How exaggerated is the one-on-one combat ability of the Sendoh?
To date, in a proper one-on-one bullfight, he has only lost to Eiji Sawakita. But he himself admits that, in terms of individual ability, apart from Shirasawa, no one can suppress him.
Right now, it's a fierce battle between the two guys he believes can beat him. Isn't that what they mean by "conflict"?
As the game switched between offense and defense, Shirasawa continued to lead Shohoku's offense, and Sannoh dared not double-team him at all.
He repeatedly shook off the defense, broke through from the right side, and pulled up for a jump shot at midcourt, scoring two points again.
There's a reason why Sendoh loves jump shots; they're really effective at it.
Now Shirasawa is facing Sawakita's encirclement and interception. After getting past Sawakita, there's also Mikio Kawata's big belly under the basket. The feeling of crashing into him would probably stun anyone.
Turning back, Eiji Sawakita's offense was equally impressive. Players of this caliber are impossible to completely shut down; one can only try to limit their movement.
Sawakita didn't want to get blocked this time, so he drove to the basket one-on-one and made a floater to answer back, bringing the score back to 8 points.
The next few rounds were basically a tug-of-war between the two, each scoring one point while the other responded, going back and forth until the audience's voices were hoarse from shouting.
This match became the "colosseum" of the national finals, with applause and screams never stopping.
On the sidelines, Kiminobu Kogure intently at the timer, the screen displaying "11 minutes"—less than 11 minutes until the trophy was lifted, yet he clenched his fists even tighter.
Coach Anzai once said that within the first 10 minutes, it's a fierce battle, and within 5 minutes, it's the final showdown, where everyone has to give it their all.
Even though the score difference was still 8 points, he dared not relax, after all, his opponent was the three-time champion Sannoh Industrial High School.
Sawakita once again challenged Shirasawa one-on-one. He drove to the basket, stopped abruptly, and took a step back to try and create space. Shirasawa kept up and didn't fall for the fake. Sawakita lost possession of the ball.
Shirasawa immediately stuck to him, his defense as tight as vines, leaving Sawakita no chance to shoot or pass the ball. He could only dodge and weave around the ball to avoid being cut.
Forced into a corner, Sawakita had no choice but to force a fadeaway jump shot. Shirasawa jumped up and touched the basketball, which bounced off the front edge of the rim with a "clang".
Sakuragi, who was holding back his excitement, secretly reached out and tugged at Mikio Kawata's sleeve, then turned around and positioned himself to block the opponent with one hand and grab the backboard with the other.
Shirasawa didn't rush the attack. He turned around to receive the ball and stabilized his rhythm. He couldn't rush this ball; he had to play it steadily.
Sannoh took this ball very seriously. They changed their formation, with Kazunari Fukatsu and Minoru Matsumoto moving towards the free-throw line to prepare for a zone defense.
Shirasawa held the ball at the top of the arc. Sawakita didn't dare to be careless this time, fearing that he would throw too far again. He took a step back and left room for both his drive and shot.
Shirasawa glanced at Hisashi Mitsui, Mitsui immediately moved towards the top of the arc. Suddenly, Shirasawa passed the ball to Mitsui, and Sawakita's eyes sharpened. He immediately moved to the right to try and cut the ball.
Just as he was about to touch the ball, Shirasawa suddenly grabbed it with his right hand, twisted his wrist, and turned the pass into a breakthrough, which was just a feint for the purpose of breaking through!
Sawakita couldn't react at all and watched helplessly as Shirasawa rushed past him. Even Minoru Matsumoto, who was preparing for a coordinated defense, was fooled.
Shirasawa dribbled past two players and drove straight into the paint. Mikio Kawata exerted his strength, using his muscular build to block Takenori Akagi to the side and confront Shirasawa head-on.
Shirasawa entered the paint section, jumped up with a single leap, and Mikio Kawata's jumping ability? Probably not even as good as a matchbox.
Instead of jumping, he used his height of over two meters to swing his arms high, his muscular build making him stable, clearly intending to fight Shirasawa head-on.
All eyes were instantly fixed on this spot. If we're talking about Shirasawa's slam dunk in the first half, Masahiro Nobe Mikio Kawata is not like that coward Nobe; his fat is real weight, and a single bump could send someone flying three meters away.
"Deduct it!!"
Kiminobu Kogure shouted at the top of his lungs, his voice cracking, and the veins on his neck bulged like earthworms.
With a muffled thud, Shirasawa crashed into Mikio Kawata, the land tank. Mikio Kawata's face was unusually contorted, his entire body taut with fat, as he desperately pressed his body forward, as if trying to prevent Shirasawa from "flying away."
But the force of Shirasawa's impact was something Mikio Kawata had never anticipated, no matter how hard he tried. Even if he flattened his body, he couldn't withstand the domineering momentum. Shirasawa swung his right hand holding the ball and slammed the basketball into the hoop with a loud "bang," even louder than when Mikio Kawata fell on his backside.
Mikio Kawata couldn't withstand it. He slipped and tripped, taking two steps back before landing hard on his backside. The noise was no less than the sound of Shirasawa hitting the basket.
"We made it in!!!"
Kiminobu Kogure jumped up and shouted immediately, his voice sounding like a distorted megaphone.
The entire audience erupted in chaos, shouting all sorts of things:
"Dunked! He dunked over that big fat guy!!"
"The nation's high school monster was defeated by Shirasawa!!"
"I need to change this! That's the most amazing dunk I've ever seen!!"
" Shirasawa! Shirasawa!"
Yayoi Aida's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. She knew all the high school players in the country like the back of her hand, and she remembered Mikio Kawata's height and weight even better than she remembered her own birthday. Those numbers were far more exaggerated than they appeared in person! How could someone like that be defeated by Shirasawa, who was almost three sizes smaller?
"Has Shirasawa's physique become this exaggerated?!"
"I've seen Shohoku's physical test data, but that was just a few months ago. He definitely wasn't this good before!"
Sanae waved excitedly, her mouth stretching to her ears as she heard this. "Absolutely! Xiao Bai's body is ridiculously exaggerated!"
Then the two looked at each other, neither saying anything, their unspoken thoughts swirling on their faces. Sanae blushed, her face turning as red as a ripe peach, and whispered, "That's true." Yayoi Aida also blushed, quickly coughing twice to cover her embarrassment.
On the field, Mikio Kawata sat on the ground, staring up at Shirasawa. This was the first time in his life he had been knocked down. Even his brother, Masashi Kawata, had never knocked him down. Let alone knock him down, even wrestling with him would leave him unable to straighten his back. But now, his heart was pounding like a drum, and he felt a chill run down his spine.
Goro Domoto on the sidelines, glanced at the time, sighed, and called a timeout.
"Nice dunk, Xiao Bai!"
Hanamichi Sakuragi rushed over and pounced on Shirasawa's back. If Shirasawa hadn't been still energized from his dunk, the tackle would have knocked him over. After a powerful dunk, being tackled by his teammate and almost falling flat on his face—that scene was absolutely hilarious.
"Hahahaha! You fat pig, you know how powerful you are now! Trash! Ugh~~~"
Sakuragi kept rubbing salt into Kawata's wounds until Takenori Akagi pulled him away.
"Brother, I'm sorry..."
Mikio Kawata looked at Masashi Kawata as he approached, like a wronged child. This time, it wasn't resentment at losing to Sakuragi, but genuine fear.
Masashi Kawata, unusually, didn't waste any words. He reached out and helped his younger brother up, saying, "You did a great job. Courage is much more important than the result." This wasn't just consolation; he genuinely thought the defense was excellent. Despite Shirasawa's powerful impact, Mikio didn't dodge but instead gritted his teeth and fought back. This kind of spirit was something his brother had never seen before.
The Mikio on Mikio's face at that moment was something his older brother had never seen before. Regardless of the outcome, Mikio had already proven himself. After that play, he was qualified to be the starting center for Sannoh Industrial High School!
"Thank you, brother."
Mikio Kawata didn't quite Brother Bai meant. He couldn't figure it out, but at least he knew he hadn't done anything wrong, and the result seemed acceptable.
Upon reaching the players' bench...
Goro Domoto patted him on the shoulder with a smile. Mikio's progress was something to be happy about, but he couldn't be optimistic about the current situation. With ten minutes left in the game, Shohoku was leading by twelve points. After Shirasawa's dunk, Shohoku's momentum was so strong that it seemed like they were going to lift the stadium up. This timeout probably wouldn't be able to stop it.
But among the Sannoh players, there was one who was smiling: Eiji Sawakita.
The back-and-forth Eiji Sawakita and Shirasawa had reached its peak. In the last two rounds, he failed to launch any attacks or defend effectively, and was almost completely humiliated. But this frustration only fueled his excitement.
He looked up and shouted to Goro Domoto, "Coach, leave the rest of the game to me! I'll definitely win!" As soon as he finished speaking, the whole team's eyes turned to him—they had never seen Sawakita so eager to take on challenges before.
Goro Domoto nodded, grabbed the tactical board, and threw it to the side of the bench. The crisp sound startled the Sannoh players, and their faces changed instantly. For Sannoh, the head coach throwing the tactical board wasn't just a tantrum; it meant he was serious and had a trump card up his sleeve!
With ten minutes left, Coach Anzai stood in front of his players on the Shohoku bench. He neither held up a tactical board nor discussed any strategies, simply stating, "Ten minutes left."
But those words were like a pebble thrown into a hot oil pan, and the whole team's hearts sank – the game was already three-quarters over, and if they could just get through these last ten minutes, the national championship trophy would be in their hands!
Coach Anzai, unusually serious, asked, "After the timeout, Sannoh will definitely launch a mad dog-like counterattack. Can you handle it?" It was a question, but his tone was completely unwavering—he wanted the team to get fired up on their own!
"Yes!" the whole team shouted in unison, their roar shaking the benches. Their fighting spirit shone from their faces to their foreheads.
"Show me your full potential! I told you back in Kanagawa that you were the strongest, and now it's time to deliver! Defeat Sannoh and make Shohoku the champion of the national high school league!"
Coach Anzai at this moment was no longer the smiling " White-Haired Buddha " he usually was; he was clearly the White-Haired Devil who dominated the college basketball scene ten years ago! He only had two words in his eyes: win! He wanted to instill this spirit into the very bones of every player.
" Shohoku!" Takenori Akagi roared, his neck bulging as he raised his fist. "Champions!" The team's shouts nearly lifted the roof off the arena. "Charge! You are the strongest!" The White-Haired Devil bared his fangs.
Both teams stepped back onto the court. Every single one of them had their eyes glued to the ball, and even their breathing was synchronized. Mikio Kawata was still on the court, completely different from how he had been when Shirasawa dunked on him earlier. His eyes were shining brightly, and his confidence was several degrees higher than before.