Big Announcement!

As the team got back to school, there were many changes, the team got closer together, they played better as a team, even the second string improved with their skills, but of course the first string improved tremendously. 

So as practice days rolled around and one random rainy Monday came and Tanaka-sensei came to practice with Mr. Williams, as they entered Mr Williams said "Man, rainy days and Mondays always get me down"

Hideki who heard this high-fived Mr Williams and said "Hey I know that reference!" 

Of course the others may have or may not have understood Mr Williams, so Hideki told them the direct translation only.

Tanaka-sensei cleared his throat and said "Okay, as for today, we have a big announcement to make, this coming summer, we will have the Nationals Tournament." As he said that, the team started whispering amongst themselves, showing excitement to again participate in the tournament.

Then as the noise died down Tanaka-sensei said "But before that, we still have to participate in the District Qualifiers, since Tokyo has the most number of schools, it was decided by the committee that Tokyo will be represented by two schools, and since Tokyo will hold the tournament now and in the near future, Tokyo was given another slot so 3 schools will now represent Tokyo" 

Mr Williams raised his hand and said, "Uhm Tanaka-sensei, just to add. In my experience as a former Collegiate and of course former High School player in the States. I know that since there are 3 slots we can feel more relaxed, but I want all of you to still aim for the top spots so you can feel more proud of your own skills, remember that you made the Nationals with your own efforts and not by some luck."

Coach Yoshida thanked Mr. Williams for his insight and said "Yes, as Mr Williams said, let's aim for the top spot, but wait Tanaka-sensei what will be the format of the District Preliminaries for Tokyo?"

Tanaka-sensei showed the team a paper that listed the tournament rules and said "As stated in this paper, and with Mr. Williams' assistance, the District Preliminaries for Tokyo will be a 3 groups, single elimination tournament. And our school is in Group C, and due to our entry to last year's Nationals, it's as if we were fated not to encounter strong teams in our group. Notable schools such as Teiko Middle School is in Group A and the up and rising school Shoei Middle School is in Group B. I will post this in the club room for everybody's reference." 

Tanaka-sensei let the team process the information in their heads and after 5 minutes he said "So regarding the schedule, we will have a total of 8 games and 2 games per day until the Semi-Finals and Finals which will only be a day each, so everybody is guaranteed to play. Please remember 1 loss and it's 'see you next season'. And for our first official game, it's gonna be in 3 weeks starting from now."

Coach Yoshida told the team that they would begin to train for their stamina and endurance as they improved on their synergy in the first month of rigorous training. Then Coach Yoshida said, "For scouting Yamamoto-chan, you and Takahashi-chan will be in charge of scouting, you can ask the players for their help if needed, just don't hesitate to tell us." Ayumi and Megumi nodded at Coach's instructions.

Coach Yoshida said, "Okay, that's all for now, you're all dismissed."

After the meeting Ayumi saw her phone received a message and told Megumi "Sorry Takahashi-chan, I may not be able to go with you to scout other teams, as me and Daiki have to attend to family matters" Ayumi bowed and Megumi said "No, it's okay senpai, I'll ask Hideki-kun for help, he seems more knowledgeable and willing to teach about the game" Ayumi said "Oh Hideki's a great choice, sure let's ask coach"

Coach Yoshida, in short, gave them permission as this would be a big task for Hideki, and they had a fall back option of better teamwork against most teams in their group.

Megumi waited for Hideki to leave the changing room and asked him, "Hideki-kun, is it okay for you to go with me to scout on Yamabuki Middle School? Yamamoto-senpai couldn't go with me due to family reasons and coach gave us permission to scout tomorrow"

Hideki immediately agreed as he wants to help his team and this is a good chance to showcase his high Basketball IQ and told Megumi "Sure Megumi-chan, I'll go with you tomorrow after class is over, we can go out together" Megumi spaced out for a second on the words 'go out' surely her ears didn't deceive her, but she immediately recovered and said "Thank you, Hideki-kun!"

-The Next Day-

Hideki and Megumi got out of their class together to go to Yamabuki Middle School to scout and for Hideki to teach Megumi the basics of scouting. As the two got out of the school gates, Hideki told Megumi to at least bring 2 notebooks as he will teach her how to scout. 

As they walked towards the bus stop, Hideki told Megumi, "Okay Megumi-chan, the very first two steps on scouting enemy schools is having contacts on that school and researching them through newspapers and such outlets. So for Yamabuki Middle School I have here some piece of news from their school press club." Hideki gave Megumi the newspaper for her reference.

Hideki pointed out some things about Yamabuki Middle School, "So as their school press club stated, their team almost got into Nationals but failed after being defeated by Teiko Middle School in their group qualifiers last year. And they have improved on their offense, so we have to see if it was right." 

As Hideki and Megumi sat on the bus, Hideki said "So for scouting, one of the important things is the previous stat sheet of the team in every game they have participated, the latest the best. But if the gap of information is a year, don't expect it to show the same result team dynamics change in a year, but as we can see in their run last year, they're a distributed team, they do not have a focal point of scoring so everybody can score. Also it is important if you can watch their videos to understand some of their tendencies, but today we'll see it live."

Hideki rose his fingers in a peace sign and said "Second point is contact person, for example me, I have a friend who goes to Yamabuki Middle School too and is part of their cooking club, so we'll meet with her so we can be allowed to enter their school. That's why it's important to have many friends so you can ask them small favors such as these." Megumi nodded in understanding.

As they arrived at Yamabuki Middle School, Hideki met up with his friend there who was a sophomore, she was the daughter of one of Kanai's workmates, so he knew her from the cafe. So Hideki broke the ice and said "Megumi this is my friend, she's studying here so she'll guide us to where the basketball gym is and watch them."

The three got in the gym, and there are spectator seats so Hideki and Megumi were able to see how the Yamabuki Middle School plays basketball.

In the end, Hideki and Megumi finished their scouting 30 minutes before Yamabuki Middle School finished their practice and suffice to say the 2 notebooks were filled with Hideki's game knowledge and easy to understand terms.