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

Encouraged by Xiangyang, Tanaka was somewhat tempted, but he still lacked confidence, saying, "But my strength... really can't defend against that big guy."

Tanaka shuddered as he recalled how Murasakibara charged at him with the ball during the first quarter.

Just then, the pause ended.

Xiangyang turned to look at the arena, pulled Tanaka up from his seat, and shouted, "Let's go, guys, let's take the championship trophy home!"

"Haichang!"

"Championship!!"

Listening to the enthusiastic praise of his teammates, Tanaka followed behind Xiangyang with a nervous expression on his face.

[Can I really... stand on a stage like this?]

Chapter 244 The Most Remarkable Thing About the Boy

"Tanaka! You're watching game replays again? Whose highlights are you watching this time?"

"Huh? Who is this person? Takeuchi... Genta, is he also a Japanese national player? I don't seem to remember him."

……

Long-buried memories were awakened, and a hint of confusion flashed across Tanaka's face, but it was quickly interrupted by the referee's whistle.

beep—

Hai Changjia's offensive possession

Xiang Yang dribbled the ball with one hand, while raising the other hand above his head and making a "6" gesture, as if he was about to launch a bull horn tactic. However, the moment he lowered his arm, he casually touched his earlobe.

This is one of the most subtle tactical gestures among Haichang's many. When Haichang is in a crisis, Xiangyang will pretend to make a tactical gesture, and then after he touches his earlobe, it means that he wants to take the ball himself.

Everyone at Haichang saw Xiangyang's actions and then, as if on cue, pretended to move to a different position, but actually left Xiangyang space for a one-on-one fight.

Sure enough, just as Yangquan's players were distracted by Hai Chang's movement, Xiang Yang faced the defender and hit a pull-up three-pointer, swishing it through the net and widening the gap to eight points again.

At this moment, the score is 86-78, with 7 minutes remaining in the game, and Haichang is in the lead.

"Be careful, be careful!"

Xiang Yang gave a sharp shout and then quickly returned to the field. He knew very well that at this critical juncture, every round of offense and defense was extremely important, and whether any ball went in or not could affect the final outcome of the game.

"Tanaka, keep an eye on the penalty area!"

As the Yangquan team attacked, taking advantage of Ohara's departure, their overall offensive strategy clearly changed, with their focus shifting to attacking the Kaijo family's interior.

A Yangquan player broke into the Haichang restricted area through a pick-and-roll and attempted a floater against Tanaka's defense. However, due to Tanaka's defensive interference, the ball missed the basket and was caught by Yuki.

"Nice, Tanaka."

As his teammates' praise reached his ears, Tanaka ran towards Yangquan's half of the field, his mind reminiscing about the past.

……

"Have you guys seen Aida Kagetora's highlight reel? It's absolutely amazing!"

"I've seen it! Aida Kagetora is truly a Japanese hero. I don't think anyone would dislike Kagetora-senpai, right, Tanaka?"

Tanaka scratched his head, a little embarrassed, and said, "Actually... I prefer Genta Takeuchi. Don't you guys think that even though he's not that flashy on the court, he actually helps the team a lot? He gives his all to build an advantage for the team little by little, isn't that cool!"

Tanaka clenched his fists, his eyes shining brightly. If he had the chance in the future, he would definitely go and meet Genta Takeuchi!

However... Tanaka's friends disregarded his opinion.

"Genta Takeuchi? Who's that? Is he on the national team?"

"I don't know, I've never noticed."

"Tanaka is such a strange person. He doesn't like Aida Kagetora, but likes Takeuchi Genta."

"Weirdo...weird...weird..."

……

"Tanaka! What the hell are you spacing out for?"

With a roar, Xiangyang pulled Tanaka back to his senses.

He looked at the figure that had appeared before him without him noticing.

He quickly grabbed the basketball and held it protectively in his arms before passing it to Yuki beside him.

Kaijo's overall offense was well-organized, and they made almost every shot they were expected to score. However, after a short break, Yosen's ace, Murasakibara Atsushi, seemed to have regained his energy.

In Yangquan's attacking run, they didn't use much passing and teamwork this time, but instead passed the ball directly to Ziyuan.

Tanaka, in the end, faced the scene of facing Murasakibara alone.

Looking at Murasakibara, who stood two steps in front of him and resembled Godzilla with his eyes flashing like lightning, a hint of panic flashed across his face.

"Impossible, impossible, how could I possibly defend against a guy like that?"

This time, Xiangyang tried to sneak into the paint to help Tanaka defend, but the Yangquan players didn't let Xiangyang run around freely. They blocked him and created a one-on-one situation for Murasakibara.

Murasakibara lowered his hands to the ball and stepped forward to contest, just like in the first quarter, and crashed into Tanaka.

The moment their bodies made contact, Tanaka couldn't withstand Murasakibara's pressure and staggered back several steps, a "I knew it" expression on his face.

"I knew I couldn't stop him..."

Tanaka sighed and could only watch helplessly as Murasakibara jumped and dunked the ball into the basket.

Even with Murasakibara's stamina greatly reduced, I couldn't defend against him... For someone like me, becoming Takeuchi Genta is just a pipe dream...

It has to be said that Ohara's fate was a heavy blow to Kaijo, like the last straw that broke the camel's back. No matter how hard Tanaka tried to defend, Kaijo's inside game was as easy to penetrate as a prostitute in a brothel.

Although Xiangyang and Yuki's one-on-one threat remained strong, they were ultimately weaker than Yangquan in terms of scoring efficiency.

The game went on until the very last minute.

The two sides drew 104-104, and the Haichang team also drew.

As he served, Xiang Yang braced his hands on his knees, mentally calculating the final time distribution.

The maximum time limit for an offensive possession is 24 seconds. Since the time limit for each offensive possession cannot be fully guaranteed, the best approach now is to complete the offensive possession within 15 seconds. This way, regardless of whether a point is scored or not, after Yangquan's offensive possession, Haichang will have time to handle the final offensive possession of the entire game!

After thinking it over, Xiang Yang took possession of the ball and dribbled alone for 7 or 8 seconds outside the three-point line. Then, under the pressure of his defender, he launched a three-pointer from a distance of one step outside the three-point line!

Unfortunately, this time... Lady Luck wasn't on Haichang's side.

Even with the double boost of "King of the Fourth Quarter" and "Zone" mode, Xiang Yang couldn't guarantee that his three-point shooting percentage would be 100%. The basketball ultimately bounced off the rim and was collected by Yang Quan.

Seeing Xiangyang miss this crucial shot, Wuwei waved his arm in frustration, his face showing annoyance. Many Kaisho fans in the stands also let out groans of disappointment. On the Yangquan bench, Masako stood up on the bench, put her hands to her mouth, and shouted towards the field: "Score this goal!"

The Yangquan players frantically ran towards Haichang's half of the field, attempting to attack.

They launched a counter-attack, but with Haichang's rapid return to defense, they ultimately chose to pass the ball to their ace player.

Murasakibara once again received the basketball inside Kaijo's restricted area.

Xiang Yang's expression changed drastically, and he was about to rush into the penalty area when he was blocked by the Yangquan player next to him again. He vaguely felt his jersey being tugged.

In that brief delay of one or two seconds, Murasakibara had ample time to confront Tanaka. The latter did not allow himself to be slaughtered and fought back fiercely, but unfortunately, he still could not defend against Murasakibara.

Two points from Yangquan are valid!

With 20 seconds left in the game, Yangquan scored the first time in the entire match that they took the lead!

Yangquan leads 106-104.

At that moment, the stadium erupted in cheers. Countless Yangquan fans stood up from their seats, waving their arms and shouting, "Defend it!"

"Hold on! One last ball! The championship is ours!"

Himuro, panting heavily, directed his teammates to take their defensive positions, then looked solemnly towards Kaijo's half of the court.

Right there, Tanaka kept apologizing.

"I'm so sorry, everyone, I'm so sorry, I can't let go of that person, I'm really sorry..."

Xiangyang was getting annoyed by Tanaka's repeated apologies. He reached out and covered Tanaka's mouth, then whispered in his ear, "Listen, for the last shot, we'll definitely take a three-pointer. If it goes in, great! But if it doesn't... I hope you can grab the offensive rebound."

Upon hearing Xiangyang's words, Tanaka's expression froze for a moment, then he waved his hands repeatedly, about to say something, but Xiangyang covered his mouth again.

"Shut up! All you have to do is listen to what I'm saying and say yes!"

Xiang Yang said fiercely, then released his hand from Tanaka's.

"Did you understand what I said?"

Under the threatening look in Xiangyang's eyes, Tanaka shuddered and nodded repeatedly, replying, "Yes, yes."

"Okay, good boy."

Xiang Yang snapped his fingers, and Hai Chang's final attack began.

Xiangyang pushed the ball across half-court by himself. This time, he did not choose to go it alone, but passed the ball to Yuki.

Yuki received the ball, and after exchanging glances with Xiangyang, he received a message.

The final attack of the entire game, an attack that could change Haichang's fate, will be handed to him.

call--

My heart is beating so fast…

Yuki narrowed her eyes, looked at the Himuro in front of her, and then glanced at the scoreboard.

At this moment, there are 15 seconds left in the entire game.

If he releases the ball hastily, Yangquan will have a chance to score and take the lead, so he must save this shot for the very last moment, and he must make it…

An immense pressure descended upon Yuki.

Is this... what it feels like to carry the team's burden on your shoulders?

Yuki moved her face to relax her muscles as much as possible.

[Ryota-senpai lied to me. This feeling is awful.]

A bead of sweat trickled down Yuuki's brow and into his eye, but he dared not wipe it away, not even blinking frequently.

I dare not speed it up too much.

He was terrified that this small detail might cause Himuro to steal the initiative, thus ruining Kaijo's entire summer's hard work.