He hasn't played any serious matches in recent years, only street games. The toughest opponents he's faced are Alex and his gang, so saying he "has never lost" is a bit exaggerated, but not entirely unfounded. He could easily defeat Sakuragi.
Sota Miyagi picked up the ball with a smile, looking very relaxed and not even bothering to warm up. But Sakuragi suddenly felt a little scared, just like when he encountered that guy, Shirasawa.
Sakuragi stiffened his neck, feigning disdain, and deliberately glared at Sota Miyagi: "What are you pretending for? You'll see the difference between an ordinary person and a genius in a moment!"
He snatched the ball away and unilaterally declared himself the first to throw. Sota Miyagi didn't care; he just wanted to finish the game quickly so he could find his younger brother.
Sakuragi has had countless one-on-one matches! The first one was against the great demon king, Shirasawa. Later, when he joined Shohoku, he played against the team every day. Then, when he joined the management team, those bigwigs were so bored that they would challenge him to fights all the time.
Although the rules and opponents are different, Sakuragi's one-on-one experience is top-notch. He has played all kinds of games and his win rate is not low. However, most of his win rate is achieved by bullying the substitutes on the team. In the "520" camp, he has zero wins, but he is the most likely to curse.
However, Sakuragi's progress has never been in offense, but in defense! He plays against Rukawa, Michael Okita, Sawakita, and that bunch of lunatics every day. He can't keep up with their offense, so he can only practice his defense like crazy. This is the fundamental reason why he was able to gradually limit Hoffmann when they faced each other.
Now that he's joined a management team, those guys love to challenge him to one-on-one matches. The defensive pressure on him is unmatched by players like Rukawa, Michael, and Sendoh, since that's his strength.
But Sakuragi himself didn't think so. Defense, well, that's...
Sakuragi, with his impetuous nature, couldn't possibly see how much progress he had made.
Although I lost 11-2 in my previous one-on-one fight with Sendoh, don't think the result is the same; the process was completely different.
After one game, Sendoh was drenched in sweat, while Hanamichi Sakuragi, apart from stomping his feet and cursing, showed no signs of fatigue. This was the hard-earned defensive strength he had developed.
If this had happened last season, the impact of this defense on the court would have been absolutely phenomenal. However, it's estimated that Sakuragi won't realize it until the new season starts.
Back on the sidelines, Sakuragi, usually a defensive specialist, surprisingly chose to attack first this time.
But as soon as he got the ball and made a few triple threats, Sota Miyagi immediately figured out his defensive strategy and even had several defensive options at his disposal that could directly end Sakuragi's shot.
You have to understand that Sota Miyagi was a formidable player in the country, excelling in both offense and defense. While others were still honing their individual skills, he had already perfected both, putting him a step ahead of his contemporaries. This step was decisive, allowing him to always be one step ahead of others.
Sakuragi's attack was rough to begin with, and it was no match for Sota Miyagi.
Once Sakuragi and his group finished their ineffective three-threat maneuvers, Sota Miyagi made his move!
With a single, incredibly fast and powerful strike, he snatched the ball from Sakuragi's hands, and in the blink of an eye, possession changed hands.
Sota Miyagi dribbled the ball with a smile on his face, a stark contrast to the fierce attack he had just displayed.
Hanamichi Sakuragi stared wide-eyed for a long time, never realizing how strong this person was from the moment they met. Now, his face was swollen from being slapped.
"Foul! Foul!"
Sakuragi was stunned for a long time before finally managing to utter this sentence.
Sota Miyagi was completely dumbfounded. He had been playing on stadiums around the world for so many years, and this was the first time he had ever seen such a shameless person!
Where was the foul committed?
Sota Miyagi asked with a blank face, wanting to hear what kind of excuse Sakuragi could come up with.
"A sneak attack! That's despicable! I wasn't prepared at all! The match hasn't even started yet!"
Sakuragi spoke with righteous indignation, his expression and tone making him seem as if he had suffered a great injustice and was standing on the moral high ground.
Sota Miyagi laughed in exasperation, "Fine, let's do it again."
He tossed the ball back to Sakuragi and added, "This time, I'll wait until you yell 'start' before I move, okay?"
Sakuragi, his face grim, lunged forward the instant he received the ball, shouting, "Start!"
That foul just now was shameless, but this is utterly shameless. However, Sakuragi doesn't see it that way. He calls it a feint! Just like when Sannoh pulled on Mikio Kawata's shirt to block him during the Shohoku game. If the referee doesn't call it, it's a good play, especially since there aren't even any referees now.
Sakuragi, emboldened by his burst of energy, charged past Sota Miyagi. His earlier aggrieved expression was gone, and he grinned, determined to deliver a powerful dunk to teach Sota Miyagi lesson.
"Ah!!!"
Sakuragi roared, gathered the ball, and jumped, heading straight for the basket. It looked like the first possession was about to be won.
But at that moment, Sakuragi, who was in mid-air, suddenly changed his expression and froze, because he realized that he didn't have the ball in his hand!
Sakuragi instinctively turned around, and sure enough, the basketball was in Sota Miyagi's hand!
"When??"
Sakuragi's mind raced through the images: how did the ball end up in someone's hands when it had just passed by Miyagi?
His expression now is exactly the same as those of the people who were robbed of their lives by Ryota Miyagi's Ghost.
Rewind time, just when Sakuragi naively thought he had passed Sota Miyagi, Miyagi moved. He followed Sakuragi's rhythm and speed, leaping forward and stealing the ball from behind at the last moment Sakuragi gathered it!
These are brothers; their playing styles are somewhat similar, especially their exceptional judgment and reaction time. Ryota Miyagi High School's top steals leaderboard is all thanks to this—they don't just make random moves, and when they do, they always score.
Sota Miyagi's steal was exactly the same as his younger brother's. Sakuragi must have seen Ryota Miyagi at this moment, but what shocked him was the height and build of the person in front of him, which was completely opposite to Ryota Miyagi's. He had always thought that such ability had to match Miyagi's height, but he didn't expect that this was not the case at all!
So Ghost don't come in different sizes, huh?
Sota Miyagi chuckled, his tone incredibly relaxed. "I didn't break the rules this time, did I, genius?"
Hanamichi Sakuragi gritted his teeth, but instead of uttering any threats, his fighting spirit surged. "Enough talk, come on!"
He turned and slid to the top of the arc, spreading his arms wide. From that moment on, he truly entered the game—and it was during his most effective defensive phase.
To put it bluntly, this one-on-one duel has only just officially begun!
Sota Miyagi also stopped laughing and became focused. Although he had just watched Sannoh's game against Shohoku that morning and knew Sakuragi's defensive abilities very well, the pressure Sakuragi was putting on him was still very real.
Previously, when Sakuragi was attacking, he felt that this kid had so many openings that three basketballs could fit inside, but now that Sakuragi is defending, he's completely airtight!
Sakuragi's height, build, and wingspan make him a natural defensive asset. Although his fundamentals may not seem great, his explosiveness and reflexes are enough to overshadow these minor flaws, giving him maximum defensive pressure.
Who doesn't love this kind of defense? Stomping on weaker opponents is so boring; it's only satisfying to face strong opponents.
In the last round, he successfully stole the ball. According to the one-on-one rules, the offense and defense changed immediately, and there was no need to re-inbound the ball. He dribbled straight in.
He lowered his center of gravity, dribbling the ball back and forth between his left and right hands in a manner exactly like Shirasawa's; Sakuragi recognized him at a glance.
In Sakuragi's mind, the only players around 190cm tall who could hold their own against such short opponents were Shirasawa and Eiji Sawakita; Sendoh and Kaede Rukawa were just a bit short. In other words, these two were the hardest to defend against in his eyes.
Although he had never beaten any of these people, the pressure they exerted was completely different, a fact that Sakuragi understood perfectly well.
At this moment, Sota Miyagi gave him a feeling of being wary of Shirasawa, so he directly ranked this person's offensive ability ahead of Sendoh and Kaede Rukawa.
This title of genius is well-deserved. His understanding of basketball is more accurate than most people's. He doesn't seem like a novice who has only been playing for a few months. Even Sota Miyagi thinks he has played basketball for at least a few years in junior high school.
The two remained frozen in that position for a few seconds. Sakuragi's nerves were taut like a fully drawn bow, his eyes like an eagle's, fixed on Miyagi's every little movement, not even missing a single fingertip.
He didn't get impatient because the Miyagi didn't move; instead, he was like an old hunter, squatting there waiting for his prey to take the bait, remaining still only when the enemy did not move.
If Takenori Akagi saw this, he would definitely be impressed, saying that Sakuragi has grown even more since facing off against Hoffmann!
Anyway, if Akagi and Sakuragi were to have a one-on-one match right now, Sakuragi would have a better chance of winning. But that doesn't mean Sakuragi is better than Akagi. Basketball is a team sport, one-on-one doesn't count, unless it's someone like Kaede Rukawa, in which case you can just kill them.
Above that are players like Sendoh who can influence the game through their individual abilities. At the very top are players like Shirasawa and Eiji Sawakita, who can dominate the game through offense and defense!
As for which category Sota Miyagi belongs to, Sakuragi will soon be able to give an answer. In any case, he currently thinks that this person is stronger than Kaede Rukawa, mainly based on personal grudges.
Just as Sakuragi was intently watching Miyagi's next move, Miyagi suddenly pulled up and shot from beyond the three-point line. This is a common scoring method in one-on-one situations, since breaking through is too difficult unless the defense is too weak, Sakuragi clearly isn't.
Defend against shooting or against driving? This is a choice every defender has to make. To defend against shooting, stay close to prevent easy shots; to defend against driving, stay further away to deny space for drives.
Even against players like Sendoh and Rukawa who combine driving and shooting, you still have to choose a focus. For example, when defending Sendoh, Sakuragi focuses on defending against shooting, and when defending Rukawa, he relies on his physical strength to withstand the attacks.
When defending against offensive powerhouses like Shirasawa and Eiji Sawakita, the defensive focus must be on preventing their drives, as this is inextricably linked to their offensive habits. Even with a strong combination of drives and shots, there still needs to be a bias, since no one can finish with a variety of methods on every offensive possession.
Take Shirasawa for example. His three-point shooting is indeed top-notch; last season, he could casually throw down three-pointers in the final seconds. However, throughout the entire season, he attempted very few three-pointers, focusing mainly on driving to the basket. Eiji Sawakita is the same way, while Sendoh is the opposite.
Sendoh also possesses top-tier breakthrough ability, but he simply loves to shoot, shooting until he's satisfied. By the way, Sendoh can shoot from beyond the three-point line, but he's only attempted less than ten three-pointers all season. That's his offensive focus, and it has nothing to do with whether he's all-around or not.
Therefore, top defensive players know their opponents' offensive habits inside and out and set up defenses accordingly. Sakuragi Hanamichi Sakuragi doesn't understand these big principles and can't explain them clearly, but he has been doing it all along and is getting better and better at it. It's just that Sota Miyagi is a stranger to him. He can't even figure out this guy's offensive style and abilities, so he can't make a judgment and can only choose the most conservative defense against the drive. After all, scoring under the basket is the most reliable, and the success rate drops if you go further away.