“Both aces are moody & unpredictable.” - Shinichi Maki

“If you want to beat me, you’ll have to practice to death.”
"In the end I know I’ll be the winner, which makes it more exciting.”

Sendoh isn’t hailed the “True Genius” of basketball for nothing. His superb team play is what gives him that ever-so-slight but crucial edge over Rukawa. Sendoh gains control over the playing field and maximizes his team with exceptional passing skills and uncanny foresight. This ace can shoot from any position no matter what the range and can also play any post, from point guard to forward to center. Being a bold attacker, his signature shots include slam dunking despite the toughest defenses and swishing and spinning the ball into the hoop. He has mastered every dribbling technique and can execute flawless exhibitions and stunts, among them being the alley-oop, and getting the ball into the hoop even when thrown off balance or off-range. Apart from his incredible shooting skills, this “Ace” can deploy cunning tactics when the situation calls for it. Strategically fouling opponents, duplicating moves and faking passes are only to name a few of the handiest tricks in his court arsenal.

To be fooled by his calm and carefree exterior is a game lost. That’s how dangerous a player Akira Sendoh can be. Like a trained samurai, he’ll conceal his maximum capabilities and “100%” efficiency till it is absolutely needed in a game. It sounds supercilious, but believe it or not, Sendoh is that good, so playing with everything he’s got often isn’t necessary to win a game. Akira Sendoh may well be the best cager in all of Japan, but he won’t let you know that, until it’s too late.

“Play hard, till you have no regrets.”
“If you don’t want to win, get the hell out of the court!”
“You’ll be in my shadow soon.”

Rukawa the unprecedented “Demon of Offense” as Sendoh himself had put it. Rukawa executes fatal attacks from any position and no matter what the range. Slam dunking against impossible odds, dunking backwards, fade-away shots, flawless lay-ups and three-pointers are some of his superb signature moves. Aside from delivering shots with amazing speed and accuracy, he is also exceptional in feigning shots, stealing, dribbling, receiving and delivering passes.

Crafty enough to be able to duplicate any opponent’s move, you’ll find Rukawa often using your own tactics against you, to demonstrate that he’s no mere freshman to be trifled with! He defied Sendoh’s alley-oop the very first time they met, and he’s been defying every rival who got in his path ever since. Rukawa has also mastered the art of “foul-management”, meaning he can make his opponents foul him while shooting, often incurring the advantageous “basket-count, one throw” or when deemed necessary, he fouls opponents to prevent them from scoring, which is what Ayako would refer to as a “good foul”. It’s truly incredible then, that in his team he never has “foul trouble”, so his offense and defense aren’t hindered even the slightest. Unlike other players on court, Rukawa’s gambles are almost perfectly failsafe and he always proves to be an asset to a team. Because of Rukawa’s indomitable concentration on court, he is perhaps the most dangerous challenger to be feared, for when he aims for a goal, he stops at nothing to get it.

So far, Sendoh has not shown any real weaknesses… Except one time, during the Ryonan vs. Kainan game, he was oddly distracted for no apparent reason. I have my theories, and I discussed them in the Hints section. Now, I think this guy’s only real weakness, is himself! Sendoh is way too good for his team and most of his opponents, which is why someone so exulted a player, isn’t always motivated to give a hundred percent. He easily gets bored, so most of the time he’s just playing out of obligation to his team and his coach. This would explain why Sendoh sometimes looks lackluster in a game. It’s characteristic of him to allow a subtle slip-up now and then, just to make a match more interesting. After all, this guy’s a genius, remember? Sadly, no matter how great a player you are, it isn’t always enough. In the event that Ryonan does play against a strong opponent, this ace may have his fun, but most of the time, he still falls on the loosing end, because Ryonan’s offense and defense rely solely and heavily upon his shoulders… This is why he didn’t make it to the Inter-High Games even if he deserved to more than anyone else. *sniff* Akira kawaisou…

Rukawa on the other hand, is quite notorious for a couple of “proclaimed” weaknesses. First, upon Rukawa’s own solicitation, Sendoh advised him that the only way he could ever be stronger was if he could exercise more team play. Yayoi Aida –Hikoichi’s journalist onesan- had the same initial observation. He often takes matters into his own hands to make up for his team’s quirks, but Rukawa does it because he can, and not because his team is weak. Bah, who cares?! What he may lack in team play, is amply compensated by his ruthless determination, which more often than not, works the needed miracles! He managed to pull off one of these unbelievable feats during the Shohoku vs. Kainan game, but he had to be subbed out due to over-fatigue. Because of this, many fans have labelled Rukawa as one who has “weak stamina”, which brings us to the second “proclaimed” weakness. I don’t consider that a weakness though, because realistically speaking, any true basketball fan would know that even in the NBA, no one plays like the devil for an entire 45 minute game without being subbed, because it’s freakin’ impossible (unless of course you are the devil himself)! Even the superstars get subbed out usually two or three times during a game, alternating with other players so they are allowed short periods of rest! And nobody —I daresay not even Michael Jordan— could pull-off the stunts Rukawa did in the Kainan game and still look as gorgeous! Hehe… Isn’t that right your Air-ness? *nudge nudge* (Michael Jordan: *sweatdrop*)

Overall, these aces also share common weaknesses: They have a tendency to be careless, overconfident, (and according to Maki) moody and unpredictable!

Sendoh’s Average Field Goal Percentage: Estimated 95%

Haruko mentioned that the highest score Sendoh had once garnered in one of their games was a whopping 60 pts!!! That is no ordinary feat! In an average game, most NBA players usually gain around 40 points-max! This means that in that game alone, Sendoh owned 80 percent of the entire game’s score! This guy also ranks highly in terms of assisting and rebounding, and he’s not even on the list of regular foul-getters! Sendoh has only been significantly fouled once by Kaede Rukawa, and he incurred a “pushing” foul! Nyehehe.

Rukawa’s Average Field Goal Percentage: Estimated 94%

Again thanks to Haruko’s Trivia: During Rukawa’s Tomigaoka days, he managed to score an average 50 points of 66 —and that is despite the special 3 to 1 defense set up just to stop him! In a more recent game, his shooting average was around 50% of the entire team’s, wherein he scored over 25 points right in front of the helpless Kainan, and that’s only in the first half!!! Rukawa fairs well in rebounding too, and can assist finely too although sometimes he’d rather not as he is reputed to be a very “self-relying shooter”. He significantly fouled twice in the series: a “Hacking Foul” in the Shoyo game and a “Charging Foul” in the I.H. Sannoh game… but the former was because he intended to, and it was even counted as a “good foul”. During the latter part of the 2nd Shohoku vs. Ryonan bout, he called his teammates the “foul gang” because almost everyone else had incurred more than 3 fouls, except him! (Chibi-Ruru: *sighs* Fouru-guntai. Yare, yare…)

Mythical Five

At the end of the Kanagawa Tournament, Sendoh & Rukawa broke records when they were chosen to be part of the highly prestigious “Mythical Five” (alongside Maki, Jin and Akagi). Sendoh was chosen despite the fact that Ryonan didn’t make it to the finals, and Rukawa is the only freshman who made it to the exclusive list!

Japan All Youth Team

At the end of the manga, Rukawa was chosen to train for the Japan All Youth Team.

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