But whenever he faced Chi Tong, he always felt a sense of powerless frustration.
Back in middle school, the duo of Chi Tong and Sendoh had almost completely shut him down. No matter how he drove or shot, their coordination always neutralized him. It was one of the few times in his basketball career when he had been utterly helpless.
For that very reason, Sawakita Eiji found it even harder to believe that Ryonan, with the golden duo of Chi Tong and Sendoh, was only leading Aiwa Gakuin by three points in the first half.
In his view, with Chi Tong's tactical ability and Sento's all-around strength, Ryonan had every ability to open up a wider gap in the first half, even completely suppress Aiwa Gakuin, rather than maintaining such a slim lead as they were now.
Were they deliberately hiding their strength?
Sawakita Eiji silently pondered this. Once the thought emerged, he could no longer shake it off.
He knew very well that Chi Tong was not someone who would easily reveal all his strength. Especially on a stage like the National Tournament, exposing every trump card too early could easily allow later opponents to target them.
Perhaps Ryonan was merely probing Aiwa Gakuin's tactics in the first half and had not truly exerted themselves, deliberately keeping the score gap within a narrow range.
Just as Sawakita Eiji sank into doubt and speculation, while the others from Sannoh Industrial High School were still discussing it, Ryonan vs. Aiwa Gakuin.
The second half was about to begin.
The heavy iron doors opened with a sound that echoed through the gymnasium, breaking the silence of halftime.
Immediately afterward, the players from Ryonan and Aiwa Gakuin emerged one after another from the players' tunnel.
According to National Tournament rules, there was no