Kosuke Takeuchi is POW of JBL 2009-10 - Apr 27, 2010
Japanese JBL league is known for signing import players only at forward and center positions, while they rely exclusively on domestic players for guard positions. Of course it does not mean there are not skilled domestic players at forward and center positions. But it's not possible to find any import guard in the league. Also the teams have usually in the roster two import players, while only one of them can be on the court at any time. It practically means the import players average way lower stats (which effects also season-end awards), than in the case if they can play full 40 minutes per game. Asia-Basket.com All-Japanese JBL Superleague Awards 2009-10: Player of the Year: Kosuke Takeuchi (205-C/F-85) of Aishin Sea Horses Guard of the Year: Takuya Kawamura (191-G-86) of Link Tochigi Brex Forward of the Year: Kosuke Takeuchi of Aishin Sea Horses Center of the Year: J.R. Sakuragi (206-C-76) of Aishin Sea Horses Import Player of the Year: Charles O'Bannon (198-75) of Toyota Alvark Domestic Player of the Year: Kosuke Takeuchi of Aishin Sea Horses Defensive Player of the Year: Kosuke Takeuchi of Aishin Sea Horses Coach of the Year: Tom Wiseman of Link Tochigi Brex 1st Team G: Takuya Kawamura (191-86) of Link Tochigi Brex G: Hiroyuki Kinoshita (178-80) of Panasonic Trians F: Charles O'Bannon (198-75) of Toyota Alvark C/F: Kosuke Takeuchi (205-85) of Aishin Sea Horses C: J.R. Sakuragi (206-76) of Aishin Sea Horses 2nd Team G: Yuta Tabuse (173-80) of Link Tochigi Brex G: Shinsuke Kashiwagi (183-81) of Aishin Sea Horses F: Christian Maraker (206-82) of Rera Kamuy Hokkaido C/F: Cory Violette (203-82) of Toshiba Brave Thunders C: Joji Takeuchi (206-85) of Hitachi Sunrockers Honorable Mention Eric Dawson (206-F-84) of Mitsubishi Diamond Dolphins Scott Merritt (208-C-82) of Link Tochigi Brex Josh Gross (201-F/C-83) of Aishin Sea Horses Tyler Smith (203-F/C-80) of Hitachi Sunrockers Ron Hale (203-F-77) of Mitsubishi Diamond Dolphins Jerald Honeycutt (205-F-74) of Panasonic Trians Fumihiko Aono (210-C-78) of Panasonic Trians All-Domestic Players Team G: Takuya Kawamura (191-86) of Link Tochigi Brex G: Hiroyuki Kinoshita (178-80) of Panasonic Trians C/F: Shunsuke Ito (204-79) of Link Tochigi Brex C/F: Kosuke Takeuchi (205-85) of Aishin Sea Horses C: J.R. Sakuragi (206-76) of Aishin Sea Horses All-Imports Team F: Eric Dawson (206-84) of Mitsubishi Diamond Dolphins F: Charles O'Bannon (198-75) of Toyota Alvark C/F: Cory Violette (203-82) of Toshiba Brave Thunders C: Scott Merritt (208-82) of Link Tochigi Brex Josh Gross (201-F/C-83) of Aishin Sea Horses JBL FINALS: TOCHIGI DETHRONE AISIN - Apr 12, 2010 It has been three years in the making. Actually, It only took three years. The goal was to win a championship in five years but The Link Tochigi Brex found a way to 'breakthrough' like its slogan suggest and win its first-ever JBL title. In what would be considered shocking, the Brex beat the Aisin Seahorses tonight in the third game of the finals to complete its sweep with a 71-63 victory at Tokyo's Yoyogi National Gymnasium. In a game that was close throughout, the Seahorses showed their pride to try and stave off the challengers. The Seahorses went to their strength as they attacked inside to establish themselves early in the game. Tochigi's imports struggled and so did the team as they allowed Aisin to score off turnovers in the first quarter. As a result, the Seahorses took a 20-10 lead. In the second quarter, Tochigi starts to gain moment as its zone defense begin to function. Tochigi forces turnovers and lock down the interior to limit Aisin's scoring. A byproduct was limiting regular season MVP Kosuke Takeuchi to 9 points on only 7 shots. The Brex also got big contributions from its bench as SG Ken Takeda (11 points) connected on big mid range shots to close the half. In the second half, Tochigi turns its defense up to bring the game to a stand still. Ace guard Takuya Kawamura (27 points), center Scott Merritt and Takeda connect on their shots to cut Aisin's lead down to one point to enter halftime. In the final quarter, Aisin G Shinsuke Kashiwagi steps up to make big threes and Aisin creates a 5 point cushion. However, like it has throughout the series, rallied to bring the game to within 3 points. Kawamura then takes over again like he has done all season to hit a crucial three pointer with six seconds remaining to knot the game at a tie. The game goes into overtime. In overtime, Tochigi gained an advantage early with Kawamura's fourth three of the game. The Brex gained a 8 point lead and did not relinquish it ntil the final buzzer. As the buzzer sounded, the players cheered and showed their jubilance in landing their first title. And former NBA guard Yuta Tabuse was awarded the Finals MVP. The game was an example of how a team can win based on sheer desire. For Aisin, it must have been a frustrating experience as they were turnover prone throughout the series. Aisin turned the over a total of 27 times, and they also had 20 in game 2. The Seahorses are now left with reassessing its situation and assets as they work to regain their throne. However, Head Coach Kimikazu Suzuki is optimistic in regaining its seat at the throne. 'By finding a team that can beat Aisin, we have found a new challenge in fighting for a title again. I believe this is going to help in improving basketball in Japan. We are very disappointed with the results, but I think it was a great experience for us' said, Suzuki. The crowning of Tochigi brings in a new era for the JBL in which an all-professional team that is loaded with youth is now the champion. The odds were against the Brex, but they found a way to break through to its first and perhaps many more titles for the time to come... Aisin takes 2nd straight All-Japan title - Jan 13, 2009 The Aisin Sea Horses dominated the Hitachi Sunrockers 65-48 on Monday (Jan. 12th) in the 84th annual All-Japan Tournament held in Tokyo at the Yoyogi No. 1 Gymnasium to capture their 2nd straight All-Japan championship. Aisin led Hitachi 40-18 at halftime and never looked back. Aisn was led by last season's JBL MVP, PG Shinsuke Kashiwagi (183-G-81), who led all players with 16 points to go along with his 4 assists while PF Kosuke Takeuchi had 11 pts and 13 reb while battling his twin brother, PF Joji Takeuchi, of Hitachi. Joji had 13 and 10 in the losing effort while teammate Lamar Rice had 11 points for Hitachi. With only 1 import allowed in the All-Japan Tournament (just like the JBL regular season), Aisin clearly has a distiinct advantage over other teams with naturalized C J.R. Sakuragi (a.k.a. former NBA player J.R. Henderson) manning the middle. Sakuragi/Henderson had 13 points and 11 rebounds while his true import teammate, swingman David Young, had 12 points. Aisin has turned using a naturalized import to win All-Japan titles into an art form. In the early to mid 2000s, Aisin won 3 straight All-Japan titles thanks to the play of naturalized C Eric MacArthur. Notes: The 2nd half of the JBL's regular season begins this weekend with all 8 teams in action on Jan. 17th and 18th. There are only 13 regular season games left in the JBL's 2008-09 regular season. JBL All-Star game rosters set - Dec 6, 2009
East: PG Kei Igarashi (180-G-80) (Toyota Alvark)* PG Ryota Sakurai (194-G-83) (Rera Kamuy Hokkaido) SG Takehiko Orimo (190-G-70) (Rera Kamuy Hokkaido)* SF Akihito Inoue (201-F/C-84) (Rera Kamuy Hokkaido)* SF Taiji Sakai (190-F-84) (Hitachi Sunrockers) PF Joji Takeuchi (206-C-85) (Hitachi Sunrockers)* PF Shunsuke Ito (204-C/F-79) (Link Tochigi Brex)* Imports F Charles O'Bannon (198-F-75, college: UCLA) (198-F-75, college: UCLA) (Toyota Alvark)* C Cyrus Tate (203-F/C-85, college: Iowa) (Rera Kamuy Hokkaido) West: PG Takumi Ishizaki (188-G-84) (Toshiba Brave Thunders)* PG Shinsuke Kashiwagi (183-G-81) (Aisin Sea Horses) SG Shogo Asayama (192-F-81) (Aisin Sea Horses)* SF Tomoo Amino (196-F-80) (Aisin Sea Horses)* SF Kenta Hirose (193-G-85) (Panasonic Trians) PF Kosuke Takeuchi (205-C/F-85) (Aisin Sea Horses)* PF Jun Uzawa (197-C/F-81) (Mitsubishi Diamond Dolphins) C J.R. Sakuragi (206-C-76, college: UCLA) (Aisin Sea Horses)* Imports C Tyler Newton (208-F/C-82, college: Pacific) (Toshiba Brave Thunders)* C Jerald Honeycutt (205-F-74, college: Tulane) (Panasonic Trians) *denotes leading vote-getter at position JBL All-Star game notes - Dec 6, 2009
Notes: Each team in the JBL has 2 more games left in the 1st half of the regular season. Due to the hiatus caused by the East Asian Games, no JBL teams played this weekend and no games are scheduled for next weekend either. The remaining 2 games of the 1st half will be played on the weekend of December 19th-20th. After those 2 games and the All-Star game on the 23rd, the annual All-Japan Tournament starts in the first week of January with the championship game scheduled for the 11th of January. The 2nd half of the JBL season will begin on the 3rd weekend of January with games scheduled on the 15th, 16th, and 17th of that month. |
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Tochigi won the 2010 JBL championship (photo: jbl.or.jp)
Aisin wins All-Japan tournament(Photo:jbl.or.jp)
Wiseman
