03x12 - He is the Best Player

[bunniefuu]

TEIKO MIDDLE SCHOOL

The Teiko Middle School basketball club.

Even amidst their brilliant record...

there was a generation of five prodigies
known as the Generation of Miracles.

Kise Ryota.

Midorima Shintaro.

Aomine Daiki.

Murasakibara Atsushi.

Akashi Seijuro.

They are threatened by Seirin High's

shadow and light.

He made the alley-oop!

-Kise's unstoppable!
-Yes!

It doesn't matter what you do.

No one can stop me now.

{\an8}He's strong.

{\an8}Predict who he's going to copy?

Perhaps "induce" would be more correct
than "predict."

{\an8}It's the only way Seirin can stop Ryota.

I'm not sure, but it's possible.

We can't win if we don't stop Kise.

We'll have to let Kuroko handle it.

{\an8}Don't give up until it's over!

{\an8}Seirin, fight!

Yeah!

KUROKO'S BASKETBALL

I'm getting the gist of Kise's play.

{\an8}Seriously?

{\an8}Then if all goes well...

It's still incomplete.

{\an8}I need to watch more closely
to beat his next play.

So I have a request.

KAIJO - SEIRIN

They look determined.

Have they steeled their resolve?

EPISODE 62 THE GREATEST PLAYER

A run and g*n?

What are they thinking?

They should approach the point gap
and time remaining with care!

They don't need power now.

They must be desperate.

A three?

Crap.

Because of my injury,
I didn't hold the ball long enough!

Aomine's high-speed assistance.

Crap! I can't avoid him!

He'll steal the ball!

Kuroko!

Yeah!

Yeah!

We did it! It's a comeback!

Calm down! We've got time! Use it all!

Make one shot, and we'll win!

Yeah!

I have my answer now.

It's just what I told you
during the time-out.

The rest is up to you.

Okay.

This is the end, Kise.

Come!

They're defending man-to-man now?

I can't believe they're using
this worn-out strategy.

I know you'll switch
to a coordinated attack.

But...

try not to disappoint me.

This is our last chance!

Give everything you've got!

Yeah!

Their defense is amazing!

Seirin's full of spirit!

Don't panic! Focus!
Stay calm and go all-out!

Let's finish them!

Yeah!

Defense!

No, of course not.

Kuroko always plays all-out to win.

He's the first pathetic player

I learned to respect.

I'm glad you called me your rival.

That's why...

I must win!

Could it be?

A steal?

But that's impossible.

They caught him off guard,
but we know how fast he is.

Kise!

I knew it.

I'll evade him and end the game!

He stayed on his feet!

A second crossover? Damn it!

No, you don't!

This ends here!

This is...

Murasakibara's...

Thor's Hammer!

Go!

No...

everything's gone according to plan.

Kise has two habits.

First, he tends to copy Aomine
when he doesn't have time to think.

Second, he subconsciously avoids
using the same copy twice in a row.

I don't have enough information,
so I can't be sure...

but I think we can use those habits
to control his play.

I'll use his first habit
to draw out Aomine's copy.

Once he enters the inside,
he won't copy Midorima.

When Kagami comes to stop him,

he'll copy Akashi
to evade him and reach the basket.

The strongest remaining copy
from that position...

is Murasakibara's Thor's Hammer.

That's odd. Things are going too well.

If I make this,
then putting Kuroko on me was pointless.

Did they do it on purpose?

Eagle Spear!

Yes!

It's not over yet! The ball's still alive!

But even if I get it, I won't have a shot.

Should I pass?

No! I can't rely on my teammates now.

Thinking about what you should be doing
is an important part of teamwork.

That's my job.

An ace just needs to face forward.

No! There's no such thing
as teammates you can't rely on!

The ace's job
is leading his team to victory!

He should've hesitated
after remembering his loss against us...

but he passed anyway.

That's rough.

If I can't make this...

I'm not a real man!

Yeah!

It's over.

We're playing Kaijo in the finals.

The game is almost certainly over...

but it doesn't make sense.

Only four seconds left.

How will they...

No, they have four whole seconds.

The bench looks serious,
but they're not upset.

Did they do this on purpose?

That's amazing, Kuroko.

That's not incomplete at all.

If you know how Kise moves,
then we can use it against him.

We may be able to stop him.

But that's only if he still plays solo,
like he did in middle school.

Kise is different now.

With passes added to his repertoire...

I can't narrow down his plays enough.

I'm sorry.

I wanted him to become a team player...

but I never thought
he'd become this strong.

So I won't ask you to stop Kise.

It's not over yet!

I told you!

Kagami!

This is what we wanted!

Go!

He's fast!

The situation is perfect! Are they...

Yes. This was Seirin's true aim.

Leaving a few seconds
for a counterattack...

they drew Ryota under the net,
giving Kagami a head start.

Starting with their run and g*n,
everything's been leading to this moment.

You've never been one to give up..

Tetsuya.

He's fast!

Even if I catch up, I can't jump
nearly high enough to stop Kagami!

What should I...

Kagami!

Impossible!

Seriously? He's way too fast!

What should I do?
I don't have time to dribble around him.

I'll have to risk it!

A Meteor Jam!

Kise!

I didn't jump far enough!

I'm going to miss!

Kagami!

Kuroko! But it's too late.

The ball's already leaving Kagami's hand!

He can't stop the dunk!

Not yet!

Yes!

Yes!

Yeah!

-We did it!
-Yeah!

We did it!

Kise.

You beat me.

Kise.

You beat me twice.

I can't even think of anything to say.

But my head is clear.

I gave everything I had.
I have no regrets.

Kise...

you were really strong.

We won the game, but we couldn't stop you.

Well.

There's no point if only I win.

Before I would've been flattered
to hear you say that...

but now it just feels
like salt in the wound.

Sorry.

I'll beat you next time.

Let's play again next year.

Okay.

The next game...

will be even harder.

Yes.

Kaijo's Kise...

is the greatest player.

Go become the champions.

Win for us, too.

We will.

With a score of 81-80, Seirin wins!

Bow!

Good game!

Now it hurts?

But it doesn't matter now.

It's all over.

Senpai.

You're obviously faking it.

You may be a model,
but you're not much of an actor.

I wanted to win.

Yeah.

I wanted us to win together.

I know.

Let's go, Satsuki.

Wait, Dai-chan!

The next game is the last one.

It's decided.

It's finally time.

Let's go.

MEN'S FINAL - RAKUZAN HIGH [KYOTO]
VS SEIRIN HIGH [TOKYO]

We won!

I can't believe it!

We made it to the finals!

What's wrong, Kuroko?

I was so focused on passing.

I hadn't made a shot yet.

That was my first buzzer-beater.

I guess you're right.

I could...

die happy now.

I've never seen you so happy!

And don't die!

No wonder you're so happy.

Today you're not inconspicuous.

You're the hero of the day.

Don't celebrate too hard.

The w*r's not over yet.

Captain, your face is melting, too!

It's gross!

Pull yourselves together!

One more game to the top.

We're playing for Kaijo
and every team we've beaten.

Okay, let's go home!

Yeah!

What? It's gone!

What's gotten into you?

-I lost my ring!
-What?

I'm going to go look for it!

Hey, Kagami!

It's not here! Where is it?

Looking for this?

Yeah, that's it! Where did...

Midorima?

You beat Kise.

Yeah...

What?

I didn't think you'd reach Akashi.

You've done well.

Why are you acting so high and mighty?

Why are you here, anyway?

No reason.

I was in a pensive mood.

What?
Aren't you playing for third tomorrow?

It doesn't matter.

It's not what I wanted,
but it's already been decided.

I'll watch your game when it's over.

Are you rooting for Akashi?

-Of course not, idiot.
-What?

I don't intend to or need to.

Akashi is strong.

I know,
but you can't be sure until you try.

Hey! What are you doing here?

Takao.

Is Kagami with Shin-chan?

I think this happened last summer, too.

But I don't feel like watching
and laughing today.

I'm leaving. Good luck tomorrow.

Thanks.

Give me a break, Shin-chan.

Let's go.

Kagami, let me tell you something.

There are two Akashi Seijuros.

What are you talking about?

What does that mean?

Ask Kuroko.

Later. Do your best.

You were listening, right?

What did he mean?

I'll tell you later.

Hey! Don't change the subject!

I'm not. I want to tell everyone.

I wasn't trying to hide it...

but I want the team to know everything
before we play Akashi.

About our past.

Kuroko, tell us.

Why are we at my place?

You want us to talk outside
in the middle of winter?

But why...

Hey!
This is important for tomorrow's game.

Pay attention.

Kuroko, did you start playing basketball
in middle school?

No.

I started my fifth year of grade school.

I thought it seemed fun
after watching a game on TV.

I had a fairly ordinary reason
for starting.

There were no clubs in my area...

so every day I played at a park
that had a hoop.

One day, a boy reached out to me.

We quickly became friends.

He was better than me
and taught me to play...

but he moved away during my sixth year,
and we made a promise.

We'd join our middle school
basketball teams

and play against each other.

That happened?

How did it turn out?

He still plays, right?

No, he quit because of me.

He'll likely never forgive me.

Why? What happened?

Well, let me start from the beginning.

The April after we made our promise...

I joined Teiko Middle School.

The sky was unbelievably clear
for a spring day.

PREVIEW

The clear blue sky.

The Teiko Middle School basketball team.

Hope and uneasiness for a new life.

Then I met them...

EPISODE 63 A DAY OF BLUE SKIES