AKITA — Saturday's bj-league season opener at Akita Prefectural Gymnasium will be remembered for its historic significance.
It was the first game of the Akita Northern Happinets' inaugural season. It was hometown hero and Noshiro Technical High School legend Makoto Hasegawa's first game in an Akita uniform. And it was televised live by NHK in six northern Honshu prefectures.
By all accounts, it was a big deal for this city, prefecture and region, as evidenced by six TV stations' cameras in the post-game interview room.