The Yokohama B-Corsairs successfully survived the humiliating prospect of demotion to the second division in the B. League's inaugural season with a 74-53 victory over the Hiroshima Dragonflies in the promotion/demotion game at Yoyogi National Gymnasium on Sunday afternoon.
Center Jason Washburn gave a dominant performance in the paint and posted a game-high 27 points and 13 rebounds to lead the B-Corsairs, who were forced to play in the decider after they fell 79-71 to the Toyama Grouses in a first-division survival playoff on May 19 in Tokyo.
"I'm just feeling relieved right now," Yokohama head coach Shota Shakuno said after the game. "We watched Hiroshima's last game last week and we knew they are a capable team. They were in (the top division of) the NBL last year, too. So we knew we'd get beaten if we were off guard.