This is a very important road loss for first ranked Niigata Albirex (31-13) against fourth ranked Hitachi Sunrockers (20-24) on Friday night. Sunrockers Shibuya outplayed the visiting Niigata Albirex BB in Friday’s B-League series opener in Tokyo 92-77. It ended a 4 game losing streak on the road and broke the six-game winning streak of Niigata Albirex.
The hosts out rebounded Niigata Albirex 37-26 including 28 on the defensive glass at Aoyama Gakuin University Memorial Hall. Hitachi Sunrockers looked well-organized offensively handing out 24 assists, shooting 51.5 percent for the night; Niigata was held to 42.5 percent.
It was a great evening for the Sunrockers’ frontcourt pair, Robert Sacre and Ryan Kelly combined for 52 points. Center Sacre who led his team to a victory with a double-double by scoring 27 points on the board, making 10 of 17 shots from the floor. He also pulled down 12 rebounds and blocked a pair of shots. Kelly helped adding 25 points, including 5 of 8 from 3-point range and 4 assists.
Four Hitachi Sunrockers players scored in double figures. Offensive conductor Leo Vendrame poured in 14 points, dished out six assists and made two steals for Shibuya, while Kaito Morizane, a 21-year-old shooting guard, pumped in 13 points, knocking down four 3s.
Hitachi Sunrockers’ coach Geoffrey Katsuhisa used a ten-player rotation and allowed the starting five to rest.
On the losing side current league scoring leader Davante Gardner responded with a double-double by scoring 22 points, 11 rebounds and 5 assists and the other import power forward Lamont Hamilton scored 21 points. Kei Igarashi managed to add 13 points.
Hitachi Sunrockers maintains fourth place with 20-24 record. Loser Niigata Albirex still keeps top position with 13 games lost.
After this 2 game series, these teams do not play again in the regular season, which will be an opportunity for some rest.
Top scorers:
Hitachi SR: R.Sacre 27+12reb, R.Kelly 25+3reb+4ast, L.Vendrame 14+7reb+6ast, M.Kaito 13+1reb+3ast, Y.Mitsuhara 6+3reb, M.Yamauchi 3+3ast
Niigata Albirex: D.Gardner 22+11reb+5ast, L.Hamilton 21+2reb, K.Igarashi 13+1reb+3ast, J.Uzawa 6+1ast, S.Ishii 3+1reb, S.Kashiwagi 3+3reb+3ast
