Black Basketball: A false start

Chapter 219 Start

[“A fiery new miracle! Sakuragi Hanamichi or Kagami Taiga!”]

[“First draw in the Winter Cup! Shutoku High School vs. Seirin High School!”]

"Interesting, it seems Sakuragi has become famous~" Kaneki Ken was sitting in the car, reading the latest news published by Tokyo Sports with great interest.

"Big boy, why do you seem not nervous at all?" David Falk looked at Kaneki Ken in the rearview mirror, shook his head helplessly and said, "Today is the first day of the Golden Arches Training Camp. All NBA scouts will probably focus on today. Every move on the court will be put under the spotlight..."

"Of course I know." Kaneki Ken's eyes still didn't leave the phone, "Diamonds have always been under the spotlight and studied, but have you ever seen a diamond get nervous?"

"It's good that you have this confidence." David Falk smiled, "As long as you can make a name for yourself in this training camp, I promise you that when you graduate from Oak Hill High School, whether you plan to go to a famous basketball school or the NBA, I will help you get the best result."

"It's not about helping me get the best result, David." Kaneki Ken put away his phone, stared at David Falk's eyes in the rearview mirror, and said, "It's about helping us get the best result. We win together, right?"

"Shit, you're so damn right." David Falk secretly rejoiced, lamenting that after so much preparation, he finally got Kaneki Ken's commitment to progress.

"How are you going with the arrangements I asked you to make?" Kaneki Ken put his hands on his lower abdomen and asked as if unintentionally.

"Don't worry, Big Boy." David Falk said with a smile, "Jason Thiber and Nash Goldo's names have been added to the list of fans' exchange games. As long as you beat them today, they won't get any orders in the United States in the future."

"Maybe we can let them work as caddies at the golf course that Michael often goes to?" Kaneki Ken joked, "We can't really let them starve to death~"

"Haha, then I'd be happy to write a letter of introduction for them." David Falk was also amused by Kaneki Ken's words.

"Keep doing your best, David." Kaneki Ken turned on his phone again and looked at the latest news released by Tokyo Sports News and sighed, "We all have a bright future."

As Kaneki Ken finished speaking, the carriage fell into silence for a long time. On the mobile phone screen, the front page headline of Tokyo Sports News was written in bold black letters with a striking headline:

[“Sakuragi Hanamichi vs. Kise Ryota, a new miracle civil war begins today!”]

……

"Kaneki is indeed the one who is at the forefront among us..." Kise Ryota sighed as he looked at Shonan High School warming up in the opposite half of the court, "We are still fighting for the so-called national championship in Japan, and Kaneki is already competing with players from all over the world in the United States for the title of the strongest high school student on the planet..."

"I told you to read less of those chuunibaku-like articles, but you didn't listen..." Kasamatsu Yukio kicked Kise Ryouta on the butt and said, "Kaneki Ken is not here today. If you get beaten by that newcomer in this match, you'll have to commit seppuku!"

"Don't worry, Captain Kasamatsu!" Kise Ryota rubbed his butt and said, "I'm full of energy now!"

"There are so many people. I didn't expect that. Although classmate Jin is not here, everyone is looking forward to this game..."

In the media work area on the sidelines, Nakamura said as he looked around at the crowded audience seats with curiosity.

"That's natural, Nakamura." Aida Miko sighed, "With the rise of Sakuragi and Kagami, the name of the old Miracle Generation has ushered in the strongest challenge. Especially Sakuragi, although he came from a poor family, he became one of the new miracles in less than a year of playing basketball. This story has made Sakuragi an inspirational role model for the entire Japanese basketball world."

"Come on, Shonan!"

"Behave yourself, red-haired boy!"

As the game time approached, the fans present could no longer hold back their excitement and began to cheer for Sakuragi Hanamichi.

"I'm so jealous, Sakuragi-chan...it seems like you're even more popular than me now." Kise Ryouta looked at Sakuragi Hanamichi's back with complicated eyes and muttered to himself.

"Then do something to attract other people's attention!" Kasamatsu Yukio said coldly, "Come, I'll pass the ball to you, go and say hello to them!"

"Okay, captain!" Kise Ryota took the pass from Kasamatsu Yukio with a smile and started running with the ball from outside the three-point line.

"Look at Kaijo High School, what is Kise Ryouta going to do?"

Kise Ryota's action naturally attracted the attention of the fans on the sidelines. He started accelerating from two steps outside the three-point line, stepped on the free throw line with both feet, jumped up, glided in the air for a distance, and dunked the ball into the basket. After completing the dunk, Kise Ryota pointed to Shonan High School with a sly smile, and looked at Sakuragi Hanamichi with a hint of provocation.

"Free throw line dunk?"

"Isn't this the ultimate move of Kagami Taiga and Sakuragi Hanamichi?"

"Is this a protest against Sakuragi Hanamichi?"

Huang Lailiangta's action caused a lot of discussion among the fans, and some people even directed the topic to Shonan High School. "Damn it, this little golden guy dared to steal my limelight!" Sakuragi Hanamichi gritted his teeth and looked at
"Stop gritting your teeth here!" Mitsui Shou hit Sakuragi Hanamichi on the back with the basketball and said, "After all, Kanagawa is Kaneki's territory. They are demonstrating to us, so we have to fight back!"

"Okay!" Sakuragi Hanamichi nodded heavily, then walked one step outside the three-point line and began to accelerate. When he reached the free throw line, he stepped on one foot on the free throw line and jumped up.

"Got it!" Mitsui Hisashi looked at Sakuragi Hanamichi in the air with a smile, and gently slammed the ball to the ground with both hands. Ogiwara Seihiro also tacitly pushed the ball behind him. Sakuragi Hanamichi, who reached the highest point, caught the basketball, swung the ball behind his head with both hands, and then slammed it hard into the basket.

As a fierce roar of the basket sounded, Sakuragi Hanamichi loosened his hands, looked at Kise Ryota with a fighting look, pointed his right index finger at the ground and said loudly: "This is Jinshanshan's place, it's not your turn to show off your power!"

"Wow! One-footed free throw line jump shot for a two-handed dunk!"

"You're really awesome, red-haired boy!"

"Shonan will win!!!"

Sakuragi Hanamichi's violent opening dunk immediately made the blood of all the fans in the stadium boil, and the voices of support for Shonan High School also rose and fell like waves.

"It seems that this game cannot end peacefully, Captain Kasamatsu..." Kise Ryota's voice trembled, his eyes full of excitement.

"What does it matter? I've been waiting for this moment for too long!" Yukio Kasamatsu murmured with a barely perceptible smile on his face.

……

"Wow, that's awesome!" In a park on the streets of Tokyo, Mitsuki Furuhata was watching the last qualifying match in Kanagawa Prefecture on his mobile phone. Sakuragi Hanamichi's violent warm-up dunk made him roar out loud.

"What are you looking at, lowering the flag?" Shinji Koganei walked up and asked curiously.

"Today is the last game in Kanagawa Prefecture..." said Mitsuki Furuhata as he handed the phone to Shinji Koganei. "Just now, Sakuragi and Kise each contributed a dunk from the free throw line at the beginning of the game. It was amazing! Especially Sakuragi, who made a one-footed dunk from the free throw line!"

"Awesome..." Koganei Shinji stared at the wonderful replay on the screen with his mouth wide open, "I suddenly want to go and see it live..."

"Alright, alright, come here!" While the two were still looking at their phones, Hyuga Junpei clapped his hands and said, "It's time to go to the registry to register..."

"But the God of Fire hasn't arrived yet..." Yi Yuejun raised his hand and said.

"Where did he go?" Hinata Junpei asked with some confusion.

"He said he was hungry and went to buy something to eat..." Yi Yuejun spread his hands helplessly, "I don't know why he got hungry so quickly. He clearly only ate seven burgers this morning..."

"Sorry, I'm late!" Just when Hinata Junpei was about to lose his temper, Kagami Daiga hurried over with two big chicken legs in his mouth and said vaguely, "I shouldn't have been late for registration, right?"

"If you had come earlier, you wouldn't have been late!" Hinata Junpei rolled his eyes at Kagami Daiga and pointed at the sign that had just been put up at the registration office saying "Registration is suspended" and said, "You can only wait..."

"Oh, it's okay, Hinata." Kiyoshi Teppei smiled and rubbed Kagami Daigo's head and said, "It's a good opportunity for Kagami to help digest his food~"

"Alas, this is the only way..." Hinata Junpei scratched his head and said, "How about this, let's go sit on the grass over there for a while, and then go over to register directly."

"Okay~" the players of Seirin High School said in unison.

"Hey, isn't this Muji?"

Not long after everyone from Seirin High School sat down on the grass, a rough voice sounded behind Kiyoshi Teppei.

"Hey, it's you, Iwamura." Muji Teppei looked back and greeted with a smile.

"Ah, even though you've quit the basketball club, you're still here to give the new guys some experience." Iwamura Tsutomu smiled and pointed at Tsumura Tomonori beside him, looking at Kiyoshi Teppei with a hint of concern and said, "Are you guys here to participate in this basketball game, too? Is your leg okay?"

"Ah, it's basically healed." Muji Teppei patted his knee and said, "Generally speaking, it should be no problem to handle a street competition."

"Then we'll see you at the stadium." Iwamura Tsutomu stood up and pointed to the stadium in the park. "It will be our turn soon."

"Okay, see you at the game." Teppei Muji smiled and waved goodbye to Tsutomu Iwamura.

(End of this chapter)