i read the later volumes of the manga like the zengoku taikai in chinese, and some of the parts where tezuka is in kyushuu, and it seems so unreal to see tezuka so unsure of himself, which just makes me want to kill the monkey king.
alos, during the first ova ep., oishi challenges ryoma for the regular spot for zengoku cause of his wrist, the same scinario happens like the manga with oishi challenges tezuka, except that ryoma had woV (or was runner up, i don't know,) the us open and the nationals have already started. i also must agree wiht you on the last paragraph.
also, when reading the manga, you can learn so much more than the anime. all the anime does is show how ryoma is evolving, yet the manga shows you the determination seigaku has since it is tehir dream to make it to the zengoku taikai.