"Bei... Ze?..."
"Why does that guy call me Kitazawa??"
The two head coaches made their final arrangements on the bench.
As soon as the referee blew the whistle, the starting players entered the field.
Ryonan side: Jun Uozumi, Kaede Rukawa Ryoji Ikegami, Kaede Rukawa, Hiroaki Koshino, Akira Sendoh.
Sannoh Industrial High School Co., Ltd.: Masashi Kawata, Eiji Sawakita Masahiro Nobe, Eiji Sawakita, Minoru Matsumoto, Kazunari Fukatsu.
Uozumi and Masashi Kawata stood in the center circle, ready for the jump ball.
In terms of height, Uozumi has an obvious advantage.
But Masashi Kawata is just as big as him.
Facing the nation's top center, Uozumi secretly exhaled, his heart involuntarily racing.
Uozumi won possession of the ball without any doubt at the start of the game.
Masashi Kawata didn't put in much effort; he simply jumped once and failed to contest the ball.
Akagi's eyelid twitched in the audience.
He had assumed that since Masashi Kawata was at a disadvantage, he would have to pull out some hidden trump card, but nothing happened.
If you can't win, you just can't win.
Masashi Kawata wasn't annoyed. After losing possession of the ball, he turned around and ran back steadily.
This guy became famous early, and in a place like Sannoh Industrial High School, his exposure has never been low. He secured a starting position in his first year, a privilege only Eiji Sawakita has ever received in Sannoh's history. Everyone else, including the current captain Kazunari Fukatsu, was just a rookie running errands in their first year, carrying bags and handing water to their seniors, and they might even get hit by a few punches.
Masashi Kawata and Eiji Sawakita never experienced that kind of life.
However, Masashi Kawata has a flaw that people keep talking about.
His athletic ability is really not up to par.
Unlike Hiroshi Morishige Masashi Kawata hasn't put up any explosive stats in the past three years. Yet, he's managed to secure a starting position at Sannoh and has been hailed as the best high school center in the country, a title even the real best center in the nation Shota Sugiyama, agrees with.
Therefore, Masashi Kawata's strength has never been in running and jumping.
After the jump ball, Ryonan gained possession of the ball for the first time.
From the moment Moichi Taoka Goro Domoto was comfortably sitting on the bench.
Goro Domoto has a bad habit: when the team is in a winning position, he sits there like a king, too lazy to even call a timeout. But if the situation turns against him, or the score gets close, he immediately squats down on the sidelines, bites his fingers, and his mind races.
The fact that he's sitting so comfortably now makes his meaning clear— Ryonan is simply not worth his attention.
Sendoh dribbled the ball past half-court.
Kazunari Fukatsu blocked him at the top of the arc.
The moment the two faced off, the entire arena erupted in a shout of "Whoa!" Kazunari Fukatsu's defense was so tight, leaving no gaps whatsoever.
This attitude was completely unseen in the previous group stage matches. Back then, he was just going through the motions, but even then, few people could get past him. But now, Kazunari Fukatsu has clearly flipped the switch to the extreme.
He set the tone for the game with his defense.
Sendoh became extremely difficult for a time.
" Sawakita values you a lot, so I have to take this seriously."
Kazunari Fukatsu's mouth didn't stop, and his hands didn't stop either. His defense wasn't the head-on collision of Shinichi Maki Shirasawa's style, nor was it the suffocating entanglement of Hakutaku's style. It might seem like it lacked intensity, but trying to get past it was impossible. His fundamentals were solid, his reactions were fast, and most importantly, his anticipation was deadly. Sendoh felt like every step he took was being seen through.
However, Sendoh didn't rush into a direct confrontation. He protected the ball and took a few steps forward before passing it to Kaede Rukawa, who had moved up.
Along with Kaede Rukawa, Eiji Sawakita also came up.
Rukawa Kaede receives the ball at a high position, pulls it back and turns, facing Sawakita Eiji head-on.
Just as he was halfway through his turn, Eiji Sawakita moved.
Before Kaede Rukawa could fully turn around, the ball in his hand was slapped away by Sawakita.
"Too fast! He's so fast!"
Kogure couldn't help but shout out from the audience.
Kaede Rukawa received the ball and turned, all in less than a second, while still moving. Even so, Sawakita managed to seize the opportunity to shoot, demonstrating his incredible speed. To onlookers, it looked like Kaede Rukawa had barely made his move when Sawakita moved at the same time. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it a gamble, and he won.
Kaede Rukawa's eyes sharpened, and he hurriedly reached for the ball.
But Eiji Sawakita was faster, stealing the ball and smoothly passing it behind his back, slicing past Kaede Rukawa.
Sannoh defended against Ryonan's first attack and immediately launched a counter-attack.
Eiji Sawakita charged forward, with Kaede Rukawa in hot pursuit, while Sendoh retreated to the backcourt three-second zone first.
Eiji Sawakita rushed across the free-throw line, and with Sendoh and Kaede Rukawa double-teaming him from the front and back, he took off, pulled up for a layup, switched hands, dodged the two men's blockade in mid-air, and scored.
He single-handedly took on the Ryonan Twin Stars and succeeded.
Sannoh Industrial High School scored the first point of the game.
After scoring, Eiji Sawakita looked at the two players with a smile on his face, seemingly quite satisfied.
" Kaede Rukawa, be careful of him," Sendoh warned again.
Kaede Rukawa's gaze was as cold as a knife, and he nodded slightly.
He gained a deeper understanding of the level of the nation's top high school student.
There are ten players on the field, including five five-star high school students.
This is the first time this year that it has happened in the national competition.
That first attack of the game was already a contest between three five-star high school students.
This match is definitely a five-star free-for-all.
Eiji Sawakita's offense and defense made everyone realize that even the title of "Five-Star High School Student" has different levels. And Eiji Sawakita was clearly at the very top level.
"That Kaede Rukawa is useless; he's just a liability on the field."
Hanamichi Sakuragi's mouth was practically stretched to his ears, and he seized every opportunity to fire at Kaede Rukawa.
"Heh, if a genius like you went up there, you'd probably just give away a 2+1."
Hisashi Mitsui curled his lip, his words dripping with sarcasm. He wasn't speaking up for Kaede Rukawa, but he was simply annoyed by Sakuragi's smugness, and he also acknowledged that Sawakita was indeed quite capable.
" Xiao Bai, if you were in my shoes, could you have defended that shot?"
Mitsui asked this question, everyone turned to look at Shirasawa. Normally, this would be a casual question, but at this critical moment, it weighed like a heavy weight. How Shirasawa answered would directly affect whether the team could hold on.
"If it were me, I wouldn't have conceded that goal at all."
Shirasawa spoke in a very casual tone, as if he were talking about what to eat in the cafeteria today.
Upon hearing this, the teammates immediately relaxed. That's right! With Xiao Bai around, none of that mess would have happened. This is Shohoku's trump card! He's not just trying to take advantage of Eiji Sawakita; he's a formidable opponent who's been considered on par with Sawakita all along!
On the court, Ryonan regrouped. Akira Sendoh, facing Kazunari Fukatsu 'Sticky Candy tenacious defense, twisted his body and drove hard into the paint, seizing the opportunity to pass the ball to Kaede Rukawa, who was cutting along the baseline. Kaede Rukawa received the ball and smoothly drove to the basket, leaning against Eiji Sawakita as he prepared for a reverse layup. This time, he was more cautious, keeping his ball-protecting hand firmly between the two, being extra wary of Sawakita's dangerous move. It looked like the ball was about to leave his hands.
However, a palm-shaped hand suddenly appeared in front of Kaede Rukawa.
Slam the ball hard against the backboard!
Kaede Rukawa looked up and met a fierce face—it was Masashi Kawata. This guy didn't have the superhuman abilities of Sawakita, but he still managed to suppress Kaede Rukawa Kaede's attack. It was all thanks to his timing; his accuracy was almost like he could predict the future.
Whether it's Kazunari Fukatsu, Eiji Sawakita, or Masashi Kawata, these guys all have one thing in common—their predictions are incredibly accurate, ridiculously so. Kaede Rukawa's two consecutive attacks have really shown just how thick Sannoh's wall is.
Moichi Taoka frowned deeply on the sidelines. To be honest, Ryonan hadn't played badly; every player had given their all. But the gap in strength between them was simply too deep. Even if he called a timeout now, Moichi Taoka wouldn't know what to say. He could only shake his head; he'd never seen such overall strength from Sannoh before in all his years of coaching.
Even Shohoku, who swept everything in the prefectural tournament, wasn't this bad in Moichi Taoka's eyes. And this was only the defensive end that Sannoh had shown.
On the offensive end, Kazunari Fukatsu steadily controlled the ball past half-court, and Sannoh quickly spread out their formation and settled into a positional play.
With two quick thuds, the basketball was passed rapidly between his hands. Facing Sendoh, he shifted his weight repeatedly. Suddenly, his center of gravity shifted, his right shoulder pressed down, and in a flash, he slipped past Sendoh's armpit. Sendoh was startled, his feet failing to keep up.
" Kazunari Fukatsu, this is the true metronome of Sannoh."
Shinichi Maki's tone was calm, but his eyes were deep. "Without Eiji Sawakita, he would absolutely be a core player capable of carrying everything. His offensive and defensive abilities are among the best in the country."
In the past two years, the only team that Shinichi Maki has studied so thoroughly is Sannoh. He knows every Sannoh player like the back of his hand, which shows how much he wants to bring this team down.
"Doesn't that mean that Kazunari Fukatsu and Eiji Sawakita are the same type of player?"
Nobunaga Kiyota frowned, the oppressive atmosphere on the field making it hard for him to breathe. "Somewhat similar to the Ryonan Twin Stars, but their overall strength is far superior?"
" Twin Stars? You've misjudged them again, Kiyota."
Shinichi Maki pointed and said, "Keep a close eye on number 6, Minoru Matsumoto."
Before he could finish speaking, Kazunari Fukatsu broken into the paint. He had no intention of attacking himself; instead, he faked a pass, drawing the defense over before flicking the ball to the outside. As Minoru Matsumoto received the ball, he quickly stepped forward with his right foot, executing a convincing probing step that caused Hiroaki Koshino to shift his weight backward. Taking advantage of this half-step opening, he pulled up from the corner and launched a three-pointer.
The basketball traced a clean arc through the air and swished through the net, making it 5-0.
This alone reveals the underlying trend; the three-point attack is merely a random item from Minoru Matsumoto's arsenal.
"Do you see clearly now, Kiyota?"
Shinichi Maki was naturally referring to Minoru Matsumoto.
"Yes, this Minoru Matsumoto is definitely not simple, right, Maki?"
After spending time with Shinichi Maki, Kiyota not only improved his tennis skills, but also developed a much sharper eye. Before, he had no ability to judge his opponent's strength from just one round.
"That's right, with Minoru Matsumoto's abilities, he would be a complete waste of his talents at Sannoh."