Chapter 79: The Grand Finale

In the blink of an eye, the first half was over. Teikō 58:32—still leading Yamagata Middle School by double digits. Such dominance made the expressions of the other participating teams grow increasingly serious. Although the game wasn't over yet, no one believed Yamagata had a chance of turning it around. Their only hope of winning was for Hayama Kotarō to go on a rampage this game. But the opposite had happened—instead, they could only watch helplessly as Tendou Kageyoshi ran riot. Entering the third quarter... Shirogane Kōzō sent out what he considered to be Teikō's most offensively powerful lineup. Point guard: Tendou Kageyoshi Shooting guard: Midorima Shintarō Small forward: Aomine Daiki Power forward: Nijimura Shūzō Center: Murasakibara Atsushi Clearly, he intended to put the game away in this quarter. And Tendou's group did not disappoint—scoring a whopping 34 points in the quarter and stretching the lead to 25. There were two reasons for this. First, Yamagata had been suppressed for an entire half—their morale had already collapsed, and they saw no hope of winning. Second, their main five players had barely rested a single minute since tipoff. Their stamina was shot. It wasn't that the Yamagata coach didn't want to sub players out, but the point gap was too big. He was afraid that even a few minutes of rest would let the game get completely out of control. Teikō's relentless offense left them no room to breathe. By the time Teikō ramped up their attack again in the third, Yamagata just couldn't keep up. The fourth quarter became complete garbage time. Shirogane Kōzō subbed in the original first-stringers to let them soak up some spotlight. With a gap this wide, even if Teikō scored zero in the final quarter and just ran out the clock, Yamagata wouldn't be able to catch up. And let's be real—was Teikō not going to score against an exhausted Yamagata? Teikō fans were already celebrating in the stands, cheering their team into the national tournament's top eight. The last time Teikō reached this stage of the Nationals was last year... That's just how dominant Teikō has become in the middle school basketball world. Even so, fans now believed this year's Teikō had a legitimate shot at being the best Teikō roster in history. Not even during championship years did Teikō exhibit such total domination. They instilled despair in every opponent. Back-to-back crushing wins over strong teams like Kanzaki and Yamagata, and yet they barely seemed to break a sweat. Where's the justice in that? Final score: 117–76. Teikō once again broke 100 points, solidifying their "Greatest Firepower" nickname, and they still hadn't allowed a single opponent to even break 90. "This year's Nationals—there's no suspense anymore." Said Aida Kagetora as he left the arena with his daughter. Hayama Kotarō of Yamagata had long been considered one of the best players in this entire generation. But against Teikō? He was just left flailing. "The key is, most of their starters are only first-years." Aida Riko noted, observing Teikō's starting lineup. Even their core rotation players were first-years. That meant this already terrifying Teikō wasn't even at its final form. Next year, the year after... they'd only get stronger. That Teikō star—Tendou Kageyoshi—was only going to keep rising. Riko couldn't even imagine what heights he might reach. The thought alone made her feel like her own middle school career had already hit its final chapter. ... The next day, the newspaper headline read: "Teikō Flattens the Yamagata Speedsters" At this stage of the Nationals, every match was a highlight showdown. Except for Teikō... While other matches that day went down to the wire—some even into overtime—Teikō stood out as the only team still winning blowouts. Before, Tendou was mostly swarmed by fans. Now? When he arrived at the basketball club, he found several reporters waiting to interview him. He was stunned. A kid like him? What did he do to deserve all this? But then he remembered that even weak teams like Seirin got media coverage. As Teikō's new ace, it was only right that he did too. "Tendou-kun, we've heard Coach Shirogane Eiji of Rakuzan has already contacted you. Did he invite you to join Rakuzan High School in the future?" "Did you agree? Or are you planning to join another team?" "Tendou-kun, one of your female fans, in a state of extreme obsession, allegedly did something unspeakable with one of your photobooks. Do you have any comment on this?" Wait a damn minute—was that last question for real? Tendou was speechless. He looked at the reporter's badge. It said they were from an adult tabloid. No wonder! A gossip rag! Tendou immediately ignored that guy and chose to answer the first two questions. "About the future, I haven't made any decisions yet." "So you're joining Rakuzan?" "I didn't say that." "Then are you refusing them? Do you think you can win a high school championship without Rakuzan?" "..." What the hell!? These reporters must've scored 10,000 points in reading comprehension back in school. Of course, he knew reporters didn't have the highest moral standards. Especially the ones from Hong Kong tabloids—they were infamous. Tendou remembered headlines like: Angelababy once did a bikini shoot, and they titled it: "Boneless Spare Ribs" Absolutely outrageous! Now he had firsthand experience with these lunatics. Tendou didn't stay any longer. He slipped into the gym and escaped. The reporters tried to follow him in, but were stopped at the door. So this was what being famous meant—getting dragged into the gossip mill, even as a kid. Still... what was going to happen now that the fan who "did that" to his photo had been exposed?