A Display of Skill

Chi Tong smiled and said nonchalantly, "It's fine. The game has only just begun. Just pay more attention to my passes later."

"Okay."

The substitute small forward nodded seriously.

The game soon resumed, and possession once again went to the red team.

Chi Tong dribbled across midcourt, and Ito Hongshu stepped in front of him again.

This time, Chi Tong did not pass immediately. Instead, he began constantly switching hands and changing direction.

The basketball seemed like an extension of Chi Tong's body, bouncing around him without the slightest hint of disorder.

Everyone who saw this widened their eyes in shock.

Not just anyone could possess that kind of ball-handling ability.

Ito Hongshu's eyes could barely keep up with the ball's movement, and for a moment, he had no idea how to make a move.

The next instant, Chi Tong took a huge step toward Ito Hongshu's side. Ito Hongshu hurriedly retreated into a defensive stance and successfully stopped Chi Tong's drive.

Ito Hongshu curled his lips, pleased with himself for shutting down Chi Tong's attack. But the next second, his expression changed. Something was wrong. Where was the ball?

Chi Tong's hands were empty. At some point, the basketball had vanished.

What was going on?

Just as Ito Hongshu was feeling puzzled, the sound of a basketball striking the floor rang out behind him.

"What?"

He turned around in disbelief and saw the substitute shooting guard dribbling toward the white team's three-point line. With no one guarding him, he raised the ball and shot. The basketball traced an arc through the air before dropping cleanly into the hoop. Three points! White Team 4:3 Red Team.

Coach Nakamura, who had been watching the court from the sidelines, narrowed his eyes slightly. His gaze settled on Chi Tong. He had seen Chi Tong's performance just now. From those two passes alone, he could already tell a great deal. Chi Tong's passes were exquisite and incredibly accurate. More importantly, Chi Tong had not even looked at the receivers when he passed, which showed just how broad his court vision was. And there was his ball-handling as well. There might not even be a few middle schoolers in the entire country with that level of control.

He secretly rejoiced. This time, he had really found a treasure. Sento Zhang had joined last year, and now Chitong Lingyu had come this year.

The game continued. That three-pointer had reignited the red team's momentum after it had initially been suppressed by the white team. The white team attacked again, with Qie Yuan Sunren bringing up the ball. Though he was not as strong as Sendoh, he was more than capable against substitute players. He easily broke through the substitute power forward's defense and charged to the red team's paint. With the substitute center defending him, Kirihara Sunren powered through the defense and scored. White Team 6:3 Red Team!

With possession returning to the red team, Chi Tong controlled the ball again. He crossed midcourt with the basketball and was once more blocked by Ito Hongshu.

Chi Tong did not continuously switch hands as he had before. He used the same trick again, lowering his body and taking a huge step toward Ito Hongshu's side.

Ito Hongshu assumed Chi Tong would pass during his drive as before. Just as he guarded against a pass, Chi Tong suddenly spun sharply, turning from Ito Hongshu's left side straight to his right. The abrupt change left Ito Hongshu unable to react in time.

By the time Ito Hongshu regained his balance and tried to turn and defend against Chi Tong, Chi Tong had already opened up a gap of two body lengths.

"Damn it!"

After realizing what had happened, Ito Hongshu hurriedly turned and gave chase.

Chi Tong had already dribbled to the white team's three-point line. Just as he prepared for his next move, he discovered someone standing in front of him. It was Sendoh!

Sento spread his arms wide and smiled as he faced Chi Tong's charge.

"Come on. Let me see what you can do."

Chi Tong did not back down either and went straight at him.

When he reached Sendoh, the movement of his hands changed abruptly, and he swung the ball toward the substitute shooting guard at his side.

Sendoh reacted quickly and reached out to intercept it, cutting off Chi Tong's passing lane.

But the next second, Chi Tong abruptly pulled back the hand that had been about to pass. He slapped the ball toward the floor, and after it hit the ground, it bounced up toward the other side—the side where the substitute small forward stood. Since Sento was focused on defending Chi Tong, he had left the substitute small forward completely open.

Sendoh had not expected Chi Tong to be able to pass in that manner while avoiding his defense.

Still, something at that level would not trouble him. He immediately shifted his center of gravity and quickly moved his defensive focus to Chi Tong's other side, cutting off Chi Tong's passing route again.

Just as the basketball was about to fall into Sendoh's hands, another palm reached it first.

Sendoh's pupils trembled as he realized that the basketball was once again under Chi Tong's control.

This guy... Sendoh had never expected Chi Tong to fake him out like that.

Having regained control of the ball, Chi Tong directly raised it and shot over Sendoh.

Sendoh, who had still been guarding against another pass from Chi Tong, was dumbfounded. Why had he suddenly decided to shoot?

The basketball sailed over Sendoh's head and flew straight toward the hoop.

Swish!

A crisp sound of the net followed. Chi Tong had made a three-pointer. White Team 6:6 Red Team. The score was tied.

"Isn't this guy a point guard?"

"He can shoot threes too?"

Sendoh muttered to himself.

That shot had not actually been difficult to defend. It was only because Chi Tong played point guard that Sendoh had instinctively relaxed his defense against the three-pointer.

He had not expected Chi Tong to fire a three so decisively. Was he really that confident in himself?

It was not only Sendoh who thought so. The other regular players thought the same.

Chi Tong merely curled his lips faintly. Without saying anything, he retreated on defense. Three-pointers were not his greatest strength, but making one while properly aimed was not particularly difficult.

The practice game continued, and over the following stretch, the match seemed to fall into a stalemate.

The white team and red team went back and forth, attacking relentlessly in an intensely fierce contest.

With Sento as their core, the white team repeatedly broke through the red team's defense with help from their teammates and sent the basketball into the red team's hoop.

On the red team's side, Chi Tong was the center of their offense, constantly passing to his teammates. Every pass came unexpectedly, leaving the white team struggling to respond.

The red team's substitute players blossomed everywhere, giving the white team a tremendous headache.

Both teams continued trading offense and defense, and the score rose alternately, yet neither side could pull ahead.

Coach Nakamura watched this from the sidelines with his eyes wide in astonishment. He had never expected the two sides to be so evenly matched. Before the game, he had only wanted to test Chi Tong's abilities and had never considered that the substitutes might win.

But judging from the current situation, the final result was still uncertain. The Basketball Club members were equally shocked, especially the regular players—everyone except Chi Tong.