B2 League Round 17 (Regular Season): Bambitious defeat Kumamoto V. in the closest game of the week

Here is the last round review presented by Job Market.

The most exciting game of round 17 in the B2 League took place in Kumamoto. This derby game ended with only one-point home defeat of 6th ranked Volters (5-12) to fifth ranked Nara (7-10) 73-72 in the game for the fifth place. It ended at the same time the two-game winning streak of Volters. Bambitious made 20-of-25 free shots (80.0 percent) during the game. They also forced 21 Kumamoto V. turnovers. American forward Jaemyn Brakefield (203-2000, college: Ole Miss) stepped up and scored 22 points and 6 rebounds for the winners and his fellow American import center Nigel Spikes (208-1989, college: Marshall) chipped in 12 points and 8 rebounds. American forward Mitch Lightfoot (203-1997, college: Kansas, agency: Slash Sports) responded with 18 points and 6 rebounds. Both coaches used bench players in such tough game. Bambitious maintains fifth place with 7-10 record, which they share with Iwate. Kumamoto V. at the other side keeps the sixth position with 12 games lost. Bambitious is looking forward to face league's second-placed Fukui B. on the road in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Kumamoto V. will play against the league's second-placed Ehime (#2) and is hoping to prove to their supporters that this time they can win.
The game between Top Four teams took place in Renova. Their close opponent host Rebnise (7-9) was smashed by fourth ranked Excellence (9-7) 113-94. American guard Tray Boyd III (193-1998, college: ETSU) nailed a triple-double by scoring 40 points (!!!), 17 rebounds and 12 assists for the winning side and Io Nagano accounted for 20 points and 5 assists. American-British center Josh Sharma (213-1995, college: Stanford) came up with a double-double by scoring 22 points and 13 rebounds for Kagoshima in the defeat. Rebnise's coach rotated eleven players seeing no chance for a win. Excellence have a solid series of four victories in a row. Yokohama maintains fourth place with 9-7 record which they share with defeated Kagoshima. Kagoshima at the other side keeps the fourth position with nine games lost. Yokohama will play against league's leader Kobe S. in Hyogo in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Kagoshima will play on the road against Iwate and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
The game between Top Four teams took place in Fukui. Second ranked host Blowinds (10-7) defeated 3rd placed Rizing (9-8) 75-71. The best player for the winners was Ryan Kelly who scored 20 points and 5 rebounds. Pablo Aguilar produced a double-double by scoring 18 points and 14 rebounds for the guests. Both coaches tested many bench players in such tough game. Fukui B. maintains second place with 10-7 record having six points less than leader Fukushima, which they share with Shinshu. Loser Rizing keeps the third position with eight games lost. Fukui B. will meet at home Bambitious (#5) in the next round. Fukuoka R. will play against the league's leader Fukushima and it may be a tough game between close rivals.

There were no shocking results in the rest of the games of round 17: Shizuoka lost to Fukushima on the opponent's court 74-91. Iwate managed to outperform Yamagata in a home game 79-65. Shinshu managed to beat Aomori W. on the road 79-64.
The most impressive stats of the last round was 19 points and 6 rebounds by Aki Chambers of Shinshu BW.



Kagoshima - Yokohama EX 94-113

The game between Top Four teams took place in Renova. Their close opponent host Rebnise (7-9) was smashed by fourth ranked Excellence (9-7) 113-94. Yokohama made 28-of-31 charity shots (90.3 percent) during the game. Their players were unselfish on offense dishing 33 assists. Kagoshima was plagued by 27 personal fouls down the stretch. American guard Tray Boyd III (193-1998, college: ETSU) nailed a triple-double by scoring 40 points (!!!), 17 rebounds and 12 assists for the winning side and Io Nagano accounted for 20 points and 5 assists. American-British center Josh Sharma (213-1995, college: Stanford) came up with a double-double by scoring 22 points and 13 rebounds and American swingman Anthony Gaines Jr (195-1993, college: LCU) added 14 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists respectively for Kagoshima in the defeat. Both teams had five players each who scored in double figures. Rebnise's coach rotated eleven players seeing no chance for a win. Excellence have a solid series of four victories in a row. Yokohama maintains fourth place with 9-7 record which they share with defeated Kagoshima. Kagoshima at the other side keeps the fourth position with nine games lost. Yokohama will play against league's leader Kobe S. in Hyogo in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Kagoshima will play on the road against Iwate and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Kagoshima: J.Sharma 22+13reb+3ast, T.Komamizu 19+4reb, A.Gaines Jr. 14+8reb+8ast, F.Kota 13+6reb+6ast, T.Kodama 12+3reb+2ast, S.Sato 6+3reb+1ast
Yokohama EX: B.Tray 40+17reb+12ast, I.Nagano 20+1reb+5ast, M.Zack 15+1reb+2ast, S.Coulibaly 15+2reb+2ast, U.Junki 13+3reb+3ast, H.Kinoshita 4+5reb

Fukushima - Shizuoka 91-74

Very expected game in Fukushima where 7th ranked Veltex (3-14) was defeated by first ranked Firebonds (16-1) 91-74 on Sunday. Fukushima looked well-organized offensively handing out 21 assists. The best player for the winners was Egyptian-American center Patrick Gardner (211-1999, college: Marist) who scored 22 points. American swingman Kenny Manigault (195-1991, college: Pikeville) chipped in 14 points and 4 assists. German Tim Schneider (208-1997) produced a double-double by scoring 15 points and 12 rebounds and Australian center Angus Brandt (208-1989, college: Oregon St.) added 19 points and 7 rebounds (on 9-of-11 shooting from the field) respectively for the guests. Both coaches tested many bench players which allowed the starters a little rest for the next games. Firebonds have an impressive series of fifteen victories in a row. Fukushima maintains first place with 16-1 record, which they share with Kobe S. Shizuoka lost fourth consecutive game. They dropped to the sixth position with 14 games lost. They share it with Aomori W. and Yamagata. Fukushima will meet at home Fukuoka R. (#3) in the next round, which may be the game of the day. Shizuoka will play against Shinshu in Nagano and hope to secure a win.
Top scorers:
Shizuoka: A.Brandt 19+7reb+1ast, T.Schneider 15+12reb+2ast, K.Teppei 14+3ast, K.Masuda 8+4reb+3ast, S.Takumi 6+4reb, T.Masachika 5
Fukushima: G.Patrick 22+4reb, M.Kenny 14+2reb+4ast, B.Diouf 11+1reb, N.Jack 9+3reb+2ast, T.Masuko 7+2reb+4ast, J.Yoneyama 6+6reb+2ast

Fukui B. - Fukuoka R. 75-71

The game between Top Four teams took place in Fukui. Second ranked host Blowinds (10-7) defeated 3rd placed Rizing (9-8) 75-71. Fukui B. looked well-organized offensively handing out 22 assists. The best player for the winners was American Ryan Kelly (211-1991, college: Duke, agency: Slash Sports) who scored 20 points and 5 rebounds. Damilola Mosaku chipped in 17 points and 4 assists. Spanish Pablo Aguilar (204-1989, agency: Octagon Europe) produced a double-double by scoring 18 points and 14 rebounds and American forward Justin Burrell (204-1988, college: St.John's) added 24 points and 6 rebounds (on 10-of-12 shooting from the field) respectively for the guests. Both coaches tested many bench players in such tough game. Fukui B. maintains second place with 10-7 record having six points less than leader Fukushima, which they share with Shinshu. Loser Rizing keeps the third position with eight games lost. Fukui B. will meet at home Bambitious (#5) in the next round. Fukuoka R. will play against the league's leader Fukushima and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Fukuoka R.: J.Burrell 24+6reb+3ast, P.Aguilar 18+14reb+2ast, A.Keisuke 10+1reb+3ast, Y.Karino 6+1reb, R.Aoki 5, N.Takanobu 3+3reb+3ast
Fukui B.: K.Ryan 20+5reb+2ast, D.Mosaku 17+3reb+4ast, M.Hosoya 15+2reb+3ast, N.Fujisawa 9+3reb+5ast, E.Perry 9+7reb+3ast, I.Rapolas 2+5reb+2ast

Iwate - Yamagata 79-65

The game between closely ranked teams ended with fifth ranked Big Bulls' (7-10) home victory over 6th ranked Wyverns (3-14) 79-65 on Sunday. Iwate forced 19 Yamagata turnovers. They looked well-organized offensively handing out 21 assists. The best player for the winners was Clay Mounce who scored 22 points and 5 rebounds. American forward Noah Gurley (203-1999, college: Alabama) chipped in 15 points and 9 rebounds. American James Bell (196-1992, college: Villanova, agency: Slash Sports) produced 10 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists and Dutch center Shaquille Doorson (213-1994, college: Rutgers) added 5 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists respectively for the guests. Both teams had four players each who scored in double figures. Both coaches allowed to play bench players saving starting five for next games. Iwate maintains fifth place with 7-10 record, which they share with Bambitious. Yamagata lost fourth consecutive game. They keep the sixth position with 14 games lost. They share it with Aomori W. and Shizuoka. Iwate will meet at home higher ranked Kagoshima (#4) in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Yamagata will play against Aomori W. and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Yamagata: M.Shinya 14+1reb+4ast, N.Waterman 13+5reb, S.Takumi 10+7reb+1ast, J.Bell 10+9reb+5ast, R.Abe 8+1reb+1ast, S.Doorson 5+10reb+6ast
Iwate: C.Mounce 22+5reb+3ast, G.Noah 15+9reb+2ast, H.Usui 14+2reb+3ast, K.Monma 10+6reb+2ast, S.Yamagiwa 9+1reb+6ast, S.Taira 3+1reb+1ast

Kumamoto V. - Bambitious N. 72-73

The most exciting game of round 17 in the B2 League took place in Kumamoto. This derby game ended with only one-point home defeat of 6th ranked Volters (5-12) to fifth ranked Nara (7-10) 73-72 in the game for the fifth place. It ended at the same time the two-game winning streak of Volters. Bambitious made 20-of-25 free shots (80.0 percent) during the game. They also forced 21 Kumamoto V. turnovers. American forward Jaemyn Brakefield (203-2000, college: Ole Miss) stepped up and scored 22 points and 6 rebounds for the winners and his fellow American import center Nigel Spikes (208-1989, college: Marshall) chipped in 12 points and 8 rebounds. American forward Mitch Lightfoot (203-1997, college: Kansas, agency: Slash Sports) responded with 18 points and 6 rebounds and Venezuelan center Gregory Echenique (208-1990, college: Creighton, agency: Pensack Sports) scored 17 points and 6 rebounds (was perfect 7-for-7 from the free throw line). Both coaches used bench players in such tough game. Bambitious maintains fifth place with 7-10 record, which they share with Iwate. Kumamoto V. at the other side keeps the sixth position with 12 games lost. Bambitious is looking forward to face league's second-placed Fukui B. on the road in the next round and it will be quite challenging to get another victory. Kumamoto V. will play against the league's second-placed Ehime (#2) and is hoping to prove to their supporters that this time they can win.
Top scorers:
Kumamoto V.: M.Lightfoot 18+6reb+2ast, G.Echenique 17+6reb+2ast, K.Ishikawa 13+1reb+6ast, Y.Atomu 6+1ast, N.Djurisic 5+4reb+2ast, Y.Shota 5+3reb+7ast
Bambitious N.: B.Jaemyn 22+6reb+2ast, S.Takuya 18+1reb+1ast, S.Nigel 12+8reb+1ast, P.Viacheslav 8+3reb, I.Shunpei 6+2reb+1ast, M.Komaki 5+1ast

Aomori W. - Shinshu BW 64-79

Not a big story in a game in Aomori where 7th ranked Watts (3-14) were defeated by third ranked Brave Warriors (10-7) 79-64 on Sunday. The best player for the winners was the former international guard Aki Chambers (191-1990, college: UC Merced) who scored 19 points and 6 rebounds. Daiki Tsuchiya chipped in 20 points and 5 assists. American Rashard Kelly (203-1995, college: Wichita St.) produced 11 points, 9 rebounds and 4 blocks and the other American import forward Noah Gurley (203-1999, college: Alabama) added 17 points respectively for the hosts. Five Shinshu and four Aomori W. players scored in double figures. Both coaches allowed to play bench players saving starting five for next games. Shinshu moved-up to second place, which they share with Fukui B. Loser Watts dropped to the sixth position with 14 games lost. They share it with Yamagata and Shizuoka. Shinshu will meet at home Shizuoka (#7) in the next round which should be theoretically an easy game. Aomori W. will play against Yamagata and it may be a tough game between close rivals.
Top scorers:
Aomori W.: A.Shugo 17+3reb, R.Kelly 11+9reb+1ast, M.Hisatake 10+4reb+3ast, O.Masahiro 10+3ast, W.Wang 7+4reb+2ast, K.Taiga 4
Shinshu BW: D.Tsuchiya 20+1reb+5ast, C.Aki 19+6reb+2ast, H.Yokoyama 11+2reb+1ast, T.Kodama 11+1reb+6ast, C.Angelo 10+15reb, I.Yudai 5+1reb