Friday, February 13th. A day which proved to be quite lucky for some people– contrary to popular belief. Granite Bay High School junior, Adam Kahan, was selected to participate in the Mikuni’s night halfcourt shot at the friday night basketball game. Stepping up for the free throw worth $25, Kahan drained it. After failing to convert the three pointer worth $50, Kahan then ran back to the half court line, flailing his arms, in the air trying to liven tribe. Kahan, focused yet nervous, lofts the ball into a long arc while the crowd goes quiet, awaiting a true longshot. The ball felt nothing but the sweet touch of nylon netting, and Kahan became the winner of an entire year of free sushi.

“I just didn’t want to air-ball the shot,” Kahan said. “I wasn’t very confident going into it (the shot), but I just threw up a prayer and somehow it went in.”

However, even more surprised than Adam Kahan was Mikuni’s CTO Taro Arai.

“I wanted to have some fun and add some excitement,” Arai said. “I told my CEO, don’t worry about it nobody is going to make it– and then Bam! It went in.”

One of the most memorable and exhilarating part of a sporting event is the rushing of the court. After the tribe witnessed the shot, the bleachers were emptied as the student section swarmed Kahan, new winner of an entire year of Mikuni sushi.

“It was insane when the Tribe stormed the court,” Kahan said.

Kahan wasn’t alone in his excitement to see his half court swish. Senior Nick Marakas, a Tribe leader, had a similar reaction to Kahan over the shot in the reaction which followed.

“Storming the court to the half court shot was just natural reaction,” Marakas said. “We all looked around for a split second and were in shock and then in a matter of a few seconds, everyone was on the court surrounding Adam.”

There was a lot of promotion for the event. From banners made by student government to bulletins made by the media department, promotional propaganda littered the halls of GBHS.

“I did a bulletin to help promote the Mikunis Night, spread it by word of mouth and Twitter so everybody knew they had a chance to participate,” Marakas said.

The gym appeared to be sold out. People waited to witness the half court shot, as well as one of the GBHS boys’ varsity basketball team’s biggest games. The rivalling Woodcreek High School Timberwolves eventually went on to win the game, beating the Grizzlies in overtime 58-54.

Although the varsity team evidently lost, Kahan did not.

With the win of his enormous prize Kahan did face some limitations to the reward. While Arai said he didn’t care too much about the reward, he was more awed by the half court shot.

“Every week, (Adam) gets to eat one roll of his choice (up to $18 per visit, which expires every week unused) for a year,” said Arai. “I think more times a week and you get sick of sushi!”

  Mikuni is a major sponsor for the school, donating money, awards (such as the half court shot contest) and banners in the gym. However, with Arai’s children graduating from GBHS after next year, the curiosity lies in whether or not the Mikunis night at high school basketball games will be a tradition for years to follow.