Chapter 89

Among them, Aomine was the most eye-catching.

Compared to last year, he seemed to have been promoted by a level.

Scoring was like taking something out of a bag; after two practice matches, there wasn't a single game where he scored less than 40 points.

Nijimura Shuzo saw everything.

This day, he took the initiative to knock on the door of Shirogane Goro's office.

"Come in."

"Excuse me."

Seeing the visitor, Shirogane Goro stopped his work and asked, "What's wrong, Nijimura?"

"Hmm?"

Shirogane Goro put down his pen, not understanding Nijimura Shuzo's decision.

He didn't think there was any need to change Teiko's current rotation mode.

"Give me a reason."

Nijimura Shuzo could only tell the truth.

"It's because of some things at home."

It turned out that Nijimura Shuzo's family member was ill and needed someone to take care of them.

He couldn't devote all his energy to the national tournament or even managing the basketball club.

"The current Aomine is fully capable of taking over my position, and might even perform better than me."

Based on the performance and data Aomine put up in the practice matches, there was no problem at all with him taking over his position.

Hearing this, Shirogane Goro thought for a moment and finally agreed.

Family was ultimately more important.

He soon announced the news.

"Ah? Captain, you're going to be a substitute?"

"Yes, this is the result after I discussed it with the coach. My original position will be taken over by Aomine."

"This, why, Captain? It doesn't matter if I play as a substitute. My chemistry with Tetsu is also very good, right, Tetsu?"

However, he didn't think anyone was more suitable for Teiko's power forward position than Nijimura Shuzo.

Tendou asked a question he already knew the answer to, "Is it because of reasons outside the court?"

Nijimura Shuzo nodded and said, "Yes, it's some personal reasons of mine. Now I can't devote all my energy to the national tournament, so you all need to do your best."

Hearing this, everyone could only express understanding.

"Then let's decide it like this. Everyone, get ready. Don't forget what our goal is this year: defend the title!"

"Now, everyone run ten laps around the court. Next is the practice match."

"Oh!"

The Teiko boys immediately started running around the court.

Preparing intensely for the upcoming national tournament.

First update...

"Senior Nijimura applied to be a substitute?"

"Yes, because of a family member's illness, he can't concentrate on dealing with the national tournament."

"Is that so? The national tournament is starting again."

In a coffee shop, Tendou Keigen, who had now become a millionaire, was working part-time with Riko.

It is worth mentioning that his millionaire status was in US dollars.

In last year's NBA finals, he went all-in on every game, making himself someone who didn't lack money.

Now they insisted on coming to the shop to work part-time; on one hand, they had developed feelings for this place and were used to it.

On the other hand, they wanted to repay the landlady's kindness.

When they were homeless, it was the landlady who took them in.

Riko was stirring coffee, but her thoughts had flown off to who knows where.

Before she knew it, a year had passed.

Soon...

"Tap."

She let out an "ouch," covered her forehead, and pouted, "Why did you flick me?"

"Don't let your imagination run wild; things will get better."

"I didn't let my imagination run wild."

She pouted and complained, but Tendou's flick did indeed make her mood relax quite a bit.

Looking at the man close at hand, she suddenly kissed him again.

"Let's go shopping this weekend?"

"You've grown so much this year; last year's clothes don't fit anymore."

"They are a bit ill-fitting."

A year passed, and Tendou's height had soared to...

According to the system's test, he could grow to 191cm in his first year of high school.

The current Tendou could already complete extremely violent dunks in actual combat, without worrying about hitting the iron rim like Curry.

"Please, you two handsome and beautiful people, don't slack off during work hours. I'm going to deduct your wages."

The landlady suddenly appeared in front of the two, looking at them with a smile.

"Show some consideration for an aging married woman like me. You two are always like this; it's easy to make me think of the fact that I'm already old."

"Look at what you're saying. Where are you old? You're just not young anymore."

Tendou was as mouthy as ever.

"You brat, looking for a beating, right? A girl as good as Riko following you, you've got it too easy."

"I don't know if I've got it easy, but Riko definitely got it easy from me; she just kissed me. Look, here, see that? By the way, landlady, how long has it been since you kissed your husband?"

"I'll beat you to death, you brat..."

The coffee shop was as full of laughter as ever.

Then, the new year's national tournament began.

With last year's championship experience, Teiko was undoubtedly the number one seeded favorite in the Tokyo area again this year.

Teiko was originally a "nail house" in the Tokyo area, almost occupying a qualifying spot every year.

Now it's even worse; whoever meets them has to consider themselves unlucky.

The Youth Sports Newspaper even made a grade classification for each team's strength this year.

Among them, Teiko sat at the top of the Tokyo area and even the national list with an "S" grade.

Because except for them reaching the S grade, the highest for other teams was only A.

They couldn't even find a team close to them!

The reasons given by the Youth Sports Newspaper were also very sufficient.

"With the original third-year players moving up, Teiko's first-year players from last year have officially taken over the Teiko basketball club."

"In the past three practice matches, Teiko could win by an average of 66.4 points. I believe everyone knows what this number means."

"Compared to last year, this year's Tendou Keigen has gone a step further. In the three practice matches, his scoring was controlled at 30 points each."

"This is not a coincidence, because he stops shooting every time he reaches 30 points. I think the Teiko demon star is already saving energy for the upcoming qualifiers. Now, he can control his scoring at will. We can fully look forward to the performance of the Teiko demon star this year."

"Besides Tendou Keigen's consistent dominance, there is another player that other teams need to pay close attention to."

"Also a second-year, Aomine Daiki, in the past three practice matches, he averaged 45.6 points, ranking first in the team, with efficiency second only to Tendou Keigen."