Black Basketball: A false start

Chapter 62 Practice Match (Part )
"Wow! Another steal!"

"This kid has already made two steals in just two minutes!"

"…But when did this guy come on stage?"

The players watching the game on the sidelines were amazed and discussing as they watched Kuroko complete consecutive steals.

Just now, Kuroko, who completed the steal for the second time, contributed another assist, helping the three armies close the score. Seeing this, Sugitani Taro quickly called a timeout.

"What's wrong with you?" Sugitani Taro complained to his teammates with a dissatisfied look on his face, "It's only been a few minutes and you've made two mistakes!"

"I'm sorry, Captain..." Yamazaki Wataru lowered his head with a guilty look on his face, not daring to look at Sugitani Taro, "It's mainly because that guy is too weird. He disappeared when I wasn't paying attention..."

"Yamazaki Watari, are you awake?" Sugitani Taro said in disbelief, "Could this guy teleport?"

Listening to Sugitani Taro's sarcasm, Yamazaki Wataru said unwillingly: "I don't know how to describe it, Captain, but this guy is indeed not easy to deal with."

"Okay, stop making excuses." Sugitani Taro said nonchalantly, "Pass the ball to me later, don't wander around on the perimeter, it's easy to make mistakes."

"The Second Army seems a little impatient, Ken-kun." Taoi Satsuki looked at the Second Army rest area, "It seems that Tetsu-kun has put a lot of pressure on them."

"Of course." Kaneki Ken said as if it was a matter of course, "My opponent is an invisible ghost on the field. Who wouldn't be nervous?"

"Hey, Yanzi, if it were you, how would you deal with such a player?" Murasakibara Atsushi asked curiously, "After all, you were the one who brought up Kurochino, so you should be very clear about the strengths and weaknesses of this kind of player, right?"

"It's very simple, Murasakibara." Kaneki Ken said with a smile, "Just single him out. Misdirection is just a trick of a magician, it's not magic. When the ball is in your hand, you must focus on the opponent in front of you. This cannot be concealed by any tricks."

"If that's the case..." Aomine Daiki looked at Kuroko Tetsuya in the field with some concern, "Then Kuroko's future will be very bad? As long as he enters the field, one person will be automatically left out..."

"This is the price you have to pay to let Kuroko play a role on the field, Aomine." Kaneki Ken looked at the field solemnly, "Kuroko is like a shadow. The stronger the light, the more obvious the shadow. Kuroko's characteristics mean that he is not suitable to partner with the weak."

Kaneki Ken paused, as if he had thought of something, and then smiled and said, "Of course, the current Second Army is just like that, and Kuroko's current teammates are enough."

Aomine Daiki followed Kaneki Ken and looked into the field, seemingly understanding what was going on. The score was 18:8, with the second team leading by 10 points.

"Captain!" Fujii Itsuki brought the ball across half court and made a fake shot before passing the ball to Taro Sugitani in the paint.

"Yoshi!" Taro Sugitani jumped up and caught the pass. Looking at Daichi Sugimoto who was defending him from behind, the new and old hatreds of being beaten up by Kaneki Ken and a group of members of the three armies came to his mind.

"Hey, kid, I want to see if you can still perform as well as before without Kaneki Ken as your big brother!" Sugitani Taro leaned back with a grin, and Sugimoto Daichi groaned and took two steps back.

"Haha! Look at me... Damn, where's the ball?" Taro Sugitani, who had carried Sugimoto Daichi away, was about to make a layup with the ball, but suddenly he felt something was wrong when his hands were empty.

"Oh no, hurry back to defense!" Taro Sugitani ran to the backcourt as soon as possible, but still failed to stop Izawa Shuji who took the lead and made a fast break layup to score two points.

"Well done, Kuroko!" Sugimoto Daichi and Izawa Shuji excitedly high-fived Kuroko Tetsuya, obviously very satisfied with the situation after Kuroko came on the court. "Ahhh, damn it!" Sugitani Taro looked at the three people who were high-fiving and celebrating, and his eyes were about to pop out of his head in anger.

"Captain!" Yamazaki Wataru said, ignoring Sugitani Taro's angry expression, "I think the rest of the ball will be played by me."

"? What do you mean?" Sugitani Taro looked at Yamazaki Wataru unhappily, "You think I'm holding you back, right?"

"No, Captain." Yamazaki Wataru explained calmly, "I just observed carefully. Although this kid is elusive when playing, his personal offensive and defensive abilities are just average. Instead of worrying about him wandering around the court like a ghost, it's better to just go after him and force him to show up."

"...I hope your method works." Sugitani Taro gritted his teeth, his face full of resentment, "No matter what, we can't lose this game today, understand!"

"Yes!" Everyone in the Second Army responded in unison.

"It seems like the other party has found a loophole in Kurokin, Ken." Murasakihara Atsushi glanced at Kaneki Ken with some concern, "Is this really okay?"

"Don't worry, we're guaranteed to win." Kaneki Ken reached out and took out a potato chip from the bag. "Didn't I tell you that Kuroko is enough to deal with the Second Army? You didn't think I was only talking about the offensive end, did you?"

The players on the field naturally did not hear the whispers of the two people off the field. As planned, Fujii Itsuki brought the ball across half court and handed it to Yamazaki Wataru.

"Hey, kid." Yamazaki Watari looked at Kuroko Tetsuya with an unhappy face, "You really played a trick on us just now!"

"Sorry, I didn't mean to tease you." Kuroko Tetsuya said, looking seriously into Yamazaki Wataru's eyes.

"..." Yamazaki Wataru was a little speechless because of Kuroko Tetsuya's straightforwardness, "It doesn't matter. Anyway, don't think about playing those little tricks from now on!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Yamazaki Wataru passed Kuroko Tetsuya in one step, and his shot against Hasegawa Ichiro who came to defend him missed, and the rebound was grabbed by Sugimoto Daichi.

"Sorry, Captain, I missed the shot." Yamazaki Wataru gestured to Sugitani Taro with some apology.

"It doesn't matter, just make the next shot." Taro Sugitani's face looked a little ugly, but he also knew that now was not the time to lose his temper.

Izawa Shuji received the pass from Sugimoto Daichi and carefully carried the ball across half court.

"From now on, I'm going to keep a close eye on you!" Yamazaki Watari looked at Kuroko Tetsuya solemnly, "Don't even think about... I'm making fun of you again!"

Yamazaki Wataru didn't expect that after just a moment of distraction, Kuroko Tetsu would disappear in front of him again.

When Izawa Shuji saw that Kuroko Tetsuya had broken free from the defense, he decisively threw the ball to Sugimoto Daichi in the inside.

"Is this... a mistake?" Taro Sugitani looked at the basketball that was about to fly into his arms and was about to reach out to grab it. Suddenly, the basketball seemed to turn and flew to Shotaichi Zuo who was completely left open in the bottom corner. With a swish, the basketball went into the net and the score came to 18:13.

(End of this chapter)