Kuroko's Basketball: I'm not the boss?

"Please advise!"

The starting players from both sides stood facing each other and bowed to one another.

Xiangyang stroked his chin, sizing up both teams' lineups.

Although Masako's mobilization efforts seemed overly aggressive, she actually hit the mark.

If Yangquan wants to overcome the odds, it's not something that Xiangyang can achieve with just a few words of encouragement. As Yangquan's core player, Ziyuan must step up and lead the game. If he doesn't fight hard, then even if all the other Yangquan players, including Bingshi, fight tooth and nail, they still won't have a chance of winning.

"Do you think... we have a chance of winning?"

Masako gently smoothed her bangs, looked at the arena, and asked Xiangyang.

"You, with your mental database, should know more about this than I do."

Xiangyang smiled and sat cross-legged on the bench.

“Last year there was a strange team, and one of the people in it asked me, ‘Do you believe in miracles?’”

"Miss Masako, now I'm going to tell you that miracles really do exist!"

……

……

Jump ball begins

Murasakibara, naturally superior in this aspect, unsurprisingly secured the first attack for his team.

This giant, who had already grown to 2.08 meters tall before reaching adulthood, was like Shaquille O'Neal in high school level competitions.

Waiting for his point guard to walk past him, Murasakibara handed over the ball to him and then slowly made his way to Rakuzan's half of the court.

The overall style of Yangquan High School is based on a fast pace. Under Yako's coaching philosophy, every player under her will give their all on the court. Whether it is offense or defense, you will never see Yangquan players being sluggish or lazy.

Well...except Murasakibara.

"Slow down, slow down!"

Yangquan's point guard received the ball but didn't rush into an attack despite having an advantage in the opening jump ball. In fact, in games where Ziyuan was on the court, they would always be the first to attack. How to play when they had an advantage at the start was a lesson that was etched into the minds of every Yangquan player.

Off the court, Xiang Yang watched the point guard gesturing wildly, as if he were directing traffic, and couldn't help but whisper to Ya Zi, "That's not a freshman, is he?"

Yako glanced at him and said irritably, "So you still don't know who our starting lineup is? He's a senior from Yangquan High School, Cho Tetsuya."

"Oh, you're a senior in high school. No wonder your movements are so practiced."

Xiang Yang suddenly realized what was going on and quietly remembered this Yangquan player who was very passionate in his movements.

However... while this Tetsuya Naga's movements were very professional, his actual strength was somewhat lacking.

At the top of the arc, Akashi looked at the guy in front of him, who was dancing like a monkey, and a hint of anger flashed in his eyes.

Akashi took a small step forward, his eyes lit up, and in an instant, immense pressure, along with his gaze, pressed down on Nagatsu.

"Eek!"

Changzhe suddenly shivered and hurriedly passed the ball to Himuro on the side. Only when Akashi looked away from him did Changzhe breathe a sigh of relief, but at the same time, he felt a wave of fear.

This red-haired guy is terrifying…

"Dun!"

On the other side, Himuro was completely unaware of his point guard's thoughts. He waved to Murasakibara, who was standing in the paint in a daze. Murasakibara reluctantly moved his feet and set a screen for Himuro at the high post.

Although Murasakibara was reluctant to set the screen, his size and height made up for it, and even without being serious, he still managed to completely block Reo, who was matched up against Himuro.

"Oops!"

Feeling as if there was a wall beside her, Lingyang's expression changed drastically, and she quickly called her teammates to come and help defend.

With his muscular physique, Nebu stepped forward, glanced at the 1.80-meter-tall Himuro and the 2.08-meter-tall Murasakibara, and resolutely stood in front of Himuro. In contrast, Murasakibara, who was left undefended, had to be guarded by Reo.

Ling Yang:…

(ps: Reo Mibuchi is 188cm tall)

Without any suspense, Murasakibara received Himuro's pass, and without even paying attention to Reo behind him, he casually slammed the ball down with both hands, scoring the first point of the game!

Unlike Kagami's passion, Murasakibara, who completed the opening dunk, had no reaction, as if it were all a matter of course. This calm yet shocking scene immediately drew gasps from the audience.

"Tsk tsk tsk."

Xiangyang clicked his tongue repeatedly, watching Murasakibara saunter back to the field, and couldn't help but sigh, "If these guys had worked a little harder, how could Akashi have become Captain Miracle?"

Honestly, with Murasakibara's physical talent, if he hadn't been so lazy and unwilling to train, Kuroko's Basketball would have ended in the first season. Murasakibara easily defeated everyone else, so what would have been the point of airing it?

Unfortunately, fate is so cruel; it doesn't grant someone corresponding talent just because they work hard.

Perhaps, only when people lose the favor of talent can they find that inner drive to work hard.

Chapter 159 Murasakibara, Kuroko is tougher than you

End of the first quarter

Yangquan leads 22-18.

Murasakibara shrugged and plopped back down on the bench. His weight of over 200 pounds slammed onto the bench like a cannonball.

Xiang Yang glanced at the bench with lingering fear, afraid that it might suddenly break.

The others in Yangquan were already used to this. Yako bit her lip and said, "In the second quarter, let's change the tactics. Let's make Himuro the main offensive player. Except for Murasakibara, all the perimeter players should move outwards to make room for the inside."

"Himuro, you decide for yourself: either a singles shot or a drop shot to Murasakibara."

"I understand, Coach."

Himuro nodded in agreement, then glanced at Murasakibara with concern.

According to Masako's tactical arrangements, Yosen's offensive focus was entirely on Murasakibara throughout the first quarter.

Unlike in the past when the ball was passed to Murasakibara for one-on-one play, Masako, at Xiangyang's suggestion, specifically instructed the two to run more pick-and-rolls on the court.

Thanks to the inherent advantage of Murasakibara's physique, their pick-and-roll quality is extremely high, and their scoring efficiency also increases accordingly.

The only problem is probably Murasakibara's stamina.

whoosh—whoosh—

Murasakibara placed his hands on the back of the seat, leaned back, looked up, closed his eyes, and breathed heavily.

I'm so tired...

This was the first time Murasakibara had run so frequently on the field since graduating from the Teiko era.

"I'm saying... will doing this really help us beat Akira?"

Murasakibara turned to look at Xiangyang. Although Masako didn't say anything, everyone in Yangquan knew that the change in their usual way of playing ball must have been Xiangyang's suggestion.

After all, they didn't play like this before, and they didn't have an assistant coach like Xiang Yang on the bench.

Murasakibara's words instantly drew the attention of everyone else in Yangquan to Xiangyang, as this was the question they all wanted to ask.

After Yako followed Xiangyang's advice and changed tactics, Yangquan's starting lineup underwent significant changes.

The original Yangquan Three Towers, with Ziyuan and two other inside players guarding the restricted area, were a veritable "no-fly zone," often limiting the opponent's scoring to single digits!

Now, Yangquan's starting lineup has been adjusted, with all the inside players except for Ziyuan being taken off the court and replaced by several outside shooters.

Yangquan suddenly transformed from a team with an average height of 190cm or more into a team with one big man and four small men on the perimeter.

Feeling everyone's gaze upon him, Xiangyang scratched his face. Before he could speak, Himuro stepped in front of him, blocking everyone's view.

"I believe in Mr. Xiangyang."

Himuro stared at Murasakibara, his tone sincere and firm. Seeing this, the latter didn't say anything more, and took the lead in looking away to rest quietly.

Needless to say, the others, even ordinary players, had no say in the matter, and with Murasakibara having no objections, they couldn't interfere with any of Masako's decisions.

In fact, even if Himuro didn't stand up for Hikaru, as long as Masako was there, even if Hikaru made Murasakibara run his legs off on the field, they wouldn't be able to object.

However, Hikaru gladly accepted Himuro's kind offer.

"So, are you getting into the 'zone' feeling?"

Xiang Yang glanced at the adjacent half of the field.

Akashi, who was sitting and resting, asked Himuro.

Himuro rubbed the towel in his hand, looking somewhat helpless: "It's the same as during training, I don't feel anything special."

[Same as during training?]

Xiangyang was stunned. Although he didn't go through the same stage as Himuro when he started "zone", he could figure it out even with a brain.

Training and competition are completely different, right?

The high-intensity shuttle runs on the field, coupled with the competition and strategic maneuvering between the players on both sides, make it significantly more difficult to maintain composure during the game compared to training.

[What? This kid's clearly making progress, but he doesn't even realize it.]

Seeing Himuro's worried expression, Xiangyang chuckled and patted him hard on the back.

"Cheer up, kid, the game has only just begun."

……

……

Second quarter

Los Angeles starts

Akashi dribbled the ball across half-court and immediately found a gap in Yosen's defense. With a push of his right hand, he passed the ball to Reo Mibuchi in the corner.

He made a three-pointer.

Los Angeles three-pointer effective

At the start of the second quarter, Akashi delivered an assist, narrowing the gap to one point.

"It's okay, it's okay! Take your time!"

Changzhe shouted as he served the ball. This average senior high school student had a knack for encouraging his teammates and also had a decent three-point shooting ability. This was why Xiangyang suggested that Yazi promote him to the starting lineup.

When facing stronger opponents, the difference between having someone in the team speak up to ease the tension can be significant.