Since losing to the Osaka Evessa in the bj-league championship game last season, the Tokyo Apache have had one goal in mind: to earn a championship this season.
Right now, the Apache face a pivotal stretch of the season that should test their championship mettle.
After a pair of one-sided losses to the Hamamatsu Higashimikawa Phoenix last weekend, the Apache had to regroup for a rare midweek series at Yoyogi National Gymnasium against the Niigata Albirex BB. And they had to do so without two of their best players — shooting guard John "Helicopter" Humphrey, the bj-league's scoring champion in 2005-06 and 2006-07, and center Nick Davis, who are sidelined for an estimated one month and two weeks, respectively.