The Panasonic Panthers defeated the Sakai Blazers 25-17, 27-25, 27-25 in the men’s Premier League final on Sunday.
League MVP Kunihiro Shimizu, Brazilian Joao Paulo Tavares and Tatsuya Fukuzawa tallied 45 points between them for Panasonic’s first title in two seasons and third overall.
Earlier in the day, the Toray Arrows scored a 25-19, 25-15, 25-17 win over the Toyoda Gosei Trefuerza in the third-place match.
In the women’s final the Toray Arrows defeated the JT Marvelous in straight sets in the women’s final to claim their unprecedented third consecutive Premier League title on Saturday.
Saori Kimura scored a game-high 24 points and Saori Sakoda added 17 points to lead the Arrows to a 28-26, 25-21, 25-16 win at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium.
Kimura was named the season’s Most Valuable Player. The Arrows became the first team to claim the women’s title for three straight seasons since the league was established in 1994.
The Marvelous’ 192-centimeter South Korean wing-spiker Kim Yeon Koung had 23 points but the team stumbled with 13 errors and came up short of capturing its first-ever title.
In the women’s third-place match, the Denso Airybees beat the Hisamitsu Springs 25-22, 28-26, 20-25, 19-25, 15-12.
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