There was an element of chance to Kaede Rukawa's behavior today-it was because of Shirasawa.
After all, that was one of his reasons for agreeing to come to Ryonan.
He needed to get worked up and let it out.
Normally, even with Sendoh coasting and Kaede Rukawa going solo, Ryonan's overall defense would have been enough to crush an ordinary team.
Who would have thought Shohoku's Shirasawa was this strong!
He had disrupted Ryonan's defense single-handedly, keeping the score close.
The last opponent Moichi Taoka had seen with that kind of ability was Kainan's Shinichi Maki.
But Kainan's lineup was far stronger than Shohoku's.
Moichi Taoka sighed.
Was I too polite back then? I should have brought Shirasawa to Ryonan too...
Who cares whether he fit? Better than handing him to an opponent.
As he was thinking, Kaede Rukawa walked up beside him, his gaze firm.
"I can still play."
Moichi Taoka patted his shoulder. "Rest a bit first. You'll go back in later and sink them in one go."
With Ikegami on the court, Ryonan returned to its familiar lineup.
Taking Kaede Rukawa off was also Taoka's signal to Sendoh.
Time for you to get moving!
There's nobody else left to use!
Ryonan inbounded in the frontcourt, and Uekusa directed the offense at the top of the arc.
Seeing Shirasawa close in, he immediately passed and started moving, ready to find an opening for a pick-and-roll.
On the other side, Hanamichi Sakuragi was staring blankly with a miserable expression when he suddenly froze.
Where did Sendoh go?
From the opening tip until now, Sendoh had barely moved on offense. His sudden disappearance caught Sakuragi completely off guard.
Only when he turned his head did he discover that Sendoh had already received the ball on the perimeter.
"Idiot! Stop spacing out!" Takenori Akagi's roar exploded toward him.
Sakuragi quickly spread his arms and charged over.
Sendoh was in no hurry, as though he had deliberately waited for him. He even smiled when he approached.
"Here it comes! Sakuragi's facing Sendoh! This is the moment I've been waiting for!" Hikoichi Aida's eyes shone as he shouted excitedly.
Coach Taoka beside him was also watching this matchup closely.
After all, his main reason for arranging this practice game was to see this red-haired number 10!
The mysterious expert Hikoichi had talked about!
Shirasawa's ability was already plain to see. If this redheaded kid was on the same level... Ryonan would really have a headache.
Sendoh faced Sakuragi with the ball.
By now, Sakuragi had finally regained some spirit, and that familiar confidence returned to his face.
"So you've finally decided to move, you errand boy?"
"Gorilla insisted I guard you and made this genius waste so much time. Otherwise, your Ryonan would've been crushed already."
Sakuragi kept talking, but Sendoh was a little baffled.
The redhead before him was tall, but his defense was full of holes. In just a few seconds, more than a dozen ways to get past him had flashed through Sendoh's mind.
This is the mysterious expert?
Did Hikoichi get it wrong...?
Sendoh suddenly raised his hands as though to shoot.
Hanamichi Sakuragi jumped without a second thought.
But Sendoh stopped his shooting motion and simply watched Sakuragi jump higher and higher.
Seriously...?
He fell for that fake?
"That idiot!" Takenori Akagi gritted his teeth in anger at the sideline.
Sendoh had already glided past him with ease, then hit a jumper for two points.
Moichi Taoka blinked in disbelief at the sideline.
Even he, a coach, could see through that fake.
And the redhead had actually fallen for it...
"Hikoichi, are you sure he's the expert you were talking about?"
Hikoichi Aida nodded emphatically. "Absolutely! Look how high he jumped just now! Exactly like what I saw that night. Sakuragi's ability is unfathomable!"
Moichi Taoka gave him a doubtful glance. "Then how do you explain Sendoh's basket?"
Hikoichi took a deep breath, his expression serious. "Sakuragi must have let his guard down!"
Thump!
On the court, Takenori Akagi punched Sakuragi in anger.
"You even fell for a fake like that!"
Sakuragi clutched his head, looking utterly unconvinced.
Akagi shook his head and tried putting it another way.
"That's Sendoh you're facing. This is a challenge for you. Last time, he scored 47 points against us. You have to give everything you've got to defend him."
This counted as an on-the-fly adjustment from Akagi. Putting it that way would at least get Sakuragi to take things more seriously.
Sure enough, Sakuragi turned and ran toward the frontcourt, not wanting to hear another word.
"Hmph, Gorilla, you finally get it. You can only win by relying on the genius Sakuragi."
"All right! I'll help you beat him!"
Instantly full of energy, Hanamichi Sakuragi dashed into the frontcourt.
Coach Anzai chuckled nearby. "Akagi has grown quite a bit too."
With two consecutive changes of direction, Shirasawa dribbled past Uekusa.
So far, Shirasawa had used at most around eighty percent of his ball-handling ability. Uekusa, Koshino, Kaede Rukawa-not one could stop him, and he was having quite a good time.
But the help defense was clearly different this time.
Ikegami suddenly stepped in from the wing and cut off his path.
Compared with the others, Ikegami paid more attention to his footwork, constantly adjusting his rhythm with small steps as he followed the ball.
Simple fakes were completely useless against him.
Meanwhile, Uekusa turned and chased after him, and a trap from front and back was about to form.
Seeing this, Shirasawa suddenly drove right, drawing both Ikegami and Uekusa with him.
Then he leaned forward and pulled his ball hand back.
The ball flew out from behind his back, straight toward the basket!
That... that works too?!
Moichi Taoka was left speechless once again at the sideline.
The instant the double-team formed, Shirasawa had casually passed the ball out.
And it was a behind-the-back pass!
The basketball bounced past Kogure's feet and landed right in the hands of Hanamichi Sakuragi as he cut in from the wing!
Even a pass like that could get through?!
What coach wouldn't get a headache watching a behind-the-back pass?
Few players dared use it even under normal circumstances.
After all, your eyes were in front. Insisting on passing from behind only made things harder for yourself.
No matter how stylish it looked, the turnover rate was frighteningly high.
Make the pass, and the coach might not praise you. Botch it, and you went straight to the bench.
And a behind-the-back pass under a double-team?
Moichi Taoka's first reaction was: Ridiculous!
But reality slapped him in the face once again.
"Does Shirasawa have eyes in the back of his head?!" Moichi Taoka couldn't help shouting.
Hanamichi Sakuragi caught the ball and grinned.
Finally... finally, it's this genius's turn to perform!
Hanamichi Sakuragi had actually received the ball in an excellent position.
Given his cutting angle, going straight into a reverse layup or turning for a layup would both have been perfectly reasonable.
Failing that, he could have paused, faked out the defender, then taken his shot.
In short, the food was already at his lips. He could eat it however he liked.
But Hanamichi Sakuragi insisted on doing it himself.
The days he had spent practicing with Akagi flashed through his mind.
Shooting under the basket!
He abruptly stopped, turned around, bent his knees, and flung up a shot with absolutely no grace to it.
Not only did this disrupt the offense's rhythm, it also completely disregarded Sendoh.
"King of the paint!"
He shouted as he shot the ball.
The ball smacked squarely into Sendoh's open palm and was stopped like a volleyball at the net.
Fortunately, Sakuragi's reactions really were fast. As he came down, he snatched the ball back and immediately jumped again!
This shout was even fiercer than the last, carrying his anger.
This time, Sendoh was a little surprised.
There had been almost no pause between Sakuragi getting blocked and jumping again. The speed of his leap was frightening.
If he tried to jump for another block now, he would already be too late.
And although Sakuragi's jump shot looked ugly, his release was both high and quick. Even if Sendoh jumped, he might not reach it.
But while the mantis stalked the cicada, the oriole waited behind.
How could Jun Uozumi tolerate someone acting so arrogantly beneath his own basket?
He forcefully shoved Akagi aside, extended his long arm, and reached hard for the ball.
With his height of over two meters plus his wingspan, that reach was no joke.
Uozumi swatted the basketball down, clean and decisive, as merciless as if he were saying, "To hell with your basketball dreams."
When Uozumi landed, even the floor shook.
"Fast break!"
He shouted.
Koshino and Uekusa had already taken off. The two raced downcourt and easily scored two points off that huge block.
Looking thoroughly unconvinced, Hanamichi Sakuragi glared at Uozumi and Sendoh, opening his mouth to curse.
But before he could speak, Akagi caught him in a headlock.
"You useless idiot! Get back there!"
Akagi dragged him all the way back to the backcourt, hopping with rage as he berated him.
Uozumi and Sendoh exchanged a look and nodded in understanding.
There was no doubt now. That red-haired number 10 was no mysterious expert at all.
At most, he was a complete novice with off-the-charts athleticism.
Still, Hikoichi couldn't take all the blame.
Although Hikoichi loved collecting data, he hadn't been playing basketball for long himself. The only difference between him and a complete novice was that he knew more about things on paper.
When a big guy who could run and jump suddenly appeared, dunked in front of him, and talked tough, wasn't it easy to mistake him for an expert?
It was like someone who could dunk suddenly showing up at a pickup court. Most people would assume he must be good.
Only after actually playing would they discover that, apart from jumping high, the guy couldn't do anything...
At the sideline, Moichi Taoka was actually a little pleased.
Of course he wasn't disappointed that Hanamichi Sakuragi was a rookie.
He even felt a little relief, as though he had narrowly escaped disaster.
Shirasawa alone was already outrageous enough. If Shohoku had another expert, how frightening would they be?
With that, the purpose of this practice game had essentially been achieved.
Takenori Akagi was still very strong, and Miyagi still had his speed.
Kogure... next.
It was Shirasawa whose displayed abilities had far exceeded Taoka's expectations.
And Taoka was certain Shirasawa absolutely hadn't gone all out yet.
His addition had brought about a super evolution for Shohoku. They were definitely the biggest dark horse in this year's prefectural tournament.
The corners of Moichi Taoka's mouth lifted slightly.
Even so, this dark horse Shohoku wants to overtake Ryonan? They're still a long way off.
The game continued on the court.
Sendoh gradually got into the groove.
On offense, he toyed with Sakuragi and casually picked up two points; on defense, he mainly watched Sakuragi too. It was easier that way.
For Shohoku, Shirasawa led the offense. Uekusa remained his primary defender, while Ryoji Ikegami handled the second line of defense.
They did their best to pressure Shirasawa and keep him from controlling the ball easily.
Shirasawa was in no hurry either. He slowed the pace and directed his teammates' movement.
Or he could draw the defense himself and create opportunities for his teammates.
Soon, the score between the two teams changed.
46-49.
Ryonan had taken a three-point lead.
Less than 30 seconds remained in the first half.
Shirasawa orchestrated Shohoku's final possession.