Its Starting

The preliminaries in Tokyo were divided into two blocks, so the match schedule was slightly different, and the preliminaries lasted slightly longer than preliminaries in other prefectures.

This year's schedule in Tokyo was.

Day 1: Block A, Rounds 1 and 2. (Seeded teams compete in Round 2).

Day 2: Block B, Rounds 1 and 2. (Seeded teams compete in Round 2).

Block A; Round 3 and Semifinals on Day 3.

Day 4 consists of Block B, Round 4 and Semifinals.

Day 5 is a rest day.

Finals for both Blocks on Day 6.

Haranishi Middle School was in Block B, whereas Kamiya Middle School was in Block A.

Fukushima Middle School, Japan's fourth-ranked middle school, was also included in Block A and seeded. If they continue to win, they will meet Kamiya Middle School in the final if the latter makes it to the finals.

Hiro was dismayed when he saw the Block A bracket and saw that he would play against Fukushima middle in the finals, and was extremely happy even though as well he realised he wouldn't be able to meet Haranishi Middle in the preliminaries.

Every year, the Tokyo Metropolitan Arena hosted the Tokyo preliminaries. The games were frequently attended by parents, classmates from school, or a few die-hard fans who enjoyed watching Middle School basketball.

Basketball was most popular in Japan at the high school and college levels, and middle school players lacked the skill or physicality to play at an entertaining enough level for people to watch.

...

(Day 1 on the Tokyo Preliminaries.)

The Kamiya Middle School basketball team entered the Tokyo Metropolitan Arena and instantly drew a lot of attention to themselves.

Kamiya Basketball Team had three strings, which meant there were a lot of people present, and the majority of them came to support and cheer on their first-string squad.

They were wearing in grey and black tracksuits, and their sheer number seemed intimidating.

Combine that with the fact that they were the defending National champions, and their presence was unmistakable.

They had arrived in the middle of the first round of games. The first-team starters and reserves headed to the locker room, while the remainder of the team went to the gallery of their allocated court.

Hiro trailed them following the coach's briefing.

The winner of the Round 1 game between Musashi Middle School and Zeno Academy faced them in their first encounter.

Musashi Middle School appeared to be winning by a comfortable margin, with a fifteen-point lead. Given that middle school games had a lower point average, fifteen points was a lot.

Hiro examined the pamphlet, which listed the names, positions, and heights of all the players on each side. These brochures were distributed so that viewers might learn the names of their favourite players before watching the game.

"Musashi and Zeno; neither team has any tall players. Their speed or talents aren't particularly spectacular, but Musashi has the advantage because they successfully acquired momentum from the start of the contest and rode it all the way to the second half!!" Hiro exclaimed aloud.

"I'm pretty sure we could beat both of them if the coach opted to play with the second-string team, but that's not going to happen!" Hiro smiled hesitantly, as he added.

Hiro opted to play defensively in the forthcoming game. His seniors and teammates had more than enough firepower to outscore them, and if he tightened up on defense, they'd never lose the upper hand.

Hiro recognized that high-scoring games were more thrilling overall, but he also knew that the crowd roared the loudest when a goal attempt was blocked, and preventing the opposition from scoring added far more pressure than scoring more than them.

The result was Musashi won the game with 67-58.

...

Hiro returned to the locker room, but the thought continued to pass through his mind. "Round 1 was won by Musashi Middle School. We'll be playing against them!" Hiro spoke aloud.

"Really!? What was the final score?" Sano Kojiro inquired.

Hiro answered with a smile, "hmm! 67 to 58 "in a state of adrenaline

"How did they play?" Utada inquired as he noticed.

Hiro said, looking up at the ceiling "Musashi's players aren't particularly tall, and their skills are mediocre. We would win even if we sent out the second-string roster." with a smile.

"Oh my, shall we send them out for amusement?" Chiba inquired, laughing loudly.

The Coach stood up, as the team were wrapping up their conversation "No, you'll be the ones playing. I want you to give it your all regardless of who your opponents are. remember!You

Don't undervalue anyone!" in a melancholy tone

When he said, "Yes, Coach!" the team reacted in unison.

Just as the Coach went near the locker room to attend to some business.

With a smile, Hiro turned and said, "Captain, today I want to play more defensively and try to disturb their collaboration."

"Cocky! aren't ya Hiro!" As he smiled, the Coach said.

"Alright," Chiba says, "but go on offence if the scenario calls for it." he said with a smile.

Hiro answered with a smile, "Yes, exactly! Today, Arai-san, you should also try some blocking."

Arai Goro nodded as he grinned.

The players then joked around, and any remaining nervousness about the season's opening game dissipated.

"Try anything, but it must work efficiently. I'll be back!" Coach walked out of the room.

"Yes!"

....

After a few minutes, the Coach entered, saying, "Come one, it's time for the warmup."

Hiro thought Kamiya's warmup routine was excellent. It was divided into three sections, the first of which was to warm up the body.

Hiro performed jump rope variants, leg swings, reaches, minibands, single-leg squats, hurdle walk, rapid skip, backward to forward and forward to backward runs.

The second phase consisted of skill drills, including as two-line layup and shooting drills, to ensure that players were comfortable at the start of the game.

The final game was a quick 1vs1 to get the mind going.

All of this took thirty minutes and helped Hiro focus and prepare for the battle, and it was a form of a routine that Hiro enjoyed performing.

"Okay, I'm feeling fine and ready. All that remains is for us to defeat Musashi, and my first middle school competition would be ideal!" Hiro thought to himself as he grinned faintly and anticipated the start of the game.