Black Basketball: A false start

Chapter 50 Hesitation leads to defeat
"If you can't pass this level, you will die." The faint voice of Aida Katsuyori reached Aida Reiko's ears, making her heart inexplicably tighten. She looked towards the bench of Shibuya First Junior High School with worry.

"What should I do...what should I do..." Although Keisuke Kobayashi called a timeout, his mind went blank as he looked at the situation in front of him, "The strongest Kotaro was suppressed, and Daisuke was unable to take care of himself..."

"Hey, hey, hey, what's wrong with everyone? Why do you all look like you've seen the end of the world?" Ming Hai Daisuke looked at everyone's pale faces, stood up and shouted loudly, "The game is not over yet, we haven't lost yet! Play well, there is still hope of winning!"

"Daisuke is right!" Hayama Kotaro took a big gulp of water, "We still have hope! Didn't we just launch a counterattack? Even if it's for the captain, we have to win!"

"Hi!" With the encouragement of the two, a flush of color appeared on the faces of everyone in Shibuya No. 1 Middle School, and their originally panicked mood gradually calmed down.

"Huh~~" Kobayashi Keisuke patted his face and forced himself to calm down, he let out a long sigh, "Now that things have come to this point, we can only fight to the death! You guys spread out for a while, I'll play a few shots first. If the outside line can be opened up, Kotaro, you always pay attention to cutting inside, I'll pass the ball to you! If the outside line can't be opened up, Daisuke, that big guy with purple hair is not much taller than you, the rebounds and second attack will be left to you!"

"Yes!" Kotaro Hayama and Daisuke Narumi nodded heavily.

"Captain..." Keisuke Kobayashi turned his head to look at Yamanaka Hikoichi, and the words were stuck on his lips, as if he was considering how to say it more tactfully.

"Just say it, it's okay, Keisuke." Yamanaka Kazuhiko laughed and punched Kobayashi Keisuke's chest, "After I leave, you will be the captain. It's not good to always be so fussy."

"Captain, I'll be frank with you." Kobayashi Keisuke was also quick to follow suit. "I know that defending Nijimura Shuzo is a very difficult task for you, but even if you can't defend him, you must limit his shots. You can even let him break through. We will help you with the defense."

"Okay, I'll try my best." Keisuke Kobayashi felt the strength of Yamanaka Kazuhiko's hand on his shoulder increase a little, as if it was both a response to him and an encouragement to Yamanaka Kazuhiko himself.

"Liu-san." Keisuke Kobayashi looked at Liu Wei and said concisely, "Do a good job of defense and rebounding, and shoot when there's an open spot."

"Hi!" Liu Wei said in a deep voice.

……

"You did a good job!" Aida Katsuyori looked at Kobayashi Keisuke who was arranging tactics with some disinterest, "If we don't run into Kaneki Ken and the others, maybe we can still have a chance this year."

Reiko Aida didn't say anything. Although she couldn't see clearly, she could vaguely feel that the players of Teiko Junior High School not only had much better basic physical data than Shibuya First Junior High School, but their current condition was also much better than that of Kotaro Hayama.

"Come on! Even if you can't win... don't give up..." Aida Reiko muttered, and even Aida Katsuyora who was sitting next to him didn't hear her voice.

"Buzz~" As the timer buzzed, the timeout ended and players from both teams returned to the court.

"Keisuke, catch the ball!" Daisuke Narumi passed the sideline ball to Keisuke Kobayashi, and he went to the inside to fight with Murasakibara Atsushi according to the original plan.

"Have you started taking over the ball?" Midorima Shintaro walked up to Kobayashi Keisuke with an expressionless face. "Good, that's more like you."

"You seem to know me very well..." Keisuke Kobayashi rolled his eyes speechlessly, dribbling the ball while carefully observing Midorima Shintaro's defensive position - a very typical Midorima Shintaro style, with a very stable and flawless position.

"It's just that Kaneki did a good job in advance." Midorima Shintaro said in a deep voice, "To be honest, I admire him for doing his best. It would be even better if he read the morning fortune-telling like me."

"Then you're unlucky today." Keisuke Kobayashi, who had been unable to break through, decided to shoot directly, "Because I'm in a good touch today."

"You're wrong." Midorima Shintaro, "As a pitcher, you should do your best and leave the rest to fate. You've done your best, and fate will take its course... Cancer has the best luck today!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Midorima Shintaro stepped forward and directly pushed down the ball that Keisuke Kobayashi had not yet thrown.

"As a shooter, you just hesitated." After picking up the fallen ball, Midorima Shintaro immediately launched a fast break, "And if you hesitate, you will lose!" As the words fell, Midorima Shintaro, who had just passed the center line, decisively jumped up and threw the ball into the basket.

"You must be kidding!" Keisuke Kobayashi, who was returning to defense, didn't expect Midorima Shintaro to shoot from such a long distance. "He actually dared to shoot a logo shot during a fast break?! Isn't that too outrageous?"

Under Keisuke Kobayashi's shocked eyes, the basketball drew a perfect and towering arc and fell towards the basket like a meteor falling to the ground. With a swish, the basketball went into the net.

Seeing that the Logo shot he had practiced so hard these days had achieved initial results after its first use, Midorima Shintaro gently pushed the frame on his nose with his left hand, turned around without looking at Keisuke Kobayashi and said, "I said, I have done my best."

Under the frame, the golden light in Midorima Shintaro's eyes shone like thunder in the night sky, and the originally barely perceptible green light began to appear and disappear from time to time.

"Are you okay, Keisuke?" Yamanaka Kazuhiko walked over and asked with concern.

"It's okay, Captain, it's just a little too unexpected." Kobayashi Keisuke shook his head, suppressed the uneasiness in his heart, and pretended to be calm.

"It's really scary..." In the hospital, Jin Jixiang stared at the game screen on TV and sighed, "He is so confident in himself at this distance."

"Of course, a lion won't go with a wild dog." Hanamiya Shin, who had just changed his medicine, stared at the screen and sneered, "If it wasn't for the pick-and-roll by that Chinese student, Keisuke Kobayashi wouldn't have been able to score against that green-haired kid... Look, he blocked it again, didn't he?"

"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!" Keisuke Kobayashi was very upset after being blocked again. In order to save face, he closely guarded Shintaro Midorima who had the ball and did not give him any space to shoot.

"Oh? You're only defending my shooting? Interesting." Midorima Shintaro raised the corner of his mouth slightly, used a fake shot to create space, and while Keisuke Kobayashi hadn't reacted, he broke through Keisuke Kobayashi with a single step.

Seeing this, Keisuke Kobayashi quickly adjusted his center of gravity and tried to keep up with Midorima Shintaro, but Midorima Shintaro seemed to have foreseen it and used a simple between-the-legs dribble and step back to reach the three-point line.

Looking at Keisuke Kobayashi who was completely shaken off by him, Midorima Shintaro shot confidently and made the three-pointer steadily.

"I don't quite agree with your idea." Midorima Shintaro looked down at Keisuke Kobayashi in front of him, "I can only shoot three-pointers, but I'm not the only one who can shoot three-pointers. You underestimate me."

"Well done." Kaneki Ken also came forward and patted Midorima Shintaro's butt to encourage him, "To be honest, I was also surprised by you."

"Humph." Midorima Shintaro snorted coldly, "Of course, I am the best pitcher at Teiko Junior High School."

"Midori-kun, are you being tsundere?" Murasakibara Atsushi said bluntly, "Some time ago I saw you sneaking into the gym to watch Yanzi's afternoon training."

"You're talking nonsense, I didn't do that!" Midorima Shintaro's expression was a little unnatural, "Why are you slandering someone's innocence out of thin air?"

"Ah? Innocent?" Murasakibara Atsushi retorted, "I went to buy potato chips that day and saw you peeking at Yanzi's lunch training at the door. Then the security guard thought you were a thief and chased after you and beat you up."

Everyone burst into laughter. Midorima Shintaro looked at the laughing crowd and became even more panicked. He muttered something like "I was just passing by" and "I just heard the noise in the stadium and was a little curious". For a moment, the stadium was filled with a happy atmosphere.

"Play your own ball well, Murasakibara!" Midorima Shintaro said in a rare state of anger.

"Of course." Murasakibara Atsushi stretched his shoulders and said excitedly, "I can't wait!"

(End of this chapter)