Man this really good, one of the best sport drama i ever seen, Wonder  why holding this up  to this point for so long.  I suppose pretty much  the original source by taiyou matsumoto quiet translated well for live  action, which i never, yet to read any rather than by reputation and other adaptation  of his works, blue spring and anime tekkon kinkret -which a must see too imo-
It's not focused on the dynamic of the game, much characters driven with  got a lot to say about passion, self discovery and relationship  themselves. It could be a little overdramatic, cheesy  and cliche but never goes  beyond gimmicky and ridicule, but poetic at the time
I would  prefer if the ending  hold or cut in moment of subtleness rather showing it by shoving scene to audience which one made proggress to the professional level because it doesnt match with movie tone at all.