Chapter 37: Practice Match

"Who's the kitty? Me?"

Tiandao Jingyan looked at the comments, shook his head, took off his sunglasses, put them away, and stepped back onto the court.

He also turned off all the comments.

In his first match appearance, he had to go all out and take the victory.

In his life, he needed victory so damn much!

The match started.

This match followed international rules.

The full match was 40 minutes, with 10-minute quarters, for a total of 4 quarters.

Acting as the temporary referee was a member of Teikou's Second String.

It wouldn't be a case of Teikou playing 6 against 5, but at least it wouldn't be 5 against 6.

A whistle blew, and the basketball was tossed high into the air.

The Kawasaki Dai center was ready to teach the rookie a lesson.

He was one of the best centers in Kanagawa, known as one of the "Four Great Centers of Kanagawa," and his idol was David Robinson, who was famous for his athletic ability.

Although Kawasaki Dai didn't make it to the final National Tournament last year, his performance in the prefectural tournament was nothing short of outstanding.

Averaging a double-double of 13+10, he looked down on everyone; dealing with a first-year rookie was a piece of cake!

"Listen up, rookie, basketball is not a sport about who is taller!"

With a *slap*.

The Kawasaki center heroically swatted the ball to...

Huh?

Where was the ball?

He suddenly froze, realizing the basketball in his eyes had vanished.

Turning his head, he saw clearly that the basketball had already been swatted by Murasakibara Atsushi to his teammate.

The Four Great Centers of Kanagawa had lost to a rookie in their first encounter.

Murasakibara looked at his opponent with confusion; he hadn't heard clearly what the other guy said just now.

"What's wrong?"

".......... You just wait!"

Damn rookie!

Teikou gained possession and the whole team immediately pressed up, preparing for their first attack.

It was the most popular set-play mode of this era.

Nijimura Shuzo personally handled the team's first attack of the new season.

He received a pass from a teammate and immediately accelerated to break inside.

Nijimura Shuzo's brilliance lay in the fact that, despite being a power forward, he had agility completely inconsistent with the number 4 position.

With a long stride after a change of direction, he shook off his defender and killed his way into the enemy paint.

The Kawasaki people were prepared; in their eyes, Teikou's biggest threat was Nijimura Shuzo.

In an instant, Nijimura Shuzo saw two Kawasaki players killing toward him from the left and right, and the player he had just passed was also turning to chase, forming a triangular trap.

Nijimura Shuzo wasn't afraid at all; if anything, everything was according to Baijin Kozo's plan.

Nijimura Shuzo had vision, passing, and penetration; with such an all-around forward as the core, what else would they play if not drive-and-kick?

Teikou's signature tactic from last season was this kind of penetration and kick-out pass.

So, the moment Nijimura Shuzo started, Teikou's other four players also ran, looking for open spots.

Kawasaki sent 3 people to double-team, allowing Nijimura Shuzo to pass the ball out smoothly; there would definitely be gaps in the defensive line.

And sure enough, Teikou's starting shooting guard was lurking in the corner, and after receiving the pass, he hit an open three-pointer.

3:0!

Teikou drew first blood.

"Still as clean and efficient as ever, Teikou."

A bad start, but the Kawasaki people remained unmoved.

They were the ones who invited Teikou to a practice match, so Kawasaki certainly wouldn't know nothing about Teikou.

"Follow the game plan, no need to rush."

"Yes!"

The people from Kawasaki Dai nodded one after another, their fighting spirit high.

This year was Kawasaki Dai's most promising year, and also their last chance.

After this year, all five of their starters would be moving on to high school.

Therefore, they attached special importance to the National Tournament this year.

Some guys didn't even bother to pay attention to their girlfriends, putting their whole heart into playing basketball. ===== CHAPTER 39 =====