Sendoh was in disbelief.
Just a moment ago, he was sure his hand was about to swat the ball away. But Kenichi Uesugi, in mid-air, suddenly leaned backward—causing Sendoh's block to miss entirely.
"Oh my god!""Kenichi Uesugi scored over Sendoh!""Was that a fadeaway?""It kinda looked like it, but… something was different!"
Sendoh listened to the excited chatter from the sidelines and silently shook his head.
That wasn't a fadeaway.
Others might not have noticed, but he had seen it clearly. Kenichi had jumped straight up—vertically. A classic fadeaway involves the shooter jumping backward during the jump itself, using momentum to create space.
But Kenichi had done something else entirely.
He went straight up—and then, in mid-air, forced his body to tilt backward. That unexpected shift made the block impossible.
Sendoh had never seen anything like it before.
"This guy… he's seriously strong. No wonder he had the guts to shoot over me like that."
Not far away, Ikegami Ryoji—still emotionally nursing his bruised ego—watched Sendoh with wide eyes.
Suddenly, he felt… a little better.
After all, he had been scored on without even being prepared. But Kenichi had just scored on Sendoh, despite close-range defense.
"Compared to that, I guess I wasn't that bad," Ikegami thought with a strange sense of relief.
For some reason, his mood had lifted.
On the bench, Coach Taoka Moichi couldn't help but grin again. The last shred of doubt in his heart had finally vanished.
He had initially worried that Kenichi Uesugi's offensive arsenal was too limited. If he relied solely on quick-release shooting, opponents could easily target that weakness and neutralize him.
But clearly, he had worried for nothing.
Not only did Kenichi possess a powerful fast-release shot, he also had that mid-air backward shot—a lethal weapon, judging from how even Sendoh couldn't stop it.
In terms of pure offensive ability, Kenichi Uesugi was already on the same level as Sendoh.
And that realization brought Coach Taoka immense joy.
Back on the court, the blue team began their attack. Uekusa brought the ball across half-court and wasted no time—he immediately passed it to Sendoh.
He knew his teammate well. Sendoh was going to get those points back.
Receiving the pass, Sendoh instantly launched into his offensive rhythm. His defender this time was Masahiro Masa.
Masahiro had looked great against most rookies in the recent newcomer scrimmage—except for Kenichi Uesugi.
But now, facing Sendoh, he was clearly outmatched.
Every move he made on defense had glaring holes, and in Sendoh's eyes, it was like seeing a clear path through a sieve.
After a few dribbles to bait him, Sendoh exploded forward—Masahiro barely even tried to stop him.
He simply couldn't.
Sendoh barrelled into the paint, intent on scoring.
At that moment, Kenichi Uesugi stepped up to defend him.
And that was exactly what Sendoh had been waiting for.
He wanted to score on Uesugi. Personally.
Dribbling rapidly, his posture screamed aggression. He looked ready to attack at any second.
Meanwhile, Kenichi's eyes were calm—calculating.
He had already begun to imitate Takao Kazunari's "Hawk Eye" technique from Kuroko no Basuke—a skill that grants near panoramic court awareness.
Through careful observation, Kenichi quickly drew a conclusion:
First—Sendoh wasn't going to pass. After blowing past Masahiro, he had a clean look. But instead of shooting, he had chosen to drive further in. That meant he wanted to take Kenichi head-on.
Second—They were already in close range. If Sendoh tried a forced shot now, it would be risky.
No, he wasn't going to shoot.
He was going to break through.
From his wide-angle view, Kenichi noticed something else—Yuzumi and Sugahira were already stationed under the basket to the right.
That path was blocked.
The only lane left? The left side.
Knowing this, Kenichi made a subtle move—a small step to his right, a bait.
Sure enough, Sendoh spotted the gap and took it, immediately driving left.
On the sidelines, Ikegami shouted, beaming with confidence:
"Sendoh broke through Uesugi! He's gonna score!"
But at that moment, just as Sendoh moved past—
Kenichi snapped into action.
Anticipating the move, he turned sharply, and in one swift motion—stripped the ball clean from Sendoh's hands.
"He stole it?!""No way!! Sendoh just got picked!""This rookie… he's unreal. Even Sendoh can't get past him!"
Sendoh froze for a second—completely stunned.
He had been read.
Kenichi had predicted his move so accurately that he didn't even get the chance to respond.
"His court awareness is insane…" Sendoh thought, impressed despite himself.
Nearby, Ikegami Ryoji stood frozen.
His face twisted in disbelief.
He'd been slapped in the face again.
From the very beginning of the game, none of his predictions had been right.
He had said Kenichi wouldn't score over Sendoh—he did.He had said Sendoh would blow past him—he didn't.
Although Sendoh's failed attempts made Ikegami feel slightly vindicated at first, the repeated blow to his pride was still hard to ignore.
His feelings at that moment were… complicated.
Very, very complicated.
Off the court, Coach Taoka watched closely, deeply impressed by Kenichi's incredible perception.
Using a sharp understanding of court dynamics, he had analyzed the situation and perfectly predicted Sendoh's path.
That kind of foresight… would be deadly in real matches.
Still, Taoka knew Sendoh well.
He hadn't shown his full strength yet.
And stopping this version of Sendoh?
That wouldn't be so easy next time.