With the popularity of Japanese basketball continuing to grow, it's expected that arenas will be filled to capacity during the upcoming B. League Championship playoffs.
"On Feb. 24, the Japanese men's national team clinched a berth in the World Cup, which gave us a spot at next year's Olympics as well," league chairman Masaaki Okawa said at a Tokyo news conference on Monday. "Especially during the final two months or so of the regular season, there were more arenas with full crowds and it feels like basketball in this country has heated up even more."
Eight teams are set to compete in the quarterfinal round of the postseason, with both the quarterfinals and semifinals taking place in a best-of-three format. Until last year, the third game of a series was played directly after Game 2 and consisted of two five-minute halves. This year the third game, if needed, will be held on a different day.