What made the Ryukyu Golden Kings¡¯ remarkable championship season even more startling was the team¡¯s cohesiveness and singular focus. It started in training camp and lasted until the final second ticked off the clock at Ariake Colosseum on Sunday.
The Golden Kings¡¯ strictly business mentality set the tone for their lockdown defense, which yielded a league-low 68.5 points per game in the regular season). They held the Kyoto Hannaryz to 56 points in the Western Conference final on Saturday before clamping down on the high-powered Akita Northern Happinets, who averaged a league-best 90.2 points a game before the playoffs.
Though the Happinets had 89 points, they were shut down during the third quarter when Ryukyu seized control of the game with a 20-4 run.
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