Chapter 226: We should be proud

Without any surprises, amidst the cheers of Teikou fans, Teikou easily won their first match of the preliminary tournament.

The National Tournament has no "devil's schedule," because everyone gets the same amount of rest time.

Yet Teikou still managed to turn themselves into a devil.

When the pre-match groupings were released, the other participating teams were already in despair.

If not for Teikou, they would still have a chance to break out of their group; with some effort in the round-robin, they would have a chance to participate in the National Tournament.

Now?

They could only wait for death.

In the second match of the group stage, Tiandao continued to arrange for the first and second-year players to go up and gain experience.

Perhaps because they had bullied their opponents too hard in the previous match, there was basically no resistance in the second half, and they won simply.

This did not serve as effective training for the juniors.

Therefore, from the first quarter of this match, Tiandao let the young ones take the court.

The results were not bad; Teikou is Teikou, after all.

The two years they dominated the nation successfully helped Teikou attract enough genius players.

Even if they leave now, Teikou will be able to maintain a very strong impact next year.

The halftime score was 43:48, a much more normal score.

However, by the fourth quarter, Tiandao waved his hand and let all the starters take the court, and the situation immediately underwent a earth-shattering change.

In just a few minutes, Teikou stretched the lead to over 20 points.

In the subsequent group matches, Tiandao operated this way, giving the young ones full opportunities for training.

Including the later round-robin and even the National Tournament proper, Tiandao did exactly this.

Because they had the confidence to do so.

Even if the substitute lineup fell behind by 10 points, 20 points, or even more, give them one quarter, and they could chase it all back.

Sometimes, for the sake of stability, he would have Kise or one of the others lead the substitutes.

And then, they broke into the finals once again.

The opponent was still that good friend of Kuroko's, a vibrant player.

It seemed his name was Ogiwara Shigehiro.

Kuroko had spoken with the other party before the match, and then he found Tiandao alone.

"Tiandao-kun."

"What is it, Kuroko?"

"I hope that in tomorrow's match, everyone can give it their all."

"Huh?"

Tiandao looked up at Kuroko, feigning surprise.

"Is there any reason for that?"

Kuroko explained everything, including that he and Ogiwara Shigehiro were good friends and that he had only gotten into basketball because of him.

Upon hearing this, Tiandao said, "Do you know what the consequences will be if we at Teikou give it our all now?"

"Even if he loses by 200 points in a single match, loses all face in front of national fans, and ends up like those spineless guys who are beaten into giving up basketball, it doesn't matter?"

200 points...

Kuroko really hadn't thought about this; is basketball a sport where a single team can score 200 points in a match?

Previously, Teikou had won by at most 100 points before they started letting the substitutes practice.

Thinking of this, Kuroko hesitated, and only after a moment did he grit his teeth and say, "Ogiwara-kun is not the type of person who would give up easily!"

He believed in Ogiwara Shigehiro's passion for basketball.

"Since you insist, then I will satisfy you."

The next day.

At the finals venue, the Teikou players were calmly preparing their match equipment.

Especially the few young lads, each one of them was restless, looking like they were about to do something big.

Tiandao clapped his hands, stood in front of everyone, and announced, "Today, we will play with our full starting lineup."

"Eh? Why?"

"Wouldn't it be better to let the second and first-year members continue to play?"

"That's right, Tiandao-senpai, we definitely won't let you down."

The first and second-year members respected Tiandao one hundred percent, treating him like a god.

They thought it was because they hadn't performed well and hadn't met Tiandao's psychological expectations that they weren't being given a chance to play today.

"That's not the reason; this is Kuroko's wish."

He informed everyone about Ogiwara Shigehiro, and Kuroko also stated his request in front of everyone.

"I don't mind, but Kuroko-cchi, are you sure you want to do this?" Kise didn't even know himself what would happen if they gave it their all.

"I'm sure." Kuroko would also play today.

"Then let's decide it that way; it's already the last match, so let's leave something special for our junior high careers."

Half an hour later, the players from both sides entered the court.

Just like in his memories, Ogiwara Shigehiro was a player full of vitality.

Learning from Kuroko that Teikou would be sending out their full starting lineup for this match, he actually felt quite proud.

"Is Teikou playing their full lineup today?"

"Don't be like that."

"Why are you saying such discouraging words? Isn't this the perfect way to prove that we are worth Teikou giving it their all? We should be proud."

"Ogiwara is right; the full-strength Teikou hasn't let their opponents score double digits this year. Today, we must break that record."

"Oh!"

They even started cheering themselves up.

Just as Ogiwara Shigehiro had said, they felt they had received the recognition of the Generation of Miracles, and for a moment, they were full of fighting spirit.

In the first second of the opening, Murasakibara won the tip-off and tapped the ball to Akashi, who threw a long pass to the front court.

At this moment, Ogiwara Shigehiro and the others hadn't even reacted; by the time they turned around, Tiandao had already reached the three-point line and hit a three-pointer on the chase.

"As expected, the Generation of Miracles is strong!"

"That's why we have to work even harder; let's pay them back with one first."

They were full of momentum, but on the offensive end, they couldn't even get the basketball to rotate normally.

Only 3 seconds of the offensive clock had been consumed when Tiandao completed the first steal.

He raised his hand and smashed the ball out; the basketball turned into a beam of light crossing the half-court.

Aomine had already rushed ahead, and after catching the ball, he took a few steps and slammed it home.

In about 10 seconds from the start, Teikou had taken a 5:0 lead.

Ogiwara Shigehiro continued to receive the inbound pass from his teammate, continuing to direct the team's offense. ===== CHAPTER 228 =====