sawakita eiji

Year: 2nd year Height: 189 cm Weight: 77 kg Position: Small Forward Jersey Number: #9 Eiji Sawakita is regarded as Japan's top high school basketball player and is the ace of Sannoh High School. Despite his exceptional skills, he often displays a goofy attitude and has comical reactions of extreme shock when an opponent performs impressively. Similar to Rukawa, Eiji has many fangirls who send him fan mail. In contrast, Masashi lacks such attention and often teases Eiji because of this. Eiji plans to go to America after the summer's Interhigh Tournament. Skills: Eiji Sawakita is considered the best all-around player in Japanese high school basketball. His offensive abilities are nearly unstoppable, and his defensive skills are equally formidable. It is rumored that no one in high school or even college can defeat him in a one-on-one match. During the second round of the National Championships, Rukawa attempted to play him one-on-one but was outmatched. Eiji's strong offensive power forced Rukawa to fail repeatedly, leaving him with no choice but to pass the ball to his teammate. Eiji's defensive skills are just as impressive, often making Rukawa's dribbling look weak as he almost stole the ball multiple times. He remains unmatched in one-on-one matches and had previously beaten Sendoh from Ryonan High, known as a genius, during their middle school days. Early Childhood: Eiji was introduced to basketball by his father, Tetsuharu "Tetsu" Sawakita, who played one-on-one with him since he was four years old. The first present Eiji received was a basketball when he was an infant. Bored with the toy net at home, his father bought a house with a real basketball net. They played together every sunrise and sunset. Primary and Junior High Days: There was no basketball club in primary school, so Eiji practiced with his father, aiming to beat him. Upon entering junior high, he finally defeated his father. In the club, he easily outplayed his seniors who were tournament starters, finding it boring. His cocky attitude upset his seniors, who then beat him out of jealousy. In junior high, Eiji also defeated Sendoh in a one-on-one match. Sendoh noted that Eiji was the only person he had ever lost to in such a match. Eiji was likely the best player in his middle school, which aligns with his current status as Japan's number one high school player.