Although Ryota Kudo was chatting with his teammates, his sharp eyes kept track of everyone on the team.
He soon noticed that something was off with Hiroshi Morishige.
After exchanging a few more pleasantries with Wang Zhizhi, he took his towel and water over and sat down beside Morishige.
"What's wrong, Morishige? Still thinking about that game?" Ryota Kudo asked casually as he wiped away his sweat.
Morishige looked up, his eyes somewhat dull, and said in a subdued voice, "Kudo, Sawakita... you both played really well.
"Only I... I was no match for Wang Zhizhi at all.
"I couldn't get anywhere on offense, and I couldn't stop him on defense... am I... really that useless?"
Looking at his dejected expression, Ryota Kudo understood the frustration of being outclassed in every aspect.
He patted Morishige's sturdy back, his tone turning serious and sincere.
"Morishige, lift your head.
"Listen, if you're feeling down because you lost to Wang Zhizhi, there's no need."
He paused before continuing, "You need to understand that interior play has always been the strongest part of Chinese basketball!
"They have the world's largest population to draw talent from, and Wang Zhizhi is one of the very best interior players of his generation in both talent and skill!
"You could even call him the most technically complete big man with the widest offensive repertoire in his age group in Asia!
"This was your first proper matchup against him, and you fell behind for now in the area he excels at most. What's so shameful about that?"
Morishige listened in a daze.
"Basketball isn't a game where one match settles everything." Ryota Kudo looked him in the eye.
"Losing this time and recognizing the gap is a good thing! It means we still have enormous room to improve.
"Even