Yo! I did not expect this.
I know the format and was ready for the utter defeat so that the story could move forward but no. Author decided to subvert the expectations and gave our main characters a WIN. AT NATIONAL LEVEL ON THEIR FIRST TRY. This is unprecedented. A main character with room to grow, his sudden interest in a sport, couple of senpais with a dream, 1 injured senpai who had a tragic event happened to him in the previous tournament. I swear to God, it checked all the cliche boxes and still delivered something entirely new. Defending champions, I love how it sounds. Now that is a take I have never seen in a sports manga before but have definitely yearned for.

Good stuff!!