Chiba Sweeps B.League Rival Utsunomiya in Season-Opening Series

FUNABASHI, Chiba Prefecture ― There was good news and bad news for the Chiba Jets on Sunday, October 6, when the title-chasing club played its second game of the 2024-25 B.League season.

New head coach Trevor Gleeson's club exhibited high-energy, efficient basketball at both ends of the court. And the Jets completed a two-game sweep of the Utsunomiya Brex, winning 80-61 at their brand-new home venue, LaLa arena TOKYO-BAY. 

Several Jets players had noteworthy performances, including Christopher Smith (20 points, 8-for-13 shooting), John Mooney (10 points, 15 rebounds), Yuki Togashi (13 points, nine assists) and DJ Hogg (13 points).

It appeared that former NBA forward Yuta Watanabe was on the verge of another strong performance for his new team. Watanabe scored the game's first points on a driving layup. He also nailed a 3-pointer to put the Jets ahead 5-0 with 7:51 to play in the opening stanza.

Moments later, Watanabe collided with Brex guard Makoto Hiejima while defending him. Watanabe landed awkwardly and injured his left ankle. He didn't re-enter the game. 

Chiba jumped out to a 21-12 lead by the end of the first quarter.

"It was a really good start for the first quarter," Gleeson said.

On Tuesday, the team provided an injury update in a news release. Watanabe is expected to be sidelined for six weeks with a sprained left ankle joint.

In his B.League debut on Saturday, October 6, Watanabe had 16 points and eight rebounds in the Jets' 91-84 overtime victory.

Jets Build a 20-Point Lead by Halftime

A day later, the Jets showcased their roster depth and determination. Togashi had 10 points in the second quarter and Smith, who came off the bench, added eight points to help carry the Jets to a commanding 47-27 lead at halftime.

"Our bench did an absolutely great job out there, especially with the injuries and getting into foul trouble," Gleeson said. "It was a very good weekend to start off the season and hopefully, we can get into a little bit of a rhythm."

DJ Newbill, who led the Brex with 35 points in the series opener, had eight of his 10 points in the third quarter on Sunday. 

But Utsunomiya, which trailed by as many as 25 points and never held the lead, didn't have enough consistent scoring in the rematch. 

The Brex faced a 19-point deficit entering the fourth quarter and they were held to 32.9% shooting (19 of 59), including 5-for-24 on 3-point attempts, in the game. 

After Chiba's resounding victory, Smith summed up his team's performance by saying, "I just feel that the team was clicking on all cylinders."

Grant Jerrett had a team-high 14 points for the Brex, while Isaac Fotu had a 13-point outing.

Insights from Brex Coach Braswell 

Coming off a B.League-best 51-9 season and a first-round exit in the playoffs, Utsunomiya parted ways with head coach Norio Sassa and promoted Kevin Braswell to replace him in June 2024.

Reflecting on the 19-point loss less than 24 hours after a hard-fought overtime game, Braswell commented, "I think from start to finish today we looked like we were tired. So maybe that's why we played so poorly. I'm not sure, but we made a lot of mistakes."

With an 0-2 start to the season, Braswell emphasized that the team is implementing changes to how it plays, relying less on set plays and more on going with the flow of the game to run the offense.

Braswell noted that the Jets are a team with dynamic one-on-one skills, mentioning Smith, Hogg and Togashi as examples. 

"There's a lot of one-on-one that they can do. They can play basketball," Braswell said of the Jets, "and that's what makes them so good."

He added, "That's where I want to get us to towards the end of the season."

Other Unbeaten B.League Teams in Week 1

In addition to the Jets, the Gunma Crane Thunders, Alvark Tokyo, SeaHorses Mikawa, Yokohama B-Corsairs, Shimane Susanoo Magic and Osaka Evessa went 2-0 in the opening week of the season. (Check out the complete standings on the B.League website.)

Of this sextet of teams, three head coaches enjoyed ideal starts with their new teams. Kyle Milling (Gunma), Lassi Tuovi (Yokohama) and Hiroki Fujita (Osaka) had plenty to celebrate after back-to-back wins.

The Crane Thunders hammered the reigning champion Hiroshima Dragonflies 82-53 on Thursday, October in the season's first game. 

Two days later, Gunma defeated visiting Hiroshima 79-71.

German power forward Johannes Thiemann paced the Crane Thunders with 17 points, Kaleb Tarczewski poured in 14 points and Yuma Fujii had 12.

"Unlike Thursday's game, today was a really tough game," Fujii told reporters. "But I am happy that we were able to win our second straight game to start the season."

In Tokyo, the Alvark manhandled the Koshigaya Alphas 91-72 on Sunday. Coach Dainius Adomaitis' club outscored the visitors 50-32 in the second and third quarters.

Tokyo big man Sebastian Saiz scored a team-high 18 points. Taiki Osakabe chipped in with 16 points and Ryan Rossiter flirted with a triple-double (nine points, nine rebounds, eight assists). Playmaker Kai Toews finished with 10 assists before an announced crowd of 9,532 at Yoyogi National Stadium.

For the Alphas, who earned promotion from the second division to the top flight after the 2023-24 season, center Tim Soares was the high scorer (19 points).

Tokyo also won the weekend opener, whipping Koshigaya 75-57.

SeaHorses Outplay Robots

In Mito, Ibaraki Prefecture, the SeaHorses cruised past the rebuilding Robots 75-60 on Sunday. Longtime B.League star Davante Gardner had 22 points to ignite the Mikawa offense. Yudai Nishida added 12 points for the out-of-towners.

Gardner rebounded from a seven-point outing, a 3-for-13 shooting performance, in the SeaHorses' opening game, which they won, 74-64, on the previous day.

"Winning two games in a row on the road is no easy task," Mikawa coach Ryan Richman commented after the game. "I think we were able to do it because of our good defense."

Added the second-year SeaHorses coach: "In particular, number 19 Yudai Nishida played in important situations [on defense]. We always say that we are a defensive team, and I think we were able to play a defensive game, limiting Ibaraki to 60 points thanks to good performances by everyone."

B-Corsairs Edge 89ers

In Sendai, five players scored in double figures as Yokohama eked out a 77-75 victory over the 89ers on Sunday.

B-Corsairs newcomer Damien Inglis, a French-born forward/center, had 13 points, and Filipino veteran Kiefer Ravena, another offseason signee, contributed 12 points in nearly 24 minutes.

Yokohama made 25 of 40 shots from 2-point range (62.5%).

The B-Corsairs led 77-73 after Kai King converted a layup with 1:22 remaining in the game. 

Ten seconds later, the 89ers' Nathan Boothe sank two free throws to account for the final score.

But the 89ers had a shot at winning it at the buzzer. Yasunori Aoki made a steal with 5 seconds left and missed a 3-pointer on the final play of the game.

"What I told the players today was to win every battle as much as possible," Tuovi told reporters after the game.

"When the point guard was left alone, we all talked about how we should attack inside more," added Tuovi, who also coaches the Finland national team. "[And] we talked about how we should attack inside and score points in the process, and I think the reason we won today was that we did that well."

Sendai slipped to 0-2 under new head coach Yoshiro Ochiai. On Saturday, it was a similar story: Yokohama 72, Sendai 68.

Evessa Dominate 3rd Quarter, Hold Off Lakes in 4th

In Otsu, Shiga Prefecture, Osaka outscored the hosts 32-12 in the third quarter to build a 20-point cushion entering the final stanza on Sunday. Led by Ray Parks Jr's 23-point effort, the Evessa triumphed 86-79 over the Shiga Lakes.

Parks, a former Nagoya Diamond Dolphins standout, lit up the scoreboard with 16 points, including three 3-pointers, in the third quarter. 

Ex-Ryukyu Golden Kings player Hayato Maki and Ukrainian center Volodymyr Gerun finished with 12 and 10 points, respectively, for Osaka. 

Brock Motum led the Lakes with 28 points on 12-for-19 shooting.

Shiga dropped the series opener, 88-73.

Susanoo Magic Thump Levanga

In Matsue, Shimane Prefecture, newcomers Coty Clarke and James Michael McAdoo combined for 41 points in the season-opening series finale, sparking the Susanoo Magic to a 75-63 victory over the Levanga Hokkaido.

Clarke had a game-best 24 points. Along with his 17 points, McAdoo grabbed nine rebounds. Teammate Seiya Ando scored 12 points. 

The Susanoo Magic trailed 19-8 after the opening quarter and overcame a slow start on offense to win.

"I thought they came out and were really the aggressor early," McAdoo said of Hokkaido.

Added McAdoo, "I think we were just able to wear them down in the fourth quarter."

As McAdoo noted after the game, Shimane's defensive effort paid off, holding Hokkaido to 39.7% (23 of 58) shooting from the floor.

Dwight Ramos was the Levanga's top scorer (18 points). 

Shimane ushered in its season with an 87-56 win on Saturday.

A Look Ahead

In Week 2 of the B.League season, the following two-game series are scheduled: 
Shimane Susanoo Magic vs Sendai 89ers (starting on Friday, October 11)
Levanga Hokkaido vs Nagasaki Velca (this matchup and the rest below all begin on Saturday, October 12)
Ibaraki Robots vs Chiba Jets
Utsunomiya Brex vs Shiga Lakes
Koshigaya Alphas vs Ryukyu Golden Kings
Yokohama B-Corsairs vs Alvark Tokyo
SeaHorses Mikawa vs San-en NeoPhoenix
Kyoto Hannaryz vs Gunma Crane Thunders
Osaka Evessa vs Fighting Eagles Nagoya
Hiroshima Dragonflies vs Saga Ballooners
Sunrockers Shibuya vs Akita Northern Happinets
Nagoya Diamond Dolphins vs Kawasaki Brave Thunders  

RELATED:

• Gunma Overpowers Defending B.League Champion Hiroshima in the Season Opener
• [ODDS and EVENS] Yuta Watanabe Excited About a Fresh Start with Chiba Jets
• B.League Coaching Carousel: New Bench Bosses in Hiroshima, Gunma, Yokohama and Nagasaki

Author: Ed Odeven

Find Ed on JAPAN Forward's dedicated website, SportsLook. Follow his [Japan Sports Notebook] on Sundays, [Odds and Evens] during the week, and X (formerly Twitter) ＠ed_odeven.