Chapter 62: How could such a low-level mistake be made?

Once this match concludes, the Tokyo regional qualifiers will be considered settled.

Regardless of which of the remaining two teams wins or loses, both will be able to advance together.

Tian Tian Tian Tian Tian Tian Lizi and the Teiko players did not leave the venue, choosing instead to watch the final match on-site.

"We are the kings!"

Under the loud encouragement of the Zenbu head coach, Zenbu secured this difficult victory, ultimately finishing with a 2-1 record as the second seed from the Tokyo region.

The old man from Zenbu is a practical person.

When playing against Teiko, he would never dare to shout nonsense like "We are the kings."

He truly lacked the confidence to defeat the powerful Teiko; shouting it rashly would only make him look like a clown.

Once the round-robin tournament concluded entirely.

The organizers arranged a simple departure ceremony.

Under the gaze of over twenty thousand fans, Teiko hoisted this year's regional championship trophy.

Tian Tian Tian Tian Tian Tian Lizi took the medal and gave it a light bite.

Damn it, it’s rock hard; it’s clearly not made of pure gold. These people are truly stingy!

Next came the presentation of various awards, similar in concept to the NBA regular season awards, meant to commend players who performed exceptionally well.

Ultimately, in addition to winning the Best Newcomer award, Tian Tian Tian Tian Tian Tian Lizi was also selected for the Tokyo Regional Best First Team and earned the title of Steals Leader.

The scoring title went to Nijimura Shuzo, while the assists and rebounds leaders were claimed by Akashi and Murasakibara, respectively.

Perhaps considering that this is a comprehensive tournament, it wouldn't be good for one team to dominate, so they couldn't give all the awards to Teiko.

Consequently, in the selection for the Best Team, only Nijimura Shuzo and Tian Tian Tian Tian Tian Tian Lizi from Teiko were chosen, with the remaining three spots given to players from the other three teams in the round-robin.

Of course, Shirogane Goro had his sights set elsewhere; their goal was to win the National Tournament.

"Let's go back. The real battle starts now!"

"Oh!"

The Teiko players responded loudly and walked out of the arena with their coach to celebrate.

"What should we eat?"

"Ramen, it's delicious and cheap!"

"No, I still want to eat barbecue."

On the bus, everyone discussed where to celebrate.

Akashi looked at everyone, feeling as if the missing part of his heart had finally been filled.

Thinking that he hadn't really done anything for everyone since joining the basketball club, he suggested, "How about we go to a Michelin-starred restaurant? I know a place with great food!"

The bus went silent instantly, and everyone stared straight at Akashi.

This made the young master, who was usually calm and composed in any situation, feel nervous.

Just as he was about to say something to remedy the situation, Tian Tian Tian Tian Tian Tian Lizi spoke up, "Do you want to eat our coach, who earns a pitiful salary, into bankruptcy?"

Shirogane Goro had originally been touched by the vitality of these children, never expecting to be dissed by his own student.

It didn't help that his meager salary was indeed lower than what Tian Tian Tian Tian Tian Tian Lizi earned as a model; the kid could make a month's worth of his salary from a single photoshoot.

He immediately put on a stern face and said loudly, "Don't get too carried away, Tian Tian Tian Tian Tian Tian Lizi. My net worth is still higher than yours!"

"I believe you have savings, but aren't most of them in your wife's hands?"

"Coach, how much is your monthly allowance? Is it only enough for three meals a day?"

Damn, why does this brat have to be so cutting?

It was rare to see the usually serious coach get stumped, and everyone burst into laughter, except for Akashi, who felt a bit uncomfortable for a moment.

He felt he hadn't fully integrated into the team and was out of place.

At this moment, Tian Tian Tian Tian Tian Tian Lizi draped an arm over his shoulder, pulled his small sunglasses down to the bridge of his nose, and said coolly, "Leave those stuffy places to the old men."

"We young people should obviously go eat barbecue; that's what suits our fiery youth. Let's go, boys, let's turn the barbecue place upside down!"

"Oh!"

Aomine and the others, who loved a bit of chaos, responded loudly.

Akashi paused, a nice curve forming on his lips, and then said, "Mm."

'I envy them so much.'

'They get along so well!'

'The cat-like one is so warm; he's not an ice-cold guy at all.'

'He just ostracized all the kids in the last episode, how is he warm?'

'Akashi is the warm one; he looks so good when he smiles.'

'Right, right? I fell for Akashi the first time I saw him. He has such an aura; as expected of a young master from a big family, who wouldn't be mesmerized?'

'He's just a bit short, not as tall as me...'

The comment section teachers were discussing again.

As mentioned before, one of the biggest selling points of this show, Kuroko's Basketball, is the character design.

Among these teenagers with colorful hair, there is always one who can catch your attention.

That night.

Shirogane Goro's private savings, which he had worked hard to accumulate, were eaten up, and he had no choice but to call his wife to come and bail him out.

He thought he was being clever by sending the boys away first, not realizing that Tian Tian Tian Tian Tian Tian Lizi and the others had snuck back and filmed their head coach groveling before the owner.

Consequently, the next day, the Teiko news department published a headline: [Teiko Head Coach caught red-handed after eating a 'free meal' in a rage, forced to wash dishes to pay off debt].

Shirogane Goro was furious; he knew at a glance that those little brats were behind it, most likely Tian Tian Tian Tian Tian Tian Lizi!

In a fit of rage, he expelled everyone from the basketball club and made them run ten laps around the school.

Amidst a sea of comments saying "Hahahaha" and "Sanctioned by the coach again," the Teiko players spent the afternoon complaining to each other.

"Speak, but try to keep it brief; I have a pile of things to deal with right now."

At the Rakuzan basketball club, Hakugane Eiji, who shares the same surname as Shirogane Goro, sat in his office preparing for the upcoming National Tournament.

As the highest mountain in the high school basketball world, Rakuzan has only one goal.

To win the championship, and to defend it!

"Um, Mr. Hakugane, the information you asked me to keep an eye on regarding the junior high national tournament has been compiled."

"Have the junior high qualifiers all ended?"

"Yes, the Tokyo region was the last to finish, but they also decided on the three participating teams yesterday."

"Good, thank you for your hard work. Just leave the documents here."

Hakugane Eiji put down his tactical board and picked up the file folder to take out its contents.

Then, before his assistant coach could walk out the door, he was called back by Hakugane Eiji.

"What is going on? How could such an obvious error appear in this report?"

"Error? That shouldn't be?" The assistant coach was puzzled; the information he compiled had been verified to ensure it was accurate.

"Then why did you write 8.5 in the steals per game column?"

Such a mistake was too amateurish; how could one confuse basketballs or assists with steals?

"Because that kid really averaged 8.5 steals per game."

Hakugane Eiji: ?????

"And this 6.6 blocks per game, is that also this kid averaging 6.6 blocks?"

He wouldn't give up, pulling out Murasakibara Atsushi's file and pointing firmly at the blocks column.

The assistant coach nodded, "Yes, these stats have all been tallied and checked three times before being handed to you. If it weren't for Mr. Shirogane Goro limiting these kids' playing time to about 27 minutes per game, they would likely be averaging double digits in both steals and blocks."

Upon hearing this, Hakugane Eiji rubbed his forehead.

Why did he understand every word his assistant said, yet couldn't comprehend the meaning when they were put together?