Since rising to elite status and winning a championship in the 2008-09 campaign in their second season of existence, the Ryukyu Golden Kings have been a perennial threat to win it all.
They went 43-9 during the regular season, including 24-2 at home, setting two league records in the process. They allowed a league-low 3,561 points. They snatched the Western Conference's No. 1 seed for the playoffs. They earned a bye into the conference semifinals and now play host to a team they've had nothing but success against this season.
Ryukyu went 6-0 against the Hamamatsu Higashimikawa Phoenix, winning those games by a combined 62 points. That includes four triumphs in April, with the teams closing out the regular season against each other.