A 188-centimeter point guard? Akagi and Ayako exchanged a look, both a little puzzled. They did not know whether Shirasawa distrusted his teammates or simply played that position to begin with. That had been equally unclear in the middle school final.
Shirasawa received the ball and dribbled unhurriedly across half court. His ballhandling was not elite yet, and he still lacked the skill to breeze past defenders in style, but advancing steadily was no problem. At least he was far better at it than these teammates of his.
At the top of the arc, Shirasawa signaled to Sakuragi. Sakuragi immediately understood-Shirasawa had explained this cut to him countless times: move up toward the high post, then suddenly cut back. As long as nobody stood in front of him, he just had to jump.
The ball would reach his hands.
Sakuragi drew Kakuta up to the wing beside the free throw line, then suddenly spun and cut back! The gap in their explosiveness was instantly exposed. Sakuragi had already burst away before Kakuta even reacted, leaving him completely beaten.
Sakuragi trusted Shirasawa completely. Without even looking, he reached his spot and immediately jumped.
Was this...?
On the sideline, Ayako and Takenori Akagi widened their eyes at the same time. They looked toward Shirasawa and saw him casually toss the ball out of his dribble-
Yes, just a casual toss!
The motion was as effortless as tossing a ball of paper, yet the ball shot straight toward Sakuragi like a cannonball. Just as Sakuragi reached the peak of his jump, the basketball landed in his hands. Watching Sakuragi alone, it practically looked like magic: he was in the air, and a ball suddenly appeared in his hands.
All that remained was to finish the motion.
Crash!
Hanamichi Sakuragi slammed the ball through the hoop.
An Alley-oop dunk.
Every teammate on the court froze. It had all happened too fast.
One second, Shirasawa had been dribbling. The next, he casually tossed the ball and connected with Sakuragi in midair. The whole sequence was over in less than the blink of an eye.
The upperclassmen on the court were a little dazed. The chemistry between these two was ridiculous. They looked nothing like first-time partners. That dunk had hammered their morale down a notch-how were they supposed to play against this? Sakuragi was practically playing basketball in the sky. They were not even competing on the same level.
The score became 2-0.
After landing, Hanamichi Sakuragi planted his hands on his hips, threw back his head, and laughed.
"See that?!" he shouted at the top of his lungs. "That was only a tiny fraction of this genius's ability!"
"Facing me is your greatest misfortune! Hahaha!"
The game had only just started, and he had already fired himself up completely with an Alley-oop dunk. The players on the court were still focused on that thunderous slam, but Coach Anzai and Takenori Akagi on the sideline had kept their eyes fixed on Shirasawa.
Sakuragi's dunk was certainly impressive, but in theory, anyone who jumped high enough could finish it. The key was Shirasawa's pass-the timing, angle, and force were all just right. That pass was so easy to receive that failing to catch it would have been entirely Sakuragi's fault.
Coach Anzai took a sip of tea and said slowly, "Akagi, you're surprised too, aren't you?"
Takenori Akagi nodded, still replaying the pass in his head. "In that middle school final, Shirasawa made an even better pass in the closing moments," Coach Anzai continued. "That pass was what won them the game. Even without exceptional physical gifts, this boy could dictate the course of a game through his passing alone."
Akagi looked at Coach Anzai in surprise. He had never heard an assessment like that before. Shirasawa's pass had certainly been impressive, but Akagi had seen plenty of good passers. Shoyo's Kenji Fujima was one of the best. But besides his passing, Fujima's offense was also top-class, and Shoyo still depended on him to score at crucial moments. What about Shirasawa? Could he dictate a game through passing alone?
Coach Anzai noticed Akagi's doubts but did not explain further. Some things could not be understood through words alone. "You'll understand naturally when you play together." He smiled and added, "Besides, there's much more to Shirasawa than passing. Ho ho... ho ho..."
On the court, Kiminobu Kogure clapped hard to bring his teammates' attention back. He could tell something was wrong with their state of mind-even he had been stunned by that Alley-oop. Momentum mattered on the basketball court. That basket had fully ignited the first-years, and as one side rose, the other fell. The upperclassmen were looking a little deflated.
They usually relied too much on Akagi. Without him anchoring the team on the court, they kept feeling that they were outmatched. Kogure knew he had to lift everyone's spirits quickly, or things would only get harder.
"Don't let up! The game's only just started!" he called, raising his voice. "It's our turn to attack. We're regulars-don't let the rookies look down on us!"
Communication was what Kogure did best. After those words, his teammates' eyes finally regained their spark. That was right. The game had only just started. How could they let Sakuragi alone scare them?
Yasuda brought the ball up. After a year of training and games together, their chemistry was far better than that of the hastily assembled first-year team. Everyone knew what he needed to do. Their orderly offensive movement soon threw the first-years' defensive formation into disarray.
After a few simple passing-and-cutting combinations, the first-year defenders no longer knew whom to guard. Shirasawa saw it all on the court, but there was little he could do. He could just about guide their offense, but carrying their defense was truly beyond him-these teammates were lacking far too much in both experience and ability. Apart from himself, only Sakuragi was reasonably reliable. At least he could stand in the paint and serve as a barrier.
After several passes, the ball finally reached Kogure. Facing the small, skinny Toki Kuwata, he rose calmly and knocked down a solid two-pointer. Kogure was smart: with Shirasawa outside and Sakuragi inside, attacking the weakest point was the safest option. As it happened, Toki Kuwata was a little too weak...
Possession changed hands.
Shirasawa received the ball in the backcourt and continued serving as the primary ballhandler. Yasuda did not dare let his guard down, watching him with complete concentration. Shirasawa glanced at his teammates' movement and sighed inwardly. Come on, move a little.
Left with no choice, he accelerated abruptly and powered past Yasuda on speed and explosiveness alone. He charged straight into the paint, immediately drawing Kogure over from the wing to help. Kogure did not dare take Shirasawa lightly and stepped up at once to block him.
Under the basket, Hanamichi Sakuragi sealed off Kakuta and held out his hands for the ball. On the move, Shirasawa gathered the ball and rose into a shooting motion. Kogure and Yasuda immediately formed a double-team, both jumping to contest.
Everything was going according to Shirasawa's plan.
The wing was open.
In an instant, he flicked his wrist. The basketball obediently changed direction toward the wing, flying precisely into Kentaro Ishii's hands. It arrived in exactly the right spot, requiring no adjustment-with a look this wide open, not shooting would have been a disservice to himself.
Kentaro Ishii steeled himself and shot the ball in one motion.
The ball went in.
Kentaro Ishii stared at his hands in disbelief. He had actually... scored!
Once again, Shirasawa had turned a pass into points. Kogure adjusted his glasses regretfully. He did not think helping on defense had been the wrong choice. If anything was to blame, it was how brilliantly Shirasawa had passed...
Shirasawa felt rather helpless too. Playing with a team like this was far too difficult.
Delivering two consecutive assists under these circumstances really was no easy feat. But Shirasawa felt a little shortchanged. After all that work, he had gotten nothing for himself.
"All of you, move," he said, gathering his teammates during the pause after the basket. "If someone's guarding you, find a way around him! Pretend you have the ball and look for open space." He paused. "Does that make sense?"
This lineup was a real headache. Take Kentaro Ishii, who had just scored. Yes, he had made the shot, but he had stood rooted to the wing the entire time! That was precisely why Kogure had dared leave him to help-If you're not moving, why should I keep watching you?
Shirasawa had successfully drawn the defense and kicked the ball out this time, but what about next time? And the time after that? How could he guarantee that he would draw defenders every time? Even if he could, with those guys standing motionless outside, could he guarantee that every long-range shot would fall? Absolutely not!
Passing could indeed bring teammates to life, but first, they had to be living creatures... So Shirasawa conveyed the team's tactical approach in concise, simple terms. These teammates had all joined basketball teams in middle school, but they had been benchwarmers back then, with practically no chance to play. They were terrible in every aspect. Shirasawa's simple, direct approach suited them quite well.
In short, one word: run!
They nodded vigorously.
Possession changed hands, and the upperclassmen attacked. After several passes, the ball reached Kogure again, and he was still matched up against Toki Kuwata. This time, Shirasawa did not stand by and watch. He quickly slid over to help.
Seeing the double-team coming, Kogure hurriedly lobbed the ball inside. Satoru Kakuta caught it with his back to the basket and faced off against Hanamichi Sakuragi!
"Heh heh heh." Hanamichi Sakuragi pressed against him with absolute confidence. "Let me show you a genius's suffocating defense!"
The gap between them in both height and strength was quite obvious. This time, Sakuragi's confidence was not unfounded. Kakuta narrowed his small eyes and tried backing him down several times, but he could not gain even half a step.
Just as he was growing anxious, Tetsushi Shiozaki shook off his defender and ran to the free throw line, holding out his hands for the ball. Kakuta quickly passed it over, and Shiozaki caught it and shot.
Unfortunately, the ball bounced off the rim.
Shirasawa suddenly sprang up from the crowd and snatched the rebound. Remembering his instructions, his teammates turned and charged into the frontcourt! Without pausing after securing the rebound, Shirasawa turned and hurled the ball upcourt!
The basketball flew over everyone's heads, crossed the entire court, and landed precisely in front of Satoru Sasaoka. It bounced off the floor straight into his hands. Sasaoka took a step in stride and easily laid it in.
The ball led the player forward, the entire sequence flowing seamlessly.
Over the next ten-odd minutes, Shirasawa gradually got all his teammates involved as the team's core. His exquisite passes turned into points almost every time, because the ball always arrived in the most comfortable spot. Whoever received it only needed to shoot.
Shirasawa's teammates were weak, but the upperclassmen were not strong either... Besides, Shirasawa still had Hanamichi Sakuragi.
43-32.
The first-years led by eleven!
Akagi watched from the sideline, a little dazed. Shirasawa's current situation was remarkably similar to his own before: one player carrying four others. But Akagi could only keep pounding away inside. Even when double-teamed, he had no answer and had to keep grinding. He would battle away endlessly, only to lose by thirty or forty points...
Shirasawa was different. He had not scored a single point so far! He had not even attacked the basket himself once! Yet his team led by eleven! Everyone was contributing. Apart from Shirasawa, each of them had scored around ten points.
No matter how poor the upperclassmen were, surely they had better physiques and more experience than those first-years? Yet even in this situation, the skinny little Toki Kuwata, barely over 160 centimeters tall, had scored eight points!
It was practically magic. Shirasawa was a wizard, using magic to drive everyone and suddenly make them much stronger.
At that moment, Takenori Akagi felt he was beginning to understand Coach Anzai's words. Shirasawa's passing really could dictate the course of a game! He could completely transform a team!
On the court, Shirasawa sent a bounce pass from beyond the three-point line. Like a pair of scissors, the basketball sliced through the entire defense with a swish, delivering itself unerringly into Hanamichi Sakuragi's hands beneath the basket.
Hanamichi Sakuragi grinned broadly, unable to hide his smug smile. He hopped lightly and sent the ball toward the hoop.
Yet this point-blank, seemingly certain layup struck the rim with a clang and bounced out.
The corner of Shirasawa's mouth twitched, and he sighed helplessly. It had never even occurred to him that this shot could miss...
Sakuragi was furious. Relying on his unbeatable jumping ability, he grabbed the rebound again and leaped for a putback!
Clang!
The ball bounced away again.
Kakuta blinked his little eyes, inwardly seething... Giving Sakuragi such supreme physical gifts was an utter waste! Give them to me, and even I could be the next captain!
As Sakuragi grabbed his third rebound, Takenori Akagi stood and blew his whistle.
"Game over! Gather round!"
There were actually a few seconds left, but he simply could not bear to watch anymore...