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

In the video, Akashi dribbled and collided with Hikaru. His body leaned forward slightly beyond its cylindrical shape. However, when Hikaru made contact with Akashi, his feet were not firmly planted, and his defensive positioning was also illegal.

"This shot..."

The referee slowly opened his mouth

In his mind, there was absolutely no problem with calling a foul on both sides.

(Basketball trivia: A double foul refers to contact that occurs when both teams commit illegal acts.)

However, as referees, there is a very important basic principle: they must try their best to avoid making calls that kill the game!

In the current situation of the game, if the ball is awarded to Haichang, then Luoshanfang will almost certainly be doomed.

Moreover, there is another important off-site factor: the sponsor of the national tournament organizers is the Akashi Group…

I'm sorry, but I have to do this.

The referee closed his eyes, held the microphone, and delivered the final verdict.

"Haechang No. 2 commits a defensive foul, Luoshan No. 4 takes three free throws."

The crowd erupted in uproar, and Takeuchi even leaped up as if to confront the referee, but was thankfully stopped by his own substitute player…

The fans from the Haizeng side stood up and angrily waved the items in their hands to express their dissatisfaction, while the fans from the Los Angeles and neutral sides were jeering.

With the score at 103-101, Haichang is leading by two points. If Luoshan makes all three free throws, it means they have successfully turned the tide in the final moments of the game!

Regardless of the final outcome, at this moment, the excitement of this match has reached its peak!

In the live stream, Bobo sighed, "It's a pity about this ruling. It's really a shame for Haichang, but they still have a chance. Let's see how they handle it..."

Only if Akashi makes all three free throws can Rakuzan take the lead, and even if they do, Kaijo still has the right to win the game with the final shot.

In a sense, the referee's decision in this round also put the decisive opportunity of the game in the hands of the players. Of course, it is undeniable that he did favor Los Angeles slightly.

"Tsk... there's nothing we can do about it."

Xiangyang helplessly pounded the ground. As the person involved, he naturally knew that his feet had not been able to stand firmly in the end. Although he felt that Akashi's movements were somewhat flawed, he had committed a foul, which was an indisputable fact.

"It's okay, Xiangyang. This is the stage the referee set up for us. It's our chance to win the game!"

Kise didn't care at all, stepped forward and pulled up Xiangyang, pointing to the scoreboard.

The three players battled for a long time, with only 23 seconds left in the game, just enough time for one more attack to be completed.

After Akashi takes the free throw, Kaijo has possession of the ball!

"Look on the bright side, that guy might miss all three free throws!"

The single-minded senior, Kobori, chuckled and said that in his opinion, free throws were really difficult, and if he were to take them, he might miss all three!

Unfortunately... the person who took the free throw was Akashi.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Akashi reverted to his golden personality and, despite the curses from all the Kaijo members, still performed steadily, making all three free throws.

As the third free throw went into the net, cheers erupted from the crowd.

The majority of them are Los Angeles fans, but there are also quite a few neutral fans mixed in.

After all, who wouldn't love watching a closely contested match full of unexpected twists and turns?

With only 23 seconds left, Akashi successfully made the free throw, turning the tide of the game – a truly remarkable comeback!

104-103, Haichang's final attack.

right.

"Seriously...it would be so much better if this guy missed a penalty!"

Xiang Yang shook his head, his tone full of regret. Of course, he also knew that such a thing was unlikely.

In this year's national tournament free throw rankings, Akashi ranked third with a 93.7% success rate, behind only Midorima in first place and Hikaru in second.

Xiangyang wasn't surprised that he made all three free throws. After all, he's not like Kobori-senpai; Akashi wouldn't miss a free throw at a crucial moment.

Kogoro: ...

Haichang applied for suspension

In the final moments, Takeuchi called the last timeout of the match to give his players time to discuss the game.

Xiangyang cracked his neck a few times, walked to the bench, and naturally took the tactical board from Takeuchi, beginning to plan the final attack.

On the other side, the Rakuzan team also returned to the bench. Akashi saw that Xiangyang didn't seem upset about the ruling and couldn't help but clench his fist.

"Akaashi? Akaashi?"

Just as Akashi was lost in thought, Shirogane Eiji called him over.

"You're in charge of setting up the final defense."

Like Takeuchi, Shirogane Eiji also handed the clipboard to his own point guard.

Akashi glanced down a few times; Shirogane Eiji had already prepared defensive countermeasures in advance, and he was just confirming them.

"No problem, coach, let's play like this."

Akashi returned the tactical board to his coach, then looked at him hesitantly and asked, "Did anything happen at the scorer's table just now?"

Shirogane Eiji paused for a moment, then replied, "Um...it's nothing, it's just that the referee watched the replay several times before confirming it was a defensive foul..."

Akashi lowered his head slightly, lost in thought, and didn't hear what the coach said next.

Xiang Yang could clearly sense that his defensive positioning was illegal, so how could he not know that his offensive actions were problematic?

Was this win... just luck?

Akashi slowly raised his head, and under the light, gold and red light flickered in his eyes.

"It's a pity I'm not the protagonist of some shonen manga, otherwise I'd definitely feel guilty right now, right?"

Akashi chuckled softly, turning his head to look at the arena without the slightest hesitation.

Regardless of any off-field factors, as long as there are no fouls, victory is victory. Akashi would never give up the victory he has always pursued just because of that childish mentality of "winning unfairly".

As the leader of Los Angeles, he will lead Los Angeles to victory in this match!

At most... I'll treat you to a meal after you lose the game...

……

……

"Ready, boys?"

Xiang Yang clapped his hands and took the lead in getting up and walking towards the field.

"In these last 23 seconds, run like your life depends on it!"

"Aaaaa!!!"

beep—

Pause ended

Haichang serve

Players from both sides entered the field.

All the audience members focused their attention on Kise and Xiangyang, with more attention on the former, since everyone knew who would be the one to make the final attack for Kaijo!

"Hey, why is everyone looking at me?"

Kise rubbed his hands together and walked to the serve position outside the boundary. He truly felt...

It's funny: I'm not the main character in this final moment.

Just now

"I want to give the final attack to Yuuki. Genius, are you sure you can handle it?"

Xiang Yang tapped the tactics board, his expression completely calm, making it impossible to tell what he was thinking.

Upon hearing this, everyone at Kaijo was stunned. Kise scratched his cheek and said, "If you're in charge of making the arrangements, of course I won't have any problems. But I want to ask... is it because my performance today was just average?"

Admittedly, Kise scored 32 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals in four quarters. For a normal team's ace, these are already remarkable statistics, but for Kise... they don't seem so outstanding.

"of course not."

Xiang Yang shook his head in denial, then licked his lips and gave a mysterious smile: "That's because... the whole world knows that Haichang's final attack will be left to you."

Kise: "Huh?"

"Yes...you heard me right, that's what the whole world thinks, including those five troublesome guys standing across from us."

"Let the freshmen do the finishing blow, hahaha they'll think we're crazy, right? But isn't that fun?"

Xiang Yang shrugged, his smile appearing somewhat inscrutable to the people of Haichang.

Back to the present

The referee held the ball with both hands to confirm that all ten players had entered the court. As he blew his whistle, he also handed the basketball to Kise.

At this moment, the five-second countdown for the serve begins.

The moment the whistle blew, Xiang Yang suddenly retreated from Luoshan's half of the court back to his own half. Luoshan, who was about to launch a full-court press, had no choice but to give up and return to normal defense when they saw Xiang Yang's cunning move.

Kise tossed the ball out with one hand and then walked towards the Rakuzan three-point line. As soon as he stepped onto the court, the five Rakuzan defenders moved closer to him without him even realizing it.

In the final moments, Kise, with his "perfect imitation," has such a vast arsenal that he could open a shop, so Rakuzan naturally has to be on high alert.

Akashi simply ignored even Hikaru and stuck to Kise one-on-one, afraid that the kid might use some unexpected move to kill him.

As for Xiang Yang, the Luo Shan family was equally wary. Starting from the center line, Ping Chuan Yi stood in front of Xiang Yang, looking at him with a vigilant expression.

Why is everyone so serious? Why don't you all smile?

Xiang Yang smiled, glanced at the scoreboard. 23 seconds might sound short, but it was more than enough for an offensive play.

He dribbled the ball at a leisurely pace, as if taking a stroll, and walked to the left wing. On the other side, Kise rested his hands on his knees, showing no sign of tension. He even smiled back when Xiangyang glanced at him.

As for Hashimoto Yuki, the real attacking point of Kaijo in this round, he was standing alone in the bottom right corner. He looked very nervous, and even Reo Mibuchi, who was standing opposite him, could see that his calves were shaking!

"Hey...are you alright?"

Reo asked, half speechless and half concerned. In his opinion, Yuki's nervousness was inexplicable. This last attack wouldn't be given to you; you'd just have to run a few laps around the court at most.

Why are you so nervous?