The Best of the Best (Part 2)

Sakuragi was dead serious. He settled into a horse stance, spread his arms, and watched Rukawa Kaede's every move.

Rukawa Kaede began dribbling as soon as he got the ball, showing no sign of driving in, as though he were searching for a gap in the defense.

Seeing that Sakuragi did not react, Rukawa Kaede started dribbling between his legs, adjusted his rhythm, and slowly stepped forward.

But when Sakuragi saw Rukawa Kaede begin the between-the-legs dribble, he actually turned his body to the right, as if deliberately leaving Rukawa Kaede a lane to the basket!

Seeing Sakuragi alter his defensive position, Rukawa Kaede shrugged. He immediately switched the ball to his left hand through his legs, lowered his center of gravity, pushed off hard with his toes, and accelerated toward the paint.

Sakuragi still did not move, merely sliding alongside Rukawa Kaede without blocking his path forward.

Suddenly! Rukawa Kaede decelerated in an instant, pivoted on his right foot, and spun eighteen degrees. The entire sequence flowed flawlessly. Though it was only a few simple movements, going from a fast drive to a sudden stop, then from that stop into a crisp turn while maintaining such excellent balance required not only natural physical talent, but also solid fundamentals!

When Rukawa Kaede turned around, the basket before him was completely unguarded. Sakuragi, having been closely marking him and then forced into a sudden stop, lost both his balance to inertia and his defensive position!

Rukawa Kaede sprang up, ready to throw down a massive standing dunk!

"You're looking down on me!" Sakuragi suddenly flew in from somewhere. Perhaps he had the advantage of a running start, but Sakuragi clearly jumped higher than Rukawa Kaede! His body was like a fully drawn bow, taut with power as he prepared to swat the ball from Rukawa Kaede's hand.

Seeing that Sakuragi was likely to swat away his dunk, Rukawa Kaede suddenly leaned his body at the peak of his jump into Sakuragi, who was still rising. That contact abruptly halted Sakuragi's upward momentum.

But Sakuragi's massive body still loomed over Rukawa Kaede in midair, making it difficult for him to find room to shoot.

Just as Sakuragi prepared to swat the ball from Rukawa Kaede's hand, Rukawa Kaede used that instant of contact as a pivot against Sakuragi's body. Like a ball rebounding off a wall, Rukawa Kaede's body bounced away. Using that recoil, he performed a two-handed midair double-clutch—the move commonly called the "Cradle," with both arms tracing a counterclockwise arc. The ball shifted from the right side of the rim to the left, behind Sakuragi. Just as he was about to lose his balance, Rukawa Kaede flicked the ball out with his fingertips!

"Clang, clang, clang!" The ball bounced around the rim a few times, but it still went in.

"Damn it, I was so close!" Sakuragi looked deeply unwilling to accept it.

"Kawaguchi, you really found yourself a treasure!" The owner was thrilled by such an exciting showdown.

"Of course! Rukawa Kaede is this year's top pick! His reputation isn't for nothing!" Kawaguchi looked immensely proud.

"I'm talking about Sakuragi. I didn't expect him to have more than just courage—he's got some brains too!" The owner's words left Kawaguchi baffled.

Indeed! Just as the owner, Mr. Takayama, had said, Sakuragi's defense just now had been calculated! And his defensive strategy had been quite successful! He forced Rukawa Kaede to drive with his less practiced left hand, then waited for Rukawa Kaede to switch to his right for the layup, allowing the prepared Sakuragi to seize the chance for a block!

What Sakuragi had not expected was that Rukawa Kaede possessed such powerful core strength that he could use Sakuragi's body to bounce himself away and generate momentum! Then he smoothly switched to the other side of the hoop for the layup!

Sakuragi's defense had worked very well. It only showed that Rukawa Kaede's skills had improved greatly over the past few years. As for how much he had improved, perhaps only an opponent like Sakuragi could truly test him!

Everyone in the gym had been stunned silent. After a long pause, applause finally erupted. It had truly been spectacular. No one even dared blink, afraid of missing a single moment!

"You only got that one in by luck. I'm getting serious now, stupid fox!" Sakuragi said confidently as he took the ball.

"Tch... Idiot." Rukawa Kaede remained completely unfazed by the provocation, as calm as ever.

Sakuragi attacked!

This time, Rukawa Kaede shortened the distance between them, clearly somewhat wary of Sakuragi's shooting.

Seeing this, Sakuragi began dribbling, thinking about how to launch this attack!

But Rukawa Kaede's defensive positioning was excellent this time, leaving Sakuragi no room at all. If he moved in, he could contest the shot; if he backed off, he could stop the drive.

Sakuragi probed left with a drive, but he was not moving very fast. Rukawa Kaede cut off his path, leaving Sakuragi no choice but to dribble back. He then drove right, still not very fast, and was blocked by Rukawa Kaede again, forcing him back behind the three-point line.

"Rukawa Kaede is seriously defending now! Sakuragi is in trouble," the owner remarked.

"Damn it!" Sakuragi pretended to stay calm on the surface, but Rukawa Kaede's airtight defense was already making him restless.

Seeing no other option, Sakuragi gritted his teeth and forced a drive to the right again!

Without even lifting his head, Sakuragi used his superior strength to bulldoze forward like a tank. With Sakuragi's physical power, this kind of overpowering drive put enormous pressure on a defender. But he was facing Rukawa Kaede, whose athleticism was not inferior in the slightest, making the drive seem utterly ineffective!

As he reached the baseline, Sakuragi's center of gravity was too low, and he was about to lose his balance. Left with no choice, he threw up the ball in his hand.

Rukawa Kaede, who had been closely guarding him all along, saw the ball go up and followed through with a volleyball-style spike, swatting it viciously out of bounds.

"Damn it!" Sakuragi was extremely displeased that Rukawa Kaede had blocked his shot so mercilessly.

"This kind of defense really makes you feel suffocated!"

"Yeah, yeah. Is this what a top pick is capable of?"

Several players began discussing it.

"This really is a clash between spear and shield, hahaha!" The owner was getting more and more excited.

Rukawa Kaede attacked.

This time, Sakuragi did not turn sideways or leave an opening for a drive in either direction. He intended to use Rukawa Kaede's previous defensive strategy against him—an eye for an eye!

Rukawa Kaede did not dribble much either. He was practically decisive without hesitation! The moment he got the ball, he dribbled with his right hand, lowered his center of gravity, and charged straight into the paint. Though Sakuragi reacted a little slowly, he still managed to keep up and firmly block Rukawa Kaede's driving lane. Rukawa Kaede used his previous move again—a sudden stop!

"You think that'll work again? Give it up!" Sakuragi had clearly been prepared for the abrupt stop!

"What?!"

"What?!"

"What?!"

Everyone, including Sakuragi, cried out in surprise at the same time.

Before Rukawa Kaede had even fully stopped, he forcefully pushed off with his left foot. Using that force, he took a huge step backward with his right foot, then brought his left foot back as well. The step-back was incredibly fluid. After creating that space, Rukawa Kaede was already more than a meter away from Sakuragi and slightly ahead of the free-throw line. He calmly released the ball.

"Swish!"

Before anyone could react, the ball dropped cleanly through the net.

A classic step-back, stop-and-pop jump shot.

Sakuragi had no answer. His defense had become completely passive!

"The score's reversed!" Rukawa Kaede said easily without even taking a deep breath.

"Hmph, don't get cocky, stupid fox." Sakuragi was growing impatient.

"Rukawa Kaede's last two attacks have been effortless, while Sakuragi is getting more and more agitated. Sakuragi is in danger!" The owner's words made Kawaguchi worry even more for Sakuragi.

Sakuragi attacked.

Clearly, from taking the lead with that stunning long-range shot at the start to now being overtaken, Sakuragi was indeed becoming increasingly impatient, just as the owner had predicted! The moment he got the ball, he forced his way toward the paint. Without any change of rhythm, it was easy for the defender to cut off his route.

Rukawa Kaede lowered his center of gravity so far that he looked almost crouched on the floor. His body was nearly pressed against Sakuragi's as he stretched out his left hand. With his long wingspan, Rukawa Kaede easily touched the ball in Sakuragi's hand. Sakuragi, focused solely on charging forward, could no longer control the disrupted ball. He could only watch it slip away, while Rukawa Kaede had already decelerated, circled behind him, and stolen it. In mere seconds, Sakuragi's ball had been taken away by Rukawa Kaede.

"You damn stupid fox, using such underhanded tricks!" Sakuragi was furious.

"Tch. My turn." Rukawa Kaede's expression did not change at all.

"Sakuragi has now been defended to the point where he can't even shoot. From having his last shot blocked to getting stripped this time, he has no way to crack Rukawa Kaede's airtight defense. His agitation is causing him to make terrible offensive choices!" Owner Takayama was absolutely right!

Rukawa Kaede attacked.

Sakuragi seemed to still be replaying the steal in his mind, looking somewhat dazed.

Rukawa Kaede did not care about that. Right now, he was like a wolf that had fallen into a sheep pen, his eyes blazing with bloodlust!

Rukawa Kaede had already dribbled to the three-point line, while Sakuragi kept backing away without applying any pressure. Rukawa Kaede glanced at the hoop and immediately rose for the shot. Only after the ball had left his hand did Sakuragi react and rush forward to contest it, but it was already too late. The ball traced a beautiful arc through the air.

"Swish!" It went in cleanly!

The entire gym fell silent. Everyone had likely been overwhelmed by Rukawa Kaede's terrifying dominance on both offense and defense.

"Playing one-on-one against a guy like Rukawa Kaede really drives you crazy," one of the players could not help remarking.

"Sakuragi's impatience on offense has caused a severe drop in the quality of his defense. His attention is scattered. Rukawa Kaede scored those last two baskets far too easily. If Sakuragi still cannot find a way to break Rukawa Kaede's airtight defense, then he'll truly be in danger. It's already 1:!" Owner Takayama began analyzing the situation.

"Go, Sakuragi!" Though Kawaguchi did not really understand the deeper intricacies of basketball, he could clearly see Sakuragi's predicament.

Sakuragi attacked!

"Sakuuuragiiii! Pull yourself together!" At some point, Haruko had entered the gym. From far away, she cupped her hands around her mouth like a megaphone and shouted.

Perhaps Sakuragi was especially sensitive to Haruko's voice, because the shout sent goosebumps all over him! He turned around and discovered that it really was Haruko.

"Go, Sakuragi!" Seeing Sakuragi turn toward her, Haruko shouted more encouragement.

Sakuragi gave Haruko a thumbs-up. When he turned back, his entire mental state had changed completely. He gripped the basketball tightly with both hands and stared at Rukawa Kaede with a resolute gaze.

"Rukawa Kaede! I will defeat you!" Sakuragi's blazing fighting spirit reignited!