Black Basketball: A false start

Chapter 259 Victory or Loss
"Shizi, catch the ball!"

With 40 seconds left in the game, Murasakibara Atsushi first jumped up and passed the rebound from Kaneki Ken to Himuro Tatsuya on the outside, and then he and Okamura Kenichi stood sideways to block Kaneki Ken and Sakuragi Hanamichi who were preparing to go out to defend.

"Damn fox, be careful of people!" Sakuragi Hanamichi, who was blocked by Murasakibara Atsushi, shouted loudly.

"Throw it in, Himuro!" Kenichi Okamura roared.

"Don't worry, Adun, Okamura." After receiving the ball, Himuro Tatsuya immediately made a shooting motion, bent his knees slightly, raised the ball with his right hand, and aimed at the basket.

"Don't even think about shooting!" Rukawa Kaede, who came from the baseline, pounced on him immediately.

"As expected of Shonan High School..." Aida Reiko exclaimed as she watched Rukawa rush out from the inside to help defend in the blink of an eye. "It's not just Kaneki Ken, Sakuragi and Rukawa both have outstanding physique advantages and athletic ability, which greatly increases the margin of error on the defensive end..."

"If this ball goes in, the score difference will be reduced to five points..." Hinata Junpei adjusted the frame of his glasses and said solemnly, "30 seconds is enough for Yangquan High School to tie... or even surpass the score difference!"

"This is too tense..." Koganei Shinji swallowed his saliva, "Even as a spectator on the sidelines, I feel my palms are sweating..."

"boom!"

As the audience on the sidelines watched with bated breath, Himuro Tatsuya smiled slightly and put down the ball he was holding high. As the sound of the basketball hitting the ground was heard, Rukawa Kaede realized belatedly that the distance between him and Himuro Tatsuya was getting farther and farther.

"It's a fake move?" Rukawa's eyes narrowed, and he twisted his body forcefully in the air. He turned around and slapped his left hand, trying to block Himuro Tatsuya's shot.

"What an enviable athletic ability..." Himuro Tatsuya smiled slightly, dodged Rukawa's block, raised the ball again, and calmly threw the ball into the basket.

"Damn it!" As soon as Rukawa Kaede landed, he jumped up again and tried his best to hit the basketball thrown by Himuro Tatsuya, but it was too late. The basketball drew an arc after leaving his hand, and flew accurately to the basket in the silence of the audience.

"Shh!"

In the long silence, the sound of the basketball passing the net seemed particularly harsh. The audience on the sidelines quietly looked at the numbers jumping on the scoreboard, as if they had lost the ability to speak.

"Ahhhhhh!!!" Himuro Tatsuya clenched his fists from the moment he shot. After the basketball passed the net, he felt a surge of blood and couldn't help but roar loudly.

“OO ...

Himuro Tatsuya's roar was like a drop of water falling into a frying pan, and the audience seats on the sidelines suddenly erupted with cheers that shook the entire stadium.

"Chen Ye is becoming more and more mature..." Alex Garcia said as he looked at the field with a gratified look on his face, "I am very pleased that he can make such a correct judgment at such a critical moment..."

As he said that, Alex Garcia seemed to remember something, turned his head and looked at Kagami Taiga and complained: "It's you, Taiga, when will you really grow into a mature ace player?"

"No, how come it has something to do with me again?" Kagami Daiga looked at Alex Garcia in confusion and asked, "Although I admit that Chen Ye's shot was very good, Chen Ye and I are completely different styles of players..."

"Kaneki-san and Akashi-san both once told me something..." Kuroko Tetsuya suddenly interrupted and said, "As a basketball player, you have to have passion for the game, but sometimes you have to keep it in your heart. I think this sentence also applies to you, Kagami-san."

"Do you dislike me too, Kuroko..." Kagami Daigo looked at Kuroko Tetsuya's serious expression and suddenly felt a little broken.

"Okay, stop messing around, the game isn't over yet." Hinata Junpei looked at the field with a serious expression and said, "The next ball will determine the outcome of the entire game!"

"What should I do..." Akagi Haruko on the sidelines was completely frightened by the tense atmosphere. Her eyes kept darting back and forth between Sakuragi Hanamichi and Kaneki Ken. Tears were faintly flickering in her eyes. She rubbed her hands unconsciously and muttered to herself, "We must win, Kaneki... and Sakuragi-san!"

"call……"

As Himuro Tatsuya scored the goal that broke the score, the Shonan High School players present felt a little panicked for the first time and subconsciously turned their eyes to Kaneki Ken. Seeing this, Kaneki Ken rubbed his cheeks, took a deep breath and suddenly laughed.

"Golden Flash..." Sakuragi Hanamichi looked at Kaneki Ken with a guilty look on his face and said, "I should have jumped out to defend that ball just now..."

"It's okay, Sakuragi, it's just an ordinary three-pointer, there's no need to take it too seriously." Kaneki Ken patted Sakuragi Hanamichi's shoulder, smiled and said to his teammates around him, "Don't be so nervous, I don't mean to blame anyone, on the contrary, I think you have performed very well so far."

"Kaneki..." Mitsui Hisashi looked at Kaneki Ken with flickering eyes, somewhat unsure whether what he said was true.

"Okay, serve the ball." Kaneki Ken clapped his hands and said, "It's just a three-pointer. I'll make it, and then we'll win together. It's that simple."

"Yes, Gilgamesh!" Sakuragi Hanamichi nodded heavily, then walked to the baseline and passed the ball to Kaneki Ken.

"Don't underestimate us, bastard!" Seeing Kaneki Ken taking the basketball without paying attention to anyone around him, Mike Okita stood in front of Kaneki Ken and yelled angrily, "Do you think you can score under the defense of the four of us?"

"No, no, no, I didn't intend to score under the defense of the four of you." Kaneki Ken smiled and shook his head and said, "Or in other words, the four of you have no chance to defend me."

"What?" Himuro Tatsuya's heart suddenly skipped a beat when he heard Kaneki Ken's whisper, as if something bad was about to happen.

"boom!"

Under the horrified eyes of Himuro Tatsuya, Kaneki Ken retreated with the ball at an extremely fast speed, and then, while the four people had no time to react, he leaned back and threw the ball into the basket.

"Are you kidding? A fadeaway jump shot from full court?" Takao Kazunari looked at Kaneki Ken on the court and was so shocked that his jaw almost dropped to the ground.

"Oh, it looks like Yangquan High School is doomed to lose." Ootsubo Taisuke said as he looked at Himuro Tatsuya and others who had a look of despair on their faces.

"Not necessarily." Midorima Shintaro narrowed his eyes and said firmly, "Others may not be able to defend this ball, but Murasakibara Atsushi may be able to do so now!"

As soon as Midorima Shintaro finished speaking, a burst of hurried footsteps were heard in the field.

"Don't even think about shooting, Ken!" Murasakihara Atsushi roared and rushed to Kaneki Ken. His huge palm rolled up a hurricane and he desperately fanned the basketball in Kaneki Ken's hand.

"You're great, Murasakibara. You've completely exceeded my expectations today." Kaneki Ken's face showed a trace of godly compassion, and he sighed and said, "But unfortunately, there is only one winner on the basketball court... and that's me!"

"Block it...I have to block this ball no matter what!" Murasakihara Atsushi muttered to himself with gritted teeth as he looked at Kaneki Ken who was getting farther and farther away from him.

As he spoke, Murasakihara Atsushi slowly bent his knees and subconsciously wanted to jump up. But at the moment when Murasakihara Atsushi exerted his strength, he felt a sense of emptiness and powerlessness, and his face changed. The loss of his center of gravity caused Murasakihara Atsushi's feet to slip, and he could not stop falling forward.

"How could this happen..." Murasakibara Atsushi was shocked for a moment, "Why... why can't I jump anymore?"

"I can see that you have indeed prepared a lot for this match." Kaneki Ken glanced at Murasakihara Atsushi and chuckled, "But a body that has not been trained hard can support your evolution to this level... It's already the limit."

As Kaneki Ken finished speaking, the basketball seemed to have traveled through time and space, and fell accurately into the basket in the desperate eyes of Murasakibara Atsushi. What's worse, when Kaneki Ken shot, Murasakibara Atsushi lost his balance and couldn't control himself and crashed into Kaneki Ken. The huge inertia knocked both of them to the ground at the same time.

"Boom!"

The two seven-foot-tall men hit the ground with a loud thud, and the spectators on the sidelines gasped. The atmosphere on the sidelines fell into dead silence again.

"Beep~" After a long silence, the referee blew the whistle, "White No. 9, defensive foul, red No. 6 counts, one penalty!"

"OO ...

The referee's whistle seemed to turn on a switch in the audience. The audience, whose emotions were suppressed to the extreme, roared and vented their suppressed emotions.

"It's completely hopeless..." Mibuchi Reo sighed as she looked at Murasakibara Atsushi lying on the ground, "There are still 30 seconds and the score difference is nine points..."

"Let's go, Reio." Akashi Seijuro looked at the venue with complicated eyes, then turned and walked out of the venue.

"Here comes Xiao Zheng, wait for me." Mibuchi Reio nodded, and followed Akashi Seijuro with Hayama Kotaro and others.

“Damn it… It was so almost there, so almost there…” Murasakibara Atsushi sat on the ground in a daze, staring at the ground with lifeless eyes, having lost all his strength and means.

"Atsushi, it's okay." Himuro Tatsuya suppressed his inner disappointment and squatted down in front of Murasakibara Atsushi. He raised his hand and rubbed Murasakibara Atsushi's head and said, "You have performed very well in this game."

Murasakibara Atsushi listened to Himuro Tatsuya's words, raised his head woodenly, and then lowered it again.

"Murasara, come down and have a rest." Masako Araki looked at the lost Murasakihara Atsushi on the court, feeling a sour feeling in her heart. She came to the sidelines and shouted to Murasakihara Atsushi.

"This goal... was a huge blow to Murasakibara-san..." Kuroko Tetsuya sighed and said, "Victory was so close, but he could only watch it slip away..."

"Yes." Aida Reiko stood up and said solemnly, "There is no need to watch any more. Hurry up and go back to practice more."

"Yes, coach." The players of Seirin High School stood up and responded.

Perhaps the outcome of the game had already been decided, the referee on the side did not rush to urge Kaneki Ken to take the free throw. Kaneki Ken took this opportunity to come to Murasakihara Atsushi and squatted down.

"Hey, Murasakibara..." Kaneki Ken scratched his cheek and said half teasingly and half comfortingly, "Your coach asked you to go off the court and rest. If you don't listen to your coach, be careful that you will be bullied in the future."

"It's none of your business." Murasakibara Atsushi lowered his head and responded in a hoarse voice.

"It's just a game, you don't need to cry, right?" Kaneki Ken put his hand on Murasakihara Atsushi's head and rubbed it, saying, "At worst, I can be gentle with you during the IH League next year."

"I don't want you to give in." Murasakibara Atsushi responded unconvincedly, with a hint of trembling that was difficult to hide, "I don't want to talk to Yanzi anymore!"

"No way, are you really crying?" Kaneki Ken lowered his head, looked up at Murasakihara Atsushi's drooping face and teased, "If you cry again, I will take a photo and post it in the group?"

"Group? What group?" Murasakibara Atsushi asked curiously while choking with sobs.

"After we graduated, didn't Akashi disband our chat group..." Kaneki Ken smiled and patted Murasakibara Atsushi's shoulder and said, "I created a new group a few days ago, but no one has been talking in it these days, so you didn't notice it... In addition, you did a good job today, Murasakibara... It's just that you are a little unlucky, my Jose is not here."

After saying that, Kaneki Ken supported himself on the ground and stood up. He looked down at Murasakibara Atsushi and stretched out his hand. He sighed and said, "After playing for most of the game in your evolved state, your physical strength has been completely overdrawn... Listen to your coach and go back and have a good rest, Murasakibara - for our future duel."

"Okay, I understand." Murasakihara Atsushi nodded gently, took the hand that Kaneki Ken extended and stood up, "It's an agreement, I must beat you next year."

"If you want to beat me, you have to work harder, Murasakibara." Kaneki Ken said with a smile, patting Murasakibara Atsushi's shoulder.

"What an impressive game..." Aomine Daiki smacked his lips and said, "Basketball is really becoming more and more interesting."

After saying that, Aomine Daiki stood up, brushed off the non-existent dust on his body, and walked out of the venue without looking back.

"Where are you going? Aomine?" Wakamatsu Kosuke turned his head and asked in confusion.

"Tsk, Murasakibara is leading the way in evolution, so of course I have to hurry up and catch up." Aomine Daiki waved his hand behind him and said, "While I can still remember what Kaneki taught me, I have to hurry up and get familiar with the feeling of evolution."

After saying that, Aomine Daiki disappeared into the dark player tunnel.

"Let's go, Mickey." Jerry West in the box straightened his suit, took a last look at the field and said, "Let's go express our most sincere congratulations to the winner."

"Yes, Jerry." Kupchak stood up and left the VIP box with Jerry West.

After Murasakibara Atsushi left the court, Yangquan High School also replaced all the starting players and gave up the game completely. As the red light on the timer lit up, the buzzing sound on the radio also resounded throughout the stadium. 108 to 101, Shonan High School defeated Yangquan High School by seven points and successfully advanced to the finals of the Winter Cup League.

"Winter Cup Basketball League East Division Finals, Shonan High School vs. Yangquan High School, 108 to 101, Shonan High School wins!"

"Thanks for the advice!"

"Thanks for the advice!"

As the players from both sides finished lining up to salute, this fierce competition came to an end.

……

"It's really amazing!" Chris Bane shook his head and exclaimed in the audience. "I never thought that in a basketball desert like Japan, two super five-star high school players could grow up... Jerry, did you write down all the game data?"

“当然。”杰里.鲍勃挥了挥手中的笔记本说道，“红色6号，也就是史密斯教练让我们着重关注的那个孩子，拿下了46分+16篮板+14助攻+6盖帽+6抢断，那个紫色的九号球员拿下了44分+26篮板+11盖帽+5抢断……”

"Well done..." Chris Bain snatched the notebook from Jerry Bob's hand and said excitedly, "With such a detailed scouting report in hand, we will definitely get a big bonus this year."

"Don't be happy too soon, Chris." Jerry Bob shrugged helplessly and said, "When I went to the bathroom, I accidentally saw the godfather of La..."

"What?" Chris Bain said in surprise, "These two kids are less than 17 years old. How could they attract the attention of the two Jerrys in Los Angeles?"

"Who knows?" Jerry Bob shrugged with a depressed look on his face. "I heard rumors a long time ago that Michael has a true disciple. Compared to Marcus, this true disciple is more like his biological son..."

"Well..." Chris Bain sighed helplessly and said, "If the news is true, then I think our trip will be in vain..."

"It wasn't a wasted trip." Jerry Bob said with a smile, "I also made reports on several other players, such as the purple No. 12, the red No. 10 and No. 11..."

"Oh, my God, Jerry, you are simply my God..." Chris Bain said in surprise, "We can finally report to Coach Smith..."

"2000 dollars, and I agree with you." Jerry Bob said with a smile.

"Fuck, why don't you just go and rob it?" Chris Bain yelled, then shook his head helplessly and said, "Okay, $2000 is $2000...None of you Jerrys are good people!"

……

"Hello, kid, I'm Jerry West. Do you have time to talk to me?"

At this time, the Logo man, who was said to be a bad guy by Chris Bain, was standing in the locker room of Shonan High School, looking at Kaneki Ken kindly and asked.

(End of this chapter)