Sakuragi's jealousy over Haruko turns a regional matchup into something personal, which means his growth as a player stops mattering the second Nango shows up. The game becomes about proving something that has nothing to do with basketball, and the show lets that contradiction sit there without pretending it's noble. Watch a kid learn that wanting to win and wanting to impress someone aren't the same thing, sometimes at the exact same moment.

Shohoku High's basketball team competes in the Inter High Championships, where they face Tsukubu, one of the year's dark horse teams. The match is full of familiar faces. Coach Anzai goes up against his former student, who now coaches Tsukubu. Akagi and Kogure meet Godai, an old classmate who has become Tsukubu's captain. And then there's Sakuragi, who is thoroughly irritated by Nango, Tsukubu's center, since Nango is vying for Haruko's attention. The film mixes sports action with comedy and drama as these personal ties play out on the court.