Chapter Two: I Can Do That Too
"Run the offense properly. No more showboating like that last play," Uozumi Jun rumbled in his deep voice.
"Got it."
Yagami Sorato didn't bother explaining himself. The initial rush of excitement was fading—he needed to focus and play smart basketball.
Ryonan inbound.
The moment Yagami Sorato crossed half court with the ball, Kasamatsu Yukio pressed up tight on defense.
WHOOSH!
Without hesitation, Yagami fired a pass. Sendoh Akira caught it and immediately rose for a jumper.
SWISH!
Ryonan 5 - 2 Kaijo
"Beautiful pass!"
Sendoh jogged back on defense with a smile, slapping hands with Yagami Sorato.
"They're playing disciplined basketball," Kasamatsu muttered. "I expected that guy to play more selfishly."
"Then I'll just have to pick up the pace!" Kise said seriously.
Kaijo inbound. Kise pushed the ball forward.
After crossing half court, Sendoh defended him with about an arm's length of space.
The strategy was designed to prevent Kise from using his speed to blow past, while Sendoh's quick reflexes would still allow him to contest any three-point attempt—he only needed those few tenths of a second when Kise gathered the ball to react.
WHOOSH!
The basketball zipped into Kasamatsu's hands.
"He passed too? Does this guy only know how to copy people?"
Boos echoed from the Ryonan sideline.
Kasamatsu rose up. Koshino Hiroaki jumped with him to contest.
But he didn't shoot!
Kasamatsu fired a bounce pass to the floor.
Kise had already slashed into the paint, catching the ball mid-stride and exploding upward in one fluid motion.
"When did he—?!"
"Bring it!" Uozumi roared. Even though he was a step late, he fearlessly launched himself skyward.
BOOM!
Kise threw down a thunderous dunk over Uozumi!
Ryonan 5 - 4 Kaijo
A poster dunk!
And he'd posterized a seven-foot center!
The visual impact was absolutely explosive!
"WOOO! KISE! KISE!"
"Can't believe that guy has that much power."
Kise landed and pointed his finger first at Yagami Sorato, then at Sendoh Akira.
"Doesn't matter if it's you or you—I'll take you both on at once if you want."
Sendoh turned away with a carefree smile. "The rookies these days sure have personality."
Yagami Sorato stared at the ball on the floor, his expression thoughtful.
"What are you thinking about?" Sendoh asked.
"I want to try that too." Yagami ran through the sequence in his mind. "Doesn't seem that difficult."
"Oh?" Sendoh drew out the word with interest. "Then let's give it a shot."
Ryonan inbound. Yagami Sorato brought the ball up court.
Unlike Sendoh's defensive approach against Kise, Kasamatsu chose to press tight against Yagami Sorato.
The strategy came down to height differential.
At five-foot-ten, Kasamatsu couldn't give a six-foot-two player like Yagami any breathing room, or he'd get pulled up on for an easy jumper.
Tight pressure had another advantage—unless Yagami possessed explosive first-step speed, it would be nearly impossible to simply bull through and accelerate past Kasamatsu.
Rather than waste time battling Kasamatsu, Yagami lobbed a high pass to Sendoh.
"Like you said—let's have some fun."
Catching the ball, Sendoh dropped into a triple threat stance, knees bent, lowering his center of gravity.
"SENDOH! SENDOH!"
The moment the ball touched the number seven's hands, the gymnasium erupted.
"That's only natural—he's last year's Kanagawa Rookie of the Year!" a spectator nearby explained.
"Drives, passes, shooting—he can do it all!"
Ten seconds left on the shot clock.
Sendoh exploded forward, covering massive ground in a single stride as he penetrated inside the three-point line.
"He's past him!"
"Not yet!"
Kise's recovery speed was incredible. Though he'd been beaten on the first step, he stayed glued to Sendoh's hip.
"They're both so fast!"
Sendoh entered the paint and took flight.
Kaijo's center, Kobori Koji, positioned himself in front of Sendoh, preventing him from getting any closer to the rim.
"Kise, block him!" Kasamatsu shouted.
Kise caught up and elevated, cutting off Sendoh's layup angle.
"?!!"
In the split second Kasamatsu's attention shifted, Yagami Sorato had already cut to the free-throw line.
Sendoh softly lobbed the ball behind him.
"What?!"
Yagami caught the basketball in mid-air and, facing two Kaijo defenders in the paint, hammered it through the rim with both hands!
BOOM!
Ryonan 7 - 4 Kaijo
An alley-oop!
A poster dunk over two defenders!
"He already answered back?!"
"YEAH! GREAT PASS, SENDOH-SENPAI!"
"SICK DUNK, YAGAMI!"
The crowd roared with excitement. Nothing felt better than answering your opponent's challenge head-on!
"Not bad. Keep it up," Sendoh said calmly, though his eyes showed a hint of pleasant surprise. This first-year was considerably stronger than expected.
Yagami jogged back on defense, then suddenly turned and flashed Kise a smile. "Turns out it really wasn't that hard. I can do that too."
"Interesting." Kise's grin turned fierce. "Then let's go full throttle!"
"YEAH!"
From the opening tip, the game exploded with intensity. Both teams pushed the tempo faster and faster.
On Ryonan's side, Sendoh took over organizing the offense, freeing Yagami Sorato to score without hesitation. For Kaijo, Kise Ryota shouldered the entire load—no matter how Ryonan scored, he answered back on the very next possession.
The two first-years traded baskets in a spectacular duel, drawing roar after roar from the captivated crowd.
TWEET!
"End of the first quarter! Two-minute break."
Unlike the NBA, Japan follows FIBA rules—four ten-minute quarters. There's a fifteen-minute halftime break, with two-minute breaks between the first and second quarters, third and fourth quarters, and any overtime periods.
First quarter stats: Sendoh Akira with 7 points and 3 assists, Yagami Sorato with 11 points and 2 assists—18 points combined. Kise Ryota alone had 15 points and 3 assists.
"The Generation of Miracles really are something else," Yagami murmured, finally coming down from his competitive high. Even with Sendoh defending him, Kise had dropped 15 points in a single quarter. Even Rukawa Kaede probably couldn't do that.
Ryonan 27 - 23 Kaijo
"LOOK AT YOURSELVES! HOW MANY POINTS ARE YOU GOING TO LET THEM SCORE BEFORE YOU'RE SATISFIED?!" Coach Takeuchi roared from Kaijo's bench. "ARE THE DEFENDERS SLEEPING OUT THERE?! HUH?!"
Coach Takeuchi's furious voice carried across the gym during the timeout.
Coach Taoka shook his head. Young coaches were always so impatient. This was just a practice game to prepare the team—no need to tear into the players like that.
"Uozumi, you're Ryonan's captain. Don't let the rookies show you up," Coach Taoka said seriously, looking at Uozumi Jun. "Your goal is to become Kanagawa's number one center, isn't it? This kind of performance won't cut it against Akagi."
"Akagi..." Uozumi clenched his fists.
"Second quarter, I want you to slow the pace down. They don't have anyone who can handle Uozumi inside. Exploit that size advantage!"
"Understood!"
Unlike Uozumi's tension, Sendoh maintained his relaxed demeanor throughout.
"Nice job out there," Sendoh said to Yagami with a smile. "But next quarter, don't push yourself so hard. Watch how your seniors play."
"First lesson for rookies—pace yourself."
Yagami nodded. Though he and Sendoh had used their two-on-one advantage to contain Kise and give Ryonan the first-quarter lead, unlike the other two, his fatigue was obvious.
Still...
"Actually, Sendoh-senpai, I'm pretty good at passing too."
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