Rukawa Kaede stood at 187 centimeters, while Sawakita Eiji was 188 centimeters—a mere one-centimeter difference, hardly enough to be considered a real physical gap.
Because of that, Rukawa felt he had no reason to fear Sawakita on defense.
Yet reality was cruel.
Even with his hand right in Sawakita's face, he still couldn't touch the ball. He could only watch helplessly as Sawakita's stop-and-fadeaway jumper dropped cleanly through the net.
It was infuriating.
Fortunately, Rukawa wasn't as stubborn as Sakuragi. If he couldn't stop Sawakita defensively for now, then he would get it back on offense.
Rukawa took the ball again and used the exact same move as before—a hard dribble drive, followed by a sudden stop and pull-up jumper.
This time, Sawakita hesitated.
Burned by the previous fake, his contest wasn't nearly as aggressive. Rukawa rose smoothly and released the shot without pressure.
Swish.
"Nice!" Hyuga Yuichi whistled, a faint smile forming. "Both of them are mid-range specialists, but their styles are different."
Endo, ever the technician, nodded.
"Rukawa excels at the classic stop-and-pop. With his speed and ball control, that alone is already deadly.
"Sawakita, on the other hand, adds a subtle fadeaway. With his explosive first step and balance, that makes his shot even harder to contest. From a purely practical standpoint, Sawakita's version is more complete."
Hyuga narrowed his eyes.
"But Sawakita's already shown him the road ahead. Given time, Rukawa will definitely master it too."
Endo lowered his voice.
"These two… it's like they're staring at their own reflections."
Sawakita carefully observed every movement Rukawa made, searching for flaws. But the longer he watched, the more familiar it felt.
I had the same weaknesses back then…
No wonder.
No wonder I like this guy so much.
"Slap!"
Just as Rukawa began a fake, Sawakita suddenly reached in and cleanly stripped the ball, pulling it into his arms.
Rukawa froze.
What?!
Sawakita pushed the ball forward, smiling as he passed by.
"You know," he said casually, "when you fake, your ball protection loosens. That's the easiest moment to steal."
"Tch!"
Rukawa clenched his teeth. Being stolen was bad enough—but being lectured afterward made it downright humiliating.
Crossing half-court, Sawakita took Rukawa to the wing. The rest of Sannoh immediately spaced the floor.
Sawakita passed to Matsumoto at the top, then backed Rukawa down two steps inside the arc. Matsumoto returned the ball, and Sawakita turned to face up.
He raised the ball over his head, grinning.
"Let me show you how to really protect the ball on a drive."
Annoying as the bald guy was, Rukawa didn't dare relax for even a second. One careless step, and he'd be blown past instantly.
Sawakita dropped the ball to his waist and snapped his right foot toward Rukawa's left.
A jab step.
Rukawa shifted slightly—but not too much. He knew this wasn't the real move.
Sure enough, Sawakita pulled his foot back and lifted the ball again.
Another fake.
Rukawa stayed grounded, refusing to bite.
Then—
Sawakita jabbed again, this time shorter.
That was the real one.
Rukawa's center of gravity shifted.
Got you.
Sawakita hugged the ball and exploded forward, blowing past Rukawa in a single step.
"Hmph! Just like I thought!"
Sakuragi moved instinctively, ready to help—but this wasn't his play.
To completely crush Rukawa's confidence, Sawakita didn't settle for a jumper. He attacked the paint aggressively, aiming for something spectacular.
Akagi stepped up to help.
Exactly as expected.
Sawakita cradled the ball and leaped from just inside the restricted area, shaping for a powerful dunk.
Akagi rose with him, prepared for a brutal one-on-one block.
At the peak—
Sawakita snapped his core, pulling the ball back in midair. His body seemed to float, slipping past Akagi before extending again toward the basket.
It's in.
"Watch out!"
Fukatsu's shout made Sawakita's pupils contract. Instinctively, he flung the ball away.
Too late.
A massive shadow descended from above.
"Bang!"
Nango came flying in from the three-point line, swatting the ball down with a thunderous block and sending Sawakita crashing to the floor.
Nango grabbed the ball and turned immediately, ready to ignite the fast break.
Kawata reacted without hesitation—stepping forward and wrapping him up for a hard foul, stopping the counterattack.
Damn it!
When did this bastard get here?!
Sawakita sat on the floor, stunned.
In truth, the moment Sawakita began his drive, Nango had already shifted and accelerated toward the basket. Even while conserving energy, he could still give everything on defense when it mattered.
If Sawakita had finished directly, Nango would've had no chance.
But the reverse layup?
That gave him time.
Sawakita stood up, glaring.
"You brat! How dare you ruin such a beautiful play!"
Nango rolled his eyes and turned away, completely ignoring him.
That only made Sawakita angrier.
Fukatsu quickly stepped in, grabbing him.
"Don't fall for it. He's provoking you."
Kawata nodded.
"Stay calm."
"Hmph." Sawakita shook them off. "I won't lose to him. Once we take the lead, I'll have plenty of time to deal with him slowly."
Fukatsu and Kawata exchanged a glance and nodded.
"As long as you understand."
Rukawa stood silently.
First, he'd been stripped clean.
Then, he'd been blown by in a single step.
For the first time, he truly felt how insufficient his basketball was.
His face remained expressionless—but the anger simmering beneath was unmistakable.
"Hmph."
Nango slung an arm around Rukawa's neck from behind and said quietly,
"Watch carefully. Learn properly. Then prove to Sawakita that what he can do—you can do too.
"And don't forget to learn how to pass. He's the perfect training dummy."
"Slap!"
Rukawa smacked Nango's arm away.
"Annoying."
He turned and walked back to his spot.
Nango just smiled.
He knew Rukawa had listened.
As his gaze drifted back to Sawakita, Nango chuckled inwardly.
Sawakita, you're not playing with fire…
You're handing out experience points.