Kogure pushed up his glasses and breathed a sigh of relief, "Looks like he's recovered." He had just replaced Sakuragi on the field, and the pressure was considerable. Although he hadn't made any mistakes, he hadn't had any outstanding performances either. Being able to smoothly transition into the game was considered a successful completion of his mission.
"Of course, Four-Eyes!" Sakuragi said loudly, hands on his hips, "This genius just spaced out for a second! That's why some people got a little advantage."
He turned to Shirasawa and grinned, "But Xiao Bai already taught that guy a lesson for me, thanks!"
Shirasawa felt a chill run down his spine from his winking and grimacing, and quickly turned his face away.
However, everyone in the team knew that Shirasawa had done a commendable job standing up for Sakuragi, demonstrating the responsibility expected of an ace player.
Akagi grabbed Sakuragi's red head and shouted, "The last twenty minutes! The championship trophy is right there. In twenty minutes, we'll go and bring it back together!"
" Shohoku!!"
Amid cheers from the crowd, both teams returned to the field for the final twenty minutes of the Kanagawa Prefecture tournament.
Just as Akagi said, the championship trophy was right there on the side of the field, shiny and bright, as if it were deliberately placed there to provoke people.
Moichi Taoka glanced at the trophy and said in a deep voice to the surrounding team members, "Don't stare at it yet."
"You should think about how much sweat you've shed for this thing."
As soon as he said that, the Ryonan players were reminded of those training days. Coach Takato used to say that Ryonan didn't understand the national-level training volume, but Taoka could confidently guarantee that the intensity of Ryonan's training would terrify those Shohoku guys.
That wasn't playing ball; it was like undergoing hellish training.
Why did Sendoh love fishing even more after joining Ryonan? To a large extent, it was because the training was so rigorous that he needed the extreme tranquility of fishing to regain some balance.
Seeing the solemn expressions on his teammates' faces, Taoka raised his voice. "You've all sacrificed more than anyone else for this trophy! This journey has been earned entirely through hard work and sweat!"
"Only twenty minutes left, time to give myself an answer!"
"Show Ryonan's backbone!"
"Twenty minutes from now, we'll head back to Ryonan with the trophy!"
These words pierced everyone's hearts like needles, instantly igniting the fighting spirit of the entire Ryonan team.
"Yes!!"
"Bring them back to Ryonan!!"
The scoreboard showed 57 to 48, a nine-point difference; the decisive battle had begun.
Kiccho Fukuda returned to the field, forming the starting lineup with Sendoh, Rukawa, Ikegami, and Uozumi. Judging from his expression, he made good adjustments at halftime, at least outwardly regaining his composure.
Needless to say, Uozumi stood in the center circle preparing for the jump ball, his momentum even stronger than in the first half.
Akagi looked at him, her tone unusually gentle. "I thought you'd be depressed."
"Hmph, you think you can take me on?" Uozumi grinned.
The two exchanged a glance, neither mentioning who was stronger or weaker—that was already a settled matter. Now, they were only fighting for their respective teams.
The referee tosses the ball; the second half officially begins!
Akagi leaped up and once again won possession of the ball for Shohoku.
In the first half, both sides were still probing and strategizing, but in the second half, it became a real head-to-head battle. It was a contest of who was more ruthless, who could withstand more pressure, and who had the most thorough execution.
Shirasawa controlled the ball and advanced, initiating Shohoku's first attack.
Sure enough, the boos from the Ryonan fans came even faster than the cheers from the Shohoku. His bow at halftime was practically rubbing salt into their wounds.
Shohoku fans were equally determined, shouting and trying to drown out the opposing team's noise. Both sides were participating in the battle in a unique way, albeit in different ways, but both were quite enthusiastic.
As soon as Hanamichi Sakuragi returned to the court, Ryonan immediately dared not double-team Shirasawa anymore—although this red-haired kid had been sleepwalking in the first half, no one dared to gamble on whether he would suddenly wake up.
Kaede Rukawa faced off against Ryota Miyagi, while Ikegami stayed close to Hisashi Mitsui.
Sendoh stood before Shirasawa, his eyes shining with astonishing light. "Honestly, you're the second guy I've encountered who completely leaves me helpless."
If Shinichi Maki heard this, he would surely puff out his chest and declare, "The other one is of course me." Unfortunately, this time he's probably just being presumptuous.
While Shinichi Maki is indeed formidable, in Sendoh's mind, he hasn't quite reached that level yet. Clearly, Shirasawa is the one who truly deserves the title.
As for who is stronger, Shirasawa or "that person," even Sendoh himself can't say for sure. However, we'll find out soon enough.
While dribbling the ball, Shirasawa casually remarked, "Is the first one Shinichi Maki?"
"No," Sendoh gently shook his head, "You'll meet him soon; his name is Kitazawa."
Before he could finish speaking, Shirasawa nearly dropped the ball. "You're talking about... Sawakita from Sannoh, aren't you?"
"No, it's Kitazawa." Sendoh's tone was unusually certain. "I can't be mistaken."
In his mind, this name was absolutely right. Because that guy was a true genius.
This is somewhat similar to Hanamichi Sakuragi, but Sendoh realized his talent much earlier, unlike Sakuragi who was forcibly discovered by others. From the moment he touched a basketball, Sendoh picked it up very quickly, and coupled with his naturally superior physical condition compared to his peers, he has never lost a one-on-one match.
Don't let Sendoh's calm and collected demeanor fool you; he was once a hot-blooded young man. His first defeat in his one-on-one fighting career occurred during middle school.
That day, he met a man named Kitazawa at an open-air sports field. The two hit it off immediately and started a one-on-one match right there and then.
As a result, Sendoh, who had given it his all, suffered his first defeat. After the fight, he asked his opponent's name, and the opponent readily told him: Sawakita.
It's unclear whether Sendoh's ears were damaged by the sea breeze from years of fishing, but he kept hearing " Sawakita " as " Kitazawa ". It wasn't until last year, when Sawakita became famous at Sannoh Industrial High School and was named the strongest high school student in the country, that Sendoh saw the name again.
But he had already made up his mind. Even if the paper said " Sawakita," he would still see " Kitazawa." Perhaps this was a unique way of commemorating the Sendoh.
What his name was didn't really matter; what mattered was that he remembered that person as ridiculously strong. And now, Shirasawa standing in front of him made him feel as if he had returned to those days.
Fortunately, this time he didn't forget the person's name as "Ze Bai".
Before the two could finish arguing, Shirasawa made a nimble change of direction, slipping past Sendoh and charging straight into the penalty area, giving Shohoku the first point.
The offensive and defensive positions shifted immediately.
Facing Shirasawa, Sendoh dribbled between his legs repeatedly to find his rhythm, then suddenly cut in, stopped abruptly, and jumped, cleanly responding with a mid-range jumper.
In the next possession, Shirasawa continued his one-on-one attack. He turned and drove from the baseline, faked out Uozumi's defense, and flew to the other side of the basket for a reverse layup.
Turning around, Sendoh changed direction and charged forward, then abruptly stopped and stepped back to create space. He then unleashed another mid-range attack, which landed squarely!
During this period, the game completely became a stage for these two. Both were point guards, handling everything from receiving the ball to attacking; the court practically became their arena.
Neither side could completely shut down the other; one would score, and the other would immediately respond, making for a back-and-forth battle. The audience found it incredibly exciting.
Both players have their own unique offensive styles, but both have achieved excellence. Shirasawa focuses on breakthroughs, using various dribbling and aerial maneuvers. Each goal looks extremely difficult, but he executes them with effortless ease.
Sendoh is an unstoppable weapon in the mid-range. He can effortlessly execute all shooting techniques, including fadeaway jumpers, turnaround fadeaways, pull-up jumpers, and drifting shots, with an astonishingly high accuracy rate. This is undoubtedly due to his solid ball-handling skills and exceptional physical gifts.
In short, the attacks these two executed were simply unthinkable for ordinary players, because they were facing each other as defenders.
They are both sharp spears and sturdy shields, and every attack and defense is full of tension.
"This is like Mars colliding with Earth! Both of them are ridiculously strong!" Hikoichi Aida's eyes lit up, his face full of admiration.
But Moichi Taoka frowned.
Sendoh is undoubtedly at his peak right now, but even so, he only managed a draw with Shirasawa. The score didn't get any closer.
Unless he can suppress Shirasawa's offensive in the next few rounds and continue to score, Sendoh's efforts will only prolong his life and will not change the course of the battle.
The most important thing right now is to contain Shirasawa, even if it's just for two or three rounds! Only in this way can we have a chance to close the gap.
However, Shirasawa quickly showed him with his actions: Don't even think about it.
Moichi Taoka was still racking his brains, trying to figure out how to break the balance on the field—the stalemate between Sendoh and Shirasawa. But he overlooked one thing: this balance wasn't something he could control!
On the court, Sendoh faced off against Shirasawa again. He dribbled with his back to the basket, reaching a 45-degree angle, just as he was about to turn and jump to shoot—
Shirasawa swiftly sliced the ball away!
Sendoh jumped up only to find his hands empty. After intercepting the ball, Shirasawa made a quick solo run, leaving only Ikegami, who had retreated to midfield to try and intercept him, in front of him.
Shirasawa charged forward without slowing down at all. Ikegami spread his arms wide, blocking his path!
Countless possible ways Shirasawa could break through flashed through Ikegami's mind; he was confident he was well-prepared. Even if he couldn't defend against it, he could at least slow down the pace and prevent this fast attack from succeeding.
But thoughts are one thing, when Shirasawa actually rushed in front of him, that oppressive feeling instantly enveloped his entire body. Ikegami gritted his teeth, enduring the discomfort, and stared intently at the other's movements.
Left or right?
He was intently anticipating the play when Shirasawa made a completely unexpected move—he passed the ball from the right, but dodged past from the left!
The ball and the player have passed each other!
Ikegami was immediately thrown into a panic. He hurriedly retreated but couldn't keep up with the pace and stumbled a few steps, almost falling. He could only watch helplessly as Shirasawa swept past him, as if he had become invisible.
Shirasawa charged into the penalty area, leaped into the air, and slammed home a one-handed tomahawk dunk!
Coach Taoka's so-called balance was easily shattered by Shirasawa.
Sendoh wasn't surprised at all; he hadn't expected to keep fighting Shirasawa indefinitely. In his mind, Shirasawa was the second Kitazawa... no, even stronger.
All he could do was give it his all, but he had no idea how far he could go.
"The ace duel is over, and Shohoku should get going now," Shinichi Maki said confidently. He had played against both of them and had the deepest impression of them. In his opinion, Shirasawa was indeed stronger than Sendoh, especially on the offensive end. He thought that he and Sendoh would probably have to be paired together to contain Shirasawa.
"No one in Kanagawa can stop Shirasawa anymore, Maki. Who do you think can compete with him in the national tournament?" Jin asked thoughtfully, resting his chin on his hand.
Shinichi Maki smiled faintly, "I'm afraid it's only the person you're thinking of."
"If we're just talking about offense, I really can't say who's stronger." Jin's eyes gleamed with anticipation. "I really want to see them duel. Shall we go together, Maki?"
"Of course," Shinichi Maki nodded, "I believe they will definitely meet, but whether they can directly face off is another matter."
Nobunaga Kiyota, listening from the side, was completely confused. "Who are you talking about? What do you mean by 'positional' or 'not positional'?"