Piece by piece, Kyoto Hannaryz coach Honoo Hamaguchi has cobbled together an impressive resume. He is the bj-league¡¯s only bench boss to be in charge of a team on opening day in all nine seasons.
Through Sunday, Hamaguchi¡¯s overall regular-season record is 252-154, winning games at a 62 percent clip. The Hannaryz (33-17) are vying for a third straight trip to the Final Four, but have this weekend off before closing out the season on April 26 and 27 against the host Aomori Wat¡¯s. They have already locked up the No. 2 seed for the Western Conference playoffs, thus earning a bye into the conference semifinals.
The fact that Kyoto has won six straight games and nine of its last 10 shouldn¡¯t be a big surprise to anyone who has been following Hamaguchi¡¯s career. His teams are always competitive, and he¡¯s still chasing his first championship in the fledgling circuit.
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