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Score! This here is a Featured Match.
Seirin High vs Shūtoku High (Winter Cup) has been featured, meaning it was chosen as an article of interest.
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Seirin High vs Shūtoku High is a match in the final league of the Winter Cup preliminaries. It is a rematch between the both teams from the Interhigh.
Game[]
Prologue[]
Both Seirin and Shūtoku have suffered defeat not too long ago and are determined to not let that happen again. Now, in the Winter Cup, they try to grasp a ticket into the tournament and are set to play each other in the preliminaries, group stage. Finally, the heavily anticipated match is about to begin. Thirsting for victory, both teams face each other on the court.[1]
1st quarter[]
The tip-off is given and Kiyoshi and Ōtsubo jump for the ball. They both graze it and the ball ends up with Izuki, but is immediately slapped away by Takao. Kimura grabs a hold of it and sees Miyaji running down court. He tries to thrust it to him, but he is hindered by Kuroko. The ball then goes to Shūtoku again, this time Midorima picks it up and pulls up for a long range shot. However, Kagami leaps high in the air and blocks it ferociously, sending the ball out of bounds. The crowd is psyched as Miyaji delivers the inbound pass to Takao, who passes it through to Midorima. Again, he pulls up for a three, but is yet again blocked by Kagami. Kagami wonders what Midorima's plan is, as it doesn't seem like he has anything to counter Kagami. Midorima declares that he will simply keep shooting until Kagami can't jump anymore.[2]
2nd quarter[]
Midorima's fakes foil Kagami into jumping
In the early stages of the second quarter, Kagami is seen Midorima once again, continuing this trend from the previous quarter. Successfully stopping Midorima, Seirin has taken a 7-point lead. However, Seirin's members are uneasy, knowing that Kagami will fall to exhaustion first and further more, that Kuroko is still having trouble dealing with Shūtoku's Takao. Miyaji suddenly steals the ball and gets it to Midorima. He pulls up for a shot and Kagami jumps for the block, but Midorima was only faking and simply drives past an airborne Kagami. He shoots right after, but Kagami however, isn't done yet and jumps for the block again. Midorima gets his shot off, but it is grazed by Kagami, making the shot miss. The rebound is surprisingly taken by Kuroko, who launches it across the court to a cutting Izuki, who lays it in. Riko is concerned with Kagami's state and orders Kiyoshi to go help him, which he does after Midorima fakes Kagami into jumping again. It looks like Kiyoshi is able to block Midorima's shot, but Midorima unexpectedly switches to a pass to Takao, who pushes it up-court and it ends up with Ōtsubo, who finishes at the rim. Seirin's players are shocked about Midorima's team play and think that now that Shūtoku has become a true team, there's no way of stopping them. However, Riko says that they must trust upon Kiyoshi.[3]
Seirin's Run & Gun fast-break
Kiyoshi talks to his team and suggests taking out Kuroko for starters. He explains that now that Takao has shut down Kuroko, he's more of a liability than an asset. Riko thinks alike and subs Kuroko for Mitobe. On the bench, Kuroko says that this time out of the game will help him better prepare for his Vanishing Drive. Meanwhile, with both Kise and Momoi watching the game, Kagami and Kiyoshi double-team Midorima. Midorima passes it inside to Miyaji, who makes the lay-up. However, Seirin runs for it and comes invading Shūtoku's half of the court in an instant. Lightning-fast passes do the rest and the crowd is awed by Seirin's high leveled run and gun. Both this and the next offense, Seirin uses their inside guard, Kiyoshi, as a relay to swing the ball around to free players, resulting in a lay-up from Mitobe and a three-pointer by Hyūga. Shūtoku returns the favor though, by a quick rebound by Ōtsubo and a long-range shot from Shūtoku, Generation of Miracles shooting guard. The high paced point war continues and the first half of the match ends in Seirin's favor, 45 against 43. Kise speculates that Seirin could lose the point war if it wasn't for Kuroko.[4]
Trivia[]
- This is the first and only match in the entire series to end in a tie.