03x18 - Isn't it the Best?

[bunniefuu]

The final tip-off!

I want to win with Kuroko and the guys!

Interesting.

The Zone, huh?

What? Again?

Kagami...

Amazing.

His offensive power is incredible
when he's in the Zone,

but...

Isn't this bad?

The Zone consumes a lot of stamina, right?

-Will he last until the end of the game?
-Of course not.

Imagine filling a bathtub with hot water.

What? A tub?

Entering the Zone
is like pulling the plug.

The water disappears before your eyes.

Simple enough,
but does he think I'm stupid?

No, maybe he likes you.

If they don't do something,
he'll be running on empty before halftime.

We can't touch him on defense!

Amazing.
He's keeping Rakuzan at zero points.

No one can even get close to Kagami.

-Mitobe, get ready to sub in.
-Coach?

I'd rather keep going
than try to stop him.

But Kagami needs to focus on offense,

so he doesn't run out of stamina.

-Kuroko, you're out.
-What?

You're subbing Kuroko for Mitobe?

I get it.

Overall,
Mitobe's stronger on defense than Kuroko.

I was ready to give everything I had...

Don't let it get you down.

They're subbing him out already?

I wanted to see him play more!

The fans want to see you too.
You'll be back out there in no time.

Yeah.

Kagami, focus on offense.

We'll handle things back here
while you charge ahead!

Got it!

Coach, shouldn't we call a time-out?

There's no need.

Damn. Is Kagami stronger than Midorima
when he's in the Zone?

We can't touch him.

We'll keep offense as is.

On defense, Kotaro, we'll switch.

Akashi...

You're getting carried away,

Taiga Kagami.

I knew it.

Kagami...

It's a clash of the aces.

The results here will affect
the entire game.

What should we do?

Do we stick with Kagami
or attack with just us?

The latter option is lower risk, but...

Give me the ball!

If I can crush Akashi now,
we'll take control!

Kagami...

It still sends shivers down my spine.

But it's now or never.

The Zone versus Emperor Eye!

Kagami's speed beat Emperor Eye!

Kagami!

I can do it! I'll finish this now!

Go, Meteor Jam!

Beat Emperor Eye?

Don't underestimate me.

I let you get past me.

Unbelievable.

Kagami took a larger step forward
to avoid Akashi.

His drive went wide,
taking him slightly farther from the hoop.

And he can't use his Meteor Jam
when the defense is too close.

Numbers 5 and 8 were slow to help.
It was the perfect chance.

But even that was a trap.

I thought they'd use a flashy trick
to stop Kagami's Zone.

But stopping him with their first move
was superhuman.

It just goes to show...

Akashi isn't unbeatable
because he has Emperor Eye.

He's unbeatable because of how he uses it.

Let's stop their shot!

That was all my fault!

I know I had other options!

Idiot. He's losing focus.

Crap, a screen!

Switch!

Akashi's rushing to end a game for once.

If they lose this, he'll leave the Zone.

But I hope that's all.

If full power doesn't work against him,

it could throw him off completely.

But Kagami beat
Akashi's Emperor Eye once before.

Now that he's in the Zone, maybe...

Don't make me so angry.

How dare you compare a fake
to the original.

Your head is too high.

Akashi got past him!

Eagle Spear!

Not even this timing worked!

Crap!

No, you don't!

If they don't stop him now,
they're screwed.

The points they'll lose
from the momentum lost

in the ace showdown are bad enough.

It wasn't Kagami's mistake alone.

It will be engraved into all their heads.

"No matter what we do,
Akashi is unbeatable."

Damn!

What?

Mitobe!

Nice, Mitobe!

Yeah, Rinnosuke!

He got me!

No worries, Leo!

I was naive.

It wasn't as though no one was on him.

But more importantly...

Mitobe's fired up too!

Everyone on our team is today!

Let's go! Counterattack!

We need to go hard on offense...

But how?

Can I beat Akashi?

Mitobe. Master.

He says, "Don't worry about it!"

Even I understood that!

Yeah!

Is he out of the Zone?

Yeah, he's back to normal.

He still has some strength.

It was probably the best possible way
to leave the Zone.

You've got some good teammates, Taiga.

Offense! Let's get them back!

Yeah!

We haven't lost momentum completely.

Even without Kagami's Zone,
we stand a fighting chance.

So...

There he is! Seirin's super sixth man!

Go!

-Whoops.
-Why are you doing that now?

-Sorry.
-It's okay.

He avoided Kuroko?

Go, number 11!

The fans see him too.

That can't be right.

Normally, nobody notices him.

Great.
Akashi got you, but you haven't given up.

Of course not! What are you talking about?

I mean, come on.

It's no fun playing against guys
who have lost their will to fight.

You got past us twice.

I'll pass you five times.

Five? Wouldn't people normally double it?

How did he get that number?

Well, whatever.

I'll pass you so many times,
you can't keep up!

Kagami!

There are others who feel wild like Taiga!

This guy...

There it is! Number 11's miracle pass!

-You touched the ball?
-Yeah.

But that's not the problem, Junpei.

Junpei?

-No, you don't!
-Here we go!

Four!

It looks like it disappeared!

He made the shot!
Hayama's Lightning Dribble!

Let's go, Kuroko! Get on offense!

We'll need to work together
to score against Rakuzan!

Pass the ball around!

Something's not right.

Kuroko hasn't been able to shake
the defenders.

Is Kuroko's lack of presence weakening?

Coach...

The ball's loose! Get it!

They intercepted Tetsuya's pass?

No.

This is why I felt uneasy
about teaching Tetsu to sh**t.

Damn it. How did you...

I didn't do anything.
I just blocked what I saw.

What he saw?

So when he caught up to my three...

Could it be?

I can't bear to watch this folly.

How could you abandon
your greatest strength?

Once you reached your current style
in middle school,

I helped you work on pass variations

but wouldn't let you sh**t or dribble.

Do you know why?

Because I knew it would make you lose
your lack of presence.

The Vanishing Drive, the Phantom Shot.

How could a player who uses
such flashy moves not stand out?

The last nail in the coffin was
your buzzer-beater in the semifinals.

When you learned to shine dimly,
you ceased being a shadow.

No longer the Phantom Sixth Man,

you're worth less than an average player.

And you didn't notice until now.

You disappoint me, Tetsuya.

Damn it.
They're hardly better-than-average moves.

Izuki!

I was too gentle.

Kuroko.

They have to sub him out.

There's no point in keeping
a useless trump card around.

He might not come back.

Kuroko! Not over there. Come here.

Don't give up.

-You'll be back out there soon.
-What?

What? They're sending him out again?

Sorry, Kuroko,
for sending you back in like this.

No, I'm sorry.

Here I go.

What are they thinking?

Just over three minutes left
in the first quarter.

We'll give you everything we can.

So go out there and let them destroy you.

Fight once more

so we can win.

The Vanishing Drive!

He got past him?

No! He sees him!

Kuroko can't regain his power
if we just take him off the court.

We need him to keep playing

so we can find a way
to revive him together.

Kuroko...

They can see that too!

No, you don't!

Rakuzan has made a comeback!

I don't know what you're thinking.

But it's naive to think
you can beat us with him.

Rebound!

Damn!

Yeah!

Yeah! Vice Claw!

Kiyoshi!

What you just said...

We're not naive.
You're underestimating us.

Good job tying them
after the first quarter.

But you're sitting again, Kuroko.

We couldn't come up with a solution
in three minutes,

but we got some information.

Sit out the second quarter
so we can come up with a plan.

Okay.

Cheer up, Kuroko.

We'll need your passes again to win.

We can't go down without a fight.

Kagami...

We scraped through the first quarter
even while you were useless.

Don't worry about us.

I know,

but couldn't you sugarcoat it a little?

You're right though.

I'll return to the court.

To win.

-Yeah!
-We're counting on you, Kuroko!

We stand a chance in the second quarter.

They may be Rakuzan,
but they're not all monsters.

Especially number 5.

Even Mitobe can handle Mayuzumi easily.

We know Seirin's strength.

We'll stick to the plan
in the second quarter.

Got it, Akashi?

Yes, sir.
All that's left is to destroy them.

Kotaro, Eikichi, Leo.

You'll score.

I'll pass you the ball.

We couldn't use it
against Shutoku's Hawk Eye user.

But there's something we can use
against the limited range

of the Eagle Eye.

Satsuki, what's Rakuzan's number 5 like?

Huh? Give me a second.

Let's see.

Mayuzumi Chihiro.
Third-year. Power Forward.

His speed,
power and technique are all rank C.

He has no particular strengths
or weaknesses.

He became a regular in his third year,

shortly after Akashi joined the team.

Before then,
he wasn't even on the first string.

Seriously?
Sounds just like someone I know.

What?

Akashi's pass is bad?

I've got it!

What?

Was that...

Misdirection!

You're joking.

Is he just like Kuroko?

He's a little different.

He is like Tetsuya,

but his fundamentals are all stronger.

Tetsuya is the old model.

Mayuzumi Chihiro
is the new Phantom Sixth Man.

It's finally your time to shine, Mayuzumi!

He was playing the whole time.

Just keep the good passes headed my way.

Eikichi, no fair!

-I'll make a ton of shots too!
-Shut up, boys!