The game reached match point after only a few rounds. Shirasawa made a turnaround fadeaway jumper and won the first set 11-7.
In the second set, Shirasawa received the ball and immediately launched a three-pointer, which slammed into the basket, making it 3-0.
Sawakita is under immense pressure, with only 8 points left to avoid defeat.
He then realized that Shirasawa was even more ferocious in a one-on-one fight than when he played the whole game, and he could clearly feel that Shirasawa was not using his full strength at all.
In the second round, Shirasawa made three consecutive three-pointers in three offensive possessions, while Sawakita struggled to score only 2 points. Then Shirasawa made another three-pointer.
When it came to the third three-pointer, Sawakita made a token attempt to defend, then turned around and saw the ball go in—it wasn't that he was throwing the game, he just couldn't stop it.
Possession changed hands, and Shirasawa gained match point. Sawakita dribbled the ball a few times to encourage himself, then passed it to Shirasawa and moved close to him.
Shirasawa wasn't in a hurry. He held the ball with one hand to prevent a steal, and the two of them stood frozen shoulder to shoulder.
Suddenly, Shirasawa started moving, raising his eyes to pretend to shoot a basket, Sawakita quickly jumped up to interfere.
Shirasawa faked a shot, then turned and drove to create space. He paused at the three-point line for a quick, low crossover, but Sawakita jumped to block. The ball grazed his hand, and Sawakita was left airborne, unable to mount a second defense.
Shirasawa didn't go to the basket; instead, he took a step to the side and launched a three-pointer from beyond the arc. With a "swish," he hit his fourth three-pointer, winning the second set 12-6.
After two rounds, Shirasawa won the one-on-one duel without any suspense.
Sawakita smiled and said, "I lost," accepting the defeat wholeheartedly this time.
He thought to himself that if Sannoh were to play Shohoku again, Sannoh would definitely not last until the last minute.
The overall strength of the Shohoku players is actually not much different from that of Sannoh, especially after the finals, they have improved a lot.
Especially Hanamichi Sakuragi; if Sakuragi had awakened from the start, Mikio Kawata wouldn't have been able to perform at all in the first half.
With this shift in power, Shirasawa's energy consumption will decrease relatively, allowing him to focus his attacks more effectively on Sannoh's basket.
And then there's Shohoku's small-ball lineup. It was impressive the first time they used it, and now that they're even more skilled at it, it's even more powerful.
If there's a rematch, Sannoh will definitely be in trouble.
Although Sawakita had just won the one-on-one duel, he knew in his heart that he was still far inferior to Shirasawa.
Shirasawa said calmly, "Don't bring up anything else. Just talking about being a commander, you and I are not in the same league."
Sawakita remained silent, waiting for Shirasawa to continue.
"Go to the Lighthouse Country? Don't be delusional. Just because you associate with the strong doesn't automatically make you stronger."
Shirasawa's tone was calm yet confident. "The pace and atmosphere over there are completely different from those in China. If your skills aren't strong enough to convince the coach, you won't get consistent playing time. Sitting on the bench watching the games, is that what you want?"
Sawakita fell silent after hearing this.
He was aiming for the top, wanting to go up against the fiercest players and pour his youthful passion into the court. But Shirasawa was absolutely right; without the skill, everything is in vain. If you don't even get a chance to play, what's the point of talking about giving it your all?
Nobody's going to put up with you in a foreign country. Even if you're good, the team might still ostracize you because you're a foreigner, especially since your skills aren't up to that level yet.
"Actually, the reason I'm having this one-on-one match with you today is to make up my mind."
Sawakita smiled and said, "If I win, I'll go to the Lighthouse Country immediately; if I lose, I'll honestly become stronger first—at the very least, I have to beat you first."
As soon as he said that, he temporarily suppressed his idea of going to the Lighthouse Country; he needed to train himself to become stronger first.
"Come over here and play with my brothers, see if this environment is helpful for you."
Shirasawa extended an olive branch, inviting Sawakita to join his team of golf enthusiasts.
This is a very important invitation. To make Sawakita willingly stay, he needs to know that the growth here is more tangible than going to the Lighthouse Country.
"I couldn't be happier! You're Michael, right? I'll go first; I beat those two in the competition before."
Sawakita curled the corners of his lips into a sneer. Those words were sharp, but Sendoh and Rukawa's faces instantly fell into long, sullen expressions.
A one-on-one fight with Michael is the best option. Michael's fighting style is more American-style and hard-hitting, which will allow Sawakita to directly experience the intensity of the competition.
Michael has also made significant progress recently. Considering Sawakita's stamina, the two will only play a 15-point game, with a series of games to come later.
In the end, Sawakita won 16-10.
Michael's assessment was straightforward. "In the Lighthouse Country high school league, you might be a starter, but you're still a long way from making it into the top tier."
Domestically, Shirasawa and I are T0, while Shinichi Maki, Masashi Kawata, and Dai Moroboshi are T1; in the Lighthouse Country, there are more than two T0s, and the number of T1s is ridiculously high.
Figure it out yourself, NBA? Heh, let's wait for the next game.
In the second game, Sawakita faced off against Kenji Fujima.
Fujima is a left-handed player who plays with his brain and doesn't try to fight head-on. Sawakita did have some trouble at first, as he couldn't adapt to the rhythm of a left-handed player in a short time.
After playing a few matches, Fujima had figured out Sawakita's habits and was able to play with ease.
Ultimately, sheer strength prevailed, and Sawakita won the match point with a score of 15-12.
Sawakita pondered that if they played again, he would definitely be better after adapting to his left hand, and Fujima was indeed very clever; players who use their brains are not easy to deal with.
After a short ten-minute break, Sawakita faced his next opponent – Kaede Rukawa.
Kaede Rukawa is fearless from the start, strong in offense but weak in defense? That's because his offense is too explosive!
But Sawakita was stronger than him, and Sawakita won 15-10.
Although Kaede Rukawa was unconvinced, he admitted that he was definitely completely outmatched during the prefectural tournament. He had indeed improved a lot during this period, but he wasn't the only one who had improved.
Finally, Sawakita's old rival, Sendoh, walked over with a smile. This was their second battle three years later.
After a fierce battle, Sawakita won 15-11, achieving a perfect record of four wins.
The four opponents gave him four different kinds of impact, Sawakita was extremely excited.
"And what about me! Sawakita, you look down on me, don't you!"
Ichiro Katsumi rushed up, making a ruckus, but Sawakita immediately thought he was a weakling and easily defeated.
Sawakita retorted sharply, "Oh, I didn't know you played basketball?"
In the end, Sawakita complied with Ichiro Katsumi's request.
The match ended in less than two minutes. The scoreboard showed 15-0, without even a ripple.
Eiji Sawakita an eyebrow and asked, " Shirasawa, is this your team's caddie?"
Everyone else is a tough opponent, but Eiji Sawakita really can't figure out Ichiro Katsumi. After all, you have to compare them to see who's better. Ichiro Katsumi isn't weak, but in this lineup, he's just there to fill the gaps.
Shirasawa chuckled, "Caddy is too awful, we call him mascot. He may be bad at the game, but he's interesting. You'll understand once you've been with him a while. This is the entire team now. Oh, and there's Hanamichi Sakuragi, you know how good he is."
Shirasawa had already included Sendoh in the team. He was certain that Sendoh wouldn't hesitate any longer. Fish can be caught anytime, but youth waits for no one; if you miss it, you can only watch others run away.
Sendoh didn't refute, his face still bearing that gentle smile, it seemed he had long since accepted that he was part of the team.
Shirasawa bluntly tossed the ball to Eiji Sawakita: " Sawakita, welcome to our team."
Sawakita caught the ball, twirled it twice in his hand, and said decisively, "Okay, this place is interesting. I'll play with you guys for a year."
With a whoosh, another ball landed in Sendoh's hands. Sendoh smirked. "Me too."
And just like that, the Shirasawa team acquired two key players: former top high school player in the nation Eiji Sawakita, and the exceptionally talented Akira Sendoh. The team was basically complete. Imagine: point guard Shirasawa, shooting guard Kaede Rukawa, small forward Sawakita, power forward Sendoh, and center Sakuragi.
For these guys, position is just a formality; they can play even without it, which is what a true death lineup looks like.
Eiji Sawakita is from Akita, which is far from Kanagawa. Even if he joined the team, it would be troublesome to train together. So he made a decision: to take a break from school!
He hadn't originally planned to develop his career in China. This year was a buffer period for him to build up his strength so that he could either go to the Lighthouse Country for the draft or play in college leagues and continue climbing the ladder.
However, this leave of absence from school doesn't mean a complete break with Sannoh; it just means not attending school or participating in the team's daily training. He will still play for Sannoh in the prefectural and national tournaments. With Sawakita's abilities, even if he temporarily returns to the team, Goro Domoto will be overjoyed.
Sanae, as the player's agent, can handle these communication matters. Sawakita only needs to go back to Akita and move his frequently used belongings over. The team will rent a house for him near the Base Camp for his convenience in living and training.
The influence brought by Sawakita is far greater than that of a house. He and Shirasawa each account for half of the national basketball players. This influence is unprecedented and unparalleled.
Time flies. Shohoku's week of grueling training has come to an end, and the Four Nations Youth Invitational Tournament has finally begun. As the host, Shohoku is the first team to play, and their opponent is Changwon High School, the national high school champion from Kimchi Country.
The Kanagawa Prefecture Gymnasium was packed with fans, both inside and outside. Tickets for the inner court were either available to those with money or those who could afford them; ordinary fans simply couldn't get them. Who was being supported? Need I say more? Regardless of whether it was the inner or outer court, everyone was chanting "Shohoku!" Everyone knew Shohoku had at least an 80% chance of winning; who wouldn't want to see a win? Everyone who came was relaxed and just waiting to watch the game.
At 9:30 a. m., the players from both teams entered the court to warm up. As soon as Shohoku came out, the whole stadium erupted, shouting Shirasawa's name loudly. The Changwon Team were very familiar with this name.
They knew that if Shirasawa wasn't just hype, then he was capable of single-handedly destroying their entire team, and they didn't have a player of that caliber. Changwon's star player was Park Shuo-qi, a 187cm small forward who led his team to victory in the Kimchi Country National High School League, averaging 21 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists per game. However, among the four teams' ace players, these stats were unimpressive, even inferior to the second and third-in-command players of the other three teams.
They were also frustrated. Why were they allowed to embarrass themselves without their permission? Couldn't they have developed properly at home?
After some pleasantries from the organizing committee, the starting players from both sides stepped onto the field, and the first match of the Four Nations Invitational officially began!
Shohoku! We are the strongest! Shohoku shouted their slogan, led not by Takenori Akagi, but by the new captain Ryota Miyagi.
Akagi and Kogure completely relinquished control this week, handing over all team matters to Miyagi and Yasuda. After a week of adjustment, the results were decent. Although Akagi had a lot of complaints, Miyagi wasn't having any of it. "Now I'm the captain, and I make the decisions!"
Whether Miyagi's approach to leading the team is aggressive or conservative doesn't matter; the results that Shohoku has achieved through this week of practice are top-notch. Although Takenori Akagi, Kiminobu Kogure, and Hisashi Mitsui are a little apprehensive, they also know that after these three tournament matches, they will never have the chance to wear Shohoku's uniforms on the court again.