Balanced scoring guided the Levanga Hokkaido past the Akita Northern Happinets in their series opener on Sunday in Sapporo.
Takanobu Nishikawa scored a team-high 24 points in Levanga's 76-70 victory at the Hokkaido Prefectural Sports Center.
Hokkaido's Daniel Miller added 15 points, 46-year-old shooting guard Takehiko Orimo turned back the clock with 13 points on 6-for-10 shooting and Daisuke Noguchi chipped in with 12 points. Point guard Asahi Tajima finished with seven points and five assists for the Levanga (2-3), who shot 52.3 percent from 2-point range.