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

Naturally, the player who performs well will have more possession of the ball, and his performance will get better and better, while other players will have mediocre performances because they have sacrificed their chances to shoot.

It was another offensive possession for the national youth team. After a simple pass, the basketball unsurprisingly returned to Xiang Yang's hands.

Faced with Zhou Yi's relentless pursuit, Xiang Yang executed a simple pick-and-roll play and assisted his teammate to score again.

The first half was drawing to a close, and the score was very close, with the Chinese youth team leading by two points at 44-46.

Xiang Yang's personal statistics are particularly outstanding.

With 22 points, 8 assists, and 6 steals, excluding the two rebounds he grabbed in the backcourt, Xiang Yang not only scored almost half of the team's points in less than half a quarter, but his efficiency in converting assists and steals into points was also terrifying!

Of course, normally Xiang Yang wouldn't get that many steals. After all, although his one-on-one defense is so bad it's almost a foul, if the opponent stabilizes the situation and deliberately avoids attacking him, then even if his steal success rate is high, he will hardly have any room to make a difference.

However… Zhou Yi, in this training match, perfectly played the role of a tool for Xiang Yang.

After contributing 2 points, 1 assist and 1 steal to Xiangyang at the start of the game, Zhou Yi did not lose heart, but instead became more and more courageous!

Facing Xiang Yang, Zhou Yi frequently signaled his teammates to create space for one-on-one attacks, successfully adding a significant achievement to Xiang Yang's steal statistics. Of the six steals, five were made by him!

The whistle blew to end the first half, and the final score was 48-47, with the Chinese youth team leading by one point.

Looking at Xiang Yang's alarming data on the data board, and then at the data of his several star pupils, Hai Lao finally fell into deep thought...

"No! I need to talk to him!"

(It's a two-in-one story. I originally wanted to release them separately, but the disjointed way they were presented was just too inhumane... so I put them together.)

Chapter 191 Good Intentions Was Wasted

With a creak.

Zhou Yi sat down on the bench with a look of utter despair. Because he hadn't released any force, his 187cm height made a strange sound as he pressed down on the bench.

Li Wenyu, holding two bottles of water, walked over and patted him on the shoulder.

"Okay, stop being so gloomy. There are always people more capable than you, and there's always something beyond your understanding. Try to take it easy!"

Li Wenyu twisted open the water bottle. He wasn't surprised that Zhou Yi had been beaten up by Xiang Yang. After all, even he had been badly beaten by Xiang Yang, let alone Zhou Yi.

"Let's stick to the same rhythm in the second half. Xiang Yang's defensive ability is really strong, so we need to avoid him when we're on offense."

Li Wenyu clicked his tongue and gave instructions to his teammates.

He thought that after his comforting words, Zhou Yi would see the situation clearly and listen to his advice. He never expected that Zhou Yi would be so badly suppressed by Xiang Yang, yet he still had no intention of giving up.

"It's okay, I can do it!"

Zhou Yi took a big gulp of water, a defiant expression on his face.

"Why are you doing this? If you're being suppressed, then so be it..."

Li Wenyu wanted to say something more, but Zhou Yi waved his hand to interrupt him, saying, "Don't worry about my captain. This level of skill is no match for me!"

"After all, I started playing tennis at the age of four, and I've been training hard every day. It's simply impossible to beat an opponent of this level..."

Watching Zhou Yi launch into another long-winded speech, muttering the same things he'd said countless times before, Li Wenyu covered his ears with both hands, utterly speechless.

[Seriously... do I have to point my finger at you and tell you that if you keep hitting me like this, you'll only get beaten to a pulp?]

If they continue to play at the same pace as the first half in the second half, and insist on relentlessly targeting Xiangyang on offense, then their defeat will be virtually inevitable.

Despite it being a national team selection, Li Wenyu envisioned a scenario where they would steadily suppress the opposing team, then leisurely use their lead to instruct the younger players and showcase their seniority.

Unexpectedly, due to Xiang Yang's unexpected influence and Zhou Yi's repeated mistakes in one-on-one plays, they were actually one point behind in the first half of the quarter until the end!

If this gets out, where will Li Wenyu's title as captain of the national men's basketball team be?

Just as Li Wenyu was about to confront Zhou Yi and properly reorganize the team's playing style, Coach Sun suddenly walked over.

Just as Coach Hai cares about his disciples, Coach Sun also cares about the players on his team.

Watching the team he had mediated lose, especially to the national youth team led by his own mentor, was unacceptable to Coach Sun, the head coach of the national team.

"Zhou Yi".

Coach Sun walked up to the group and called out their names in a calm tone.

Zhou Yi shuddered and immediately stood up straight, replying, "Here!"

"sit."

Coach Sun raised his hand, signaling Zhou Yi to sit down and rest. After all, although Zhou Yi was constantly being attacked by Xiang Yang in the first half of the game, the players' fatigue on the court was considerable.

Of course, concern is one thing, criticism is another.

Coach Sun had his hands behind his back, his eyes fixed on Zhou Yi.

Tell me, you

What were they doing in the first half?

Coach Sun's voice was not loud, but it was firm and powerful. At the same time, the national team's bench fell silent, and no one dared to make any other noise while Coach Sun was speaking.

Even Li Wenyu had his hands on his knees, looking down at the floor as if there was something interesting on it.

Coach Sun glanced indifferently at everyone, then turned his gaze back to Zhou Yi. At that moment, Zhou Yi felt as if a huge boulder was pressing down on him, making it hard for him to breathe.

"Faced with such an obvious defensive stalwart from the opposing team, you not only avoided his attacks on the court, but you also asked your teammates for the ball and took the initiative to attack him one-on-one?"

"What's wrong? Do you think this match is too easy, or have you forgotten everything I taught you?"

As Coach Sun spoke, he stroked the player list in his hand. It not only contained the names of Xiang Yang and others, but also the names of all the members of the national team.

"If you don't want to stay with the national team, there's no need to go through all this clown drama. Just tell me, and I guarantee that no one from the Basketball Association will try to keep you!"

After saying that, Coach Sun withdrew his gaze from Zhou Yi, put his hands behind his back, and turned to leave.

This is a training match, and Coach Sun's current role is not that of the national team head coach, but rather the examiner for this trial.

If he offers advice to his own players simply because they are at a disadvantage, then that would be unfair to the players on the national youth team.

Of course, since they are his own students, Coach Sun still hopes to see them win. No one wants to see their own children perform worse than others.

This is why Coach Sun stepped in to reprimand Zhou Yi during halftime.

Similarly, Hai Lao didn't just sit on the field and watch; instead, he walked over to the national youth team's bench with his cane.

"You played well in the first half, keep it up in the second half. I can give you some inside information, some of you have already passed this trial."

With a mysterious expression, Hai Lao spoke to the national youth team members. The reason he said this was to motivate them and encourage them to put on a better performance in the second half!

In fact... so far, among the players Coach Sun has on his list, only Xiang Yang has passed the assessment in advance...

As expected, when Elder Hai said this, the faces of the national youth team members showed longing and anticipation, and their aura also became more imposing.

"Ahem... Xiangyang, come with me for a moment."

Hai Lao cleared his throat and subtly beckoned to Xiang Yang. The latter, seeing this, didn't think much of it and immediately got up and walked over.

Hai Lao glanced at the national youth team members, reached out his right hand and patted Xiang Yang on the shoulder, his eyes revealing approval.

"Good lad, you played well, hahaha!"

Hai Lao used the language of flowers to express this sentence.

Xiangyang instinctively wanted to say a few humble words, but Hai Lao quietly patted his shoulder a few times.

Ok?

Xiang Yang looked up at Hai Lao in confusion, and the latter spoke again, but this time, he spoke in Japanese.

"You've passed this tryout. Play it easy in the second half, leave them some room."

face."

Hai Lao subtly gestured towards the national team members, and following his direction, Xiang Yang saw Coach Sun returning from the national team's bench.

For a moment, Xiang Yang was both amused and exasperated. He replied in Japanese, "I understand, Elder Hai."

This is the way of human relationships in China; I really miss it.

Xiang Yang sighed inwardly, but little did he know that Elder Hai's instructions were not yet finished.

Hai Lao stealthily approached Xiang Yang and spoke in a very low voice, even in Japanese: "Give them a little chance. Your performance is too outstanding. If this continues, Xiao Sun will probably be relying on you and won't pay any attention to their performance."

As he spoke, Hai Lao rubbed Xiang Yang's shoulder.

Even without mind-reading abilities, Xiang Yang wasn't sure, but based on his deductions, Elder Hai was probably... asking him for a favor.

"I understand, Mr. Hai, I will share the ball more often."

Xiang Yang turned to look at his temporary teammates. Overall, he played very comfortably in the first half of the game, which was not only due to Zhou Yi, but also because of the help he received from his teammates.

Since his teammates were feeding him so well, Xiang Yang didn't mind giving back to them. After all, his job as a point guard was to connect the team and help his teammates play better.

After receiving Xiang Yang's affirmative reply, Hai Lao nodded in satisfaction, gave his several prized students another round of encouragement, and then turned back to the audience.

At the same time, the whistle to start the second half of the game rang out from the referee's mouth.

……

……

On the other side of the world, in Tokyo Prefecture, Japan, at a streetball court.

The score is now set at 142-39, with the Dragons securing a decisive victory in this exhibition match.

In the very center of the court, Kasamatsu rested his hands on his knees, panting heavily as he surveyed his teammates around him.

Since the Japanese Basketball Association did not have any professional basketball players to participate, Kasamatsu's team was composed of high school graduates who had temporarily formed the team to compete.

Among them are Imayoshi, the captain of Touou last year; Oshiba, the captain of Shutoku last year; and Chihiro Mayuzumi, the former sixth man of Rakuzan.

However, at this moment, their eyes were filled with helplessness and a hint of despair.

"Well... there's nothing we can do about it. After all, even we ourselves didn't think we could really win this game."

Kasamatsu shook his head helplessly, but there was a hint of resentment on his face.

But who is Kasamatsu? There's a saying that couldn't be more fitting for him.

If you make a mistake, admit it; if you're going to get hit, stand up straight.

Even when he was being brutally beaten and had no chance to retaliate, Kasamatsu could still calmly and nonchalantly extend his hand to congratulate his opponent on their victory.

"Well played, you guys are very strong."