Aisin Sea Horses center J.R. Sakuragi attempted 24 field-goals in the All-Japan Basketball Championship title game.

His biggest shot was No. 24.

With just under a minute remaining, Sakuragi scored the go-ahead bucket on a jump hook in the lane as Aisin defeated the Toyota Alvark 85-82 on Monday at Yoyogi National Gymnasium Annex.

With the victory, Aisin captured its fifth Emperor's Cup title, but first since 2005. In doing so, the Sea Horses dethroned the defending tourney champs in the 32-tournament final.

"We'd been away from the title for two years — and it's been a pity — and we definitely wanted to win this tournament," longtime Aisin coach Kimikazu Suzuki said. "We have good players. But still you have to play solid basketball to win. . .

"In all respects, this was the hardest among the five tournaments we have won."

Sakuragi's aforementioned bucket made it 81-80. He then sank a pair of free throws, which capped a 34-point performance, with 27.5 seconds left.

Toyota's Takeki Shonaka answered with a layup to cut the deficit to 83-82. But on the Sea Horses' next possession, James Maye made two foul shots to make it a three-point game.

Toyota had one final possession and a chance to tie the game in the closing seconds, but Yusuke Okada's 3-point attempt was off the mark.

Sakuragi pulled down the rebound and instantly tossed the ball in the air. It was an emphatic finish to his superb game. Then he rushed to celebrate the title, the 83rd annual Emperor's Cup, with his teammates.

"Toyota is a very tough team, and I knew we had to play to the last minute to win the game," said Sakuragi, a naturalized Japanese citizen. "My teammates and I responded and at the end we kept our poise and pulled it out."

Sakuragi led all players in scoring and did it the old-school way: All his shots (he finished 14 of 24) were taken from inside the arc. He had nine offensive rebounds and finished with 18 boards, as well as five assists.

Toyota was outrebounded 40-25, a number that disappointed Alvark coach Torsten Loibl.

On the boards, "we were too weak to win this game," Loibl admitted, saying his team failed to stop Aisin's second- and third-chances effectively, especially Sakuragi's putbacks.

The Alvark made a strong comeback in the fourth quarter, keyed by 3-point shooting. Trailing 75-61 with 6:37 remaining, Toyota used a trio of long-range shots, capped by Michael Takahashi's trey from the left corner, to cut it to seven.

Charles O'Bannon, Sakuragi's former UCLA teammate, hit a pair of free throws to cut the Sea Horses' lead to 79-74 with 3:24 left.

With the lead down to 79-78, Aisin guard Shinsuke Kashiwagi missed a pair of critical free throws. But after the game he was able to smile when a reporter asked him about it.

"I didn't feel any pressure or nerves, though, after throwing the first shot I felt strange," Kashiwagi said. "On the second (attempt), I was calm, but I failed to put the right pressure onto the ball."

With 1:43 to play, Toyota took the lead, 80-79, for the first time in the second half on captain Satoru Furuta's layup. He missed the subsequent foul shot; but his team's spirited comeback prompted a slew of cheers.

Kashiwagi was the top scoring guard for Aisin, putting 17 points on the board and swishing all three of his 3-point attempts. Alpha Bangura made 6 of 7 shots and had a 14-point afternoon.

For Toyota, Takahashi had a team-best 28 points, O'Bannon had 21 and Takuma Watanabe had 13.

Aisin held a 40-38 lead at halftime.

In the JBL regular season, the Alvark are 13-8 and tied for second place with OSG Phoenix. Aisin leads the league with a 16-5 record.

"Having won the whole tournament by a narrow margin, it's going to lead to our league play as well," Aisin forward Kosuke Takeuchi said. "We've been playing together always and that's led to this outcome."

Loibl said his team had a great tournament and now shifts its focus to the JBL regular season.

"We absolutely have to fight to secure a (playoff) spot," the coach said.

BEST FIVE: Toyota's Takahashi (guard/forward) and O'Bannon (forward), Aisin's Sakuragi and Kashiwagi and Hitachi forward Joji Takeuchi were named to the all-tournament team.