Black Basketball: A false start

Chapter 157 Good Habits

Kaneki Ken stared at the back of Kise Ryouta as he left the court, turned his head to look at the score of 60:43, and signaled Coach Anton with some boredom to replace him.

"I'm sorry, coach." Huang Lailiangta returned to the bench and sat next to Takeuchi Genta with a painful look in his eyes, "I finally lost to Kaneki-chan. I failed to lead Kaijo High School to victory..."

"You've done a great job, Kise." Takeuchi Genta said as he watched the game on the court, "Facing Seirin High School, which had defeated us before, Kaneki Ken only played for more than a minute, and yet you allowed us to hold on until now even with Kaneki Ken playing for more than two quarters."

Kise Ryouta listened to Takeuchi Genta's words silently without saying anything.

"Actually, I'm the one who should be saying sorry." Takeuchi Genta sighed and said, "As a coach, I didn't notice your abnormality in the first place. Fortunately, you didn't get hurt today."

"Coach..." Kise Ryouta raised his head while choking up, looking at Takeuchi Genta's profile and assured, "Winter Cup, we must win, I will definitely win!"

"Well, I believe you." Takeuchi Genta patted Huang Lai Ryota's head and said, "Now take a good rest and then cheer for your teammates!"

"Yes!" When Kise Ryota turned his head to look at the field again, his face was already in tears.

With Kise Ryouta's departure, the situation on the court was completely unbalanced. Under the instruction of Ando Mitsuyoshi, the newly replaced Miyagi Ryouta made full use of Shonan High School's physical strength advantage, changed the hard-line positional warfare style of the previous game, and played defensive counterattacks and running and gunning. At the end of the third quarter, the original 17-point difference had been widened to 30 points.

The final score at the end of the game was 148 to 90. This much-anticipated miracle civil war, a fateful duel, ended with the crushing defeat of Kise Ryouta and Kaijo High School.

Two days later, in the Kanagawa Prefecture championship and runner-up battle, Shonan High School once again defeated Poseidon High School with a huge advantage of 168 to 88, breaking Poseidon High School's absolute monopoly on the Kanagawa Prefecture championship.

At the award ceremony after the game, Ken Kaneki, who only played three times in the games against Poseidon High School and Kaijo High School, won the title of Kanagawa Prefecture's Best Player with an average of 48.2 points, 13.7 rebounds, 12.1 assists, 5.5 steals, and 5.0 blocks per game. Hanamichi Sakuragi won both the rebounding and blocked shots titles with an average of 21.3 points, 24.3 rebounds, 6.4 blocks, and 2.8 steals per game, and won the Kanagawa Prefecture's Best Newcomer award by beating Ryota Kise. All the judges agreed that Ken Kaneki's level was no longer suitable for the Best Newcomer award.

The best lineup of Kanagawa Prefecture was finally announced after voting by many viewers. They are Shinichi Maki and Akira Sendoh from Poseidon High School, Ken Kaneki and Hanamichi Sakuragi from Shonan High School, and Shigehiro Kabachi who averaged 26.2 points, 16.3 rebounds and 5.6 blocks per game.

The best second team is led by Ryota Kise from Kaijo High School, and the other players are Shuji Izawa, Kaede Rukawa, and Hisashi Mitsui from Shonan High School, and Toru Hanagata from Kaishin High School.

……

After the long and complicated award ceremony, everyone from Shonan High School finally got on the bus back to school. Everyone felt exhausted, except Sakuragi Hanamichi.

"Haha, did you see that, you stinky fox? This is the trophy for the best newcomer in Kanagawa Prefecture!" Sakuragi Hanamichi, who had been patient for a long time during the ceremony, finally couldn't help but take his best newcomer trophy and jumped in front of Rukawa Kaede to show off, "When you see me next time, remember to call me basketball genius Sakuragi Hanamichi!"

"Big idiot!" Rukawa cursed coldly, then put on his headphones and looked out the window, no longer paying attention to Sakuragi Hanamichi who was jumping up and down in anger.

"Okay, Sakuragi, stop messing around." Akagi Haruko, who followed Akagi Takenori onto the players' bus, said with a smile, "You just finished playing basketball, aren't you tired? Take a good rest!"

"Haruko..." Sakuragi Hanamichi blushed as he looked at Akagi Haruko's smile and said, "Are you concerned about me?"

"You little brat, take your seat right now!" For some reason, Akagi Takenori, who originally admired Sakuragi Hanamichi very much, suddenly felt that the more he looked at Sakuragi Hanamichi, the more he disliked him.

"Oh, oh, oh, oh~" Anton Mitsuyoshi couldn't help laughing when he saw Sakuragi Hanamichi's energetic appearance. "Akagi... we are finally going to the national competition... until the last second before the end of the game, I couldn't believe it..." Kogure Kochi held the county championship trophy in his arms, feeling like he was dreaming.

"Yes, it's been three years. We've waited for three years and finally got the right to challenge the national giants..." Akagi Takenori remained calm on the surface, but his trembling voice betrayed him, "I really have to thank Kaneki..."

"Yeah, thanks to Kaneki..." Kogure nodded late, and suddenly seemed to remember something and asked Akagi Takenori, "Oh, by the way, since the ceremony ended, it was you who led the team, where did Kaneki go?"

"Ah, Kaneki said that an old friend came to see him, so he left early." said Akagi Takenori.

……

"Hey boy! Surprise!"

In a five-star hotel in Kanagawa, Kaneki Ken looked at Michael Jordan in front of him speechlessly and said, "What's so surprising, bald guy... The news that you came to Kanagawa to participate in the event was already published in the newspaper a month ago, okay?"

"Fuck, you don't give others emotional value at all." Michael Jordan curled his lips and said, "I watched your game, you played well."

"You went to the scene?" Kaneki Ken was really surprised this time.

"How is that possible? Of course it was broadcasted. Do you think I have so much free time?" Michael Jordan sneered. "If you weren't participating, I wouldn't even watch it. But to be honest, the blond kid across from you is pretty good. He can barely be considered a bottom-ranked five-star high school student in the United States. I heard that besides you, there are four other players in Japan who are better than this kid. They're called Miracle Generation. Is this why you chose to come back?"

"It seems that you know a lot, bald guy." Kaneki Ken stretched his body and said as he sat opposite Michael Jordan. "Tell me, what is the matter that you called me here for?"

"Of course it's a good thing." Michael Jordan stood up and took out a stamped document from the drawer and handed it to Kaneki Ken, saying, "This is an invitation letter from Oak Hill High School. I have given all your game videos and three years of training reports in the United States to many scout friends. This was asked by Oak Hill High School to bring it to you before I came to Japan. They are very interested in you, and their principal said that as long as you are willing to join Oak Hill High School, they can recommend you to North Carolina. Then you will be my alumnus, kid."

"Is it so great to be your alumnus? Baldy." Kaneki Ken took the invitation letter from Oak Hill High School and glanced at it, and said in surprise, "Wow, a starting position and playing time are guaranteed, great treatment, I thought the kind of stupid racial discrimination in novels would happen to me."

"Haha, after all, I personally recommended you." Jordan poured himself a glass of red wine and sat down opposite Kaneki Ken again. "How about it, are you interested?"

"It's okay." Kaneki Ken shrugged noncommittally, "After I've dealt with my old friends, maybe I'll consider going to Oak Hill?"

"Haha, then don't make me wait too long." Michael Jordan joked with a smile.

"Don't worry, I never have the habit of making others wait." Kaneki Ken smiled and leaned back in his chair, his eyes full of confidence.

"Wow, then you are really alike me. I have to say, that's a good habit." Michael Jordan took a sip of red wine and said with a smile.

Sorry, I worked overtime last night, and after I came back and finished writing two pages, I fell asleep while writing. I took advantage of my lunch break to quickly finish this one, which counts as yesterday's. I still have three pages left today.

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(End of this chapter)