For Yamashita Shio, this year's Seiho was the strongest in history, and Yuuto was the best player he had ever coached.
If Seiho couldn't win the championship this year, it would prove that he was truly old and his methods no longer worked in this era.
"Defense! Watch your zones!"
"Tōō is a super-offensive team. They recruit nationwide and gather talent from all over the country every year."
"But those nouveau riches will never understand that basketball isn't a sport where money wins. Even if they have five Jordans, they won't win the championship. We cannot lose to guys like that!"
Yamashita Shio was extremely agitated.
Although the Seiho Basketball Club had a large annual budget—being an aristocratic school after all—the scholarship money they offered couldn't compare to Katsunori Harasawa's Tōō.
Just look at how comfortable Yuuto's life was now.
The scholarship money he received was at the highest level in the nation.
Previously, Yuuto said he wanted to buy a car for transport. The money he spent wasn't from gambling winnings, but from the scholarship money Seiho gave him.
But even more impressive was that after he led the team into the Nationals yesterday, the board casually found an excuse to give him a bonus.
Equivalent to 200,000 RMB (approx. 3-4 million yen).
For a high school student, this was already a huge sum.
Seiho would earn this money back dozens of times over from next year's enrollment, with interest.
In school basketball competitions like this, commercial trading of players isn't strictly allowed, so these schools often use scholarships as an excuse to stuff money into the pockets of their star players.
This phenomenon is even more pronounced in the NCAA.
In 2024, the direct revenue of the NCAA basketball tournament was 226 million US dollars. Including broadcasting, tickets, etc., the annual revenue could reach 1 billion dollars.
Therefore.
If you think these universities only need to pay scholarships and guarantee degrees for recruitment, that's pure nonsense.
The cake has grown bigger. To obtain more benefits, NCAA teams will try every means to search nationwide for geniuses to play for them.
Otherwise, who would pay Coach K's salary of nearly 10 million dollars?
Of course.
Japan's Nationals haven't reached that scale yet. Examples like Yuuto receiving a bonus for leading the team to the Nationals are rare domestically.
Not all schools are Seiho.
The revenue Seiho gains from recruiting a student is completely disproportionate to what an ordinary school like Seirin gains.
That's why Shutoku calls them "The Young Masters of Seiho."
Strayed too far.
Match time arrived.
Wearing the Seiho uniform, Yuuto led the team out of the tunnel.
Greeting them were cheers like a tsunami.
Seiho fans still gathered in the North stand, opposite the Tōō fans.
Tōō fans wore unified uniforms, looking like a dark force.
Seiho had two sets of uniforms, black and white; today they wore white.
"Go, Yu!"
Aomine was about to go say hello when he suddenly heard his childhood friend cheering for the opposing side.
This instantly ruined his mood.
There was a traitor among them!
"Isn't your charm a bit too much?" Iwamura elbowed Yuuto, teasing with a chuckle.
"Don't underestimate her. Since she chose to cheer for me, she will definitely do her best to help Tōō win the game. I know her too well."
"Eh? Is that what Momoi-san's cheering means?" Tomoki Tsugawa asked blankly.
"I don't know about other girls, but if it's her, definitely."
"What a girl with a terrible personality."
Ryuhei Kasuga looked at the smiling Momoi Satsuki and felt that if you cut her open, the inside might be black.
Except for a few people, Satsuki is indeed black on the inside.
"Stop chattering, go warm up."
Yuuto took off his jacket, and the whole team began their warm-up exercises methodically.
They ran around the half-court, jogging from the corner into the paint for layups, then running to the other corner.
Tōō did the same.
Throughout the warm-up phase, there was no communication between the two sides.
Then.
The match began.
Tōō starters wearing black jerseys: Shoichi Imayoshi, Ryo Sakurai, Yoshinori Susa, Daiki Aomine, Kosuke Wakamatsu.
Seiho starters wearing white jerseys: Ryuhei Kasuga, Tomoki Tsugawa, Yuuto, Giichi Omuro, Tsutomu Iwamura.
"I've been waiting for this day for a long time, Yuuto."
Both sides lined up at the center circle. Aomine stared at Yuuto.
A year later, he was still the same, always getting excited when encountering a strong opponent.
"The entire Generation of Miracles lost to me. What can you do alone?" Yuuto didn't back down.
"It's better without those guys getting in the way."
"Better how? Losing more thoroughly?"
"Wrong, it means crushing you thoroughly!"
The two were tit-for-tat.
People around them didn't speak, their attention focused on the two.
One side was domineering, the other like an untamable beast.
It was Ryo Sakurai again. Seeing his old captain, he enthusiastically wanted to say hello.
"...Um, Captain Yuuto..."
"If you have something to say, tell it to Tsugawa. Right now, you are my enemy, Ryo."
Hearing this, Sakurai swallowed hard instantly.
He thought his captain was as straightforward as ever—straightforward to the point of being domineering.
Truly like a male lion.
The referee checked his watch and entered the court with the basketball, coming between the two teams.
Jump ball segment.
Tsutomu Iwamura vs. Kosuke Wakamatsu.
The height difference between the two wasn't large; Wakamatsu held a 6cm advantage.
With short beige hair, his build wasn't the tank type, but his athletic ability was extremely strong.
Beep!
The whistle tore through the air, igniting the enthusiasm of the fans in the entire arena.
As the referee tossed the ball into the air, Iwamura's body suddenly twitched.
This twitch startled Wakamatsu directly; instinctively following his senses, he jumped.
Beep! The referee blew the whistle again, giving Wakamatsu a foul.
"Just like the intel Yuuto provided, he's a player who gets emotional quite easily."
Iwamura secretly admired Yuuto's intelligence analysis ability.
"Really helped a lot."
Last year, Wakamatsu wasn't a starter. He only replaced the original third-year center after advancing to the second year this year.
"Don't be so nervous, Wakamatsu. The game has just begun."
"Sorry, Senior."
Wakamatsu was impulsive, but unexpectedly respectful of his seniors.
Knowing he made a mistake, he hurriedly apologized to Imayoshi Shoichi.
And Yuuto.
He had already walked past the frontcourt casually.
Aomine consciously approached; his target for this match was Yuuto.
"Birds of a feather flock together."
"What do you mean?"
"Yu is calling you an idiot, Dai-chan."
"Shut up!"
Aomine turned his head and roared at Momoi on the sideline.
Did he really think he was an idiot?
He could hear such simple sarcasm!
...
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