11-10.
The one-on-one was over.
Eikichi Nebuya won by a single point.
Looking at the scoreboard, Hibari was not discouraged.
King Crimson’s ability had already been proven through real combat.
It truly was extremely powerful.
The only flaw was that the skill consumed a lot of stamina.
Ultimately, it was not true time erasure.
It was more like forcing him into an overspeed state for an instant.
And that overspeed state was not as simple as accelerating his body.
It was more like his reactions had reached an unimaginable level.
He saw it, so he could react to it, and his body naturally responded.
That was roughly how it felt.
However, this kind of physical reaction within an extremely short period was a considerable burden for his current body, whose attributes were still not that impressive.
Eikichi Nebuya also deserved his reputation as one of the Uncrowned Kings.
Once Hibari was squeezed into the paint and allowed him to jump, there was no way to resist the other boy’s “muscle.” After the one-on-one ended, Eikichi Nebuya even patted Hibari on the back to comfort him.
Only to see that the defeated Hibari not only showed no trace of discouragement, but actually looked especially excited.
Eikichi Nebuya thought about it.
Fair enough.
Although he had won, it had not been an easy win.
Hibari had chased back many points in the middle.
If Hibari had hit one more three-pointer, he would have been the one who lost.
The head coach on the sideline had long since been stunned.
Soon after, wild joy rose inside him.
The biggest difference between school basketball and professional leagues was that there was no channel for trades.
If a team wanted to strengthen itself, there was only one road: dig geniuses out of the new students.
That sort of thing depended heavily on luck.
You never knew where or when these geniuses would spawn.
It was possible to go several years without meeting a single qualified team core.
Therefore, most coaches took the initiative to invite talent.
Take Moichi Taoka from Slam Dunk, for example.
He personally came forward many times to invite genius middle school graduates to join his team.
That was the main way school basketball clubs reinforced themselves.
Last year, Chiba Middle School had achieved the excellent result of national top sixteen, so quite a few newcomers joined the basketball club this year.
The problem was that among those people, there was no genius of the kind the basketball club needed.
The coach had even already prepared himself to fight another year with last year’s lineup.
During this period, he had been making the players train hard, targeting each of their weaknesses and doing everything possible to make the team more competitive.
But that was actually quite difficult to accomplish.
It was very possible there would be no result in the end.
Basketball skills required time to accumulate.
They could not be gained overnight.
Michael Jordan’s talent was high enough, right?
It still took him an entire summer to turn his three-point shot into a regular weapon.
Did these students have Jordan’s talent?
Did they have Jordan’s training resources?
Very hard, you know.
And yet now.
Just when he had already given up hope, the basketball club suddenly spawned a genius.
That was wonderful.
Eikichi Nebuya was Chiba Middle School’s strongest genius interior player in nearly ten years.
Although Hibari had lost the one-on-one, the fact that he could take 10 points over Eikichi Nebuya’s head was talent.
Moreover, from what the coach saw, Hibari’s fundamentals seemed a little poor.
He did not look as though he had been training since childhood, which meant his malleability suddenly became even higher.
Three or four stories high.
The way the basketball club members looked at Hibari changed.
The basketball court was a very pure place.
If you were awesome, your status naturally rose with the tide.
After they practiced a while longer, the basketball club activity ended before they realized it.
“All right.
Once again, welcome to the basketball club’s new member.” “Forget last year’s top sixteen.
This year, we start again from this moment.
Every one of you must tighten up!” “There are two months left until the national tournament.
Our goal is to win the prefectural tournament championship, enter the national tournament as the top seed, and then at least reach the national top eight in the final stage, or even take the championship!” “I know both of these goals are challenging.
But as long as we unite as one, there is nothing we cannot do.
Believe in each other!” After the coach finished speaking, the club members answered loudly.
Hayato Takahashi was very satisfied with the players’ state of mind.
A chef who could not serve motivational soup definitely was not a good coach.
“Also, over the next two months, I will conduct a full reassessment of our lineup.” “In other words, anyone may become a starter or a substitute in the upcoming national tournament.” “Original starters, do not slack off.
Bench players, do not get discouraged either.
Prove your value to me.
In Chiba Middle School’s basketball club, only basketball speaks!” After giving a few more reminders, Hayato Takahashi announced that the team was dismissed.
It was obvious that he hoped to use the condition of becoming a starter to stir up the players’ enthusiasm and create healthy competition.
However, most of the players did not take it too seriously.
Although the coach said anyone could become a starter, some people’s positions were unshakable.
For example, Eikichi Nebuya.
Last year, he was already one of the best centers.
No one could take his starting position.
The other starters were more or less the same.
This year’s newcomers would find it very hard to shake their status.
The only one who felt a sense of tension was last year’s starting power forward.
On his first day in the basketball club, Hibari had displayed extraordinary talent.
He was the player most likely to steal that starting spot.
Basketball club activities were over.
Eikichi Nebuya planned to take Hibari out with the rest of the team to eat something and build camaraderie.
Barring any surprises, two months later, they would be teammates fighting side by side.
Hibari was about to agree when he turned his head and saw Yukino Yukinoshita standing there, looking delicate and crisp.
“Why did you come over?” “I said I would come watch you.” Yukino still wore her hair in twin tails today.
She had on Chiba Middle School’s standard pleated skirt, a pair of small leather shoes on her feet, and white stockings wrapped around her beautiful legs.
A very classic Japanese pretty-girl combination.
“I thought you were just saying it.” “I’m not you.
I am Yukino Yukinoshita.” As though thinking of something unpleasant, she snorted and turned her head away.
While the two of them were talking, the others in the basketball club also noticed Yukino’s arrival.
“Hey, look.
Isn’t that Yukinoshita?” “Yukinoshita?” “The second daughter of that Yukinoshita family here in Chiba Prefecture!” The Yukinoshita family was very famous in Chiba Prefecture.
Yukino’s father managed the Yukinoshita family business, a construction company.
No matter the era, people in construction had money.
As for Yukino’s mother, she was a member of the local guardians’ association.
From what Hibari knew, the Yukinoshita family was preparing to enter politics and planned to run for a seat on the Chiba Prefectural Assembly.
As the second daughter of the Yukinoshita family, Yukino was quite famous at Chiba Middle School.
Not to mention that Yukino herself was extremely strong in terms of appearance and every other aspect, almost without rival.
In her first year, she had already been voted Chiba Middle School’s school beauty.
Yukino noticed the others’ gazes and lightly furrowed her elegant brows.
“Let’s go home.
Because of you, I already had the driver leave early.
You are responsible for safely escorting me home.” “It’s not like I told you to wait here for me.” “Stop talking.
It’s getting dark!” Yukino took the lead and walked ahead, leaving the basketball club with a charming view of her back.
…
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