Chapter 165 - After Nationals (2/2)

Kaitani turned to Shun and asked.

Kaitani: ”What about you? Which was your favorite game?”

Shun rubbed his chin and gave it thought.

Shun: ”Teiko Middle School vs. Kamata West Middle School.”

Yuki immediately knew of the game.

Yuki: ”The finals? Why was that your favorite?”

Kaitani nodded and also asked.

Kaitani: ”True, Teiko crushed Kamata in the second half, but that wasn't anything new for them.”

Shun shook his head with a smirk on his face.

Shun: ”Kamata's genius twins, they were able to draw in three fouls from Aomine, Midorima, Murasakibara.

Four fouls from Kise and even Akashi fell victim to their flopping once and gained one foul.

Plus, both the twins are really good at free throws. They didn't miss a single free throw in the game.

That was a total of sixteen foul points.

It is a pity that they didn't know how to draw fouls like Mibuchi-san, or else it would've been even more fun.

Just the sight of Teiko getting pissed was worth it.”

Shun laughed in glee as he recalled Teiko member's faces as they protested the fouls to the referee.

Yuki and Kaitani looked at their captain, and Kaitani spoke.

Kaitani: ”You are really salty when it comes to Teiko, aren't you.”

Shun humphed at Kaitani's statement and didn't grace him with an answer.

The coach entered the gym, and Shun, as the captain, shouted the orders.

Shun: ”Everybody, the coach is here!

Gather Up!”

And, thus, began another day of practice at Tokiwadai Middle School Basketball Club's first-string.

-*-*-*-*-*-*-

In just a week's worth of time, Teiko's consecutive title victory made it in the issue of youth sports magazines.

Aomine Daiki, the MVP of the National Tournament, scoring leader (offensive player of the year), was dubbed as the best forward in the Middle School scene.

Murasakibara Atsushi was awarded the defensive player of the year and became the best Center in the Middle School scene. The tall giant was dominant, and his power plays made him a spectacle.

Akashi Seijuro was bestowed upon the award of the supportive player of the year and became the best point guard in the Nationals because of Teiko's unbeatable pass work.

Kuroko Tetsuya was an integral part of Teiko's pass work, but due to his weak presence, Akashi ended up getting all the credit.

The magazines crowned Midorima Shintaro as the unrefutable best shooting guard of the Middle School basketball scene. Plus, his defensive skills were also top-notch, so he was considered as an ideal guard-archetype player.

Kise Ryota's short basketball career and his spectacular performance at the Nationals were disproportionate. With his good looks and work as a model, he garnered a large amount of attention.

Kise's flashy plays in the Nationals made him a fan favorite and ended up getting the biggest article of all Teiko players, beating out Aomine's MVP and scoring leader article.

-*-*-*-

And, Teiko's victory demanded their journey this year, so the magazines pulled out all the information about all of Teiko's games this season.

The Tokyo Preliminary finals caught the attention of the writers, and the game left them in awe of Kageyama Shun's performance.

Separate articles about Tokiwadai concentrating on Shun's performance against the champions were published in the same edition as Teiko's articles.

Later, when Shun saw the magazine articles, he laughed for a long time, happy seeing him stealing Teiko's thunder.

He even treated his teammates to meat-buns that day.

-*-*-*-

One last thing that came after the Nationals was the unofficial coining of the five top players, who despite their talents, lost out to the one year younger batch of players, and now, were known to the youth basketball community as the Uncrowned Kings.

Iron Heart, Kiyoshi Teppei, who lost to both Generation of Miracles in the Nationals, and Shun last year.

Bad Boy, Hanamiya Makoto was destroyed by Shun in the practice game, and this year didn't even get to meet Teiko in the Nationals.

Herculean Strength, Eikichi Nebuya, lost to both Teiko and Tokiwadai in Nationals both years.

Lightning Beast, Hayama Kotaro, also lost out to Teiko in the Nationals.

Night Demon, Mibuchi Reo even though with his diverse shooting style wasn't the best player on his team, and lost to Teiko for two years.