Ryukyu Golden Kings win Japanese BJ title

The Ryukyu Golden Kings Okinawa have won their third Japanese BJ League title after defeating the Akita Northern Happinets 89-103. They used a third-quarter surge to close out the game, by setting up a 20-point lead heading into the final period. The Kings were able to use a window when their three-point shots found their mark and even when they didn’t, their strong offensive rebounding kept their momentum in full swing.

Ryukyu held a dominant record in the league’s western conference in the regular season (43-9). The Okinawan team also came through with a two-game sweep of their semifinal match-up against Hamamatsu en route to their Finals encounter with the Akita Happinets.

Ryuichi Kishimoto was named the Playoff M.V.P. The 24-year-old caught fire in the game, going 7-for-12 from downtown, finishing with a game-high 34 points. Draelon Burns added 21 points.

The Akita Northern Happinets were led by the 30-point effort of Yuki Togashi, who also dished out five assists. Ruben Boykin produced a double-double performance with 17 points and 13 boards.

The win caps off the Japanese pro Basketball season. The Toshiba Brave Thunders completed a three-game sweep of their Finals series against the Wakayama Trians and were crowned the 2013-14 Japanese NBL Champions the night before.