The whistle blew, and Sawakita Eiji advanced with the ball.
He had no intention of passing to Fukatsu, simply stopping outside the three-point line, his gaze fixed on Morohoshi Dai.
The Ryonan Team members in the stands held their breath—this was going to be a head-on one-on-one.
Sawakita suddenly moved his feet, faking with a left-hand dribble, seemingly about to break through Morohoshi Dai's left side, but then sharply flipped his wrist, transferred the ball to his right hand, and charged to the right, body pressed against Morohoshi Dai's arm.
This change of direction was as fast as the wind; an ordinary guard would have been beaten long ago, but Morohoshi Dai seemed to have anticipated it, shifting half a step sideways to block him steadily, his arm raised high, fingertips almost touching the basketball.
Sawakita, however, did not panic. When he reached the free-throw line, he suddenly stopped, jumped, and arched his body in the air. After evading Morohoshi Dai's block, he flicked his wrist—the basketball arced high and dropped into the hoop, swishing through the net.
4:2.
As Sawakita landed, he glanced at Morohoshi Dai, his eyes carrying his usual arrogance.
Aiwa's offense.
Morohoshi Dai received the ball outside the three-point line. This time, he didn't wait for Sawakita to get close, immediately dribbling sideways, his left shoulder pressing against Sawakita's chest as he squeezed inward.
Sawakita tried to reach out and steal the ball, but Morohoshi Dai suddenly executed a behind-the-back dribble, switching the ball from his left hand to his right, while simultaneously accelerating his feet, slipping past Sawakita through the gap created by his raised arm.
Masashi Kawata was about to provide help defense, but Morohoshi Dai flicked his wrist and lobbed the ball towards the basket—Toyotomi Takayuki of Aiwa had just cut to position and jumped for a dunk.
But Mikio Kawata was much taller than him; he extended his long arm and slammed the ball against the backboard!
With a dull thud, the basketball bounced back into Morohoshi Dai's hands.
He jumped almost immediately upon landing, facing the returning Sawakita, he hung in the air for half a second, and only when Sawakita's block missed, did he gently flick his wrist, and the ball grazed the rim and rolled in.
4:4.
Taoka Moichi in the stands stroked his chin and sighed softly, "This Morohoshi Dai kid... he can actually contend with Sawakita this year?"
Uozumi Jun next to him was stunned for a moment and asked, "Coach, are you saying... he's catching up to Sawakita?"
Taoka shook his head, his gaze sweeping across Aiwa's half-court—Fukumori Suzuki was standing in place, panting, Nakata Sakuyoshi was still picking up the ball under the basket. When Morohoshi Dai broke through just now, not a single teammate could keep up with his pace.
"He can contend, but it's a pity."
"A pity for what?" Fukuda Kiccho leaned over and asked.
"It's a pity that Aiwa doesn't have anyone who can properly team up with him." Taoka's voice deepened, "Sawakita has Fukatsu controlling the tempo and Kawata for help defense; he just needs to attack freely. But what about Morohoshi Dai? If a teammate could have run one more step to assist on that last play, why would he have needed to jump a second time himself? No matter how strong a solo player is, he can't withstand Sannoh's collective defense."
No sooner had he finished speaking than Sawakita moved on the court again.
This time, he didn't force a breakthrough, but instead dribbled around Mikio Kawata for half a circle, using the screen to suddenly stop and jump shoot.
Morohoshi Dai was half a beat slow in getting around the screen, and could only watch as the ball swished through the net. 6:4.
Aiwa attacked, and Morohoshi Dai drove towards the basket with the ball, Sawakita sticking to him tightly.
Just as he was about to reach the restricted area, Morohoshi Dai wanted to pass the ball to Jun Norisachi, who was cutting, but Jun Norisachi inexplicably ran half a step in the opposite direction—the ball went directly out of bounds.
Morohoshi Dai looked back at Jun Norisachi, frowned, but said nothing.
Sawakita stood opposite him, a slight smirk on his lips—even if that pass had been accurate, Fukatsu of Sannoh would have already been waiting to steal it.
Sendoh Akira in the stands lightly tapped his knee and continued Taoka's thought: "Indeed. In one-on-one, they're evenly matched, but the team's a far cry."
When Taoka Moichi heard Sendoh's "evenly matched," his brow shot up, as if he'd heard something absurd, and he snorted with a hint of disdain: "Evenly matched? Far from it."
This made the few players nearby pause, and Fukuda Kiccho scratched his head: "But their scores were pretty close just now..."
"Close scores mean evenly matched?" Taoka lifted his chin towards the court, his gaze on Sawakita—at that moment, Sawakita was casually dribbling the ball with one hand, waiting for Aiwa's defense, even having the leisure to wipe sweat from his forehead, looking as relaxed as if he were playing a practice game.
"Do you see Sawakita's demeanor? Does he look like he's giving his all?"
He paused, then pointed his finger at Morohoshi Dai, who was bent over, panting on the court. Morohoshi Dai had just chased Sawakita back and forth twice, his jersey around his neck was soaked, and his chest was heaving much more noticeably than Sawakita's. "Now look at Morohoshi Dai. His last spin move and breakthrough, his footwork was much slower. It looks like he's already starting to tire."
Uozumi Jun followed his gaze and indeed noticed something: "Coach, are you saying... Sawakita isn't using his full strength?"
"Mm." Taoka's voice was a bit lower, with a hint of certainty, "Sannoh deliberately let them play one-on-one. Fukatsu clearly could have passed to Kawata for an inside play just now, but he insisted on giving the ball to Sawakita; Kawata held back half a step when providing help defense, not truly getting close to Morohoshi Dai—to put it plainly, they're letting Sawakita 'play' with Morohoshi Dai by himself."
He glanced at Sannoh's bench. Coach Domoto was standing with his hands behind his back, not even holding a tactics board, clearly not panicking at all.
"How arrogant is that Sawakita kid? In games, he loves to challenge the best players one-on-one, and Fukatsu and the others indulge him, knowing that no one can stop him when he wants to go solo. But this is all temporary."
"Temporary?" Tomoyuki Uekusa asked softly.
"Just wait and see." No sooner had Taoka finished speaking than Sawakita moved on the court.
Sawakita still had the ball. This time, he even skipped the fake, just standing straight in front of Morohoshi Dai, the rhythm of his right-hand dribble impossibly slow, as if deliberately letting Morohoshi Dai see clearly.
Morohoshi Dai dared not relax, lowering his center of gravity even more, his arms spread wide, blocking him completely.
Suddenly, Sawakita flicked his wrist, and the basketball, as if stuck to his hand, switched from his right hand to his left. At the same time, his left foot lightly tapped, and his body, using that momentum, slid half a step to the left—the movement was slow, yet it exuded an indescribable composure.
Just as Morohoshi Dai was about to shift sideways to intercept, Sawakita's left wrist flipped again, and the ball returned to his right hand. Simultaneously, he fiercely pushed off with his right foot, and his entire body shot to the right like an arrow released from a bow!
This move was so fast that the actions were impossible to see clearly. Morohoshi Dai only felt a blur before his eyes; Sawakita had already shot past his side, not even brushing his jersey.
By the time he turned to chase, Sawakita was already under the basket, even having the leisure to switch hands for a layup in mid-air—the basketball lightly kissed the backboard and dropped steadily into the hoop. 8:4.
When Sawakita landed, he hadn't even broken much of a sweat. The casualness in his eyes when he turned to look at Morohoshi Dai was even more evident than before.
A low gasp rippled through the stands. Those two dribble changes of direction just now looked effortlessly playful, yet the speed and timing were perfectly executed, more startling than his previous forceful breakthroughs—was this what he looked like without exerting himself? What would he be like when he truly put in effort?
Aiwa attacked, and Morohoshi Dai gritted his teeth, driving inside with the ball. He was truly giving his all, even carrying a fierce intensity when he bumped Sawakita away.
But Sawakita seemed unaffected, retreating with him. When Morohoshi Dai reached the basket and tried to jump, Sawakita suddenly raised his hand—not for a block, but just his fingertips lightly touched the side of the basketball.
Just that one touch completely disrupted Morohoshi Dai's shooting rhythm. The ball hit the front rim and bounced out, and Masashi Kawata snatched the rebound.
Morohoshi Dai stood in place, his chest heaving violently. That last breath seemed to have caught in his throat, and his face had paled slightly.
He watched Sawakita's retreating figure as he turned to defend, showing a hint of panic for the first time.
Taoka Moichi in the stands nodded slightly, as if confirming his own words: "See? Sawakita just got half a bit serious, and Morohoshi Dai can barely keep up. No matter how strong a solo player is, what's the use if he runs out of energy? Not to mention..." He glanced at the bewildered Aiwa players, "He doesn't even have anyone around him to offer him a drink of water."
The score on the court had quietly become 10:4. Sawakita nodded to Fukatsu when he returned to defense. Fukatsu patted his arm, saying nothing, but the indulgence in his eyes was unmistakable—let you play a little longer, but it's almost time.