Black Basketball: A false start

Chapter 177 Talents and Skills

"Sakuragi-san made a beautiful pass! Kaneki-san made a magical aerial relay and scored 2+1!"

It was not until Kaneki Ken stood on the free throw line that Kitagawa Mitsuyasu on the sidelines came back to his senses from the wonderful goal he had just scored and exclaimed in amazement.

"Swish!" Kaneki Ken's free throw made the shot steadily.

"Good shot, Kaneki-san's free throw is successful again!" Kitagawa Mitsuyasu flipped through the data records in his hand and said seriously, "So far in the national competition, Kaneki-san's free throw success rate is 100%, with an average of 4.6 serves per game, and no one has been lost. This is also a record in the history of the national competition."

"Coach, what should we do? It seems that Zebei is no match for Kaneki Ken..." Nobe Masahiro said worriedly.

"It doesn't matter. Haven't we already prepared for this situation?" Domoto Koichiro's expression remained unchanged. "Fortunately, Kaijo High School gave us some inspiration before..."

"Is Kazunari Fukatsu controlling the ball now?" The people from Shutoku High School who were watching the game on the sidelines were puzzled. "Isn't Nijimura Shuzo's control of the ball pretty good? Why did they change to Kazunari Fukatsu controlling the ball?"

"Because Captain Nijimura no longer has the energy to organize an offense..." Midorima Shintaro said slowly, "According to Kaneki's current strength, he has an absolute advantage against any player... Since we can't defend him, we should use their own methods to fight them back, and use the other strengths of Fenghuang High School to play mismatched singles against the players of Xiangbei High School!"

"But what does this have to do with Kazunari Fukatsu's ball control?" Takao Kazunari still didn't quite understand.

"Because Kaneki Ken's success rate in singles is too high..." Midorima Shintaro gently pushed his glasses and said, "So as one of the two absolute strong points of Fenghuang High School, Senior Nijimura must save his energy as much as possible to ensure that his success rate in singles is not pulled away by Kaneki Ken..."

"Nijimura!" After Kazunari Fukatsu brought the ball across half court, he decisively passed the ball to Shuzo Nijimura.

"Don't even think about going over there, Captain Nijimura!" Izawa Shuji opened his arms and stared at Nijimura Shuzo's every move.

"You, the captain of Kaneki Ken's guards, can call me Captain Nijimura. I'm doing better and better..." Nijimura Shuzo chuckled, "Then let me show you why I was the best small forward in the country before Kaneki Ken!"

As Nijimura Shuzo finished his words, he broke through Izawa Shuji by half a body length at lightning speed, and came to the three-second zone carrying Izawa Shuji, who was half a head taller than him.

"What can you do with your height in this position, Captain Nijimura!" Izawa Shuji said, sticking close to Nijimura Shuzo's back.

"Idiot, didn't I teach you before? You can't be good at basketball just because you are tall!"

Nijimura Shuzo's pupils instantly turned into two whirlpools. He made a very fast blast and then shook the ball with his shoulder to shake Izawa Shuji's center of gravity. He then made a fake shot and missed Sakuragi Hanamichi who came to block his shot, and he made a fade away jump shot.

"Beautiful! Nijimura Shuzo's fadeaway jumper successfully stopped the bleeding for Fenghuang High School!" Kitagawa Mitsuyasu said with a smile, "This goal allowed us to see once again the Hongcun classmate who led Teikou Junior High School to the top eight in the country and was known as the dream forward!"

"Boy, you still need to practice!" Nijimura Shuzo proudly pointed at Izawa Shuji's nose and said, "Do you think you are Kaneki? How dare you laugh at my short stature! If you were in Fenghuang High School, I would punish you by making you run 50 laps!"

"I'm sorry, Captain Kaneki, I was careless in defense just now." Izawa Shuji came to Kaneki Ken and apologized.

"There's nothing to be sorry about." Kaneki Ken patted Izawa Shuji on the shoulder, "No one's defense can always prevent the opponent from scoring. When I was in the United States, I sometimes beat Jordan."

……

"Ah, Ah!"

At this time, Michael Jordan, who was playing cards with his girlfriend in Las Vegas, suddenly sneezed twice.

"Fxxk you Michael!" Charles Barkley said to Michael Jordan with an angry look on his face, "If you want to sneeze, just sneeze. Why sneeze at my donuts?"

"Maybe it looks like a ring, who knows?" Michael Jordan said casually, fiddling with the championship ring on his left hand.

……

"Don't be nervous, play steadily and score another goal!" Kaneki Ken took the ball from the baseline and pushed forward steadily, but the moment he stepped across the center line, he was slightly shocked by the scene in front of him.

"Three...three-man defense?" Izuki Shun said in shock, "Masashi Kawata leads the defense, Nijimura Shuzo and Fukatsu Kazunari assist in the defense?"

"Mineo High School has decided to give it a try." Hinata Junpei narrowed his eyes slightly, "Masashi Kawata, who was born as a defender and is known for his all-round skills, will offset Kaneki Ken's model advantage to the greatest extent, while Kazunari Fukatsu and Shuzo Nijimura will prevent Kaneki Ken from breaking through..."

"But if that's the case, then the other people in Shonan High School will be left out, right?" Shinji Koganei asked with some confusion.

"Coach Domoto's strategy is very clever." Aida Reiko said in a deep voice, "Sakuragi Hanamichi doesn't have the ability to attack with the ball, and his occasional mid-range and long-range shots are not a common weapon. He can be left open appropriately... As for Rukawa Kaede, although it is inappropriate, I have to say that for this Shonan High School, Zebei Rongji is the most perfect replacement for Rukawa Kaede." "Coach Domoto is quite capable~" Kaneki Ken said with a smile as he looked at the three people in front of him who were waiting for the battle, "He is worthy of being the coach who tried to recruit me against all odds."

"Are you praising Coach Domoto or yourself, Kaneki?" Nijimura Shuzo asked with a frown on his face.

"Of course I'm praising myself." As he was speaking, Kaneki Ken suddenly stopped near the midfield line and passed the ball directly, "After all, this set of arrangements he made is... of no use to me!"

"Not good!" Nijimura Shuzo was the first to react. He pushed Kawata Masashi on the back and said, "Go and interfere with his shot!"

"Ah?" Masashi Kawata was confused, but the tacit understanding as teammates for three years still made him rush forward.

"You have good chemistry, but your reaction is too slow." Kaneki Ken ignored Kawata Masashi who was rushing over and jumped up to attack. "And Captain Nijimura, have you forgotten how I dealt with Haizaki in the first place? How dare you let me go in this position?"

"How... How is this possible!" Takao Kazunari stood up with bloodshot eyes, looking at Kaneki Ken in the field in shock, "Could it be that he can also be in this position..."

"What a stupid question!" Izawa Shuji heard Takao Kazunari's exclamation, turned around and stared at Takao Kazunari with some dissatisfaction and said, "My captain is invincible! Captain Kaneki Ken is the best basketball player in the world!"

"call out!!!"

"Impossible..." Under the desperate eyes of Nijimura Shuzo and the other two, the basketball thrown by Kaneki Ken drew an arc in the air, and as the three of them waited for what seemed like years, the basketball fell heavily into the basket like a burning meteor.

"Shh!"

The basketball went into the net and the sound of fans cheering could be heard from the audience.

"Oh my god!" Kitagawa Mitsuyasu couldn't believe his eyes. "I can't believe it! Kaneki-san used a high-trajectory wide-area three-pointer from Midorima-san when facing a three-man double team from Mineo High School!!!! Was he declaring war on Midorima-san on the sidelines?"

"What a boring guy." Midorima Shintaro's pupils shrank slightly. He pushed his glasses and said in a deep voice to Kaneki Ken who was standing in the middle of the field and pointing at him, "Why do you drag this matter into my hands instead of playing your own game well..."

"Don't look so nonchalant, you bastard!" Takao Kazunari said, shaking Midorima Shintaro's arm, "Think of a solution quickly! Otherwise, give me your scholarship!"

"Don't lose your composure, Takao." Midorima Shintaro glanced at Takao Kazunari and said, "Are you only mentally prepared for Kaneki Ken's strength today?"

"That's true..." Takao Kazunari belatedly looked at the gazes coming his way, sat down a little embarrassed, and said worriedly, "But if we don't even have an advantage in range...how are we going to fight Shonan..."

"How to fight? It's nothing more than doing the best one can..." A gleam of determination flashed under Midorima Shintaro's glasses, and he said solemnly, "Just wait for fate!"

"It seems that after leaving me and Momoi, Captain Nijimura has been a little slack in pre-match reconnaissance..." Kaneki Ken looked at Nijimura Shuzo with a hint of ridicule in his eyes, "Otherwise, why is he looking at me with such surprise? Has Captain Nijimura forgotten my... talent?"

After saying that, Kaneki Ken gave a mysterious smile and went back to defense.

"What is he talking about, Nijimura?" Kawata Masashi scratched his head in confusion and asked, "Why does he want to emphasize talent?"

"Because up to now..." Nijimura Shuzo said solemnly, "Except for the match against the Generation of Miracles, Kaneki has only used his many skills in the competition..."

"Talent...skills..." Fukatsu Kazunari chewed on these two words over and over again, and suddenly he seemed to understand something and looked at Nijimura Shuzo in horror, "No way..."

"Yes! In addition to his extraordinary physical talent..." Nijimura Shuzo nodded heavily, as if to confirm Fukatsu Kazunari's guess, "Kaneki has another talent... that is, his absolute sense of the ball is stronger than Kise! Over so many years of basketball career, he has learned too many skills, even miracle-level skills... The huge arsenal allows him to push forward without any scruples when facing any opponent..."

At this point, Nijimura Shuzo paused and took a deep breath, as if to give himself courage: "Only when you really stand in front of him will you know how reassuring it is to be Kaneki's teammate... and how terrifying it is to be Kaneki's opponent..."

"Beep beep~ Fenghuang High School requests a timeout!"

Just as the field fell into dead silence and the mood of despair gradually enveloped the hearts of the players of Fenghuang High School, the referee's whistle broke the tranquility on the field.

"As expected, they called for a timeout..." Sugitani Ichiro sighed, "So far... Coach Domoto only has that one trick left, right?"

“Hmm…” Sugiyama Shota nodded slightly, “That trick gave us a lot of headaches during the mock match… But if that trick doesn’t work… Fenghuang High School can be doomed…”

(End of this chapter)