A Presence That Couldn't Be Ignored

As the five starters from both sides entered the court and took their positions, the game entered its final countdown before tip-off.

The referee carried the ball to the two teams' centers and looked from side to side once more.

After confirming that there were no issues, the referee's arm holding the ball began to tense.

Three... two... one!!

Beeep—!!

The whistle sounded, and the basketball was tossed high into the air.

Wu Yufei's first official professional game as a professional basketball player—Tokyo Thunder versus Nagoya Hummingbirds—had finally begun!!

"Roaargh!!"

"Hah!!"

At the jump ball, Tokyo Team's Arikawa unfortunately lost out to Nagoya's Ono, and the ball was tipped into Nagoya's half.

"Let's go!!"

Nagoya's point guard, Ito, securely caught the ball and immediately began organizing his team's first possession.

Seeing their center lose the tip, the Tokyo Thunder players were not too disappointed. Under Wu Yufei's direction, they quickly got back into position and methodically formed their defensive line.

As mentioned before, although Wu Yufei's current status on the team was only that of a "future star," not yet the "franchise player," the badge's effects still applied on the court. As a result, everyone on the floor responded very quickly to Wu Yufei's commands.

Ito had barely brought the ball into the frontcourt when he saw that his opponents had already formed a solid defensive line.

"Tsk, they're really fast."

Unable to launch a fast break, Ito could only slow the pace and prepare to grind through a half-court offense.

Ito was not a rookie. He had joined the Nagoya Hummingbirds during the transfer window after spending three years with another mid-table team in the Japan Professional Basketball League. Although he had not started often during that time, he had been an important rotation player and was an experienced