"Welcome, Coach Anzai!" Ryokufu High School's basketball coach was a thin, middle-aged man named Coach Oofune.
Perhaps because the team manager, Eri Fujisawa, was the one who held the real power, he wore a rather meek expression and looked easy to push around.
That made sense. Only someone as mild-mannered as Coach Oofune could keep working at Ryonan High School. After all, Ryonan paid far too well.
Someone with a more forceful personality, like Coach Takato, would never go there, even if Ryonan offered considerably more than his current salary.
The coaches began exchanging pleasantries, but the atmosphere among the players was rather tense.
Through various channels, Ryokufu High School's other players had also learned that Michael Okita had been shut out in his last one-on-one game.
On top of that, Shohoku was a strong team that had beaten Kainan Team. Ryokufu High School's players badly wanted to win this friendly, so they naturally felt a great deal of pressure.
One handsome young man in particular kept staring toward Hisashi Mitsui, his expression full of contempt.
He was Ichiro Katsumi, Mitsui's junior from middle school. He had once been a little fanboy of Mitsui's and admired him immensely.
Later, when he heard that Mitsui had given up basketball for more than two years because of an injury, his faith had crumbled, and he had begun to feel somewhat hostile toward Mitsui.
Katsumi was the kind of talented player who worked hard. He knew very well that maintaining good competitive form required constant, grueling training year after year.
Someone like Mitsui, who had talent but did not know how to work hard, could never maintain his former level of basketball.
The players on the two sides barely spoke to one another. Twenty minutes later, they stood on the basketball court.
Takenori Akagi's injury had almost healed, and he could actually play already. But this was only a friendly, and the more important final-four games still lay ahead.
After everyone persuaded him, Akagi agreed to sit on the bench for now.
Shohoku's starting lineup became: point guard-Ryota Miyagi, shooting guard-Hisashi Mitsui, small forward-Kaede Rukawa, power forward-Ryota Kudo, and center-Hanamichi Sakuragi.
Having Sakuragi get more accustomed to playing center was a good thing, too. Akagi would leave the team early that winter.
By then, the new players would not have joined yet, so Sakuragi would have to fill the center position.
On the other side, Ryonan's five starters also looked very tall, and all wore highly confident expressions.
Point guard-Yoshi Ebina, No. 6, height: 177 cm, weight: 61 kg;
Shooting guard-Ichiro Katsumi, No. 5, height: 185 cm, weight: 72 kg;
Small forward-Michael Okita, No. 13, height: 192 cm, weight: 85 kg;
Power forward-Tetsuya Totsuka, No. 9, height: 180 cm, weight: 75 kg;
Center-Hikaru Nadaka, No. 4, height: 190 cm, weight: 88 kg.
A frightening-looking guy also sat on Ryonan's bench: a Black player over two meters tall.
Reportedly, he was a foreign player Ryokufu High School planned to naturalize. He looked as strong as O'Neal, though his basketball skills remained unknown.
Tweet! The stand-in referee tossed the ball into the air.
Sakuragi and Nadaka, who were taking the jump ball, leaped at the same time. Though Sakuragi was a little shorter, his jumping ability was in a different league from his opponent's.
Sakuragi rose a head higher than Nadaka in the air and easily tipped the ball toward Shohoku Team's side.
Seeing Sakuragi win the tip, Kudo and Rukawa took off simultaneously on the left and right, launching a fast break.
Only after running for a few seconds did Kudo discover something startling.
The opposing power forward, Tetsuya Totsuka, had not fallen behind him at all. If anything, he seemed on the verge of overtaking Kudo.
In other words, Totsuka was even a little faster than Kudo.
Having never watched the movie featuring Ryokufu High School, Kudo knew nothing about Totsuka. He had not expected Ryonan to have a player this fast.
Rukawa was not having any luck on the other side either. Michael Okita had stuck to him as well.
Shohoku Team's fast-break play off the opening tip had failed. In a rare occurrence, they had encountered a team whose physical abilities could keep up with their own.
Miyagi had the ball, and he noticed that neither of the two players on the break was in a particularly good position to receive a pass.
Rather than risk a pass, Miyagi steadily dribbled across half court.
With the fast break thwarted, Kudo stopped running. He was about to establish his position inside when he suddenly noticed something unusual about Totsuka, who was guarding him.
After merely running half the length of the court, Totsuka was already gasping for breath.
Could this guy have poor stamina? Kudo had formed a tentative guess.
With a sudden burst of speed, Kudo ran from the paint to beyond the three-point line. As soon as he extended his hand, Miyagi's pass arrived.
Totsuka chased desperately out of the paint and stuck to Kudo again.
Kudo passed the ball to Mitsui, then ran again from the left baseline to the right baseline.
After just these repeated changes of direction, Totsuka began slowing down. His stamina could not sustain such continuous bursts.
Having gotten open, Kudo received the ball and fired it cleanly home. Shohoku scored the first three points.
Ryonan did not pause after conceding the basket. The ball was instantly passed to Michael Okita, who had started a fast break.
At 192 cm, Michael Okita was the tallest player on the court. Despite Rukawa contesting him from behind, he dunked the ball through the hoop.
That also served notice that Ryokufu High School would not be easy to handle. Next year, they would definitely have the strength to rank among Kanagawa's top four.
After scoring, Michael Okita gave Rukawa a provocative look, then ran back with complete confidence.
In an instant, Rukawa's fighting spirit flared to life. He said coldly to Miyagi, "Give me the ball next time!"
That irritated Miyagi greatly. These first-year newcomers were far too arrogant. Not one of them showed him any respect as their senior.
Still, although he called Rukawa a bastard, Miyagi kept the bigger picture in mind and passed him the ball.
Receiving the ball one step inside the three-point line, Rukawa assumed a triple-threat stance.
To be honest, Rukawa's stance had quite a touch of Jordan's flair. It looked especially cool.
Exploding into motion, Rukawa made a simple fake, then drove straight into the paint.
Michael Okita was the type of player with elite talent but only average defensive awareness.
With just the simplest of fakes, Rukawa had actually fooled Michael Okita.
As Rukawa charged into the paint, the center, Nadaka, came over to help defend. He did not jump, merely standing in place with both arms raised high.
"Stinky Fox, over here!" Sakuragi shouted excitedly beneath the basket. He had been left wide open.
But Rukawa had eyes only for the hoop. He did not even glance at Sakuragi.
Leaping fearlessly straight at Nadaka, Rukawa slammed the ball through the hoop with one hand over Ryonan's center.
Despite his fierce appearance, Nadaka showed no intention of resisting at all. Rukawa's collision even knocked him several steps backward.
Seated off the court, Akagi shook his head disdainfully and offered his assessment of Nadaka from a center's perspective.
"Ryonan's center is nothing but a pushover!"
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