with a stern, measured tone "Organize the offense properly. Don't pull off any more of that showboating nonsense," Uozumi Jun said, his voice carrying a deep rumble of authority.
"Understood," Yagami Kūto replied without argument.
The initial excitement had gradually faded. He was right—they needed to build methodically.
Ryonan inbounded.
As Yagami Kūto crossed midcourt with the dribble, Kasamatsu Yukio immediately pressed up on him defensively.
WHOOSH!
Yagami Kūto showed no hesitation, passing the ball out immediately.
Sendoh Akira received it and went straight up for a catch-and-shoot jumper.
[Ryonan 5 VS 2 Kaijō]
"Beautiful pass!"
As Sendoh jogged back on defense, he grinned and high-fived Yagami Kūto.
"They're playing very composed," Kasamatsu said, frowning slightly. "I thought that guy would try to dominate more."
straightening up with determination "Well then, let me speed things up for them!" Kise Ryota declared seriously.
Kaijō inbounded. Kise Ryota pushed the ball up the court.
After crossing midcourt, Sendoh Akira played defense at a distance, with one man between them.
The strategy was to prevent Kise from using his speed to drive straight through. As for three-pointers, Sendoh believed his mobility was more than sufficient to contest—he just needed to react during those split seconds when Kise gathered the ball.
WHOOSH!
The basketball found Kasamatsu Yukio's hands.
"He passed too?" someone on Ryonan's sideline jeered. "Does he just like copying everyone?"
Kasamatsu jumped up. Koshino Hiromistu jumped simultaneously to contest.
But he wasn't shooting!
with explosive precision, Kasamatsu bounced the ball hard off the floor—a bounce pass!
Kise Ryota had already charged into the paint. He caught the ball mid-stride and rose in one motion.
"When did he—"
with a roar of defiance "Come on!" Uozumi Jun bellowed, jumping up without hesitation despite being a step late.
BOOM!
Kise threw down the ball with thunderous force over Uozumi's outstretched arms, slamming it through the rim!
[Ryonan 5 VS 4 Kaijō]
A poster dunk!
And he'd done it over a center who was over two meters tall!
The visual impact was explosive!
"Ohhhhhhh! Kise! Kise!" the crowd roared.
"Never thought that guy had that kind of power."
Landing smoothly, Kise Ryota pointed his index fingers at both Yagami Kūto and Sendoh Akira.
"Whether it's you or you, it doesn't matter if you both come at me," he said with a confident smirk.
turning away with an unbothered smile "Do all the newcomers these days have this much personality?" Sendoh Akira chuckled.
staring at the ball on the ground with a contemplative expression Yagami Kūto watched intently.
"What are you thinking about?" Sendoh asked.
with genuine interest "I want to try that too," Yagami Kūto said. He mentally simulated the sequence. "It doesn't look that hard."
drawing out his response with intrigue "Ohhh~" Sendoh Akira said. "Then give it a shot."
Ryonan inbounded. Yagami Kūto pushed forward.
Unlike Sendoh's defensive strategy against Kise, Kasamatsu Yukio chose to press up tight on Yagami Kūto.
This decision was primarily based on height differences.
At 178cm, if Kasamatsu gave distance to the 188cm Yagami Kūto, he'd be vulnerable to a direct step-back jumper. The benefit of tight defense was that unless Yagami Kūto had explosive first-step speed, he'd struggle to squeeze past Kasamatsu and break through.
without prolonged engagement, Yagami Kūto passed the ball from the high post into Sendoh Akira's hands.
"Just like you said—let's play," Sendoh replied with a knowing grin.
after receiving the ball, Sendoh bent his knees, lowered his center of gravity, and assumed the triple-threat position.
"Sendoh! Sendoh!"
"The moment that Number 7 touches the ball, the arena erupts..."
"Of course it does—he's last year's Kanagawa Rookie of the Year, Sendoh!" an audience member exclaimed. "Drives, passes, shoots—he can do absolutely everything!"
10 seconds remained on the shot clock.
Sendoh suddenly accelerated, taking a long stride that instantly penetrated inside the three-point line.
"He got past him!"
"Not yet!"
with explosive footwork, Kise Ryota's turnaround was incredibly fast. Though a step behind, he stayed tight with Sendoh's movements.
"Both of them are so fast!"
Sendoh stepped into the paint and rose up.
Kobori Hiroshi, guarding the Kaijō paint, positioned himself in front of Sendoh to prevent him from getting closer to the basket.
"Kise, cut him off!" Kasamatsu called out.
Rising to contest, Kise Ryota jumped up and sealed off Sendoh's layup attempt.
"?!!"
But the moment Kasamatsu's attention shifted, Yagami Kūto had already penetrated into the free-throw lane.
Sendoh gently tossed the ball backward.
"What?!!"
Yagami Kūto caught the floating pass in mid-air, and with two defenders converging, he drove both hands down hard, slamming the ball through the rim!
BOOM!
[Ryonan 7 VS 4 Kaijō]
An alley-oop!
A poster dunk in the face of two defenders!
"He returned it that fast?!"
"Ohhhhhhh! Beautiful pass, Sendoh-senpai!"
"Clean dunk, Yagami!"
The crowd erupted with excitement around the court. Nothing felt better than answering an opponent's aggression with direct retaliation!
with a calm, light smile, "Not bad. Keep that energy up," Sendoh Akira said simply, though there was visible surprise in his eyes. This first-year was stronger than he'd anticipated.
As he jogged back on defense, Yagami Kūto suddenly turned to Kise Ryota with a grin.
"Turns out it really wasn't that hard. I can do that too," he said with genuine brightness.
laughing freely with intensity "Interesting," Kise Ryota responded, his smile radiating competitive fire. "Then let's both go all out!"
"Yeah!!"
The match had started with extraordinary intensity, and the pace of both teams' offense continued to accelerate.
On Ryonan's side, Sendoh Akira actively took on the responsibility of organizing the offense, allowing Yagami Kūto to score without hesitation. Meanwhile, Kaijō relied on Kise Ryota to handle everything—no matter how Ryonan scored, he'd respond on the next possession.
The two teams' first-year players went head-to-head, and the audience erupted in cheers over and over again.
WHISTLE!
"End of the first quarter! Rest time: 2 minutes."
(Note: Unlike the NBA, Japan uses FIBA rules—4 quarters of 10 minutes each. There's a 15-minute break between halves, and 2-minute breaks between the 1st-2nd quarters, 3rd-4th quarters, and between overtimes.)
After the first quarter: Sendoh Akira had 7 points and 3 assists. Yagami Kūto had 11 points and 2 assists. Together they'd scored 18 points, while Kise Ryota alone had 15 points and 3 assists.
finally catching his breath after the intensity of the game "The Generation of Miracles really is incredible," Yagami Kūto muttered with genuine admiration.
To put up 15 points in a single quarter while being heavily defended by Sendoh—even Rukawa Kaede probably couldn't accomplish that.
[Ryonan 27 VS 23 Kaijō]
"Look at the pathetic state of you all! How many more points are you going to let them score before you're satisfied?!" Coach Takeuchi Genta roared from Kaijō's sideline. "Are your defenders sleeping?! Huh?!"
The Kaijō sideline echoed with the coach's unsatisfied fury during the break.
Coach Taoka Moichi from Ryonan simply shook his head. Young coaches were always so impatient. This was just a practice match to adjust the team—putting this much pressure on the players wasn't helpful.
turning to Uozumi Jun with serious intensity "Uozumi, you're Ryonan's captain. Don't let yourself be shown up by a newcomer," Coach Taoka Moichi said gravely. "Isn't your goal to become Kanagawa's top center? You won't achieve that with this kind of performance. You won't stand up to Akagi."
"Akagi..." Uozumi Jun's fists clenched tightly.
"In the second quarter, I want you all to slow down the pace. They don't have a center who can stop you. Use your inside advantage!"
"Understood!"
Unlike Uozumi's intensity, Sendoh Akira maintained a relaxed demeanor from start to finish.
with an encouraging smile "You played well," Sendoh said to Yagami Kūto. "But from here on, you don't need to stay so tense. Watch how your senior plays."
"Your first lesson as a newcomer—managing your stamina," he continued calmly.
Yagami Kūto nodded in understanding. Though he and Sendoh had contained Kise Ryota with their two-on-one "justice defense," giving Ryonan the first-quarter lead, his fatigue was visibly evident compared to the other two.
However.
with a slight, confident smile "Sendoh-senpai, actually... I'm pretty good at passing too," Yagami Kūto said, offering a hint of what was to come.