Chapter 235: The Heavenly Dao adjusted Haizaki to the 2-spot, and the effect was even more obvious; Kirisaki Daiichi lost by 7 points

Kirisaki Daiichi lost a total of 17 points in the first half.

However, there was one benefit: after half the game time had passed, the skills of the Too Academy players had been pillaged by Haizaki for the most part.

"Coach, if this continues, it will be very bad." Satsuki already felt the crisis.

Harasawa Katsunori knew it too; except for Aomine, the shooting packages of the other players had almost all been stolen.

Ordinary layups and the like were not enough to crush Kirisaki Daiichi's defense, so they could only rely on Aomine to score alone.

If the Heavenly Dao played in the third quarter and did nothing but stare at Aomine, the 17-point lead wouldn't be safe.

In fact.

That was exactly what the Heavenly Dao did; after he entered the game in the third quarter, he specifically stared at Aomine, leaving the offensive task to Haizaki.

Aomine's scoring efficiency immediately dropped to only 4.

Looking at Haizaki, without Aomine's single defense, under Hanamiya Makoto's threading the needle, he scored 19 points on 8-of-10 shooting in a single quarter.

Kirisaki Daiichi chased 16 points in a single quarter.

"It's so easy; when we played Too Academy in the national tournament, was it this easy?"

During the quarter break, Hara Kazuya and the others were sighing; Teiko had too many tough guys.

Haizaki wasn't even at the Generation of Miracles level—he was half a step behind—yet he brought a huge improvement to Kirisaki Daiichi.

"Hmph!" Haizaki let out a cold snort, but in his heart, he was proud; these guys finally saw his value.

"Don't be careless; this is ultimately a practice game." The Heavenly Dao drank some water and said, "When it comes to the actual game, Aomine will play for his life."

However, Kirisaki Daiichi's improvement was still obvious to all.

Facing Too Academy, he could win by playing only half a game; one could imagine how perverted Kirisaki Daiichi's lineup was now.

The match ended. Kirisaki Daiichi completed a comeback, ultimately defeating the tyrant Shutoku by a 9-point margin.

After the game, Tiandao called over Haizaki and Aomine, and the old teammates went to his house for a meal together.

Although they were eating at home, none of the four of them knew how to cook.

Momoi was quite enthusiastic, but she was kicked out of the kitchen by Tiandao and Aomine, who knew her well.

Tiandao called for takeout.

At the dining table, the group didn't have the habit of staying silent while eating; they just picked a topic and chatted as they ate.

"To be honest, Haizaki, I didn't expect you to pick up the ball again."

"After all, you were the one who voluntarily quit the basketball club back then."

Voluntarily quit?

Haizaki didn't deny it, because denying it would be even more embarrassing.

He didn't want anyone to know that he had been expelled from the basketball club by Akashi.

"But it's good that you're back. Today's game wasn't enough; let's face off again in the tournament."

Aomine didn't want to think about complicated things; he knew it was enough that Haizaki was back playing basketball.

There isn't a single bastard among guys who truly love playing basketball.

His opinion of Haizaki had changed quite a bit.

"Daiki."

"What is it?"

"Has anyone ever told you that you're stupid?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

Aomine hated it most when others treated him like an idiot; he just happened to fail his exams easily.

It was one thing for Tiandao to insult him like that, but you, Haizaki, dare to say that to me?

"Alright, alright, don't fight since it's rare for us to meet." Momoi stepped in to smooth things over. She said, "Anyway, it's good that you're back."

As she spoke, she looked at Tiandao again. Being able to find Haizaki, Xiao Tian is just too amazing!

"Let's work hard together for the Winter Cup!"

"You guys should focus on working hard for yourselves first." Tiandao hinted.

In the original story, Shutoku took second place and earned a direct qualification for the Winter Cup, so they didn't have to fight for a spot.

But this time, the direct spot was snatched away by Kirisaki Daiichi, so they had to fight Seirin and Shutoku for the qualifying spot.

"You guys were placed in the same group as Seirin for the qualifiers, right?"

"Ah, I didn't expect to see that guy Tetsuya again so soon."

Aomine had expectations for Seirin.

Besides his old teammate Kuroko Tetsuya, there was also Seeing Seeing Kagami Taiga.

During their first encounter at the Inter-High, Aomine had already noticed Seeing Seeing Kagami Taiga.

Unlike those small fry whose confidence was easily destroyed, Seeing Seeing Kagami Taiga remained full of fighting spirit even when trailing by a large margin against him.

He was a decent guy.

"Don't underestimate Seirin; their potential exceeds your expectations."

Seirin's players were not at a disadvantage when matched up against Rakuzan.

"That guy Tetsuya? Didn't Akashi say that his basketball couldn't win?" Although Haizaki was annoyed with Akashi and held a grudge, he acknowledged Akashi's eye for talent.

"He can't win alone, but his team is excellent. Be careful not to flip your car during the Winter Cup."

"The stronger the opponent, the better!" Aomine was extremely confident and almost blurted out, "The only one who can beat me is me."

He only held his tongue when he remembered Tiandao was also present.

Tiandao didn't continue.

After all, no one would have imagined that after one summer, Seirin could grow to such a point, defeating every member of the Generation of Miracles.

Especially the core, Seeing Seeing Kagami Taiga, who caught up to Aomine, Akashi, and the others in just a few months.

The speed of his leveling up was staggering.

And so, not long after.

The Winter Cup qualifiers officially kicked off.

Tiandao didn't pay attention to the qualifiers, dragging his teammates to the basketball club to practice tactics.

Only occasionally during breaks would he watch the matches through the animation to see if things had deviated from the plot.

The result was that they hadn't.

After the Winter Cup started, Seirin, Shutoku, and Touou marched forward together, winning every match easily.

It wasn't until the last round of the group stage that Touou and Seirin met unexpectedly.

"It's starting."

Tiandao put down the ball in his hand and decided to go to the scene.

"Tiandao, where are you going?"

"To the match venue."

"The match between Touou and Seirin? We're going too!"

The people from Kirisaki Daiichi had long since grown tired of such boring training, but they had to endure it under Tiandao's tyranny.

Now that the team leader was finally going out, they naturally wanted to follow.

"Then let's go together."

It was already winter, and the sky turned dark faster than ever before.

When Tiandao arrived at the arena, the sun was already preparing to set; the sunlight was no longer warm, and there was a hint of chill.

They arrived just in time; both sides were doing their final warm-ups, and the match was about to begin.

The audience soon noticed them.

As the new champions, the players of Kirisaki Daiichi were now considered celebrities, especially in the Tokyo area where they were based.

"Look, it's Kirisaki Daiichi!"

"Even they came?"

"After all, it's the match between Touou and Seirin, and they are also Kirisaki Daiichi's main rivals, so it's normal for them to come and watch."

"By the way, why didn't they play in the Winter Cup?"

"Are you stupid? Kirisaki Daiichi is the Inter-High champion and was directly invited to the final tournament."

"Eh, is it that good?"

"What's good or not? Even if they had to play the qualifiers, they would still qualify; it's the same."

"No, don't you guys feel like someone looks familiar?"

"Who?"

"The one with the dreadlocks; it seems like I saw him during the Inter-High."

"You remembered too? I thought I was seeing things."

"Who?"

"Haizaki Shogo; it's said he's also a player from Teiko, and his strength is super strong."

The audience discussed among themselves.

Haizaki had at least shown his face at the Inter-High, and although he was taught a harsh lesson by Akashi, his strength in beating the five generals of Rakuzan was real.

Now that he had joined Kirisaki Daiichi, Kirisaki Daiichi's hopes of winning the Winter Cup were even greater.

"Coach, look over there."

"What is it?"

During the warm-up phase, the people from Seirin also noticed these uninvited guests.

Aida Riko looked in the direction the player was pointing, and her pupils contracted instantly.

She noticed Haizaki's presence immediately, and in her mind, she imagined how many more tactical options Kirisaki Daiichi would have with the addition of Haizaki, and how much stronger they would become.

Aida Riko took a deep breath, forcing herself not to think too much and to focus on the match at hand.

If they couldn't even beat Touou, what right did they have to challenge Kirisaki Daiichi?

"Don't think too much; focus on playing today's game well."

She felt that her team's luck with the draw was really bad.

During the Inter-High, they had to fight Shutoku for a group qualifying spot.

In the Winter Cup, it was their turn to fight Touou for the top spot in the group; it was as if they were locked in a struggle with the Generation of Miracles.

But she didn't stop to think that when their team's strength reached a certain level and they kept winning, they would inevitably face the Generation of Miracles.

"Do you really think Seirin can win? The opponent has Daiki."

Haizaki had asked Tiandao not long ago who would win the match, and Tiandao's answer was beyond his expectations; he actually thought Touou would lose.