Chapter Six: Games and One-on-One
"Jin-senpai..."
After witnessing Kise Ryota's offensive onslaught firsthand, Kiyota Nobunaga fell uncharacteristically silent. He'd thought his only real rival in Kanagawa was that Rukawa Kaede guy, but now...
More confusing still—if Kaijo had a player like Kise Ryota, why were they the ones playing catch-up?
"Coach, let me back in for the fourth quarter," Yagami Sorato said. "I'm rested."
Coach Taoka glanced at the two Kainan players who'd just arrived, then spoke thoughtfully. "Not yet. You just joined Ryonan—take more time observing how your teammates play."
"As a point guard, your passing ability is excellent, but your chemistry with teammates needs work."
"Fooling opponents is good, but there's no need to leave your own teammates confused about your intentions."
"In the second quarter, both Koshino and Uozumi hesitated when they caught your passes. In an official game against a strong defensive team, even that split-second could be exploited."
Yagami fell silent, seriously considering Coach Taoka's words.
On the surface, both his assists and Sendoh's effectively helped the team score. But there was a clear difference between them.
Setting aside technical factors, from the receiver's perspective, catching Sendoh's passes felt comfortable—like the ball arrived exactly where you expected it, allowing you to flow smoothly into shooting or attacking motions. Catching Yagami's passes was more of a surprise. That surprise element also caught opponents off guard, creating those unexpected scoring chances.
"Yeah, I understand," Yagami nodded. He'd always considered Coach Taoka an exceptional coach—not just insightful, but genuinely attentive to his players both on and off the court.
"Good, good. Glad you get it." Coach Taoka had expected to explain further, pleasantly surprised by how receptive this first-year was. Perhaps the basketball gods had finally rewarded his persistence—after Sendoh Akira, they'd sent him another genius, and one without attitude problems at that.
Speaking of attitude problems, Coach Taoka suddenly thought of Fukuda Kicchou, now a second-year. If only he could bring that kid back to the team...
TWEET!
"Fourth quarter begins!"
Kasamatsu Yukio brought the ball to the frontcourt and fed it to Kise Ryota.
"That guy's still not coming back in? Is he scared or something?" Kise taunted Sendoh. "You can't win without him on the floor."
"Is that so?" Sendoh smiled dismissively. "Though you look pretty exhausted yourself. Want to take a breather?"
"Hmph. I'll rest," Kise locked eyes with Sendoh, "after we beat you!"
Kise's first step exploded forward. Reading Sendoh's defensive angle, he immediately hit a massive crossover.
No hesitation, no fake—pure speed. He shook Sendoh and penetrated inside the three-point line!
"Sendoh-senpai's defense looks weird. How'd he get blown by so easily?" Kiyota looked puzzled. "Kise broke him down the same way in the third quarter—I thought Sendoh would have it figured out by now."
"Watch closely," Jin advised.
After getting beaten, Sendoh showed no hesitation whatsoever—he immediately spun and chased Kise like he'd been expecting it all along.
Uozumi Jun charged at Kise again, practically recreating that final third-quarter possession—except this time, Sendoh was coming to trap!
"Don't underestimate me!"
Kise took an aggressive step forward, rising for his shot before the double team could fully form!
"Perfect timing!"
Jin's eyes lit up. He'd always felt his shooting lacked something. While his catch-and-shoot three-point percentage was high, contested shots became difficult. He'd always thought it was his release speed, but no amount of practice seemed to help.
"If you read the defender's movement and create timing advantages by adjusting distance and positioning..."
CLANG!
Unfortunately, the mid-range two missed.
The ball caromed high off the rim.
Rebound!
"BOX OUT!" Kise shouted. If it didn't drop, he'd grab the board and score again!
Kobori used his positioning advantage to seal Uozumi. Kise crashed the paint as all three players elevated simultaneously.
"RAAAH!"
Boxed out by two defenders, Uozumi had little chance of securing the rebound. With a roar, he swatted the ball out with one hand.
"SENDOH!"
The ball flew right. Sendoh snatched it and immediately pushed in transition.
Kasamatsu stayed glued to his hip. Driving into the free-throw line, Sendoh rose, then dished to Ikegami Ryoji trailing the play.
SWISH!
Ikegami's mid-range jumper dropped.
Ryonan 80 - 78 Kaijo
"Nice shot, Ikegami-senpai!"
"Ha ha, you made a great pass!"
Sendoh and Ikegami slapped hands before sprinting back on defense.
"Damn it!" Kasamatsu swung his fist in frustration. Whenever Sendoh touched the ball, it felt like he was being led around by the nose.
Kaijo inbound. After Kasamatsu advanced, Kise called for another iso.
Last possession was just a slight shooting error—this time he'd knock it down for sure!
Kasamatsu glanced at the bench. Coach Takeuchi nodded. This practice game was designed for Kise anyway. In his view, Kise's performance against Sendoh had been excellent. Today, Kaijo would defeat Ryonan's ace head-on!
Kise caught the ball, focus intensifying.
Sendoh dropped into his stance with a smile. "The way I see it, playing in a game and playing one-on-one are two completely different things."
"Huh?" Kise didn't understand. Weren't they doing exactly that—playing one-on-one?
"Don't worry. You'll understand after you lose this game."
"Who's losing?!"
Kise attacked with rapid dribbles, easily blowing past Sendoh. He saw the big center charging at him again, but this time he was ready.
"KISE! LEFT SIDE!"
"What?!"
Koshino appeared on Kise's left flank out of nowhere, reaching for the strip!
Kise gathered the ball and held it high, suddenly surrounded by Ryonan players!
A triple team!
Was this what Sendoh meant?
"Pass it out!"
SMACK!
While Kise hesitated, Sendoh snatched the ball from above and immediately pushed the break.
"Damn!"
This time Kaijo was prepared—both Kasamatsu and Hayakawa chased in transition.
Ikegami trailed a step behind the three of them.
"Is it a layup? Or a pass?" Kasamatsu's mind raced. Sendoh's movements gave away nothing.
BOOM!
Sendoh drove to the free-throw line and elevated. Kasamatsu could only jump and try to obstruct his path.
BANG!
Kasamatsu got knocked out of bounds, landing hard on his backside.
Sendoh threw down a one-handed tomahawk!
Ryonan 82 - 78 Kaijo
TWEET!
Blocking foul on Kasamatsu. And-one opportunity.
SWISH!
Sendoh calmly sank the free throw.
Ryonan 83 - 78 Kaijo
"Kasamatsu-senpai, I'm sorry," Kise said, head lowered.
"Save it for after the game!"
Kasamatsu slapped Kise's shoulder hard, expression grim.
So Ryonan had decided to fully commit to trapping Kise in the fourth quarter. Still, that meant Kaijo's other players would get open looks. The timing was late, but Kaijo had dealt with this situation countless times before.
The game wasn't over yet!
Kaijo inbound.
When Kise didn't have the ball, Ryonan still kept Sendoh on him in single coverage. So Kasamatsu fed it to Kise as usual.
"Going again?" Sendoh asked mockingly.
"Going again!" Kise finally refocused on his original target.
Sendoh might not be able to lock down Kise completely, but he wasn't getting blown by easily either. The reason Kise could beat him off the dribble was because Sendoh deliberately gave him that lane—positioning himself perfectly for Ryonan to form the triple team.
Still, the trap was an honest strategy. Kise knew it was coming but had no better answer.
This time, after penetrating inside the arc and drawing the defense, he decisively kicked it out to Nakamura Shinya on the weak side.
Wide-open three. Perfect look!
CLANG!
"What?!"
The ball rattled off the rim and bounced high. Uozumi easily secured the board.
"Heh heh. Can't touch the ball all game and expect to knock down shots at crunch time?" Coach Taoka chuckled smugly. "If only it were that easy to find role players that effective."
"Game rhythm affects shooting touch."
"Let's take it slow," Sendoh controlled the ball, deliberately slowing the pace. "We're getting one more bucket!"
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