Their ultimate goal remains in front of them, but the Kyoto Hannaryz set a league record for regular-season victories on Sunday in their final game before the playoffs and finished in first place in the Western Conference for the first time in franchise history.

Kyoto thumped the visiting Osaka Evessa 83-64, closing the book on the 2014-15 campaign with a 44-8 record.

Last season, the Ryukyu Golden Kings went 43-9 before capturing their third title in May.

Reggie Warren paced Kyoto with 21 points, 11 rebounds and five assists and David Palmer and Ryan Forehan-Kelly each scored 12 points, the latter also pulled down 10 rebounds. Kyosuke Setoyama had 11 points and Sunao Murakami dished out seven assists.

The Hannaryz out-rebounded their Kansai rival 55-31 in the series finale to secure their sixth straight victory.

"I think it was a great accomplishment breaking the record and clinching first place," Warren told The Japan Times after the game. "It's just a testament to how hard we have worked all season. I think if I didn't miss those few games (four in all), it would have been an even better record.

"I am just proud of my teammates and coaching staff and everybody in the organization; we all work very hard. But with that said we will enjoy it, but we are still focused on the task at hand.

"We must continue to work hard and prepare to give us the best chance to reach Ariake (Colosseum) and complete our ultimate goal," he added, referring to the upcoming Final Four on May 23-24.

Yutaro Nishi led Osaka with 24 points and doled out five assists. Naoaki Hashimoto scored 12 points and Gary Hamilton chipped in with 11 points and 10 boards.

Kyoto completed its 52-game schedule with a 23-3 record at home and 21-5 on the road.

Up next: The Hannaryz play host to No. 8 Takamatsu (17-35) in a May 3-4 first-round series.

The rest of the Western Conference's first-round matchups, with games to be played on Saturday and Sunday, are: No. 2 Ryukyu (42-10) vs. No. 7 Oita (18-34), No. 3 Hamamatsu (41-11) vs. No. 6 Shimane (22-30) and No. 4 Shiga (34-18) vs. No. 5 Osaka (28-24).

The Eastern Conference playoff picture is also finalized. Here are the first-round pairings, with all games set for Saturday and Sunday: No. 1 Akita (41-11) vs. No. 8 Gunma (19-33), No. 2 Iwate (41-11) vs. No. 7 Fukushima (21-31), No. 3 Sendai (37-15) vs. No. 6 Aomori (23-29) and No. 4 Niigata (36-16) vs. No. 5 Toyama (35-17).

Warren, meanwhile, recognizes how vital Palmer, a former bj-league MVP and title winner with both Osaka (twice) and Ryukyu (once) is to the Hannaryz's success.

"He has been in the system for a few years with (Kyoto coach) Honoo (Hamaguchi) so he knows how Honoo works," Warren noted, looking at Palmer's tenure with Kyoto, starting in the fall of 2012. "He has helped me a lot all season adjusting to everything. But we have known each other for some time now and both had a respect for each other's game and drive to compete."

Crane Thunders 73, Grouses 68

In Isesaki, Gunma Prefecture, coach Charlie Parker's squad salvaged a series split and clinched a playoff spot by beating Toyama.

Carlos Dixon was Gunma's top scorer with a 24-point outing. Daniel Northern Jr. chipped in with 16 points and 10 rebounds and former NBA big man Melvin Ely added 10 points, 12 boards and two steals. Masashi Obuchi finished with 11 points and six assists.

The Crane Thunders started the season with 12 losses in their first 13 games and turned things around in Parker's first season at the helm. After team trainer Takashi "T." Tanaka died at age 34 in February due to internal bleeding in his brain, they dedicated the rest of their season to him.

It has been an emotional roller coaster for Parker's club, players have told The Japan Times in recent interviews.

On Sunday, Dixon, a Virginia Tech product, took stock of what the Crane Thunders have accomplished in the franchise's third season by reaching the playoffs for the first time.

"It's a big accomplishment for us to make the playoffs," Dixon told The Japan Times. "All the ups and downs we had this season, to make it through them and get to the playoffs is huge. Making it with these guys is great, we all deserve it.

"We have been playing for 'T' every since his tragic passing. To make postseason play is one of the things he wanted for us."

And what does it mean personally for Dixon to helped lead Gunma into the playoffs?

"Me, as a veteran player, making it back is great, but we know we have a tough task ahead," he said. "It's a new season now and anything can happen so we are going to leave everything on the court."

Toyama star Masashi Joho scored 19 points, Sam Willard had 12 points, 14 rebounds and six assists and Jermaine Dixon and Joe Werner both had nine points.

B-Corsairs 109, Cinq Reves 69

In Hiratsuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, Warren Niles' 23-point effort and Carl Hall's 20 points and 10 boards sparked Yokohama in a rout of Tokyo, which dropped 18 straight games to close out a disastrous season.

Seiji Kono poured in 14 points for the B-Corsairs (18-34), who have missed the playoffs for two consecutive seasons. Masayuki Kabaya added 13 points and Wayne Marshall had a productive final game with 11 points, six assists and five steals.

The B-Corsairs completely dominated the second and third quarters, outscoring Tokyo (5-47) by a 66-31 margin.

Zane Knowles had 18 points for the Cinq Reves, Will Foster supplied 17 points and 17 rebounds and Yuji Ide scored 16 points.

Phoenix 74, HeatDevils 61

In Beppu, Oita Prefecture, Mo Charlo had 20 points and 14 boards and Olu Ashaolu chipped in with 15 and nine as Hamamatsu rolled past the hosts.

As key newcomers and team leaders from the get-go this season along with Nile Murry, they steered the Phoenix to their first 40-win season since the 2010-11 title-winning campaign (40-6) under ex-bench boss Kazuo Nakamura.

Tasuku Namizato had 11 points for Hamamatsu.

Naoto Takushi paced the HeatDevils with 14 points and six assists and Kazuya "J." Hatano added 10 points.

Oita coughed the ball up 19 times.

Susanoo Magic 87, Bambitious 56

In Matsue, Shimane Prefecture, Joe Chapman's 23 points and Wesley Witherspoon's 17 ignited the hosts' offense in their second victory in as many days over Nara.

Bingo Merriex notched a double-double (16 points, 12 rebounds) and Shuichi Takada scored 10 points for the Susanoo Magic.

Michael St. John led the Bambitious (12-40) with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Chehales Tapscott and Jared Carter each had 10 points for Nara, a second-year franchise.

Firebonds 104, Brave Warriors 89

In Shirakawa, Fukushima Prefecture, Masaya Karimata sank four 3-pointers in a 21-point performance, dished out seven assists and collected five steals for the Firebonds, who swept Shinshu.

Verdell Jones had 20 points and five assists in the win. Frontcourt mates Edward Morris (18 points, 10 boards) and James Hughes (14 points, 10 rebounds) also made big contributions.

For the Brave Warriors (19-33), who missed out on the playoffs because of the total points tiebreaker in head-to-head games with Gunma, Mohamed Abukar scored 27 points and DeVaughn Washington added 24 points and 14 rebounds. Shoji Nakanishi put 15 points on the board.

89ers 89, Wat's 84 (OT)

In Kuroishi, Aomori Prefecture, Kejuan Johnson's 28-point, four-steal effort keyed Sendai's overtime triumph over the Wat's.

Wendell White contributed 18 points and nine rebounds for the 89ers, who got 11 points and eight assists from Takehiko Shimura.

Makoto Sawaguchi paced Aomori with 22 points.

Big Bulls 80, Albirex BB 75

In Morioka, Iwate Prefecture, the Big Bulls led 24-9 after one quarter in a bounce-back win over Niigata.

Iwate snapped the Albirex's 10-game winning streak.

Scootie Randall had 23 points, including 11-for-12 at the free-throw line for the Big Bulls, while Lawrence Blackledge added 19 points, 11 boards and two blocks. Jun Nakanishi scored 12 points.

Stephan Van Treese scored 21 points for Niigata and Patrick Sullivan had 14.

"It's always nice to end the season with a win," Blackledge said on Sunday night. "I did not know they were on a winning streak, but we just wanted to come out and play at a high level with playoff intensity.

"Both games this weekend were dog fights. Playoff atmosphere, our fans were amazing giving us so much energy this weekend and hopefully they can do the same during our playoff run."

Northern Happinets 95, Broncos 64

In Akita, coach Makoto Hasegawa won a regular-season conference title in his first season at the helm by virtue of the head-to-head tiebreaker against Iwate, routing Saitama.

The Happinets' Noriyuki Sugasawa was the team's top scorer with a season-best 26 points and Shigehiro Taguchi canned six 3s in a 23-point game.

Koji Nagata scored 21 points with 12 rebounds and eight assists for the Broncos (6-46).

Lakestars 77, Golden Kings 60

In Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture, Shiga earned a series split against the reigning champs.

Terrance Woobury and Jeff Parmer had 18 and 17 points, respectively, for the Lakestars. Ray Nixon and Yu Okada were next on the scoring chart with 13 and eight.

Draelon Burns and Ryuichi Kishimoto had 13 points apiece for the Golden Kings.