B1 Sendai 89ERS defeated Sanen Neophoenix 82-74. Nathan Booth (29) led the offense with 19 points, the most in the team. Next, Justin Burrell (34), Hiroharu Kataoka (37), and Yasunori Aoki (27) also scored in double digits and grabbed victory for the first time in three games.

In the first half, Sendai was doing well in offense and defense. With his characteristic solid defense, he firmly suppressed Sanen’s offense and connected it to a good shot. With this virtuous circle, he scored 28 points in the first quarter (Q) alone, including six 3-point shots (3P). He also scored 4 3Ps in the 2nd quarter, and after the first half, he was 55-34.

The momentum in the first half stalled in the 3rd quarter. He was held to just 6 points and was pushed to 61-55 at once to 6 points. The flow tilted to the third, but in the 4th quarter, Keita Sawabe (28) and Yasuki Okada (23) maintained their lead with consecutive 3Ps and barrel dunks. With less than a minute remaining, Booth managed to escape by making five free throws. Assistant coach Yoshiro Ochiai (40), who replaced head coach Hiroki Fujita (36) on that day, said, “We will continue to erase the good points of the opponent. So that we can play a better offense.” I tightened my mind.