The Kyoto Hannaryz lost 10 of 11 games during a rough stretch in November and December 2022, and the B.League team dropped eight in a row from March 15 to April 2 (2023).
Since then, Kyoto is 5-4, including wins in three of its last four games.
The Hannaryz, led by first-year head coach Roy Rana, dropped their weekend home opener to the Western Conference title-chasing Shimane Susanoo Magic, 79-71, on Saturday, April 22.
In the next day's rematch, Kyoto collected an 87-82 victory.
Kyoto outscored Shimane 24-14 in the fourth quarter on Sunday.
For the Hannaryz, Matthew Wright had nine of his 19 points in the fourth. Teammate Jarrod Uthoff, a 206-cm former University of Iowa standout and ex-NBA forward, contributed 20 points and 11 rebounds, including six defensive boards in the final period. Former NBA journeyman Ekpe Udoh added 13 points, his fourth straight game scoring in double digits, seven rebounds, two blocks and a steal.
Kyoto's Cheick Diallo, another ex-NBA forward, finished with 10 points and Yoshiaki Kubota and Tomomasa Ozawa both had eight in the win.
Kubota, a Hannaryz player since 2020, also dished out eight assists. Over the weekend he had 10 assists without a turnover.
MVP candidate Perrin Buford led the Susanoo Magic (45-11) with 39 points.
Headed in the Right Direction
For the Hannarz, four games remain in Rana's first season at the helm.
The Hannaryz are 21-35 under Rana, far out of the playoff picture but showing signs of improvement that could help lay the groundwork for greater success in the 2023-24 campaign. A season ago, Kyoto finished 14-43. And then-bench boss Shinya Ogawa's contract was not renewed in the offseason.
Kyoto faces the host Nagoya Diamond Dolphins (39-17) on Saturday and Sunday, April 29 and 30 before wrapping up its 2022-23 campaign at home against the Shiga Lakes (13-43) on May 6 and 7.
Recognizing the emotional impact of the team's fans, Rana tweeted in February to show his gratitude for them.
"Thank you boosters for filling our arena with your energy!" Rana wrote on Twitter. "It kept our spirit and fight going."
After recording their bounce-back victory over the Susanoo Magic, Rana, who served as an assistant coach for the NBA's Sacramento Kings from 2019-22, briefly assessed the Hannaryz's performance. He also looked ahead to its next two-game series.
"The game developed like yesterday, but today we managed to score [more]," said Rana, who called it a "really big win for the team."
He added, "The next game is an away game, but I hope many of you will come to support us, and we want to put up a good fight for the fans as well. We want to move forward to the end in the direction we are heading."
Defining Numbers for Hannaryz in 2022-23
Despite the team's struggles this season, the Hannaryz have also had solid individual and team performances along the way.
Uthoff is averaging 17.3 points and 8.8 rebounds in 56 games, and Diallo is contributing 16.3 and 10.5. Wright, an accomplished scorer for several seasons in the Philippine Basketball Association for the Phoenix Fuel Masters before joining the Hannaryz in September, is scoring 13.6 points per game.
Kubota has a 10.4 ppg average. He also leads the club in assists (6.3).
In B.League team statistics (among 24 teams), Kyoto is sixth in 3-point shooting percentage (34.7) and eighth in blocks (2.7).
Udoh started his season with Shimane, appearing in five games in late December. He was then placed on the injured list due to a right leg injury on January 27 and was ineligible to play for a month before moving on to play for Kyoto in early March.
The 35-year-old veteran's experience has bolstered the Hannaryz's defensive presence, blocking at least one shot in each of the last 11 games.
Busy Year for Rana
Meanwhile, it's been a busy overall year for Rana. In addition to leading the Hannaryz, he's serving as the Egypt national team's head coach, a job he started in January 2022.
Egypt earned a spot in the 32-team FIBA Basketball World Cup, which begins on August 25. The Pharaohs in February became the third African national team to book a spot in the global tournament.
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Golden Kings Win Eighth Straight
The Ryukyu Golden Kings defeated the visiting Sunrockers Shibuya 90-84 on Sunday, picking up their eighth win in a row.
Jack Cooley paced the Golden Kings (45-11) with 26 points and 20 rebounds. Teammate Allen Durham had a 22-point effort with eight rebounds and five assists.
Ryan Kelly led the Sunrockers (25-31) with 26 points.
With two weeks left in the regular season, Ryukyu and Shimane are tied atop the Western Conference standings.
Ryukyu meets the visiting Osaka Evessa (26-30) on Saturday and Sunday, April 29-30 and travels to play Hiroshima (39-16) the following week.
Shimane plays host to Hiroshima on Saturday and Sunday, April 29-30, then closes out the season on the road against the Fighting Eagles Nagoya (22-34) on May 6-7.
B-Corsairs Star Back in Action
Yokohama B-Corsairs point guard Yuki Kawamura, the B.League leader in assists (8.4 per game) returned to the lineup on Saturday, April 22 after missing seven games (Yokohama went 3-4 in his absence). He was sidelined with a right biceps femoris (thigh) injury.
In his first game back, Kawamura had 14 points and seven assists in about 15 minutes off the bench against the host SeaHorses Mikawa in the B-Corsairs' 78-67 win.
On Sunday, he had five points on 1-for-8 shooting and 11 assists as Mikawa (24-32) recorded an 83-78 win.
The B-Corsairs (33-23) have qualified for the B.League playoffs for the first time. Indeed, Kawamura's on-court presence is a vital part of their game plan. He's also averaging 19.3 points a game.
Jets Cruise to 50th Victory
The Chiba Jets improved to 50-6 with a 98-73 rout of the Gunma Crane Thunders on Sunday, April 23.
Chiba, which outscored the hosts 34-8 in the second quarter, posted its ninth straight win. Five Jets scoring in double figures, with John Mooney leading the way with 20 points.
B2 Playoff Pairings Set
The B.League second division wrapped up its regular season on April 23, and the top eight teams qualified for the playoffs.
Here's the first-round playoff matchups (best-of-three):
Altiri Chiba (47-13) vs Aomori Wat's (28-32)
Nagasaki Velca (43-17) vs Kumamoto Volters (35-25)
Koshigaya Alphas (45-15) vs Nishinomiya Storks (29-31)
Saga Ballooners (45-15) vs Fukushima Firebonds (28-32)
The Alphas-Storks and Velca-Volters series are set to begin on May 5, and the Altiri-Wat's and Ballooners-Firebonds are scheduled to start the next day.
Meet the head coaches: Altiri (Andrej Lemanis), Wat's (Junpei Takahara), Velca (Kenjiro Maeda), Volters (Koto Toyama), Alphas (JR Sakuragi), Storks (Tomohiro Moriyama), Ballooners (Yuta Miyanaga) and Firebonds (Kimitoshi Sano).
Looking ahead to the upcoming B2 playoffs, Velca assistant coach Jawad Williams commented on social media about his team's focus.
"Now is when preparation and opportunity meet," the former University of North Carolina and NBA player and international pro hoops standout wrote. "Every possession, whether it is in practice or a game, matters."
Maeda stepped into the spotlight as head coach after Takuma Ito stepped down as Nagasaki's bench boss following the 2021-11 season, when the Velca claimed the B3 title and moved up to B2. Ito handled both general manager and coaching duties last season, and now he's focused solely on the GM job.
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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 Twitter ＠ed_odeven.
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