Japanese NBL underway with Tochigi win

The first game of the Japanese NBL season saw Toshiba Brave Thunders Kanagawa meet Tochigi Brex as the two teams got the 2014/2015 term underway. Tochigi travelled to Kanagawa’s home court and came away with an 84-87 victory to get its season off to the best possible start.

The rest of the Japanese NBL round 1 will take part on Saturday, October 11th with six games set to take place around Japan.

Toshiba BT Kanagawa vs. Tochigi Brex, 84-87
The season got off to a fantastic start with a high octane first quarter ushering in the new campaign. Both teams drove consistently to the basket to make it an exciting spectacle for the near 3000 people packed inside Kanagawa’s Todorokiarina. At the end of the first ten minutes Tochigi had carved open a slender 26-27 advantage and led by a single point. The visitors maintained their scoring consistency while the Brave Thunders fell away in the second quarter. Tochigi Brex won the frame 15-21 to have a solid 41-48 lead at halftime.

The hosts were reeling after the first half but emerged from the locker room in better shape and started to control the game during the third quarter. BT Kanagawa sent home 26 points during the stint and restricted Brex to 19 to tie the game at 57 apiece after 30 minutes. A tight and tense closing quarter saw the teams trade scores and the lead, but in the end the away team held on for an important first game win.

Hiroki Watanabe led the victory with 23 points, but was arguably overshadowed by Ryan Rossiter with a double-double of 22 points and 15 rebounds. Also doubling up was Kyle Barone with 14 points and 14 boards, while Yuta Tabuse added 10 points.

Naoto Tsuji, Ryusei Shinoyama, and Cedric Bozeman all claimed 17 points apiece for the losing effort, with Nick Fazekas contributing 13 points and 11 rebounds.