"Ackerman. Grant!"
In the end, Coach Anderson named two freshmen directly into Shohoku's starting lineup.
No one was surprised—both had already proven themselves with strength and skill.
Shohoku Starting Five
Center: Charles Ackerman (193 cm, 85 kg, Freshman)
Power Forward: Ichiro Sato (188 cm, 73 kg, Sophomore)
Small Forward: Daniel Irving (183 cm, 75 kg, Senior – Captain)
Shooting Guard: Cory Grant (174 cm, 60 kg, Freshman)
Point Guard: Mark Ito (167 cm, 60 kg, Sophomore)
Ryonan Starting Five
Center: Victor "Tank" Uozumi (199 cm, 86 kg, Freshman)
Power Forward: Toyo Inoue (189 cm, 83 kg, Sophomore)
Small Forward: Oribe Sasaki (180 cm, 73 kg, Senior)
Shooting Guard: Yusaku Ozawa (176 cm, 70 kg, Senior – Captain)
Point Guard: Asahi Matsushita (166 cm, 63 kg, Sophomore)
At the tip-off, Ackerman and Uozumi squared off in the circle.
Uozumi was taller, his wingspan greater, seemingly giving him the advantage.
The whistle blew. The ball soared high.
Both centers jumped.
BANG! Their hands slapped the ball simultaneously—deadlocked in midair. At the last stretch, Uozumi barely redirected it to his point guard.
Asahi Matsushita snatched the ball clean and darted ahead, light on his feet. Mark Ito tried to cut him off but underestimated his speed. In two steps, Asahi split through, drew help from Daniel Irving, then kicked the ball perfectly to Oribe Sasaki, wide open.
Pull-up. Swish.
2–0, Ryonan.
Oribe slapped palms with Asahi as they retreated.
Shohoku's turn. Ito brought it up, wary of Asahi's pressure. But at half court, he froze—vision blocked.
"Here!" Cory rushed over to relieve him. Ito immediately swung the ball his way.
Without hesitation, Cory fed Charles Ackerman posting up near the paint.
Charles pressed his back against Uozumi, feeling the weight. He lowered his hips, grinding forward.
Uozumi braced firmly—his family owned a restaurant, and years of lugging heavy crates had built unexpected strength. He wasn't just a "rookie giant"—he was a worker, used to both cooking and labor.
Ackerman's academic focus versus Uozumi's blue-collar strength. Both brilliant in different fields, both clashing now under the rim.
BANG. BANG. They hammered each other in the post. Neither budged.
Ackerman quickly shifted gears. He spun left, then right. Footwork flashed smoother than Uozumi's. Timing it, he slipped to the baseline.
Power dribble—two steps—SLAM!
2–2.
Shohoku's bench erupted, the gorilla dunk restoring their morale instantly.
Next possession, Ryonan's Asahi called for a pick-and-roll with Uozumi. The 199 cm frame hammered into Ito, freeing Asahi to slice in.
Charles rotated up, but Asahi cleverly dropped the ball off to Toyo Inoue, who bullied past thin Ichiro Sato.
Cory streaked to double-team, nearly swiping it, but Toyo popped it up to Uozumi crashing in.
Victor rose for the dunk.
But Charles Ackerman towered back fast, planting under him—BLOCK! The ball slammed away, Uozumi sent sprawling.
The ball rolled loose. Cory dived, scooping it one-handed. Fast break!
Shohoku stormed ahead. Ryonan scrambled, missing a man as Uozumi still staggered to his feet.
5-on-4 advantage. One quick extra pass and Charles thundered in for another dunk.
Shohoku takes the lead.
On the very next Ryonan possession, Uozumi demanded the ball.
"Give it here!" he shouted, chest to chest with Charles. He had to prove himself in front of Coach Tian.
Asahi lobbed it inside.
Victor pounded dribbles, backing Charles with all strength. But Charles held.
Frustrated, Uozumi copied Charles's earlier spin-footwork—but it was stiff, obvious. Charles anticipated, pinning him down.
Shot clock ticking, Uozumi rose recklessly for a head-on dunk attempt.
The gym held its breath—giant vs. giant, colliding again.