracted by a handsome young man who was doing a layup in the court. It was because Wu Dao took a second look at the other person in the crowd.
He was a handsome young man wearing a white No. 12 jersey, with short, disheveled hair and fair skin. After the layup, he stood under the basket and passed the ball to his teammates. His every move exuded a calm leadership aura.
Because of the distance, Wudao couldn't estimate the opponent's height accurately, but comparing the height of the opponent standing under the basket after the layup, the opponent's height was around 175cm, which was considered average in the junior high school team.
The reason why Wudao noticed the other person among so many people was mainly because of his solid muscles.
Although it was a junior high school match, the No. 12 player on the court had muscles far beyond his peers. The loose jersey could not hide his body at all. Such physical conditions made Wudao subconsciously think of Shinomiya Tano.
In junior high school, most players have the same body type as Takeshi and Mitsui Shou, thin, with muscles but not obvious. Only a few forwards have exaggerated tendon meat, but they are also very rare, so when Takeshi saw the No. 12 of the white team, he immediately fell in love with him.
"Hey, Takeshi, what are you looking at?" Mitsui Hisashi was sitting next to Takeshi Jinguji. He noticed that Takeshi was staring at someone on the court. He followed Takeshi's gaze, but didn't notice anything unusual, so he asked in confusion.
"Xiao San, have you seen the No. 12 on the white team? His muscles and body shape make him look like a smaller version of Shigong Tianye."
"Do you know who that person is?"
Jinguji Budo pointed at the No. 12 player of the white team on the court and asked Mitsui Hisashi beside him.
"Hehe, did you notice that?"
"That white team is the seeded team in our group, Hokkaido Iwasui Junior High School."
"Iwasui Middle School ranked fourth in the country last year. The number twelve is called Maki Shinichi and is the starting guard for Iwasui."
“He was only a freshman last year, but he averaged 16 points and seven assists per game. He was an opponent that should not be underestimated.”
It was not Mitsui Shou who answered Budo's question, but the coach sitting on the other side of Budo, Anzai Zhengyi. Researching opponents was his job as a coach. He had studied all the noteworthy opponents in Group C where Takeishi Junior High School was. How could he not study the fourth place in the country last year
"Maki Shinichi? That fair-skinned boy is called Maki Shinichi?"
Jinguji Budo asked in surprise, with a somewhat surprised expression on his face. He was too familiar with the name Maki Shinichi, but the young man who was passing the ball to his teammates under the basket could not be overlapped with the figure of the middle-aged man in Budo's mind.
The difference is really too huge.
"What's wrong? Are you making a fuss? Do you know him?" Anxi Zhengyi glanced at Wudao, somewhat puzzled.
"Uh... I've heard of him before, but this is the first time I see him. I didn't expect he looks like this." Wu Dao shook his head and said perfunctorily, then leaned forward slightly and looked carefully at the boy No. 12 of the White Team.
"I didn't expect it. I really didn't expect it."
"This handsome boy with thick eyebrows and big eyes is actually the first repeater in SD. His skin is so white, he probably hasn't started surfing yet."
"I don't know how good his skills are... If he plays against Xiao San... ..."
Jinguji Budo looked for a while and suddenly turned his head to look at Mitsui Shou, and a strong curiosity suddenly surged in his heart.
In the past, when he browsed the SD forum, he would always see people discussing whether Mukusan could compete with Maki Shinichi. Wudao didn't know what it would be like when the two faced off in the third year of high school, but now, Wudao has the opportunity to see Mitsui Shou and Maki Shinichi face off.
Of course, the prerequisite is that Iwasui Junior High School can win this game, and Takeishi Junior High School can also win the next game. Only in this way will Takeishi have the opportunity to compete with Iwasui.
"What are you looking at?" Mitsui Shou felt Wudao's gaze and turned his head and asked in confusion.
"Nothing, I just want to see who will win if you play against that No. 12."
Wu Dao grinned, his eyes full of anticipation.
"Is there any need to think about it? How could I possibly lose?" Mitsui Shou curled his lips and said disdainfully. But even though he said this, his eyes were looking seriously at the young man on the court, and he sat up slightly straighter.
Although Mitsui Shou said that he couldn't lose, he was actually attracted to Maki Shinichi.
On the court, the referee had already walked to the center of the court and blew the whistle. The two teams returned to the rest area to make final adjustments, and then began to take their positions in the center circle at the referee's signal.
The team playing against Iwasui Junior High School was Seiei Junior High School from Tottori Prefecture. Like Takeishi, this was the first time they entered the national tournament this year and made it past the first round.
The mobility of players in junior high school basketball teams is relatively high. Generally speaking, except for traditional basketball powerhouses that will consolidate their team's position through enrollment, most schools tend to be stronger one year and weaker the next. Therefore, every year, there will be new faces entering the national competition.
Although there are many new teams entering the national competition, looking at past years, the top eight teams in the country rarely change, and the old strong teams remain strong every year.
On the court, the players from Yanshui Middle School and Shirong Middle School took their positions in the center circle. At first glance, the average height of the players from Yanshui Middle School was much higher than that of the players from Shirong.
Of the two centers who jumped the ball in the center circle, the one played by Yanshui was estimated to be over 190cm tall, while the young man who was facing that player was only a little over 180cm tall, obviously half a head shorter.
The game hasn't even started yet, but the morale of Shirong Middle School has already been crushed.
“It wasn’t very obvious during the warm-up, but once the two teams stood in the center circle, it was very obvious.”
"Shirong's average height is too short. If there are no particularly strong players, this game will be over before it even starts."
Anxi Zhengyi folded his hands over his chest and whispered, his expression full of sadness.
He was not worried about Shirong Middle School, he was worried about his Takeishi Middle School. Their opponent today was not strong, and Anzai Zhengyi was confident in his team. But after the victory, there was a high probability that they would meet Yanshui Middle School.
In terms of average height, Takeishi is actually not as good as Iwasui. At least in the two positions of center and power forward, Takeishi has absolutely no advantage.
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