It took until the fifth month of the season for the Ryukyu Golden Kings and Tokyo Apache, a pair of bj-league title contenders, to face each other for the first time.
Saturday's game in Naha, Okinawa Prefecture, could be a preview of May's championship game. But first and foremost, it was a big victory for Bob Hill's Apache, a 92-84 triumph in which six players scored in double figures, including budding star Kensuke Tanaka's 21-point performance. Tanaka canned 5 of 7 3-point attempts.
The Apache (19-10), who have played four fewer games than the rival Sendai 89ers, moved into second place in the Eastern Conference. Tokyo's winning percentage is now .655 after recording its fifth straight victory.