Mikawa Seahorses Shut Out Utsunomiya | B.League Basketball News

Limit Utsunomiya’s 3-point shooting success rate to 14.7%

Utsunomiya Brex and Seahorse Mikawa faced off in the semifinals of the 101st Emperor’s Cup All-Japan Basketball Championship.

Mikawa entered the second quarter with a 19-17 lead thanks to 3-point shots by Yoshiaki Kubota and Ryogo Kadono, but their defense outplayed Utsunomiya. Put pressure on the ballman and actively set traps. He made a move on the passing path and hooked the ball, causing turnovers on three consecutive possessions. They continued to make tough shots, allowing only eight points in the quarter, and ended the first half with a 36-27 lead.

Mikawa’s pace continues. As in the first half, Utsunomiya was unable to hit any 3-point shots, but Kosuke Ishii hit a transition 3, and Jake Layman broke through with his own. With three and a half minutes remaining, Nishida made a successful 3-point shot through coordinated team play, extending the lead to 15 points. However, Utsunomiya started a counterattack from here. Instead of focusing on outside shots, he repeatedly attacks and passes out, eventually finishing inside. Isaac Fotu, the finisher, scored 8 consecutive points to give the team a strong lead and cut the deficit to 5 points heading into the final quarter.

From this point on, there was a long period of back and forth between two and three possessions, but Mikawa remained focused on defense until the end, and did not give up the initiative. He thoroughly marked handlers DJ Newbill and Shin Hiejima, preventing them from playing freely, forcing them to release the ball and using quick rotations to contest outside shots. As a result, Utsunomiya’s 3-point shooting success rate was limited to 14.7%, preventing them from creating a flow and winning with a final score of 71-53.

For Mikawa, Ishii scored a game-high 15 points, followed by Nishida with 12 points and Davante Gardner with 10 points. For Utsunomiya, Gavin Edwards scored 14 points, Fotu and Kaisei Hoshikawa each scored 10 points, but Newville and Hiejima failed to score a combined 13 points.

The victorious Mikawa will play the final match on the 12th against Alvark Tokyo, who defeated Sanen Neo Phoenix 80-75.