For the Kawasaki Brave Thunders and Alvark Tokyo, bonus play was the high-pressure result of Saturday's thrilling B. League Championship semifinal contest at Todoroki Arena.
Forty minutes, aka the regularly scheduled Game 2, was not enough time to determine which team would advance to next Saturday's title game at Yoyogi National Gymnasium against the Tochigi Brex-SeaHorses Mikawa series winner (that series will be decided on Sunday). The Alvark's 78-77 win forced the tiebreaker.
And so it came down to 10 additional minutes, a quirky relic of the now-disbanded bj-league to complete the proceedings at Todoroki Arena before 4,608 spectators. It was labeled Game 3, but really served as a continuation of the intense second game, which featured 11 ties and 10 lead changes and no lead greater than six points.