Asia-Basket.com All-Japanese B League Awards 2019 - May 16, 2019
Asia-Basket.com All-Japanese B League 1st Team 2019
Togashi
Endo
Tanaka
Kanamaru
Gardner
Finals MVP: Yudai Baba (193-SF-95) of Toyota Alvark Player of the Year: Yuki Togashi (170-PG-93) of Chiba Jets Guard of the Year: Yuki Togashi (170-PG-93) of Chiba Jets Forward of the Year: Kosuke Kanamaru (193-F/G-89) of SeaHorses Center of the Year: Davante Gardner (203-F/C-91) of Niigata Albirex Domestic Player of the Year: Yuki Togashi (170-PG-93) of Chiba Jets Import Player of the Year: Davante Gardner (203-F/C-91) of Niigata Albirex 6th Man of the Year: Yudai Baba (193-SF-95) of Toyota Alvark Newcomer of the Year: Yuta Okada (189-G-98) of SeaHorses Defensive Player of the Year: Yusuke Endo (185-G-89) of Tochigi Brex Coach of the Year: Luka Pavicevic of Toyota Alvark
Toyota Alvark repeated as B League champions. They knocked down Chiba Jets to ensure back-to-back titles. Chiba Jets trailed by 19 points after 3 quarters before a 22-7 run in the last quarter cut the deficit to 67-71 at the end of the game. They outrebounded Chiba Jets 45-30 including 33 on the defensive glass. Worth to mention a great performance of international Yudai Baba (193-95) who helped to win the game recording a double-double by scoring 12 points, 12 rebounds and 6 assists. American center Alex Kirk (211-91, college: N.Mexico, agency: Pensack Sports) contributed with 15 points and 9 rebounds for the winners. American power forward Gavin Edwards (206-88, college: Connecticut) answered with 20 points and 8 rebounds and the former international point guard Yuki Togashi (170-93) added 19 points and 6 assists in the effort for Chiba Jets. Top scorers: Chiba Jets: G.Edwards 20+8reb+1ast, Y.Togashi 19+3reb+6ast, S.Taguchi 14+1reb+3ast, S.Hara 6, M.Parker 6+10reb+2ast, J.Duncan 2+6reb+2ast Toyota Alvark: D.Tanaka 16+1reb+4ast, A.Kirk 15+9reb, Y.Baba 12+12reb+6ast, S.Ando 9+2reb+3ast, J.Takeuchi 6+6reb+2ast, Z.Baranski 6+4reb+1ast
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Toyama's Yuto Otsuka earns All-Star Game MVP honors as B. White outguns B. Black - Jan 19, 2019
In a high-scoring first half, Yuto Otsuka (188-F-87) had a quiet performance, scoring just two points. The B. White starter heated up in the second half and his team did, too. B. White lit up the scoreboard for 80 second-half points - 40 apiece in the third and fourth quarters - in a 142-130 victory over B. Black on Saturday night in the third annual B. League All-Star Game in Toyama. Otsuka, who plays for the Toyama Grouses, had 22 of his 24 points in the second half. He was named All-Star Game MVP, beating B. White teammate Nick Fazekas (211-F/C-85, college: Nevada) (Kawasaki Brave Thunders) and B. Black players Leo Vendrame (183-PG-93) (Sunrockers Shibuya) and Yudai Baba (193-SF-95) (Alvark Tokyo) in fan voting done via social media. Otsuka, a 31-year-old swingman, was B. White's designated gunner in the second half. Teammates made extra passes to get him the ball. He fired up a game-high 13 3-point attempts, including 11 of them after the intermission. He sank six 3s. Speaking during an on-court interview after he was named game MVP, Otsuka admitted that 'being in the starting five was (a thrill).' Otsuka then thanked the fans for their support, receiving a strong applause from the announced crowd of 4,051 fans. Otsuka received 60 percent of the fans' votes, followed by Baba with 31 percent, Fazekas with six percent and Vendrame with three. Fazekas, a former NBA big man, had a game-best 29 points. He had 18 points in the second half in the run-and-gun contest. The teams combined for 89 3-point shots, with both making 18 from beyond the arc. What's more, the 2018-19 All-Star Game featured 26 dunks. B. Black had a 16-10 edge in dunks. Baba topped the chart with six dunks and B. Black teammates Robert Sacre (Shibuya) and Jeffrey Gibbs (188-F-80, college: Otterbein) (Tochigi Brex) each recorded five dunks. For B. White, Gavin Edwards (206-F/C-88, college: Connecticut) (Chiba Jets Funabashi) had five dunks, Davante Gardner (Niigata Albirex BB) added three and Fazekas and Tenketsu Harimoto (198-C/F-92) (Nagoya Diamond Dolphins) had one each. B. Black led 65-62 at halftime. In addition to Fazekas and Otsuka's high-scoring performances, B. White had four more double-digit scorers: Edwards (19 points, nine rebounds), Gardner (18 points, eight boards, nine assists), Yuki Togashi (170-PG-93) (12 points; the Jets star also dished out five assists and made three steals) and Ryota Sakurai (11 points; the Levanga Hokkaido veteran was 5-for-6 from the floor). The teams were whistled for a combined five fouls, with Vendrame the only player picking up two fouls. They attempted a combined 201 shots in the 40-minute contest. B. Black playmaker Narito Namizato (172-G-89) (Ryukyu Golden Kings) doled out 13 assists to lead in that category. Namizato attempted a surprisingly low three shots from the field, nailing 1 of 2 3s for his only points. Sacre, also a former NBA pivot, paced B. Black with 26 points. Vendrame and Baba, two of the league's young, rising stars, had 24 and 23 points, respectively, and established star Gibbs scored 21 and nearly completed a triple-double (13 rebounds, nine assists). Takuya Kawamura (193-G-86) of the Yokohama B-Corsairs finished with 15 points. In the fast-paced game, B. White outscored its foe 53-22 in fast-break points. B. Black jumped out to an early 15-5 lead, then extended its advantage to 22-9 on a Namizato 3-pointer with 5:07 left in the first quarter. B. White stormed back, pulling within 33-31 with 35 seconds left in the opening stanza on a Harimoto jumper. And then it was a race to the finish, with B. White making more shots down the stretch. Both teams showcased razzle-dazzle passes and finishes, including a nifty exchange between Gibbs and Vendrame, who snared a pass in the paint and made a spinning reverse layup in the fourth quarter. Fazekas and his teammates and the opposing squad smiled early and often in the game. It wasn't taken too seriously, and there was playful exuberance on display. In the fourth, Fazekas ambled along the perimeter and splashed in a step-back 3-pointer to put his team ahead 122-115 with 5:44 left. He grinned, fans clapped and the game went on. At that point, Fazekas was the leading scorer with 23 points and that fact remained. With 59 seconds remaining, Otsuka made a steal. Then he scored a layup to make it 135-122, and B. White equaled its largest lead of the game. Edwards won the Slam Dunk Contest, Kosuke Kanamaru (193-F/G-89) (SeaHorses Mikawa) triumphed in the 3-Point Contest and Togashi was victorious in the Skills Challenge. Courtesy of: japantimes.co.jp
Japanese B League All-Star Game 2019 Rosters - Jan 20, 2019
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