Tendou and Aomine's back-and-forth banter had the viewers in stitches.
The game quickly came to an end.
Kawasaki Academy failed to pull off a miracle.
Faced with the powerhouse that was Teiko, they suffered a crushing defeat.
Kawasaki's coach looked visibly downcast, distracted even during the post-game handshake.
In contrast, Coach Shirogane couldn't stop smiling.
In one go, the team had produced four genius-level players, each with immediate impact potential—plug-and-play, no warm-up needed.
No more waiting one or two years for them to mature—this year's Teiko already looked brimming with potential.
Before the match, Shirogane had prepared for two possible outcomes:
If these prodigies didn't perform well, he would have relied on veterans like Nijimura to lead and mentor them, helping them grow gradually.
Then, next year or the year after, Teiko could launch a serious bid for the national championship.
But if these prodigies could already deliver on their talent, he wouldn't hesitate to start them right away.
He wasn't some overly cautious, conservative coach.
They were all just kids. There was no such thing as "veterans" or "rookies." What mattered was who had the harder fists!
Teiko prioritized victory above all else. Whoever could help them win would get the minutes.
You only get three years in middle school. No time to waste!
So far, he was thoroughly pleased with the performances of Tendou, Murasakibara, Midorima, and Akashi.
The steady, grounded play of the first unit and the explosive firepower of the second created a dual-threat approach.
Opponents had no time to adjust to the shifting rhythm, and before they knew it, they were left in the dust.
"We're going to bring a storm of youth to the national stage this year," Shirogane said, watching Midorima and the others tease Tendou and Aomine, his eyes full of anticipation.
...
The Next Day.
News of Teiko's dominant win over Kawasaki spread across Tokyo like wildfire.
If Kubo Jun's earlier article hadn't drawn much attention from local teams, this one certainly did.
Kawasaki wasn't a pushover—they had nearly made it to nationals last year, facing off against teams that would go on to rank in the top 8 and top 16.
In other words, Kawasaki already had top-32 potential.
And Teiko?
They turned the game into garbage time by halftime.
Such overwhelming dominance couldn't be ignored by any Tokyo team.
Especially those genius rookies.
After their explosive performances in the entry trials, they delivered again in this match.
Leading the charge was Tendou Kageyoshi.
Against Kawasaki's ace, he put on a clinic.
He held Yoshizawa Ayumu to just 2 points in a single quarter!
Many opposing coaches were left wondering—
Where the hell did this kid come from?
Why hadn't they heard of him before?
In Kubo Jun's latest article, Tendou was described as a two-way forward already performing at a national level.
A future star, the defensive core of Teiko.
Someone like that wasn't supposed to fly under the radar.
Suddenly, every team in Tokyo was on high alert.
Even though Tokyo had the most spots—three—for nationals, Teiko's emergence essentially meant one of those tickets was permanently gone for the next three years.
Competition just got a lot fiercer.
Just like Tendou said in his post-match interview:
"This is just one victory. Soon, people will get used to Teiko winning."
"This guy is so full of himself," Amanai Riko muttered, pursing her lips as she read a magazine.
The truth was, there was no "soon" about it—Tendou Kageyoshi was already a celebrity in the middle school basketball scene.
Since he'd joined the team, Shirogane had noticed a surge in "spectators" visiting the gym.
And most of them were girls.
They came just to see Tendou.
All Shirogane could do was sigh.
This kid—who constantly forgot warnings and still walked into the gym wearing sunglasses—was just too damn handsome.
He was exactly like Shirogane in his youth!
"If he ever stops playing basketball, he should just become a model or an idol," Nijimura complained.
He had to deal with those girls every day.
Overflowing with youthful energy, they'd started to affect the team's regular training.
The players would constantly glance over while practicing, distracted.
And when Nijimura tried to chase them off, he'd be met with furious protests—and sometimes a face full of spit.
With Tendou and the others, he could smack them around without a word.
But with these girls, he was helpless.
Every time he got flamed by them, he'd turn around and shout,
"Tendou! Five laps around the court, now!"
What the hell, man!?
What does this have to do with me!?
All Tendou could do was jog around the court while Amanai Riko watched, smirking in schadenfreude.
...
In the following weeks, Shirogane arranged more practice matches.
Three games, all blowouts in Teiko's favor.
Not a single opponent managed to cut the lead down to single digits.
At this point, even teams outside of Tokyo were getting nervous.
Tendou started all three matches.
Under Shirogane's guidance, he was matched against three different types of perimeter players—all the opposing teams' main scorers.
Speed-type.
Skill-type.
Power-type.
He faced them all.
And in return, Tendou handed in a report card that Shirogane couldn't be more satisfied with.
None of his three opponents managed to score in double digits under his watch.
At this point, Shirogane had fully embraced him as the cornerstone of Teiko's perimeter defense.
Many of the team's defensive schemes were now built around one assumption:
Tendou could lock down the opponent's primary scorer.
That included strategies like:
Having teammates rush over to form a trap whenever Tendou ran into a screen.
Forcing ball-handlers toward Tendou's side of the court so he could take care of them.
The goal was to maximize his steal potential.
As for interior defense?
That was left to Murasakibara Atsushi and Nijimura Shuzo.
In all three games, Teiko's dominance was clear from start to finish.
They won using the most traditional method:
Defense wins championships.
Tendou's numbers: 9 steals, 11 steals, and 9 steals.
Murasakibara's rebounding: 16, 18, and 15 boards.
Absolutely overwhelming.
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