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

Xiangyang's words were indeed effective. After a simple analysis of the logic, the simple-minded Xiaojue hesitated and said, "Then... it's your problem, Xiangyang?"

Xiangyang: ...

"Well, you could say that, but that's not the point!"

Xiang Yang waved his hand, skipping over the topic. He leaned his head close to Xiao Jue's ear and pointed to the scoreboard with one hand.

"See that thing? No matter how tough this game is, this year, we only have the last ten minutes left to fight with everything we have."

At this point, Xiang Yang paused, patted Xiao Jue on the shoulder, and the referee blew the whistle to continue the game.

"Kogiri-senpai, I saw your positioning in the paint just now. Your momentum is still as hot as it was at the start of the game. I'll be waiting to see how you perform next."

"After all, you're the most reliable senior at Haichang!"

Xiang Yang revealed a meaningful smile, patted Xiao Jue's head heavily, then put his hands behind his head, humming a little tune as he walked back to the arena.

Behind him, Kogoro stood up, striking a bodybuilder pose, steam billowing from his body.

"It's getting exciting!!"

Hearing the strange noise behind him, Xiangyang chuckled. Although Xiaojue was not exactly mature as the oldest member of the team, Xiangyang didn't dislike his simple personality, which made him easy to comfort.

"Let's go, boys."

"Ow!!!"

……

……

Back on the court, Haichang still had possession of the ball.

As Xiangyang dribbled the ball across half-court, his eyes glanced to the other side. Kise, facing Akashi's defense, was ready to receive the ball, but the look in his eyes as he looked at Xiangyang clearly said: I'm not confident either!

Looking up at the inside, Xiaojue was excitedly squeezing Genwu, his eyes burning as he looked at Xiangyang, as if to say, "If you dare to pass, I dare to jump up and dunk on him!"

Xiang Yang turned his head expressionlessly. To his side, two first-year students from Haichang were standing obediently, waiting for Xiang Yang's instructions.

"Seriously... those jerk seniors are so unreliable!"

Xiang Yang spat inwardly and then turned his gaze to his defender.

Pink lightning crackled in Hirakawa Takeshi's eyes, and he exuded an aura that was not to be trifled with. He had not forgotten the defensive foul and technical foul that Xiang Yang had drawn in the third quarter.

Sensing the fierce glint in Pingchuan's eyes, as if he wanted to tear him apart, Xiangyang clicked his tongue and said wistfully.

"The road ahead is long and arduous!"

Chapter 176 Reenactment of the Speech

"Come up here."

At the top of the arc, Xiangyang waved to Xiaojue, asking for a screen.

Given that Kise wasn't confident he could score against Akashi, the most capable and responsible scorer in the Kaijo team was undoubtedly Kise, the Kaijo's second-in-command.

While activating "King of the Fourth Quarter" and "Zone" modes, Xiang Yang smiled at Pingchuan in front of him and said, "Your playing style does indeed counter me in one-on-one situations, but what if I call my teammates to set a screen? How will you deal with that?"

Before he could finish speaking and before Hirakawa could respond, Kobori was already in position, standing next to Hirakawa and setting a solid screen.

Xiang Yang decisively took the shot, but this time he did not choose to break through the paint. Instead, he took advantage of the gap created by his teammate's screen and successfully hit a quick three-pointer.

With three points in hand, Xiang Yang casually made a "three-finger headshot" celebration gesture, looking completely relaxed.

With the added boost of being the "King of the Fourth Quarter," Xiangyang's shooting touch will remain on fire! Moreover, when combined with the "Zone" mode, Xiangyang's star quality officially rises to "Miracle Level"!

At this level, it's not something that Hirakawa can defend against simply by relying on his playing style.

Akashi clearly understood this as well. His face darkened, and he said in a deep voice, "Everyone except Nebu, move to the outside. I can handle Kise by myself. Flank Higashi!"

At this point, the score was 97-91, with Kaijo still in the lead. However, Akashi, with his "dual personality," was undoubtedly the strongest player on the field.

Through several rounds of offensive and defensive battles at the beginning of the fourth quarter, Akashi gradually eroded the nearly double-digit point difference to 6 points.

Xiang Yang narrowed his eyes and glanced at the time on the scoreboard. There were still 6 minutes left in the game.

"Six minutes... a six-point lead? Really... anything can happen."

In Rakuzan's offensive possessions, Akashi's individual ability remained strong. Apart from needing a little time to get past Hikaru, his offense was basically unstoppable once he entered the paint.

With his unparalleled vision across the entire court and his almost impossible-to-intercept passing ability, defensive support is nothing more than a booster for Akashi's scoring.

Akashi charged into the paint again, drawing the attention of Kaijo's twin towers in the paint, and then tossed the ball up with one hand, assisting Nebu to score!

At first, Xiangyang didn't pay much attention, after all, it wasn't a new problem that he couldn't defend against Akashi. Starting from the summer tournament last year to this year's national tournament, he could count the number of times he had effectively defended against Akashi on one hand.

Basketball is an offensive sport, right? If Kaijo can't defend against Rakuzan, then we just need to make sure Rakuzan can't defend against Kaijo either.

But soon, Xiangyang noticed something was wrong.

In positional warfare, if tactics and coordination are followed step by step, then Haichang's attack can also threaten Luoshan, just like last year.

However, this time, unlike before, Akashi is stronger, strong enough to suppress Kise!

When Xiangyang organized and coordinated the attack, all aspects...

Akashi, whose abilities have reached a new level, can easily steal the ball and launch a counterattack to score by utilizing the characteristics of his "Emperor's Eye"!

Kaijo, who were unable to contain Rakuzan on the defensive end, were already in a "you hit me, I'll hit you back" situation. For them, being intercepted by Akashi was not just a simple matter of adding one turnover to the post-game stats panel. It meant that the advantage they had accumulated in the first three quarters would be quickly wiped out!

In just two minutes, Akashi successfully made two steals, both of which resulted in points! (One was a mid-range jumper by Hirakawa Takeshi, and the other was a three-pointer by Mibuchi Reo.)

In an instant, the balance between the two teams was disrupted, and Los Angeles' two extra possessions almost wiped out the point difference.

With the score at 101-100, Kaijo was only one point ahead, and Takeuchi had no choice but to call the penultimate timeout of the game.

With four minutes remaining in the match, the two sides have entered the final decisive moment.

Xiangyang sat silently on the bench, looking up at the ceiling as if deep in thought, while Kise sipped his water intermittently, also remaining silent.

Meanwhile, the tongue-tied senior, Kobori, was constantly radiating heat. His openly passionate yet foolish demeanor made it clear without even looking that he couldn't be relied upon at this crucial moment.

Hiroshi Ohara is also a man of few words. Although he often has a lot on his mind, he hardly speaks at all when he's on the team.

Needless to say, Yuuki, although this sensitive little guy sensed that something was off, is known for his social anxiety. Would he really step forward to encourage his teammates at a time like this? He'd probably be more relieved to jump off a building.

And so, the five starters from Haichang fell silent one after another... The only sounds in the air were sweat dripping onto the floor and the players drinking water.

So... is it time for me to step in?

When Takeuchi noticed that his players weren't behaving well, he slapped his forehead and suddenly remembered that he was the team's coach!

Oh no... what should I say... I haven't done this job in so long, I'm so rusty...

A bead of cold sweat trickled down Takeuchi's face. He unconsciously rubbed his hands together in front of his abdomen. His once silver tongue had lost its former flair after a year of stagnation.

"Ahem, I'll say it..."

However, Takeuchi still forced himself to speak, after all, the fate of Kaijo was at stake, and a year's worth of effort could not be wasted because of these last few minutes!

Just as Takeuchi made up his mind that even if it was nonsense, he had to say something, a voice suddenly interrupted him.

"Stop right, Coach, you're interrupting my train of thought."

Xiangyang stuck out his tongue, tilted his head back slightly, and saw the poised expression on Takeuchi's face.

Xiang Yang was taken aback, then he thought for a moment and a look of sudden realization appeared on his face. He suppressed a laugh and looked at Wu Nei, saying, "Coach, you're not thinking about what you're going to say to encourage us when the team is going against the grain, are you?"

Hearing this, the Kaijo members snapped out of their daze. Kise chuckled and covered his mouth, saying, "Seriously, Coach, do you really think that? That's kind of cute, hahaha."

Not

Hikaru Kise and the others were also looking at Takeuchi with a subtle expression.

Takeuchi's face flushed red. He tugged at his collar and said sternly, "Isn't it all because of you guys who all look so demoralized? Are you kidding me? This is the finals! As the coach, of course I have to stand up and speak up!"

"Pfft, hahaha!"

Upon hearing Takeuchi's admission, Kise finally couldn't hold back any longer. He laughed and patted Hikaru's shoulder, who also looked like he was trying not to laugh. However, compared to Kise, Hikaru was clearly more rational.

Noticing Takeuchi's increasingly grim expression, Xiangyang pulled out a paper fan from somewhere and smacked Kise on the head, stopping his reckless behavior. He then touched his ear with his right hand, crossed his legs again, and sat back down on the bench, saying, "Don't worry, Coach. We're the reigning champions, after all. We're not that fragile..."

"And I'm not trying to be mean, but you haven't worked for over a year. Do you really remember how to encourage your teammates?"

Could it be that he was trying to organize his thoughts during that long silence?

Xiangyang didn't say the second half of the sentence aloud, but the look in his eyes when he looked at Wu Nei revealed it.

"Ahem, of course I remember! I'm a professional coach!"

Takeuchi vehemently denied Xiangyang's words. Even though Xiangyang could tell that Takeuchi was a little guilty, he didn't care too much. He didn't want to talk about Kise or Kobori, since there was a first-grader at home. He decided not to expose his own coach's secrets.

He clapped his hands, drawing the team's attention back to him, gave Takeuchi a reassuring look, and said in a deep voice, "Alright guys, there are only four minutes left in this damn final. No matter how disgusting and difficult the other team is, after these four minutes, we won't be facing them again for a while."

Xiang Yang's tone was very calm, completely lacking the passionate and impassioned feeling that a leader should have when a major battle is imminent. But for some reason, everyone in Haichang fell silent at this moment and listened attentively to what he was saying.

Takeuchi crossed his arms and sat back down in his usual corner spot on the bench. The team was in a losing streak, he gave a speech, and in the end, they won. Takeuchi was all too familiar with this routine!

Even though Xiangyang's tone doesn't sound like he's giving a speech, Takeuchi is still at ease because Xiangyang is the kind of person who does this kind of work. To put it simply: he was born to do this job.

"That muscleman over there is very strong and violent."

Xiangyang gestured with his chin, indicating that his teammates should look at Genwu.

"That sissy is really accurate with his three-pointers. He's largely to blame for the fact that we've lost our advantage."

Xiang Yang pointed at Ling Yang again, a look of disgust on his face.

"There's another big guy, Los Angeles' rookie big forward this year. I admit he made me a bit flustered."

This time, without Xiangyang needing to signal, they all knew he was referring to Pingchuan.

"Of course, the worst one on the other side is that short guy. This isn't the first time we've played against him. That guy plays like a monster, that damn social butterfly. I hate him... well, not really. But I just don't like him!"

Xiangyang revealed a gritted-teeth expression, but he didn't give Akashi any indication, fearing that the latter would see it and call him to the restroom after the game to settle the score.

"Hmm... I've said so much... Oh wait, there's another person... Never mind, it's not important."

Hayama: ? ? ?

Xiang Yang shook his hands, then crossed them in front of his chest, crossed his legs, and looked at his teammates.

"What I'm trying to say is... this match was tough, they were really strong, but in the end... victory still belongs to Haichang!"