Chapter 47

The one who commands the team’s offense in the future can be the number 2 or number 3, and even monsters at the number 5 position.

Tian Dao was influenced by the basketball style of later generations, so his style inevitably tended toward being all-around.

Who doesn't want to be the team’s ball-holding core?

Men, after all, all like the feeling of holding the ball firmly in their own hands.

Haizaki stuck to him immediately; his goal today was only one: kill Tian Dao, this guy with the smelly mouth.

Tian Dao ignored him, controlled the ball to the three-point line, Midorima pretended to cut inside, but actually made a reverse run and came out, successfully shaking off the defense.

Tian Dao Jing Yan accelerated to break through the moment Midorima ran out of position, feinted, and then threw the ball to the left side with force.

Midorima caught the ball and shot, throwing the ball out with his carefully sculpted shooting motion.

Day after day of practice allowed him and the hoop to form enough tacit understanding.

The red team’s shooting guard tried his best, but Midorima still hit the first goal of the practice game.

Coach Coach Baijin Gengo watched from the sidelines and discovered another interesting thing.

Tian Dao was not purely a cancer; he was not obsessed with scoring; he was obsessed with the feeling of having the ball in his hands.

If he handed the ball to him, he could also put up an all-around performance like Nijimura Shuzo.

Therefore, he was not a cancer, but a ball hog!

Well, anyway, it wasn't a good word; he was destined not to have any fate with words like "sacrifice."

Transition from offense to defense.

Haizaki, that guy, started waving for the ball as soon as he crossed half-court, not knowing the meaning of courtesy at all.

Akashi thought for a moment, then still passed the ball to Haizaki.

He was sharp-witted and understood the coach's intention; the protagonist of this match was actually Haizaki alone.

Shirogane Gōzō was testing whether Haizaki had the strength to enter Teiko’s main roster.

Tendo Keigen moved up to face Haizaki immediately.

"Are you the only one coming to defend me, big star?" Haizaki licked his lips, his expression looking both excited and ferocious.

Tendo Keigen didn't speak, just hooked his finger in a provocation.

Haizaki wasn't annoyed; he became even more excited, wanting to tear Tendo apart, along with that foul mouth of his that made people so uncomfortable.

There was no complex movement, nor any intention to coordinate with his teammates.

He started with a between-the-legs dribble, a change of direction, and then a wide, early pull-back.

"This is..."

A Teiko player on the sidelines suddenly froze.

This was clearly the signature crossover move he had used when playing against Haizaki not long ago.

Only, Haizaki’s movements were faster and more powerful than his.

"I'll finish you in one go!"

"Big star!"

Haizaki’s expression was like a wolf’s; he slammed the basketball and accelerated past Tendo Keigen’s side.

This offensive intensity was in no way inferior to Aomine’s; none of the opponents Tendo had encountered in the qualifiers could compare to Haizaki.

The camera focused on Haizaki’s front, and simultaneously on Tendo Keigen’s back.

Seeing this, the audience’s hearts couldn't help but skip a beat.

They thought, "No way? Even Tendo can't handle this guy?"

However, the next second...

The screen suddenly went completely black, followed immediately by a white light cutting horizontally across the screen.

"Release!"

It was as if the night had been severed; when the screen regained its color, Tendo Keigen, wearing the Teiko No. 14 jersey, had his right arm extended horizontally to his right.

And Haizaki—his expression at this moment was no different from that of Yamanaka Yūta, Tanaka Gorō, and the others back then.

His pupils dilated rapidly, his ferocious expression vanished, leaving only disbelief.

"How did he do it?" A magnitude-ten earthquake erupted in Haizaki’s heart; he shifted his gaze and collided right with Tendo Keigen’s eyes.

He heard the other say, "How does it taste to be defended by a big star?"

After saying this, Tendo Keigen shoved past Haizaki and rushed toward the ball’s landing spot.

Damn it!

Haizaki cursed under his breath, turned, and accelerated in pursuit.

The two were fast; with two "whooshes," they crossed the mid-court line.

Tendo Keigen didn't underestimate Haizaki; at this stage, Haizaki was one of the strongest in the country.

He drove with the ball all the way to the three-point line, seeing that Haizaki hadn't lost his position and was following closely.

He didn't use flashy dribbling to attempt a breakthrough; instead, he turned directly and leaned back heavily with his back.

This lean made Haizaki feel that Tendo Keigen’s strength was actually superior to his own.

He gritted his teeth, ignoring the pain in his chest, and continued to press up.

It was also at this moment that Aomine, that tumor, had already rushed over.

He waved his hands while running, as if afraid Tendo wouldn't notice him, with Akashi, Nijimura Shūzō, and a group of others following behind.

It was a two-on-one opportunity in the front court, but time was tight; one moment of hesitation and the chance would be lost!

Tendo Keigen naturally wouldn't miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity; his gaze swept over Aomine, and Haizaki secretly thought, "Not good."

The guy in front of him could pass; during the first attack, he had already displayed extremely strong assist capabilities.

Seeing Tendo Keigen’s hand holding the ball tilt toward Aomine, Haizaki shifted laterally with determination.

The result.

Tendo Keigen suddenly flipped his wrist and, with an accelerated turn, killed past Haizaki from the other side.

The entire process happened almost simultaneously, giving Haizaki no chance to recover on defense.

Swish~

Tendo Keigen rushed to the basket and easily scored with a layup.

Damn it!

Haizaki hated it; this time he had truly been deceived completely.

"Don't look like you're about to eat someone." Tendo Keigen tapped his head. "If you don't use your brain when playing ball, you'll be Aomine for the rest of your life."

"Huh?" Aomine went "Huh" and asked with dissatisfaction, "Why me?"

'Pfft~'

'Damn, can you stop with the black jokes? Aomine is already dark enough.'

'Who are you pretending to be, upstairs? You’re the one who roasts Aomine the hardest. Don't think I don't know that every time Aomine gets bullied by Tendo, you’re the one laughing the loudest.'

'I am happy, I am laughing, what are you going to do about it?'

'Geez, you guys are really annoying.'

'As expected of someone named Tendo, worrying about him getting shut down is completely unnecessary!'

Seeing Haizaki being schooled by Tendo, the barrage comments suddenly came alive again.

One of the greatest joys for the audience following the series now was watching Tendo show off and listening to his sharp, sarcastic remarks.

Putting themselves in his perspective to bully Haizaki, who looked like a villain at first glance, was just too satisfying.

If it were Kuroko, everyone would still be nervous; after all, Kuroko’s character design was that of a typical protagonist template.

Tendo wasn't; he dealt with every villain that appeared, never letting it wait until the next day—it was 24K pure satisfaction.

"Tendo’s post-up technique has improved." The assistant coach on the sidelines had his eyes light up.

Post-up technique has a very obvious role in the world of basketball, especially in one-on-one play.

However, this technique is very demanding on physical confrontation; if your body isn't strong enough and you can't push people around, you can't play a good post-up game.

In later generations, fewer and fewer people have been developing post-up techniques.

It’s not that they can't learn it; it’s that they are too lazy to learn it.

There are too many "touch fouls"; comparing the 00-10 era to the 11-20 era, you will find how much the league has changed since the Commissioner took over the NBA.

Never mind the perimeter players; a big center would rather run to the three-point line and stick their butt out than polish their post-up technique—this was almost unimaginable in the 2000s.

Nowadays, in this era, without a refined post-up technique, you’d be embarrassed to call yourself a star player.