Center Richard Solomon led the Toyota Alvark with 18 points and eight rebounds and young Japanese ace Daiki Tanaka finished with 15 points as Toyota beat the Chiba Jets 77-74 to complete a sweep of the their best-of-three series in the first round of the NBL playoffs on Saturday at Tokyo¡¯s Yoyogi National Gymnasium No. 2.
Chiba had a 33-30 lead at halftime, but top-seeded Toyota prevailed in the third quarter, outscoring the Jets 27-19 to gain the advantage.
University of Texas alum Clint Chapman finished with a game-high 28 points for Chiba
Brex 80, Diamond Dolphins 64
In Utsunomiya, Tochigi Pref., this season¡¯s MVP, Ryan Rossiter, racked up 18 points and 13 rebounds as Link Tochigi cruised past Mitsubishi to take a 1-0 lead in their series.
Japan national team guard Takatoshi Furukawa hit four 3-pointers for 22 points for the second-seeded Brex.
Brave Thunders 84, Levanga 69
In Yokohama, former league MVP Nick Fazekas had 19 points and 13 rebounds to lead Toshiba to a win over the Hokkaido in Game 1.
SeaHorses 76, Sunrockers 71
In Kariya, Aichi Pref., shooter Kosuke Kanemaru went three-for-six from behind the 3-point arch, for a team-high 21 points, to guide Aisin to a victory over Hitachi, which played without last season¡¯s MVP Josh Heytvelt in the first game of their series.
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