Unlike Shohoku's usual starting lineup, the Combined Team's starting five was frighteningly star-studded.
Point guard-Kenji Fujima (Shoyo), shooting guard-Akira Sendoh (Ryonan), small forward-Kiccho Fukuda (Ryonan), power forward-Toru Hanagata (Shoyo), center-Jun Uozumi (Ryonan).
This lineup was simply terrifying. If they hadn't been thrown together that very day, with their teamwork bound to be poor, they would have been practically unstoppable.
All one could say was that Kanagawa Prefecture truly deserved its reputation as a basketball powerhouse. It had far too many star players.
Takenori Akagi and Jun Uozumi stood in the center circle, ready for the tip-off. Uozumi looked particularly relaxed now.
He was even in the mood to tease Akagi a little. "Give it your best, Akagi. I won't go easy on you just because we're here as practice opponents today."
"Give me everything you've got, Uozumi. Don't underestimate Shohoku." Akagi looked utterly serious. To him, this wasn't just a practice game, but a test of the results of Shohoku's recent training camp.
The stand-in referee blew his whistle, and the basketball was tossed into the air.
Kanagawa's two great centers jumped at the same time. In the end, Uozumi won the tip by a narrow margin.
Fukuda gathered the basketball into his arms, and a slightly awkward scene unfolded.
As the team's point guard, Fujima instinctively held out his hand for the ball, ready to organize the offense.
Meanwhile, as Ryonan's offensive centerpiece, Sendoh also instinctively moved to receive the pass.
Without even looking at Fujima, Fukuda passed the ball to Sendoh and started moving off the ball.
This was the downside of having too many stars: there wasn't enough possession to go around.
Fujima smiled helplessly. For now, he could only follow Ryonan's rhythm as they began their attack.
Sendoh dribbled across half court, facing Hisashi Mitsui on