Ayako  

Aya-chan, 彩子

Ayako is the manager of the team and the object of ryotas affections. she has a strong will, tomboyish nature, and is good-natured. initially, she does not reciprocate ryotas feelings for her, which he knows about, but she eventually returns his affection at the end of the series. ayako trains hanamichi in basic skills such as ball possession and dribbling to sharpen his abilities for real matches. her disciplinary style is between akagi and anzai - not as soft as the latter, but also not as hard as the former. despite her lower position on the team compared to ryota, hanamichi treats her with respect, possibly due to her gender. ayako refers to ryota by his first name "ryota," while he calls her "aya-chan" because of his attraction to her.