As the match time drew near, the DJ's voice rang out.
"Welcome, everyone, to the Winter Cup National Tournament Finals!"
"Now, let's welcome!"
"Shūtoku High School!!!"
The DJ's shout, paired with the explosive background music, instantly pushed the atmosphere in the arena to its peak.
The audience broke into thunderous applause.
"Damn, this year's finals are insane. I really came to the right place!"
"Right? This is way too cool!"
Daiki Aomine clapped while grumbling unhappily,
"Why do they only get this for the finals? Why didn't I get to experience this before?"
Shoichi Imayoshi's mouth twitched awkwardly.
On the court, the DJ continued the introductions.
"Let's welcome Shūtoku High School's starting lineup!"
"Playing point guard, the eyes of the entire Shūtoku High School team! Number 10! Kazunari Takao!!!"
With the DJ's introduction, Kazunari Takao ran onto the court with a bright smile.
The audience offered their applause.
Feeling the atmosphere around him, Kazunari Takao's blood immediately started pumping.
'Damn, this is hype!'
The DJ continued.
"Next! Playing small forward, the serious senpai! Number 8! Kiyoshi Miyaji!!!"
The audience applauded again.
Kiyoshi Miyaji ran onto the court with a stern expression, but the light in his eyes said it all.
Right now, he was excited!!!
"Next! Playing power forward, the team's solid backbone! Number 5! Shinsuke Kimura!!!"
Shinsuke Kimura ran out with his face slightly red. After all, this was his first time facing a scene like this.
Still, it was incredible!
"Next! Let's welcome Shūtoku's captain! Number 4! Taisuke Otsubo!!!"
Taisuke Otsubo slowly ran out amid the audience's applause, his expression still very serious.
At that moment, the background music suddenly turned low and heavy, and the DJ's voice gradually dropped as well.
"Finally! Let's welcome him! From Teiko Middle School, one of the Generation of Miracles' top shooters! Number 6! Shintaro! Midorima!!!!!"
The DJ's low voice gradually rose at the end, stirring up the crowd's emotions along with it.
Shintaro Midorima calmly walked onto the court and stood beside his starting teammates.
After that, the DJ introduced a few bench players. The audience was not very familiar with them, so they only clapped casually.
Once the entire Shūtoku team had been introduced, it was Kirisaki Daiichi's turn.
"Next! Let's welcome the Summer Cup champions!"
"Kirisaki Daiichi!!!"
"First onto the court is the genius known as the Bad Boy! Number 6! Makoto Hanamiya!!!"
The audience applauded enthusiastically.
Makoto Hanamiya ran out from Kirisaki Daiichi's tunnel with a dark smile on his face.
It had to be said, Makoto Hanamiya was very satisfied with this pre-game introduction.
Because it was seriously fired up!
So fired up that Makoto Hanamiya almost wanted to find someone and throw a few choice curses at them.
"Next! Let's welcome the Lone Wolf from Teiko Middle School! Number 21! Shogo Haizaki!!!"
The audience applauded again, the sound rolling like thunder.
Shogo Haizaki waved and ran out with a grin on his face.
"Next, let's welcome the genius player from America! Number 18! Dicky Anthony!!!"
Clap, clap, clap, clap!!!
Dicky Anthony ran out with a smile and stood beside the others.
"Next, let's welcome him! From Teiko Middle School, one of the Generation of Miracles' top centers! Number 9! Atsushi Murasakibara!!!"
Atsushi Murasakibara's huge frame slowly ran onto the court.
Looking closely, there was also the faintest smile on Atsushi Murasakibara's face.
Clearly, he was just as satisfied with this opening.
No real reason. It was just fun.
"Next, let's welcome him! From Teiko Middle School, the No. 1 power forward in the middle school world! Teiko Middle School's former captain! Number 10! Shuzo! Nijimura!!!!!"
Hearing this, the audience applauded wildly, their excitement obvious.
Shuzo Nijimura smiled broadly, raised both hands, and waved in response to the crowd before running over to stand beside Makoto Hanamiya and the others.
Suddenly, the DJ's background music changed again, becoming even more intense.
"Everyone, stand up!!!"
The DJ suddenly shouted.
The audience knew who the last player was, and they all rose to their feet.
Some spectators even began shouting at the top of their lungs.
"Next! Let's welcome him with the loudest applause!"
"The Demon King of the basketball world! Kirisaki Daiichi's captain! From Teiko Middle School, the Magic Cube who stands above the Generation of Miracles! Number 4!"
"Miyamoto!"
"Tokima!!!"
The DJ dragged out the final syllable of Tokima for a long, long time.
Some spectators whistled, some shouted, and some clapped with all their might. Everyone was showing their excitement in their own way.
Feeling the wild atmosphere, Daiki Aomine muttered,
"Damn it! Miyamoto actually looks this cool! I refuse to accept this!"
"No way! Miyamoto beat me, or I would've gotten to enjoy an entrance like that too!"
"Miyamoto has to compensate me! Yeah, that's right, he has to compensate me. Two Komai photo books should do it!"
Taiga Kagami stared at the court with envy written all over his face.
"It's so lively. I didn't know the finals would be like this."
A trace of longing flashed in Junpei Hyuga's eyes.
"Yeah. I really wish we were standing on that court too."
And it was not just Taiga Kagami and the others who were envious. Everyone from the other schools was looking at the two teams on the court with envy.
On the court.
As the DJ's words fell, Miyamoto Tokima slowly walked onto the court with the background music behind him.
At the sight of Miyamoto Tokima's entrance, the audience's applause grew even more frenzied.
Miyamoto Tokima smiled and greeted the spectators, then stood in the middle of his teammates, facing the entire Shūtoku team.
Then both teams shouted at the same time,
"Please take care of us!"
After that, with the background music still playing, both teams turned and left the court to prepare for warm-ups.
Off the court, Daiki Aomine was truly burning with envy.
He glared at Shintaro Midorima on the court with an unhappy expression and muttered,
"Damn lucky bastard. How is he this lucky? Why did I have to draw Miyamoto's team in the very first match?"
Hearing this, Shoichi Imayoshi, who was beside him, suddenly smiled wickedly. He leaned in mysteriously and whispered,
"Aomine, the one who drew the lots was Wakamatsu..."
Nearby, Kosuke Wakamatsu suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.
Danger!
"Wakamatsu! Give me back my finals!!!!!!"
...
...
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