Evergreen wide receiver Noriaki Kinoshita caught three touchdown passes from Skyler Howard and was named the game¡¯s MVP as the Obic Seagulls won their third straight Pearl Bowl Final with a 31-15 victory over the IBM BigBlue on Monday at Tokyo Dome.

The Seagulls became the third team to achieve the ¡°three-peat,¡± following the Renown Rovers (1985-87) and the Onward Oaks (1992-94), since the Pearl Bowl was established as the spring championship game of the industrial league in 1985.

The Seagulls¡¯ eight championships ties the Kajima Deers¡¯ Pearl Bowl record for the most crowns.

Kinoshita, who joined the Atlanta Falcons¡¯ training camp in 2007 and 2008, caught a 4-yard scoring pass in the second play of the Seagulls¡¯ first possession for an early 7-0 lead.

After the teams exchanged field goals to make it 10-3, the 36-year-old Kinoshita stiff-armed IBM defender Ryosuke Morioka for a 66-yard touchdown reception with 2:24 remaining in the second quarter.

¡°I remember I had a three-score game against IBM a few years back,¡± said Kinoshita, who added another score, this one a 70-yarder, midway through the third quarter. ¡°I felt the coverage against me was a bit weak, so I looked for chances to beat their coverage. We have a good running back in Taku Lee. Their defense had to put defenders in the box and it gave me some more space to attack.¡±

Kinoshita, however, regretted a drop he made on third-and-15 at the IBM 28-yard line late in the first quarter. The missed catch could have been his second score.

¡°Everybody praises me for my three-score performance tonight, but the drop was bigger to me. This should have been a four-touchdown game for me,¡± Kinoshita said.

IBM quarterback Yuki Masamoto threw a touchdown toss and scored another on a run, but the BigBlue missed the extra point in both cases and were unable to reduce the deficit.

Lee added an insurance score on a 5-yard run with 11:54 remaining in the final quarter, putting the game away for the Narashino, Chiba Prefecture-based team.