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

With a deafening crash, the basketball hoop creaked and groaned. Fortunately, this was a top-notch basketball arena in Tokyo; otherwise, the hoop would probably have been smashed to pieces.

As Murasakibara's feet landed with a thud, a collective gasp rippled through the stadium.

Xiang Yang couldn't help but exclaim, "This bastard is simply born for basketball! His physical talent is supermodel-like!"

However, Murasakibara might scare others, but he definitely wouldn't scare Xiangyang. After all, including the time with Thibo, he has played countless games where his inside game was crushed by the opposing team.

"Clap clap clap."

Xiang Yang clapped his hands, pulling his dazed teammates back to their senses. He grinned and said loudly, "Let's return the favor!"

After speaking, Xiang Yang took the serve, raised his hand and made a "6" gesture. At the same time, the four players from Haichang, along with Tanaka, began to run together.

Although Murasakibara's strength is a clear game-changer in high school competitions, and he can easily crush Tanaka, Kaijo's offense is not to be underestimated.

The "horn tactic" that Xiang Yang had mastered to perfection shone brightly once again in this final competition.

After a dazzling series of moves, Xiang Yang got an open three-point opportunity at the top of the arc, elbowed his way out, and the ball went in!

Amid the cheers of the audience, Xiang Yang smiled and held up three fingers, waving them in front of Murasakibara's eyes, the meaning of which was self-evident.

Sorry, three points is one more point than two points.

Chapter 239 The Reappearance of the "Cut-down Tactics"

"Senior Xiangyang!"

Yuki gave a shout, followed by a powerful, fast pass that cut across the entire court. With her exquisite passing skills, the basketball passed through Yangquan's defense and was safely delivered to Xiangyang, completing an assist for a score.

Xiangyang whistled and pointed at Yuki in celebration. Although Kasamatsu-senpai had graduated, the "dual point guard" tactic used by the first generation of Kaijo was still active in the hands of Xiangyang and Yuki because Yuki was also a point guard.

Including this round of scoring, Haichang's overall offensive efficiency in the first quarter has reached 70%! However, despite such a high level of offensive rhythm, Yangquan still managed to keep the score very close.

At the end of the first quarter, Haichang led by only two points, 27-25.

As for the reason...

"Smith Marseille, senior! Smith Marseille!"

Tanaka knelt before the Kaijo group in a samurai-like posture, his face filled with remorse.

Despite such efficient offensive tactics, Kaijo has yet to widen the score gap, and the most important reason for this is Murasakibara.

This 2.1-meter-tall monster inside player, who is still in his developmental stage, has turned Haichang's inside game upside down.

Faced with this ferocious beast, Tanaka could only weakly stretch out his arm; however, this action was less of a defense and more of a way for Tanaka to assert his presence…

Even with Ohara's desperate efforts to defend him, he couldn't stop Murasakibara at all.

Xiangyang was well aware of this, and he didn't blame Tanaka. He beckoned him to get up, then stretched his neck a few times and said, "That big guy was so excited today, there's nothing we can do about this..."

"However, we can't let him continue to be so arrogant in the second quarter."

Xiang Yang rubbed his nose and grinned mischievously as he temporarily substituted Tanaka and Moriyama off the field, replacing them with two players from the Kaijo atmosphere group.

Don't get me wrong. Although the primary criterion for the first team to create a lively atmosphere is to be good at it, you won't be selected by Haichang if you don't have some ability.

Of course, as members of the atmosphere team, their main responsibility is not to participate in the game, but to prepare for some special situation.

At Xiangyang's command, two players from the atmosphere team immediately stepped forward, rubbing their hands together and looking at Murasakibara with excitement. They clearly knew what their task was.

beep—

A rousing whistle blew, and the second quarter officially began.

Murasakibara walked toward the arena while adjusting the tightness of his hair tie. Judging from his expression, he clearly did not yet understand the seriousness of the problem.

Just as the two atmosphere team players from Kaijo stood next to Murasakibara, the big guy gave a soft "hmm".

Murasakibara glanced at Kaijo's two substitutes and immediately assessed the gap between their skill level and his own. His hunter's instincts told him that in terms of threat, these two were no match for Ohara, and even less so than Tanaka...

With that in mind, Murasakibara shifted his gaze and focused his attention on the defense of the paint.

However, it was Masako on the bench at Yosen who was watching Murasakibara constantly...

The two defenders couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

Xiangyang wouldn't do anything meaningless. This personnel change must have been valuable in his eyes. Just what...?

Since Haichang lost the jump ball in the first quarter, Haichang naturally kicked off in the second quarter.

The same dazzling tactical movement was still used. Even though Yangquan's perimeter players tried their best to defend, Yuki still got a chance to shoot from the outside, but unfortunately she missed.

Murasakibara calculated the landing point perfectly and easily grabbed the rebound. Although the two Kaijo players were standing nearby, they seemed not to see him at all and had no intention of competing with him for the rebound.

Just then, Masako's pupils contracted, and long-buried memories resurfaced in her mind. She was about to speak up when she heard the referee blow his whistle.

Hai Chang committed a foul, and Yangquan was given a second serve.

In the center of the field, Murasakibara stood there holding the ball with both hands, looking dazed. One of the Kaijo team players was clinging to him with his arms around his neck.

Yes, it was definitely a defensive foul, but it was also a blatant tactical foul!

Because the game was only in the second quarter, neither side had accumulated enough fouls, so Murasakibara wouldn't go directly to the free-throw line. However, right after Yosen restarted the game, another Kaijo substitute wrapped his arms around Murasakibara's neck in the same way and hung on him.

Murasakihara:…

"Dun, don't get affected, stay calm!"

Masako frowned slightly and walked to the sidelines to remind Murasakibara. Just then, Hikaru happened to pass by and winked at Masako as he passed by.

Masako: (╬◣ω◢)

"You bastard, just you wait and see if you miss the penalty!"

Although she verbally reminded Murasakibara not to let his mindset be affected, judging from the current situation, Masako seemed to be the one being affected. She pulled out a katana from somewhere and pointed it at Murasakibara from a distance, threatening him.

Seeing this, the referee quickly ran to Masako's side to stop her actions. This match was being broadcast live nationwide, and things like drawing a knife to attack someone were out of the question; even swearing was best avoided.

Fortunately, although Masako was angry, she knew what was important. After putting the katana away somewhere, she crossed her arms and stared at Murasakibara standing at the free throw line.

At this moment, all eyes were focused on Murasakibara. Kaijo's tactics were very clear; they were the "cutting tactics" that had been shown as early as the first Winter Cup.

By exploiting Murasakibara's extremely low free throw percentage, they regained possession of the ball at the cost of a foul by a corner player.

Since Hai Chang used this tactic two years ago, this bizarre and outlandish strategy has sparked a craze.

High school teams across the country followed suit, and for a time, this tactic was even jokingly referred to by netizens as one of the "tactics that every team must know".

However, the solution to this tactic is quite simple: just make the free throws.

There are two free throw opportunities in total. As long as you make one of the two free throws, you can make up for the lost possession. If you can make both free throws, then you will have gained a huge advantage.

It's a pity that this tactic originated from...

It's designed for big centers. For perimeter players who can easily shoot 80% of the time, this move is a joke. However, for interior players who are stiff and have low shooting percentage, it's an ultimate weapon!

In the live stream, Popo commented at the opportune moment: "Since the start of this year's National Tournament, Murasakibara has truly lived up to his title as a top-one center in the league, consistently scoring 20 points and grabbing 10 rebounds per game. However, his free throw percentage is among the lowest of all centers in the league..."

"A 57% free throw percentage is arguably Murasakibara's biggest weakness..."

Meanwhile, the audience was not idle either. The Haichang fans played pranks and booed Ziyuan, while the Yangquan fans responded with cheers.

For a moment, the environment inside the venue became somewhat chaotic, but Murasakibara finally received the ball from the referee.

He held the basketball in both hands, but compared to his large frame, the basketball looked rather small, so "pinched" would be a more appropriate word here.

Murasakibara gripped the ball with both hands, staring intently at the basket. His expression was somewhat serious. He took a few deep breaths to adjust his physical condition, then slowly raised the basketball in a shooting posture.

Stay calm...stay calm...just keep throwing at a normal level.

Given Murasakibara's inside pressure, as long as he can maintain a one-in-two free throw percentage, he can still cause Kaijo a lot of trouble.

Just as Murasakibara adjusted his shooting rhythm and was about to release the shot, a voice suddenly rang out from beside him.

"Coach, his free throw time is way too long! It's definitely overtime!"

Because of this sentence, Murasakibara's shooting rhythm was suddenly affected. At the moment of release, he couldn't help but add a little more force, and the basketball flew towards the basket with his help, hitting the iron part behind the rim.

duang~

The crisp sound of hammering iron.

Murasakibara stared at the basket in disbelief, then his face darkened with anger. He turned to look at the person who had spoken to him earlier, and was about to question him when he heard the referee blow his whistle.

"Beep—Yangquan's free throw timed out, free throw invalid, play resumes."

After Xiangyang's reminder, the referee specifically communicated with the technical table. After receiving the message that "Murahara's free throw was indeed overtime," the fair referee finally blew his whistle.

(Basketball trivia: Free throws have a time limit; you must shoot within ten seconds, otherwise it's a violation.)

(P.S.: However, most referees don't pay much attention to this rule. Many NBA players don't get called for exceeding the free throw time limit, such as a certain Greek Freak.)

Xiang Yang laughed, walked over to Zi Yuan, patted him on the shoulder, and said, "Big dummy, you have to earn the whistle yourself!"

"Oh, I forgot, you don't need to fight for the whistle, since we'll be scrambling to get you to the free-throw line."

After saying this, Xiangyang hummed a little tune as he walked back to his own half of the court. Murasakibara looked like he wanted to kill him. If Himuro hadn't been holding him back, Murasakibara would probably have already been kicked out of the court after getting a T.

"That bastard... I'll make him pay for the next free throw!"

Murasakibara swore an oath in anger, and Kaijo did not disappoint him, quickly using a tactical foul on him again.

Stepping back to the free-throw line, influenced by Xiang Yang's earlier performance, Murasakibara didn't dare to make too many adjustments this time, and hastily released the shot after a few deep breaths.

The first ball—duang!

The second ball—duang!

Murasakibara missed both free throws.

Yangquan applies for suspension

Chapter 240 The Passion of Murasakibara

Yangquan applies for suspension

"Dun, are you alright?"

Himuro picked up a bottle of water and handed it to Murasakibara, asking with concern.

Murasakibara took the water from Himuro and gulped it down without saying a word. However, before he could drink much, Masako slapped him on the back of the head with a chop to the neck.

"Idiot, drinking too much will affect your athletic ability."