While Tendou Kageyoshi was sparking a comeback for his team, several members of the Generation of Miracles were also dominating their courts.
Aomine Daiki, the kid whose talent seemed obvious from his skin tone alone, overwhelmed Teiko's second-string squad with a street-ball style most would consider pure theatrics.
Despite their best defensive efforts, the second-stringers were helpless against Aomine's unpredictable moves.
In just 10 minutes, the selfish star launched 12 shots, sinking 9, totaling an unmatched 18 points among freshmen.
Similar to Tendou, once his teammates recognized the ace, they continuously fed him the ball. Aomine practically carried the entire team single-handedly against the second-string squad.
Though their style was different, Aomine's team still barely secured victory, edging out a thrilling 44-42 win.
Midorima Shintaro wasn't far behind.
Though his performance lacked Aomine's flashy explosiveness, his scoring was second only to Aomine himself, even surpassing Tendou's total in the same time frame.
Within just 10 minutes of play, the glasses-wearing sniper bombarded the opponents from beyond the three-point line. With his absurdly accurate shooting, he scored 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting from downtown.
Under relentless fire from Midorima, the second-stringers were forced to extend their defense, creating easy scoring opportunities for Midorima's teammates in the paint.
Then there was Akashi Seijuurou.
This wealthy, somewhat-chuunibyou heir scored less than Aomine, Midorima, and Tendou.
Yet, he had the innate presence of a leader. The moment he stepped onto the court, teammates inexplicably trusted him, seamlessly executing his ideas and strategies.
Even though his team was hastily assembled—with some teammates not even knowing each other's names—they magically developed enough chemistry to compete evenly against the experienced second-stringers.
Akashi's performance appeared less dramatic than the others.
But somehow, the flow and pace of the entire game were firmly under his control.
And that was truly terrifying.
In his brief 10 minutes, he only scored 2 points—but delivered an astonishing 7 assists, controlling the tempo at every moment.
His single field goal was a decisive mid-range jumper to seal the victory at the final moment.
...
Evening.
After the basketball club's activities had ended, Coach Shirogane Kozo studied the statistics his assistant had compiled, lost in deep thought.
Murasakibara had been his key focus, and the giant's performance certainly met expectations:
7 rebounds, 4 blocks—numbers even Teiko's current starting center might struggle to achieve.
But given Murasakibara's famed dominance from elementary school, Shirogane had somewhat anticipated this.
What genuinely shocked him were the other freshmen:
Aomine Daiki: 20 points, 2 rebounds, 1 block.
Midorima Shintarou: 15 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists.
Akashi Seijuurou: 2 points, 3 steals, 9 assists.
Tendou Kageyoshi: 10 points, 2 rebounds, 7 steals, 2 blocks.
During past entrance tests, freshmen teams had always been thoroughly dominated by second-stringers.
Yet this year, due to these monstrous talents, Shirogane was stunned to realize his carefully trained second-string had completely collapsed.
"Are these kids a gift from heaven for Teiko?" Shirogane exchanged a glance with his assistant, excitement clearly shining in both their eyes.
Previously, the only freshman who could lead a rookie team to defeat the second-stringers was Nijimura Shuuzo—now Teiko's captain, one of the nation's best power forwards.
But this year?
Four such prodigies had arrived simultaneously—filling distinct, non-overlapping roles:
A lockdown defender inside and out (Tendou).
A spearhead for offensive breakthroughs (Aomine).
An elite sniper from beyond the arc (Midorima).
An unparalleled orchestrator (Akashi).
Most importantly, these incredible talents were all first-years.
Teiko could enjoy their talents for three entire years!
Three whole years!
Even the composed Coach Shirogane couldn't resist the urge to look up and internally shout, "I'm going to make it big!"
What happened today was undoubtedly the most extraordinary event in Teiko Basketball's history.
A second-string unit carefully cultivated by Shirogane himself for over a year had been completely overturned by rookies.
He wasn't angry in the slightest; secretly, he was positively thrilled.
...
The following day.
Tokyo Sports' youth section published news that set local basketball fans buzzing:
"We had the privilege of witnessing Teiko Middle School's freshman entrance tests yesterday. Following tradition, Coach Shirogane repeated last year's assessment method.
Typically, experienced upperclassmen—tested through Nationals and Shirogane's rigorous training—effortlessly dominate freshmen during these scrimmages.
Yet this year, an unprecedented change occurred. Four separate second-string squads, totaling 20 players, were defeated by teams led by just four remarkable first-year talents…"
This report was naturally written by Kubo Jun.
In his article, he highlighted performances by Tendou and the other three prodigies, including detailed stats and game photos.
He also warned Tokyo-area schools: beware of this year's Teiko Middle School.
The article drew moderate local attention—but limited overall.
After all, middle school basketball couldn't match the popularity of high school or university tournaments.
Unless, of course, something truly groundbreaking happened.
...
The real world.
Evening.
A man with a large nose and black-rimmed glasses sat in front of his computer, beginning his livestream on a certain popular video site.
His stream's title: [Welcome to FanGeGe's New Anime Funhouse].
『First!』
『Second!』
『10086th!』
『Where FanGeGe goes, we follow!』
"FanGeGe" wasn't his real name, but his ID as a famous anime reviewer.
As one of the platform's "Three Anime Gods," every move of his attracted significant fan interest.
As soon as he went live, notifications alerted many followers who eagerly flooded in to see what antics he'd perform today.
During livestreams, though, FanGeGe rarely joked around much—saving his comedic energy for reaction and commentary videos.
"Good evening, everyone. It's your beloved FanGeGe," he began with a simple greeting, quickly opening the new anime list.
"April has arrived, and many new anime have debuted."
"Today, let me guide you through some of these fresh titles."
Scrolling through several newly released episodes, he paused momentarily.
Months ago, he'd already posted a preview video. Aside from original series, he knew most of these plots due to source materials.
"So, originals should come first!" FanGeGe muttered, filtering out series based on pre-existing works. To his surprise, he noticed an anime tagged with "Live Broadcast."
"Live broadcast?"
What the heck was this?
Clicking on it, he discovered this show aired via livestream. Viewers couldn't skip forward until the entire episode finished airing live.
Even more unusual—it was a basketball-themed sports anime.
"What kind of gimmick is this? Could this be a highly promoted original from Bilibili?"