B3 League Round 23: Chiba lose to Nagasaki

Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

Round in B3 League means a new league leader. The biggest surprise took place in Nagasaki where host Nagasaki (20-2) crushed league's leader Chiba (19-3) 88-61 on Sunday evening. It ended at the same time the six-game winning streak of Chiba. It was a key game for the top position in the league. Nagasaki forced 20 Chiba turnovers. The best player for the winners was American forward Jeffrey Gibbs (188-80, college: Otterbein) who scored 19 points and 9 rebounds. point guard Edward Yamamoto (173-86) chipped in 20 points. American forward Kevin Kotzur (203-89, college: St.Mary's, TX) produced a double-double by scoring 18 points and 11 rebounds (on 7-of-8 shooting from the field) for the guests. The winner was already known earlier in the game, so both coaches allowed to play the bench players saving starting five for next games. Nagasaki keeps a position of league leader. Chiba at the other side, also newcomer in the league, dropped to the second place with three games lost. They were replaced at the leadership position by Nagasaki. Chiba will have a break next week, which should allow them to rest and make it back to the top of the standings. Nagasaki will try to continue on its current victory against eighth ranked Aisin AW in Aichi.
Bottom-ranked Kanazawa (0-22) tried to put together a comeback for its first victory of the season, but they fell short in the 85-57 loss to ninth ranked Aisin AW (13-9) in Ishikawa. American Marcus Dove (206-85, college: OK State) orchestrated the victory with a double-double by scoring 24 points and 11 rebounds. Jordan Faison contributed with 22 points and 6 rebounds (on 8-of-10 shooting from the field) for the winners. point guard Shodai Tanaka (178-97) answered with 15 points and 9 rebounds for Kanazawa. Since the result was very predictable, it gave the chance for the coaches to test many bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Aisin AW moved-up to seventh place, which they share with Saitama. Kanazawa at the other side still closes the standings. Aisin AW will play against league's leader Nagasaki at home in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Kanazawa will play against Toyoda (#13) in Aichi and hopes to get finally their first victory.
We should mention about the upset which took place in Gifu, where 10th ranked Gifu (8-16) was outleveled at home by thirteenth ranked Toyoda (4-18) 91-66 on Sunday. The game was dominated by American players. It was a great evening for Jalen Billups who led his team to a victory with a double-double by scoring 24 points, 10 rebounds and 4 blocks. Jayce Johnson responded with a double-double by scoring 13 points and 20 rebounds. Since the result was very predictable, it gave the chance for the coaches to test many bench players and allowed the starting five to rest. Toyoda maintains thirteenth place with 4-18 record. Loser Gifu keeps the tenth position with 16 games lost. Toyoda will meet at home bottom-ranked Kanazawa (#15) in the next round. Gifu will have a break next round.

In the last two games of round 23 Saitama was defeated by Kagoshima in Renova 88-79. Shizuoka was beaten by Iwate at home 60-71.
The best stats of 23th round was 30 points and 19 rebounds by Kyle Richardson of Iwate.

Kagoshima - Saitama 88-79

There was no surprise in Renova where 7th ranked Saitama (13-9) was defeated by third ranked Kagoshima (17-5) 88-79 on Sunday. Strangely Saitama outrebounded Kagoshima 41-29 including a 12-1 advantage in offensive rebounds. They looked well-organized offensively handing out 27 assists. Great defensive blocking was one of the keys in this match when Kagoshima made 7 blocks. It was a great evening for American swingman Anthony Gaines Jr (195-93, college: LCU) who led his team to a victory scoring 26 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists. His fellow American import forward Christian Cunningham (201-97, college: JSU) helped adding 17 points and 9 rebounds. Four Kagoshima players scored in double figures. American center Will Creekmore (205-89, college: Missouri St.) responded with 28 points and 8 rebounds and American-Irish forward Brian Voelkel (196-92, college: Vermont) scored 2 points, 11 rebounds and 8 assists. Both coaches used bench players and allowed the starting five to rest. Kagoshima have an impressive series of six victories in a row. They maintain third place with 17-5 record having just three points less than leader Nagasaki. Loser Saitama keeps the seventh position with nine games lost. They share it with Aisin AW. Kagoshima will meet at home Yamaguchi (#11) in the next round and are hoping to win another game. Saitama will play against Iwate (#6) and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Saitama: W.Creekmore 28+8reb, S.Fumiya 12, K.Nakano 11+5reb, R.Watkins 9+11reb, N.Ren 9+1reb+5ast, N.Akihisa 4+1reb+1ast
Kagoshima: A.Gaines Jr. 26+6reb+4ast, C.Cunningham 17+9reb+2ast, K.Takahashi 13+2reb+3ast, K.Bishop 12+4reb+1ast, S.Muto 8+4reb+3ast, H.Fujita 3+4ast

Kanazawa - Aisin AW 57-85

Bottom-ranked Kanazawa (0-22) tried to put together a comeback for its first victory of the season, but they fell short in the 85-57 loss to ninth ranked Aisin AW (13-9) in Ishikawa. They dominated down low during the game scoring 56 of its points in the paint compared to Kanazawa's 30. Aisin AW forced 19 Kanazawa turnovers. Kanazawa was plagued by 25 personal fouls down the stretch. American Marcus Dove (206-85, college: OK State) orchestrated the victory with a double-double by scoring 24 points and 11 rebounds. His fellow American import forward Jordan Faison (201-94, college: CPP) contributed with 22 points and 6 rebounds (on 8-of-10 shooting from the field) for the winners. Point guard Shodai Tanaka (178-97) answered with 15 points and 9 rebounds and Serbian forward Dusan Vicentic (204-97, college: WVWC) added 13 points and 11 rebounds in the effort for Kanazawa. Since the result was very predictable, it gave the chance for the coaches to test many bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Aisin AW moved-up to seventh place, which they share with Saitama. Kanazawa at the other side still closes the standings. Aisin AW will play against league's leader Nagasaki at home in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Kanazawa will play against Toyoda (#13) in Aichi and hopes to get finally their first victory.
Top scorers:
Kanazawa: T.Shodai 15+9reb+3ast, D.Vicentic 13+11reb+1ast, S.Kotaro 8+2reb, M.Yuki 7+2reb+2ast, Y.Kota 4+1reb, H.Tamada 4+4reb+3ast
Aisin AW: M.Dove 24+11reb, J.Faison 22+6reb+1ast, N.Spikes 8+12reb+1ast, N.Ishikawa 8+1reb+1ast, S.Sora 8+1reb+3ast, F.Shunsuke 4+1ast

Gifu - Toyoda 66-91

We should mention about the upset which took place in Gifu, where 10th ranked Gifu (8-16) was outleveled at home by thirteenth ranked Toyoda (4-18) 91-66 on Sunday. Toyoda dominated down low during the game scoring 62 of its points in the paint compared to Gifu's 38. They looked well-organized offensively handing out 25 assists comparing to just 11 passes made by Gifu's players. Great defensive blocking was one of the keys in this match when Toyoda made 7 blocks. The game was dominated by American players. It was a great evening for power forward Jalen Billups (200-92, college: NKU, agency: BIG) who led his team to a victory with a double-double by scoring 24 points, 10 rebounds and 4 blocks. Center CJ Gettys (213-94, college: Rutgers, agency: Haylett Sports) helped adding 18 points, 11 rebounds and 5 assists. Four Toyoda players scored in double figures. Center Jayce Johnson (213-97, college: Marquette) responded with a double-double by scoring 13 points and 20 rebounds and forward Jerrell Wright (204-91, college: La Salle) scored 15 points. Since the result was very predictable, it gave the chance for the coaches to test many bench players and allowed the starting five to rest. Toyoda maintains thirteenth place with 4-18 record. Loser Gifu keeps the tenth position with 16 games lost. Toyoda will meet at home bottom-ranked Kanazawa (#15) in the next round. Gifu will have a break next round.
Top scorers:
Gifu: J.Wright 15+4reb, K.Morito 14+1ast, J.Johnson 13+20reb+1ast, A.Floresca 6+6reb+2ast, A.Ryoya 6+3ast, F.Kosuke 5+1reb+3ast
Toyoda: J.Billups 24+10reb+1ast, J.Wolfinger 19+8reb+1ast, C.Gettys 18+11reb+5ast, T.Ren 14+3reb+12ast, R.Yanagiuchi 9+5reb+2ast, H.Hiroki 4

Nagasaki - Chiba 88-61

Round in B3 League means a new league leader. The biggest surprise took place in Nagasaki where host Nagasaki (20-2) crushed league's leader Chiba (19-3) 88-61 on Sunday evening. It ended at the same time the six-game winning streak of Chiba. It was a key game for the top position in the league. Nagasaki forced 20 Chiba turnovers. The best player for the winners was American forward Jeffrey Gibbs (188-80, college: Otterbein) who scored 19 points and 9 rebounds. Point guard Edward Yamamoto (173-86) chipped in 20 points. American forward Kevin Kotzur (203-89, college: St.Mary's, TX) produced a double-double by scoring 18 points and 11 rebounds (on 7-of-8 shooting from the field) and point guard Kota Fujimoto (175-98) added 8 points respectively for the guests. The winner was already known earlier in the game, so both coaches allowed to play the bench players saving starting five for next games. Nagasaki keeps a position of league leader. Chiba at the other side, also newcomer in the league, dropped to the second place with three games lost. They were replaced at the leadership position by Nagasaki. Chiba will have a break next week, which should allow them to rest and make it back to the top of the standings. Nagasaki will try to continue on its current victory against eighth ranked Aisin AW in Aichi.
Top scorers:
Chiba: K.Kotzur 18+11reb+1ast, F.Kota 8+4reb+2ast, E.Ravenel 7+5reb+1ast, D.Kobayashi 7+3reb+1ast, Y.Otsuka 6, Y.Okada 5+6reb+1ast
Nagasaki: E.Yamamoto 20+3reb+1ast, J.Gibbs 19+9reb+2ast, K.Matsumoto 11+2reb, D.Noguchi 9+2reb, K.Ryota 8+4reb+1ast, T.Dickson 7+1ast

Shizuoka - Iwate 60-71

There was a small surprise when sixth ranked Iwate (15-7) defeated on the road 4th placed Shizuoka (16-6) 71-60 on Sunday. Iwate had a 33-18 advantage in offensive rebounds. It was a great evening for American Kyle Richardson (200-91, college: Portland St.) who led his team to a victory with a double-double by scoring 30 points and 19 rebounds. Senegalese forward Assane Diop (197-92, college: Austin Peay) helped adding 10 points and 13 rebounds. Beninese power forward Muusa Dama (207-96, college: EIU, agency: Blacktop Management) responded with a double-double by scoring 23 points and 18 rebounds and Argentinian forward Alexis Elsener (195-88, agency: Interperformances) scored 13 points. Both coaches used bench players and allowed the starting five to get some rest. Iwate maintains sixth place with 15-7 record. Loser Shizuoka keeps the fourth position with six games lost. Iwate will meet at home Saitama (#7) in the next round. Shizuoka will play against Yokohama EX in Tokyo and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
Shizuoka: M.Dama 23+18reb+3ast, A.Elsener 13+3reb, Y.Okada 6+4reb+1ast, H.Tobita 6+1reb+2ast, Y.Kentaro 5+4ast, R.Stephan 5+6reb+1ast
Iwate: K.Richardson 30+19reb+2ast, Y.Toshiki 13+2reb+1ast, A.Diop 10+13reb+2ast, S.Komatsu 9+1reb, R.Ito 4+2reb+1ast, J.Taniguchi 3+3reb+2ast



Tags : JEFFREY GIBBS, NAGASAKI VELCA, JAPANESE BASKETBALL