The egos are on stake and the second half of this practice match has not even started yet. I like it when they are playing calmly and not trying to be over smart. It really makes me happy to see them playing like that. Because mostly it’s the opposite. No conflicts took place in two episodes in a row and that’s a really good progress. But jokes apart, when it comes to the ego, things do become interesting and that’s what make this match so intriguing, no matter which team is more tensed. Taro was the main focus in the last episode and he deserved that as he played really well and then there is Momoharu who has to prove himself against a team member.
Taro sees Sora as a rival and that’s not just about basketball, there are some other matters involve, like love. But he is using basketball to prove himself against him. It’ about his self-esteem and therefore he has to defeat him and it is unavoidable to the extent that even the coach can see that and benefitted from it. Without any doubt Taro is a great player but he is not the only played with those skills in his team. Although when something provokes him, he tend to play more independently which can lead to some bigger problems. Interestingly, Sora is not like him and he has no taken it up as a matter of ego. For him it’s just a match against a good team where he wants to prove himself as a good player but one different thing in this match is that he is not been self-obsessed and playing as a team player.
But it’s the ego that intrigued me the most in this episode and I hope that it’s the Momoharu’s ego that thy focus more in the next episode. I can’t get over Konishi appearing in the last episode and summoned Chiaki and Momoharu for leaving the game. It shows how dedicated he is and show what it’s like to be a true player like that. It is kind of a debate and I’m interested to see how they will show it. Things have started to become intense when Konishi straight forwardly asked Momoharu about the shots. I want to see when this conflict get more heat up.
As far as the team goes, I am really happy for them and to see them develop. This practice match shows how they have evolved as a team. This was unexpected as it could have been problematic if Kite would be up against everyone and Chucky and Nabe would be having fun on their own but things didn’t go like that. They handled the situation very well and are not letting anything come in their way. What will happen in the end? It seems like thing won’t go well since the opponent’s coach is planning something. But still the match is good for the team as it helped them develop some confidence as a team.
Yasuharu is worth mentioning as finally he got the opportunity to get the spotlight. The best scene was when he suddenly punched Sora on his face. It was unpredictable and I like it.
We have not reached the second half of the game but it looks like the second half will be fast paced. It gets frustrating to watch one game for more than two episodes. I hope that the match concludes within the next two episodes before it starts getting boring. But this match is also very important as it shows where or team stand and it also shows a strong opponent who might be faced by our team in the long run. The match become interesting when the opponent is this strong as the match becomes unpredictable making it more exciting and thrilling. One cannot get too much over confident but it shows the coordination of the players with each other. No matter how strong the opponent is but our team is coping well while coordinating well with each other.
