Toyotama's bench.
The atmosphere here was filled with sorrow and gloom, almost suffocating in its heaviness.
Even Kishimoto Minori, who usually had a fiery temper, closed his mouth obediently, no longer speaking.
The other players were no better, their eyes vacant, expressions dull, and their gazes unfocused. A mixture of dejection, despair, and unwillingness filled the air.
Before the match, they never imagined they would be pushed to this point by a team that was just a newcomer to the national tournament.
They had been crushed from start to finish.
They attacked, defended, coordinated, and even used various tactics in secret.
But no matter what they did, they could never break through Shohoku's defense.
At this moment, the heart of Toyotama's team finally cracked.
27 points!
27 points, almost a 30-point gap. It was almost impossible to close the gap now.
Looking at the silent Toyotama players.
Coach Kanehira stood up and walked to them. After a moment's hesitation, he spoke, "What's going on with you all? The team I know isn't this fragile. So what if we're behind by a big margin? If we give it our all, even if we lose, we won't regret it."
Heh...
Kishimoto Minori snorted dismissively, saying, "You make it sound so easy. We're 27 points behind. No matter how hard we try, we won't catch up."
Iwata Mitsuaki added, "You want us to give it our all? Is this because we got shut out? Are you embarrassed as a coach?"
Upon hearing this, Coach Kanehira frowned.
Yajima Kyohei also spoke, "Didn't you and the school officials agree that we'd make it into the top eight? How do you feel now, with this situation?"
The more Coach Kanehira heard, the more uncomfortable he became.
Not because he felt guilty, but because he had underestimated the players' bias toward him as their coach.
He never expected them to feel this way about him.
Sigh...
Coach Kanehira sighed deeply, bitterness and helplessness filling his heart, a wry smile on his face as he said, "So you all have such a big opinion of me, huh?"
His face returned to calm.
He wasn't angry, just a little self-deprecating and thoughtful.
He mocked himself for being overly confident, thinking that time would make the players understand all he had done.
He also lamented that sometimes, passion alone isn't enough to make things go as planned.
He was just a high school basketball coach.
For a moment, the entire Toyotama bench fell silent again, the atmosphere sinking into an ice-cold stillness.
The timeout quickly passed.
Toyotama's players stood up, ready to get back on the court.
Coach Kanehira spoke again, "I don't care what you think of me, but if Coach Kitano were here, he definitely wouldn't want to see you like this."
Upon hearing this, Toyotama's players paused in their steps, no one turning around.
Soon, Minami Tsuyoshi took a step forward and walked onto the court.
The match resumed.
Now, everyone could see that Shohoku's victory was all but certain.
"I thought Toyotama called a timeout to concede!"
"They haven't given up yet?"
"Who was saying Toyotama was strong? Come out and explain yourself!"
"Why do I feel like Shohoku isn't even trying yet? They probably haven't even used all their strength!"
...
The spectators in the stands began to murmur among themselves.
For a match with no suspense, the crowd had lost the initial excitement.
However, they still clung to a glimmer of hope, wondering if Toyotama might still pull off an upset.
On the court.
Toyotama regrouped and launched another attack on Shohoku.
Seeing Toyotama charge forward with undiminished momentum, the Shohoku players were a bit surprised.
Akagi Takenori remained alert, his expression serious as he said, "Everyone, stay alert. The real game is just starting!"
"Oh..." the others responded in unison.
Toyotama quickly reached Shohoku's half-court.
This time, however, their attack lacked the underhanded tricks, though the force of their offense had increased significantly.
The Toyotama players passed the ball to each other, trying to find weaknesses in Shohoku's defense.
No matter how hard they tried, Shohoku's defense remained like an impenetrable wall, blocking everything from reaching the basket.
Minami Tsuyoshi gritted his teeth, his eyes sharply focusing on Aoi Kunisaku.
It was all because of him.
If it weren't for him, they wouldn't be scoreless right now.
Aoi Kunisaku was like a ghost on the court, always appearing in front of the Toyotama players just before they took their shots, blocking them every time.
It was like a curse, one they couldn't shake off.
Even when they managed to escape Aoi Kunisaku's defense, they were met with ruthless blocks from Shohoku's other players.
This feeling truly made him despise it deep down.
It was so frustrating.
Moreover, Aoi Kunisaku was like an unstoppable sword, easily piercing through Toyotama's defense.
At the same time, they could attack to defend, using aggression to counter aggression.
With even stronger attacks, they completely crushed Toyotama's offense.
And so, the time of the match passed, second by second.
Under Aoi Kunisaku's leadership, Shohoku repeatedly broke through Toyotama's basket.
Shohoku's score kept climbing higher and higher.
Beep...
Finally, a sharp whistle cut through the entire arena.
The referee blew the whistle signaling the end of the first half.
At this moment, the score appeared on the electronic scoreboard, visible to everyone.
When the crowd saw the score on the scoreboard, they gasped, their eyes widening, unable to resist swallowing.
Shohoku 76-0 Toyotama.
This was the first time in the national tournament's history that a team had been shut out.
A 76-point shutout in the first half.
Many speculated that even Sannoh might not be able to achieve this.
At this moment, some people began comparing Shohoku to Sannoh.
After all, this score was truly shocking.
For a moment, the entire arena fell into a deathly silence.
Even the organizers were stunned by this score.
Shohoku's victory in the first match of the national tournament was now certain.
Shohoku's bench.
Coach Anzai Mitsuyoshi looked at the Shohoku players walking off the court. He simply nodded, not saying anything unnecessary.
He also had no intention of substituting in the bench players.
Certainly, if this weren't the national tournament, as a fellow high school basketball coach, he should have given the other coach some dignity and not let the team lose so badly.
However, this was the national tournament, Shohoku's first-ever national tournament, and also the first match of the national tournament.
A good result would greatly impact the subsequent games.
So, he chose to remain silent, waiting for things to unfold quietly.
Aoi Kunisaku drank water in big gulps.
Sweat was dripping from his forehead, though the amount wasn't much.
Aoi Kunisaku had only just warmed up.
Toyotama, if not for using dirty tactics, wasn't actually that strong. They were probably even weaker than Xiangyang.
Three words—too weak.
Weak enough that Aoi Kunisaku hadn't even used his full strength.
In the stands.
Maki Shinichi glanced at the score between Shohoku and Toyotama with a complicated look, then turned and said, "The game has no suspense now. Let's go."
"Eh? You're leaving already? Aren't you curious how many points Shohoku will beat Toyotama by?" Kiyota Nobunaga asked, a bit curious.
Maki Shinichi replied coolly, "That will be clear soon enough."
Shinzou Ichirou smiled slightly and said, "Yeah! Toyotama has already lost all momentum. There's no point in watching any longer."
Many teams like Kainan shared this thought.
They all wore serious expressions, deeply imprinting Shohoku's name in their minds.
Shohoku was definitely a strong opponent.
And that player wearing the number 9 jersey, Aoi Kunisaku.
Before anyone realized, the halftime break was over.
The second half of the match began promptly.
Shohoku made only one change, with Miyagi Ryota substituted out for Sakuragi Hanamichi, while everyone else stayed the same.
On the other side, Coach Kanehira saw Shohoku's lineup and couldn't help but chuckle bitterly.
He saw it clearly. Shohoku was taking advantage of the situation!
Sigh...
It seemed this year, Toyotama would have a lasting impression.
As for him, the coach of Toyotama, he probably wouldn't last much longer.
But it didn't matter. He didn't have a good impression of Toyotama's administration anyway. Worst case, he could find a more pleasant school to coach at.
The second half of the game remained dominated by Shohoku.
To be more precise, it was dominated by Aoi Kunisaku.
As soon as the second half began, Toyotama launched a fierce attack.
This attack was more intense than any in the first half, but it still ended in failure.
Originally, they had a chance to score, but Aoi Kunisaku intercepted their final pass.
With Sakuragi Hanamichi on the court, Shohoku's defense became even stronger.
This, in turn, weakened Toyotama's offense.
However, this guy seemed to love showing off and stealing the spotlight, so he took a lot of the ball control.
Aoi Kunisaku didn't mind.
In a game like this, where there was no fun, what did it matter if the ball went to someone else?
As a result, the second half turned into a situation where Shohoku was scoring from multiple points. Almost every point for Shohoku led to a score.
In the end, as expected, Toyotama was thoroughly beaten.
By the end of the match, Toyotama had inevitably been shut out.
The final score was permanently fixed at 143-0.
Shohoku won decisively and advanced.
After the match, Shohoku's players were naturally elated.
Toyotama's players, on the other hand, left the court dejectedly.
Of course, the news of Shohoku's 143-0 win, shutting out Toyotama, swept through the high school basketball community like a massive storm.