It's the first round; Shôhoku faces Toyotama High, one of Osaka's strongest teams. Rukawa gets injured during the first half, and his team, overwhelmed by Toyotama's powerful attacks, trails by 6 points. For the second half, Mr. Anzai decides to implement the same tactic as their opponent, "Run&Gun." Shôhoku slowly catches up in the score, eventually taking the lead, notably thanks to Rukawa, who, despite being hampered by his injured eye, refuses to be intimidated, completely destabilizing his usual scorer who was convinced he would give up. At the end of the match, Shôhoku wins after five minutes of madness.
But the joy of victory quickly gives way to another challenge, as their next opponent is none other than Sanno Technical High, whose team is currently the best in the tournament...