The 21st year of B1 Niigata Albirex BB began with a victory. Defeated Kyoto with 88-64, the largest score difference this season.

At Aore Nagaoka, the main arena, on October 4, it became a white star since the second match (80 ○ 75) of the opening card against Yokohama. In the second quarter (Q), which was greeted with 12-14 and 2 points behind, he succeeded in reversing with 27 goals and 10 goals and offense and defense. The second half was pushed through by that flow.

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I stripped off the white star. Niigata scored 24 points, the maximum score difference this season, and conceded a minimum of 64 points this season. In the 2nd Q, SG Kimitake Sato (36) and SG Kashiwagura Teppei (25) shot to 18-14 in the early stages. After the middle stage, SF Rosco Allen (27) and PF Allen Durham (32) boldly attacked the inside to improve the score. Sato and SF Yuichi Ikeda (37) show off their strong defense. The flow continued in the second half, and in the 3rd quarter, the onslaught of 30 points led to a 32 point difference at one point. The total rebound of the assignment was also overwhelming at 46:25.

On this day, I played in the reprinted uniform used in the first year of 2000-01 in the team’s 20th anniversary match. Kyoto played a good match with the top teams in the eastern region, including two consecutive victories against Kawasaki in December, and maintained its momentum. “Go with the feeling of a challenger,” said PG Kei Igarashi (40). In the previous away match, he had 1 win and 1 loss, but he faced a mess.

In the previous section, the final card of 20 years against Shinshu (December 26, 27, Aore Nagaoka) lost in a row 67-76, 73-76. There was an urgent need to rebuild. Director Shogo Fukuda (36) checked the defensive movement by practicing in a match format, saying, “We focused on defense and rebound.” Prompted for thorough rebound.

At Aore Nagaoka, on October 4, the second round of the opening game, the victory since the game against Yokohama. SF Captain Yuichi Ikeda (37) said, “I have to show myself to win.” He fulfilled his thoughts with a big win and offered a white star to local fans.[Shinichiro Saito]

Niigata SG Kimitake Sato “We defended so that the opponent foreign players would not play as we wanted. The team as a whole had a long defensive time.”

Niigata SF Rosco Allen “After the first quarter, I knew where to attack both as an individual and as a team. After that, I went aggressive.”