After defeating Seirin, Kirisaki Daiichi didn't encounter any trouble in their subsequent games.
They smoothly advanced to the finals stage once again.
This time, their opponent was still Rakuzan High School, whom they had faced in the national tournament.
They were old rivals indeed!
In the upper bracket, after defeating Shutoku and Seirin, Kirisaki Daiichi essentially had no opponents left.
In the lower bracket, Yosen and Rakuzan met in the semifinals as expected.
Both sides engaged in a fairly intense battle, but ultimately Rakuzan, with their stronger lineup, won the game.
Therefore, following the national tournament, the Winter Cup championship would also be decided between Kirisaki Daiichi and Rakuzan.
Fans even predicted that this pattern probably wouldn't change much for the next two years.
With Akashi plus three Uncrowned Kings, Rakuzan's lineup could maintain dominance for at least two more years.
When Akashi reached his third year, although the Uncrowned Kings would have graduated by then, given Rakuzan's attraction to talent, they could still assemble an excellent roster around Akashi to compete for championships.
They might even, through continuous attempts, build a team even better than the current one.
What about Kirisaki Daiichi?
Except for Tendou and Haizaki, their starting lineup was entirely second-years.
This meant that like Rakuzan, they could maintain their championship roster for two years.
Barring any surprises, when Hanamiya Makoto and others graduated in their third year, Kirisaki Daiichi could also form a strong lineup.
Just like Teiko before, they had built national recognition through continuous victories, with their club membership breaking into triple digits.
Consecutive championships could help Kirisaki Daiichi attract many talented players to join them.
With a larger member base, they'd have more options to choose from.
Of course, now wasn't the time to think about such things.
This day was the Winter Cup finals.
Today featured two games: the third-place match and the championship game.
The bronze medal game started first.
Kise's Kaijo team faced no significant trouble and smoothly won the match.
Although Kaijo's captain didn't win the championship, he at least secured a bronze medal—not coming away empty-handed.
Then came the much-anticipated championship game: Kirisaki Daiichi versus Rakuzan.
The process still didn't have many surprises.
Haizaki successfully completed his revenge against Akashi.
Although he couldn't defeat Akashi head-on, he could target Akashi's left and right arms on the court.
Using his plundering ability, he caused the three Uncrowned Kings on Rakuzan to drop significantly in performance.
Even so, Rakuzan relied on Akashi's dominance and the team's deep foundation to battle Kirisaki Daiichi until the final quarter.
117:103!
Ultimately, Kirisaki Daiichi defeated Rakuzan by 14 points, becoming the ninth team in history to win both the national tournament and Winter Cup championships in the same year.
Who were the previous eight teams?
Tendou hadn't specifically researched this, but he knew Rakuzan was one of them.
Thus, the Winter Cup came to a close.
The Generation of Miracles' first year of high school also officially ended.
...
Several days later.
Kirisaki Daiichi's basketball club.
Tendou and the bad boy squad gathered together—instead of practicing, they were eating hot pot and listening to music.
As the only team in the nation without even a coach, Kirisaki Daiichi's basketball club was practically Tendou and company's private territory.
They could do whatever they wanted here, and with their excellent basketball record, the school didn't bother managing them.
With the cold weather and snow falling outside, Tendou had sent someone out of school to buy various foods and drinks from the supermarket.
Above the gymnasium hung two banners—the championship flags from the national tournament and Winter Cup.
From now on, Kirisaki Daiichi would maintain this tradition, letting newcomers know immediately upon entering what glorious history they had.
"It's really cold!"
"That's exactly why hot pot is perfect for this weather."
The bad boy squad leisurely enjoyed their school life.
"Speaking of which, is it really okay for us to be this relaxed?"
"What's the problem? The Winter Cup is over anyway, and the next competition won't be for half a year. We should relax when it's time to relax."
After the Winter Cup ended, the next major tournament would have to wait until next year.
They could take a proper break.
Though Kirisaki Daiichi was indeed very relaxed—while all other national teams were probably holding intense training sessions in their basketball clubs.
"What do you think those teams are doing right now?"
"They're probably holding retirement ceremonies for the third-years, right?"
They all turned their attention to Momoi, who kept serving Tendou food.
This Too spy had come again, using intelligence gathering as an excuse to eat hot pot with them.
Even for them, this period was like a vacation, so Momoi could temporarily set aside her spy work.
"It's already been held. A few days after the Winter Cup ended, the coach held a farewell ceremony for the third-year seniors. Now Imayoshi-senpai and the others are working hard preparing for college entrance exams."
Momoi recalled the farewell ceremony from a few days ago.
Not much different from previous years—regardless of results, it was held annually to thank players for their three years of contribution to the team.
The only teams that didn't need to hold farewell ceremonies this year were Kirisaki Daiichi and Seirin.
Neither team had any third-year players.
"I see... when next year comes, we'll have to leave too." Yamazaki Hiroshi suddenly felt a bit reluctant.
Although these teammates were all hot-tempered and had weird personalities, they had fought side by side together. Thinking about having to part ways eventually made them feel somewhat sentimental.
Furuhashi Kojiro couldn't help asking, "What does everyone plan to do after graduation? Will you continue playing basketball?"
"For me, I'll probably keep playing, but I won't make basketball my career," Seto Kentaro said without hesitation.
If it were before, he might have considered it, but not now.
Why?
After witnessing true genius, his purpose for playing had changed.
"Anyway, as long as Tendou and the others are around, I can't win. I'll honestly study and use my 160 IQ to become a social elite."
"Coward. I want to keep playing. Even if I can't be the protagonist, I'd be satisfied being a supporting character."
"Exactly. As long as you become a professional player, you're still somewhat of a celebrity. When that time comes, I definitely want to find a female entertainer to marry."
The young men chattered about their future dreams.
Even Haizaki and Hanamiya Makoto shared their ideals under the atmosphere's influence.
They might not necessarily come true, but at least they had goals.
Finally, they all looked at Tendou in unison, as if asking: What about you? What are your plans?
"Of course I want to become a basketball star—the world-class kind."
As expected.
Everyone wasn't surprised, because he truly had that talent.
Tendou was different from them—he was a genuine monster.
"If it's you, Tendou, you might really get drafted!"
"Haha, maybe I'll get to see you on my favorite team in the future."
"Oh? Furuhashi, which team do you like?"
"I like the Celtics. I've liked them since childhood—their style really suits my taste."
"I thought you'd like the Pistons. I'm different—I like the Lakers."
"Everyone likes powerhouse teams."
"Obviously! What's interesting about watching bad teams play? Unless it's your hometown team, of course you'd pick the strong ones. What's fun about teams that always lose?"
The young men chatted about everything under the sun. This winter, Kirisaki Daiichi's basketball club wasn't cold at all.
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