Chapter 18

Kuroko felt a bit down, but he still pulled himself together and said, "That's my situation. Please teach me how I can improve my level, Dao-kun!"

"First, you need to improve your dribbling stability. Your dribbling speed is too slow; such breakthroughs won't create any effective threats. You can appropriately increase your dribbling practice."

"Uh-huh, what else?"

"Next is to improve your shooting accuracy. At the very least, you shouldn't be throwing airballs under the basket. At the end of the day, basketball is still a sport about who scores more points."

"Uh-huh, what else?"

"Then there's..."

He rattled off a whole bunch of things. Kuroko listened very carefully, but when he tried to summarize it, he realized he hadn't gained anything at all.

Wasn't he asking Tendo Keiyan for advice specifically to solve these problems?

Kuroko couldn't hold it in anymore and asked proactively, "Tendo-kun, how do you play basketball?"

"How do I play?" Tendo Keiyan habitually rubbed his chin, thought for a moment, and said, "First, learn to put the ball into the basket. When you encounter defense, shake them off."

"Then, do a good job on defense. Defense is the top priority. Whether a team's stability is high or not depends on whether their defensive ability is outstanding."

"When facing a ball-handler, your attention must be focused. See clearly whether they are going to drive, shoot, or pass. If they drive, steal it from them. If they pass, steal it from them. If they shoot, go steal it from them. In short, just don't let them get what they want."

"Did you understand?"

He understood, but he also didn't understand anything at all.

'Classic "just put the ball in and you'll score."'

'Holy crap, "defense is the top priority"? Do you think everyone is cheating like you?'

'Do you even hear what you're saying?'

'Total humble-bragging.'

'Dying of laughter, Kuroko probably asked a god, hahaha...'

Tendo Keiyan's humble-bragging, as expected, drew mockery from the comments.

This wasn't a bad thing; it would reinforce his persona and continue to attract popularity.

An hour of lunch break passed, and Kuroko only felt dizzy. Tendo Keiyan had said so much, yet he hadn't remembered a single word.

Failed to learn!

During club activities in the afternoon, he brought this matter up with his friends from the Third String.

His friends mocked him on the spot, "I don't think Tendo is intentionally messing with you. After all, how could a genius like him possibly teach anyone!"

"He's a monster who created his own sword style at 11 and almost defeated a Sword Saint! Things we find difficult are as simple as breathing to him!"

'You hit the nail on the head, classmate.'

'Yeah, Kuroko really shouldn't have asked Tendo for advice; his talent is too high.'

'For Tendo, stealing the ball is as simple as eating and drinking, but for Kuroko, that kind of thing is impossible.'

'Wanting to play ball well really depends on talent.'

'I hope you mean "playing ball" in the innocent sense.'

The words of his Third String teammates resonated with the comments.

It also made Tendo's genius aura even more solid.

Watching the messages of popularity points constantly +1, Tendo Keiyan was very satisfied with his masterpiece.

He could still teach, but he still had to fleece the sheep!

Thus, another two weeks passed.

As the time for the Inter-High Tournament approached, Teiko also began to take action.

Hakigane Kōzō believed that the team's current chemistry was already quite good.

Several first-year freshmen possessed strong immediate combat power; they didn't need to be leveled up and could basically be used right away.

Those kids, plus any experienced veteran, could form a second lineup.

However, that was just talk; until the games started, the team's true quality couldn't be tested.

Therefore, after the chemistry was mostly there, Hakigane Kōzō arranged a practice match for Teiko.

The match time was today, and the location was the Teiko Basketball Club.

A basketball powerhouse like Teiko never lacked practice matches; there were plenty of people wanting to challenge them.

Hakigane Kōzō didn't need to actively schedule them; he just needed to pick from the teams that wanted to play Teiko.

Because it was the first battle for the team's new lineup, Hakigane Kōzō didn't pick too strong an opponent, but of course, it couldn't be too weak either.

He chose a team from Kanagawa to test the team.

Kawasaki Academy Affiliated.

A strong team that was only one step away from entering the Inter-High Tournament last year, but lost by 1 point to their opponent in the final selection match.

Such an opponent was just right.

At this moment, the gym was full... uh, it wasn't full.

The match was scheduled for Saturday, and besides the people from the basketball club, there were no other spectators.

The people from the Teiko Basketball Club were currently in the locker room changing into their match gear.

Most of them looked very relaxed.

The upperclassmen weren't afraid of an opponent like Kawasaki Academy Affiliated; Teiko's results over the past two years were all above theirs.

As for the first-years, Tendo Keiyan and the others didn't even know what the word "fear" meant. Aomine was concerned about how many minutes the coach would give him to play later.

After getting ready, everyone followed Nijimura Shūzō out of the gym.

At this time, their opponents had already finished warming up, and the match could start at any time.

The jersey numbers in Japan are fixed, from the captain's number 4 up to 15, following FIFA standards.

Tendo Keiyan chose number 14 as his jersey number.

There was no special reason, and 14 wasn't his lucky number.

He just felt this number was more pleasing to the eye.

When he watched Slam Dunk in the past, he liked Sakuragi's humor and passion, and envied Rukawa Kaede and Sendoh Akira for being cool and skilled.

He wanted to be them!

After growing up and watching it again, he found that the one he liked most was actually Mitsui Hisashi.

How old was he then?

Tendo Keiyan had already forgotten; he only remembered that when he watched Mitsui getting beaten up, he was cheering loudly.

Looking back after growing up, that line, "Coach, I want to play basketball," made him want to cry from being moved.

That kind of indelible fighting spirit was admirable!

More importantly, Mitsui's family was very rich...

Both teams were warming up, and that guy Kubo Jun had rushed over upon hearing the news again.

At this time, Hakigane Kōzō walked up to Tendo Keiyan and said to him, "See that number 7? He is the ace guard of Kawasaki Academy Affiliated. In the final qualifiers in Kanagawa last year, he scored 20+ points in 3 consecutive games."

Tendo Keiyan nodded to show he saw him, then looked at Hakigane Kōzō.

The latter didn't mince words and said directly, "He is your opponent today!"

"Scared?"

"I am pretty scared," Tendo Keiyan grinned, "Scared that one of him won't be enough for me to play with!"

This kid.

Hakigane Kōzō really liked this kind of confident player; it was another important weapon beyond a player's skills.

"You're still young, Aomine, just watch from the bench for now."

How am I young?

Isn't that guy Tendo in the same grade as me?

Aomine felt annoyed, his face twisted in frustration.

Midorima didn't say anything, but inside he was thinking the same thing as Aomine.

Everyone was a genius; how could they admit they were inferior to someone else?