Toshiba big man Nick Fazekas put up a double-double performance with 19 points and 20 rebounds as the Brave Thunders took the first game of a two-game series over their archrival Toyota Motors Alvark with a 73-65 win at Yoyogi National Gymnasium No. 2 on Saturday.
Shooter Naoto Tsuji hit four of his six 3-point attempts and chipped in for Toshiba with 16 points. The 210-cm center Fazekas also blocked four shots by the Alvark.
The two teams have always played physical defensive games, and Saturday¡¯s contest wasn¡¯t any different. Up by just one at the half, Toshiba eventually prevailed thanks to its stingy defense. In the end, the Brave Thunders held the Alvark¡¯s shooting percentage to just 30.0 percent (Toshiba shot 43.1 percent from the field.)
¡°We knew that we would have defensive battles (against Toyota),¡± Brave Thunders head coach Takuya Kita said after the game. ¡°And we held them to 65 points, which was good.¡±
With the victory, the NBL Eastern Conference-leading Brave Thunders improved their record to 11-2 and widened their lead ahead of second-place Toyota (8-5) in the standings.
Asked if he thought his team is now more confident playing against Toyota, Kita replied, ¡°I think so. But it¡¯d be great to take both games, so we want to definitely win tomorrow.¡±
The Alvark had four double-digit scorers. Center Philip Ricci led the team with 12 points. Toyota out-grabbed Toshiba in offensive rebounding (24-14), but wasn¡¯t able to take advantage.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.