For the remaining four title-chasing participants in the B. League Championship, familiarity over the years is a common thread.
After all, the Tochigi Brex, SeaHorses Mikawa, Kawasaki Brave Thunders and Alvark Tokyo played often against one another in the old JBL and its successor, the NBL, before the FIBA-enforced merger, along with the revamped Japan Basketball Association, brought the rival bj-league and NBL under the same umbrella for the current season.
What's changed?