SMBC Tokyo Solua lost 58-91 to the Tokyo Haneda Vikings on Oct. 31 at Yoyogi Second Gymnasium in the opening game of the 2026-27 W League season, a first official meeting between the clubs after the Vikings spent last season in the W Premier division, Basketball Spirits reported.
Tokyo Haneda controlled the game from the first quarter, and the gap only widened as the night went on. Solua managed just 10 points in the fourth quarter as the Vikings pulled away for a 33-point win.
Rebounding gap tells the story inside the paint
Solua’s lack of size showed on the glass. The team is the only one in the W League without a foreign player, and that left it at a constant height disadvantage. Tokyo Haneda outrebounded Solua 51-23, according to Basketball Spirits.
Solua’s players acknowledged the problem candidly. Sae Anazawa, the team’s tallest player at 183 cm, said opponents repeatedly hurt them with simple high-low plays and post-ups, and that the team needs to review its defense while learning to switch instantly into offense after being scored on for the full 40 minutes.
Anazawa’s 12 points stand out on a quiet night
Anazawa was Solua’s only double-figure scorer, finishing with 12 points on 2-of-5 shooting from three-point range, along with two rebounds. She said the team’s plan is to keep hunting shots and never let a chance slip away, and that attacking aggressively whenever an opening appeared was one thing that worked on the night.
At 183 cm she is the biggest player on her own roster, but she noted that against opponents she is an ordinary size. Her stated goal is to become a multi-skilled player who can score both inside and from outside, attacking the spots that are uncomfortable for defenders.
Working weekdays shapes how Solua prepares
Every Solua player holds a weekday job, so the team practices at night after full workdays. Anazawa said the squad has tried to make the most of the limited 90 minutes to two hours available, focusing on high-intensity, high-precision work rather than volume, and building bodies that can hold up physically.
Anazawa, who joined the team when it entered the W League last season, said adjusting to that schedule was difficult at first and sleep suffered, but over the past year she has developed her own recovery routine and now feels settled in balancing her life as both an employee and a player.
