The Aomori Wat's are positioning themselves for another postseason appearance, building on the experience the Tohoku-based team gained in its inaugural season.

Coach Koju Munakata has guided the Wat's to a respectable 13-9 start, including a 4-2 record in their past six games.

Aomori, which had a 27-25 record in 2013-14, features a deep, versatile roster. Bench players have made key contributions along with the starters.

Here's one example of the team-first culture that Munakata has built in Aomori: Ten Wat's players have 15 or more assists this season, with veteran guard Kenichi Takahashi leading the way with 75 assists against 34 turnovers.

The club, now in fifth place in the 12-team Eastern Conference, has also been strong away from Aomori Prefecture, winning eight of 12 road contests.

Forward Gyno Pomare, a University of San Diego alum who has previously starred for Sendai, Hamamatsu, Kyoto and Iwate, all in one-year stints since 2009, has emerged as the go-to scorer with a team-high 14.9 points per game through Sunday.

Center Paul Williams, a key offseason pickup from Takamatsu, is No. 2 with 13.4 ppg, followed by forward Damian Saunders, a Duquesne product, with 11.4 ppg, 37 3-pointers and a team-high 50 steals.

Takahashi checks in at 8.9 ppg and is second behind Saunders in 3-pointers made with 27. Munakata also receives solid scoring from Kyle Richardson (6.8 ppg), Yuki Kitamuki (5.7) and Satoshi Ishitani (5.2).

Before the year's end, the Wat's are scheduled to face Akita on the road on Dec. 27-28, with a chance to climb in the standings and strengthen their rivalry with the Happinets at the same time.

With two games against Aomori last weekend, Tokyo's players can quickly conjure up images of the Wat's on-court strengths.

"I think they are a pretty decent team," Tokyo swingman Jemal Farmer told The Japan Times on Thursday. "They have Japanese players that are capable of making shots. I think they play well together on both ends of the floor. A very balanced team on offense. I like Williams and Pomare. I think they both play hard and fit well with the rest of the players they have."

Shinshu forward Carl Hall is also impressed with the overall makeup of the Aomori roster.

"They are just an all-around good team, they do a lot of things well and they play together," Hall told The Japan Times on Friday. "For them to do this well their first (two seasons) means that somebody knows what they're doing basketball-wise and they have great leaders in the organization."

Osaka forward Josh Dollard also weighed in on Aomori.

"I think those guys have a pretty good team, but more than a good team, I think for a second-year team, with my first year in the league up to this point, what I have seen so far they have one the best showing of fans that are behind them," Dollard told The Japan Times.

"For a second- year team, that type of love from your fan base can propel a team's success even more, because that's what guys feed off of is the excitement and level of energy and enthusiasm your fans bring, but I think they have a good thing going on over there for them!"

Back on track: Nara endured a seven-game slide from Oct. 17 to Nov. 22, getting swept by three powerhouse squads (Kyoto, Iwate and Akita) plus the opening game of a series against Shinshu.

The Bambitious, a second-year franchise, returned to the victory column by beating the Brave Warriors 98-97 in the series finale. Including that game, Nara, now 7-11 under first-year coach Ryutaro Onodera, has won five of its past seven games.

Cinq Reves talk: Tokyo, a third-year franchise, has stumbled out of the gates with 18 losses in its first 22 games through Sunday. The Cinq Reves have lost seven straight games and 16 of their past 17. They are 1-9 at home.

But guard/forward Farmer, the league's fourth-leading scorer (20.3 ppg), maintains a positive attitude despite the team's struggles.

"We have a good group of guys that work hard in practice and we are all ready to take the next step as a team and start to put everything together and start getting some wins," the University of Arkansas product told The Japan Times on Tuesday.

Farmer said coach Motofumi Aoki has an upbeat outlook, which rubs off on the players.

"Coach and all my teammates have been very positive despite the fact we have only won four games," Farmer said. "It's a long season. I am very hopeful things will turn around for us, we just have to continue to build on the positives and learn from our mistakes as a team."

How does Farmer feel he's performing in his first season in Japan?

"As far as myself I am not satisfied with averaging 20 points," he admitted. "I want to win more then anything. I believe I have played OK so far this season, but I still can improve and just want to focus on doing whatever my team needs me to do each week to give us the best chance to win.

"I'm excited to finish the rest of the season strong, both individually and as a team."

Weekend schedule: The Tokyo-Akita series tipped off on Friday in Kanto. The 10 Saturday-Sunday matchups are Sendai vs. Gunma, Fukushima vs. Hamamatsu, Niigata vs. Yokohama, Toyama vs. Iwate, Shinshu vs. Aomori, Kyoto vs. Nara, Shimane vs. Takamatsu, Fukuoka vs. Saitama, Oita vs. Osaka and Ryukyu vs. Shiga.

League accolade: Akita forward Richard Roby excelled last weekend against Takamatsu, earning him the Lawson/Ponta Weekly MVP accolade.

In the series opener, the University of Colorado alum put 20 points on the board with five rebounds , four assists and two steal. He topped that effort with 29 points, including 12-for-16 from 2-point range, eight rebounds, six assists and five steals.

In the paint: With 30 points on Sunday against Saitama, Sendai's Kejuan Johnson (22.8 ppg) move ahead of Iwate's Scootie Randall (22.7) as the league's leading scorer.

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