Star center Davante Gardner joins SeaHorses
In a major move that could shake up the balance of power in the B. League's Central Division, the SeaHorses Mikawa announced the acquisition of star center Davante Gardner on Thursday. Gardner spent the past three seasons with the Niigata Albirex BB, helping the club ...
Niigata hopes to take momentum into playoffs
Niigata Albirex BB coach Kazuhiro Shoji has been in an enviable position throughout the season. Since the Albirex opener in October, Shoji hasn't had a legitimate reason to make wholesale changes to his starting lineup. Instead, the names of veteran guards Kei Igarashi and Shinsuke Kashiwagi, ...
Niigata edges Fukuoka in overtime
The Niigata Albirex BB are tough to beat at home. Saturday's series opener against the Rizing Zephyr Fukuoka was a reminder of that fact. Davante Gardner, the B. League's leading scorer, and veteran teammates Lamont Hamilton and Kei Igarashi set the tone for Niigata in an ...
Niigata outplays Mikawa in series opener
Niigata Albirex BB star Davante Gardner received an abundance of Christmas presents from the SeaHorses Mikawa on Saturday afternoon. The B. League's leading scorer was repeatedly sent to the free-throw line, and the Marquette University product drained 12 of 13 attempts in an 86-77 road ...
Albirex soar past Happinets in series opener
The Niigata Albirex BB employed a three-guard lineup in Thursday's series opener against the Akita Northern Happinets. Veterans Kei Igarashi and Shinsuke Kashiwagi started alongside combo guard Ryonosuke Watanabe, and the trio scored a combined 28 points in Niigata's 84-74 victory. Igarashi, who played on Japan's ...
Niigata re-signs sharpshooter Davante Gardner; NeoPhoenix icon Masahiro Oguchi calls it quits
Davante Gardner is staying put with the Niigata Albirex BB. While the Central Division club missed the playoffs last season, the Marquette University alumni enhanced his reputation as an elite player in the B. League by leading the circuit in scoring (28.7 points per game). The ...
Jets place premium on continuity
After a championship runner-up finish and the team's first East Division regular-season title, the Chiba Jets Funabashi aren't making wholesale changes as they prepare for the upcoming season. Head coach Atsushi Ono, who has guided the Jets to 44- and 46-win campaigns in 2016-17 and ...
Clubs get back to business after All-Star Game
After the exciting national spotlight of the second annual B. League All-Star Game, it's back to business for the 36 teams that comprise the first and second divisions. As noted in a feature story in this newspaper last week, the Rizing Zephyr Fukuoka and Akita ...
Hometown hero Shintaro Kobayashi steals the show at B. League All-Star Game in Kumamoto
The players didn't take themselves too seriously during the second annual B. League All-Star Game. Instead of focusing on lock-down defense for the full 40 minutes, they aimed to please. They put the focus on scoring points in a hurry with an emphasis on razzle-dazzle ...
All-around team effort carries Brex past Albirex in comeback victory
The Tochigi Brex were a slow-starting team on Friday night. But they heated up in the second half against the host Niigata Albirex BB, turning the tide in their favor. The defending B. League champions rallied for a 71-62 victory in their series opener in Nagaoka, ...
Brave Thunders avenge loss to rival SeaHorses
After a high-scoring loss on Friday night, the Kawasaki Brave Thunders regrouped and salvaged a series split the next day. Reigning B. League MVP Nick Fazekas scored 25 points, grabbed 14 rebounds and made a game-high four steals in the Brave Thunders' 89-58 rout of ...
Tochigi's Yusuke Endo leads trio of free-throw sharpshooters
With the game on the line and the potential pressure of a must-make free throw the reality, three B. League players have had the greatest success to date. Yes, their collective sample size is a bit small in terms of overall shots, but near-perfect accuracy ...
