Chapter 3__: Junior High School (3)
AN__: Since I don't think junior high school teams play the Winter Cup, I will create one only for the prefecture. The cup will only be for schools in Tokyo, and each region will have its winter cup.
Also, in my mind, this chapter lacks something, but I can't put my hand on it. If you think of anyways I could improve for future chapters, please tell me in the comments.
Thank you!
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Half a month later. The 6th of November 2014.
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There are three major tournaments in Junior High School and High School. Three competitions that attract the attention of every basketball enthusiast in the country. Those tournaments are the summer Inter-high, the autumn Nationals, and the Winter Cup.
Although Basketball is not as famous as baseball and football in Japan, it's quickly catching up to the two sports in popularity. We can even say that they are on equal footing, making these competitions more influential as they are all broadcasted on TV, the semi-finals and finals, particularly on national TV.
In this case, the Winter Cup can be considered the least significant tournament of the three. However, due to various reasons, it's catching to the other two.
The Winter Cup, the National High School Basketball Championship Tournament, is a tournament that takes place during the winter and is held at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium. It is a tournament for high school and junior high school basketball teams. Before the actual Winter Cup, preliminaries are held in each prefecture. Only two teams can represent a prefecture. Only the top 8 teams from the Interhigh can participate in the Winter Cup preliminaries.
(Source__: https://kurokonobasuke.fandom.com/wiki/Winter_Cup)
However, for junior high school teams, there will be 64 teams participating. Those teams will be filtered from 64 to 16, and then separated into four groups of 4. In those groups, teams would play each other, and the winner of each group would qualify for the semi-finals. Although the Winter Cup is not as significant as the Inter-high or the Nationals for junior high school players, it still attracts attention from the public.
Looking at the tournament table on the wall near the school's basketball gym, Shinji sighed in relief. 'Thankfully, we won't meet Teiko before the groupings.' Shinji looked at the date and noticed that their first game would be tomorrow against Naoki Junior High.
'Well, the coach told us to be careful. Let's try not to lose before meeting Teiko, then!' Thought Shinji, a confident smile on his face as he biked home. The team finished training a while ago, and he's the only one left. He wanted to practice his three-pointer a little more to increase his confidence.
"Basketball is all about confidence." He said, happily biking home.
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"Tomorrow is your first game in the Winter Cup. Do you want us to come to watch? It's a Saturday, so we have time." Asked Akane as the family of four ate dinner together.
Hearing that question, Shinji's heart warmed up. However, he refused her suggestion. "If you have to watch me play, it has to be in the semi-finals, not the preliminaries. Before that, please don't come to the games." Shinji answered, confident that their team would make it to the semi-finals. At least, that's what it looks like to the others.
Tsuji smiled after hearing his son's answer. "Men gotta have confidence in themselves." He said, his smile getting broader. "However, you will be punished if you don't reach the semi-finals." He added, bringing another wave of pressure onto Shinji's shoulders. What Tsuji hates the most are people who talk big but don't have the skill to back it up. He doesn't want his offspring to be like that. That's why he added that condition.
However, looking at the unfazed Shinji, Tsuji became proud. 'He finally grew up!' He thought before continuing his dinner and letting the two women of the family continue the conversation while Shinji and he listened, barely interjecting.
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"Is everybody here?" Asked Yuuki Junior High's coach, Noburu Kimura, as the school bus driver urged them to hurry up.
"Yes, sir!" The players responded, prompting Kimura to smile and continue his speech. "Alright! We will play the first preliminary game at Naoki Junior High's home field. Are you ready to snatch the victory from them and advance to the next round?" He asked, deliberately increasing his voice, forcing the players to respond with enthusiastic, loud voices.
"Yes, sir!" Hearing the player's answer, he quickly continued.
"Who are we?"
"Yuuki Junior High!"
"What's our goal?"
"The finals!"
"Will we make it?"
"For sure!"
"Come on!"
*Excited yelling sounds*
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Holding the ball at the top of the key, Hideki looked around the court, trying to find which teammate he should pass the ball to. It was already the fourth quarter, and Yuuki Junior High led by 32 points. Looking at the scoreboard, Hideki couldn't help shaking his head. This was the first time he played such an easy game.
_____ Away:78 : 46:Home _____
With more than 7 minutes remaining in the game, they already had such an enormous lead, shocking Hideki, even though he's one of the main culprits.
Looking at his teammate while dribbling the ball, he couldn't help sighing again. 'Having scorers like Shinji and Mitobe is so great. I wish they could come to Senshinkan High with me.' He lamented that he wouldn't play with them after this tournament. So, he decided to enjoy his time with these two powerful teammates.
Asking for a screen from Mitobe, Hideki drove past the defender and approached the basket. However, as soon as someone came to help defend, he threw the ball toward Shinji in the corner, who had scored 27 points in this game.
As soon as he caught the ball, Shinji noticed a player quickly running to him, trying to stop him from shooting. Smiling, he suddenly drove past his defender, running straight to the basket. Using his speed and the unstable footing of the defender to his advantage, he smoothly approached the basket, attracting the opposite PF to help defend. However, he had left Mitobe, who scored 19 points, open.
*Boom*
A powerful dunk was demonstrated after catching the pass from Shinji. It could be seen that Mitobe's athletic ability has improved a lot. Although he spent a lot of energy performing that dunk, he knew he would come out of the game after this possession. So, he wanted to end his match in a flashy manner.
*Sound of someone blowing a whistle*
Hearing the whistle, Naoki junior high's coach asked for a time-out, making Hideki, Mitobe, and Shinji sigh. Of course, they wanted to continue playing. It's not every day that you would meet weak teams like this, especially in junior high school, where the team levels are around the same.
However, they still got out of the game, the horrified eyes of Naoki junior High players following them.
As a traditionally strong team, Yuuki Junior High is incredibly respected in the basketball junior high circle. Until this year's inter-high, where they met Teiko, they always made it to the semi-finals of any competition in the prefecture. Thus, many high-school head coaches come to see their games.
In the stands that could accommodate around a thousand people, most spectators had left the game at the start of the third quarter, knowing that their home team would not have a chance to win. However, some people stayed. Shun Izuki and Jumpei Hyuga were one of them.
Having to play their first game against Teiko Junior High tomorrow, they came to see the abilities of a strong team while thinking of counter-measures against them. However, they were disappointed as they couldn't think of good strategies while watching the game. 'Against a strong team, no amount of tactics can help you take them on.' They thought, looking at Mitobe, Shinji, and Hideki as if they were monsters.
Noticing the silence, Izuki looked at his best friend and asked. "Do you think they have a chance against a team like Teiko?" Hearing that question, Hyuga looked pensive but shook his head after a while.
"Those three players could put up a good fight against their direct opponents. However, the rest will be obliterated. They would not lose as badly as in the inter-high preliminaries, but I don't see them winning." Analyzed Hyuga, sighing as he silently compared the strength of Yuuki Junior High and their team.
Izuki nodded after he heard his friend's analysis. However, he still felt like they were underestimating this team. "I think the number 10 isn't going all out. He might bring some serious problems to Teiko if that's the case." Stated Izuki, pointing at Shinji, who was happily talking with his coach.
Hyuga looked at the energetic Shinji and slightly shook his head. 'I need to stop comparing myself to others. I may lose confidence otherwise.' He thought, grabbing his bag, ready to exit the gymnasium. He didn't want to lose every game he played in his senior year. He wanted to win. He had to win, even if his opponent was the overlord of the nation. Izuki, noticing the determined look in his friend's eyes, smiled and followed him out of the gym, not knowing that Shinji had been paying attention to them.
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"Coach, what do you think about coaching a high-school team?" Suddenly asked Shinji as the game neared its end. When both teams took their starters out, the score didn't shorten as everyone thought. It increased to 37 points, showing the deepness of Yuuki Junior High's team.
'Even the substitutes are strong.' Thought the spectators as they dejectedly looked at the score. However, that was none of Shinji's concern as he started his poaching operation. Although he liked Riko Aida, he wanted to be coached by a decent, official, and professional coach like Noburu Kimura. A team without a respectable coach can't go anywhere unless they have an otherworldly genius and a lot of plot armor. (This is Seirin's case, in my opinion.)
Looking at Kimura's pensive expression, Shinji sighed. 'Well, at least he's thinking about it. Someone as ambitious as him wouldn't be satisfied with only being a junior high coach.' Thought Shinji, waiting for the man to answer.
"I will take it if I have the chance to." Responded Kimura, smiling as he looked at Shinji. "I was always fascinated by the coaching profession while playing professionally. That's why I came to Yuuki Junior High to experience that feeling after retiring. However, if I see the opportunity to upgrade to a higher level, I would certainly do it." Explained Kimura, looking back at the court while Shinji silently yelled in excitement.
'It looks like Seirin will have a good coach. I can't wait until next year. We're undoubtedly going to enter the nationals.' Thought Shinji before continuing his discussion with coach Kimura, trying to get close to him. Having more friends is a good thing in the sports industry. The more friends you have, the more options you will have.