[Match Results]December 9th (Sat) vs Levanga Hokkaido | Gunma Crane Thunders

Gunma 84-73 Hokkaido (4,631 people)

[Starting 5]
■Gunma Crane Sanders
4 Trey Jones
8 Aren Hachimura
9 Naoto Tsuji
16 Binglicheng
25 Caleb Tarzowski

■Levanga Hokkaido
4 Shuto Terazono
21 Dalal Willis Jr.
40 Thomas Welsh
66 Yuta Matsushita
81 Gohei Sekino

【Score】
Gunma 84-73 Hokkaido
1Q 31-24
2Q 40-40（9-16）
3Q 68-54（28-14）
4Q 84-73（16-19）

[Stats]

#1 Co Flippin 4 points 6 rebounds

#4 Trey Jones 16 points 3P(2/3) 3 rebounds 5 assists
#8 Aren Hachimura 12 points 3P(4/6)

#9 Naoto Tsuji 14 points 3P(2/6) 7 assists
#12 Keigo Kimura 6 points 3P(2/5)
#16 Sei Namizato 5 points, 3 assists
#25 Caleb Tarzowski 11 points 6 rebounds
#50 Ben Bentil 14 points 6 rebounds

[Comment from Kota Mizuno HC]

“I’m very happy that the whole team was able to play well.What we need to do in order to aim higher is to do what we need to do until the end of the game.” We need to be able to continue playing. I believe this will improve our team’s ability and help us become stronger. So no matter which player plays, we will be able to express our own basketball for 40 minutes. This is what I would like to continue to aim for in the future.

Also, I think the challenge for our team to improve is to further improve the quality of our game or to finish without dropping when we have a maximum of 18 points difference. I would like to focus on that and once again create a team that can win with all 13 members of this team, and I want everyone to do that together.

(We had 9 points in the 2nd quarter. What instructions did you give at halftime?)
As for the offense, I wasn’t that pessimistic. Including the second quarter when we scored 9 points, we were getting open shots, and I didn’t think we were facing a defense that could really stop our flow, so we thought, “Let’s keep hitting like this.” We talked about this and that we would decide the second half ourselves.

During that time, we talked about some things we could fix, but rather than making any major changes, we sent our players out with the intention of once again playing in our own way.

During the screen game at the beginning of the second half, Hachimura made solid shots and I think he gave us a flow. He’s getting open because the big man has put up a good screen. We were able to play cooperatively to take advantage of each other’s strengths and strengths, so I think that was really good. ”
　

[Comment from Kei Igarashi]

“Since the last game against A-Tokyo, I think our style of basketball has been good.

The score was tied at 40-40 in the first half, but we were able to limit our runs in the second half, and we were able to score over 40 points, which was good. Right now, everyone is playing with all their might without thinking too much, and I think that’s leading to good results.

I only played for 6 minutes, but it had been a long time since I had played this long, so I stepped on the court without thinking too much about the score difference, and just enjoyed playing the first game in a while and contributing to the team’s victory. I was playing with the mindset that I could do it. I always prepare so that I can make a solid contribution no matter when I appear.

There’s talk that we’re dealing with injuries, but that’s no more than an excuse in this world, so we’ll continue to fight with the players we currently have. I think we have to win in this situation, and of course the players and staff are not satisfied with the current results. The players and staff will be thinking about what they can do to the best of their ability, so rather than looking ahead, the first thing we need to do is to make sure we hit the ball well on the court each game and score as many points as possible. I think we are playing this game with the goal of winning in mind. ”
　

[Comment from Aren Hachimura]

“Today we played at a high pace, which is what we are good at, and we were able to play with good intensity just like we did against A-Tokyo, so I think we were able to come away with a solid win.

Personally, I wasn’t able to finish the game on a good note at the end of the first half, and I made a bad substitution, so I was thinking of changing my mindset in the third quarter and actively taking shots. The first play of the third quarter was a set play that used me, so I felt really comfortable taking the shot. I think that was the reason why I was able to continue making shots after that.

In the match against FE Nagoya, we focused too much on defense and had a bad rhythm on offense for a long time, which caused us to lose two games in a row, so we as a team focused on our strengths on offense.

Today, just like against A-Tokyo, we were experimenting with a small lineup, but I think the biggest reason for our victory was that we were able to run the offense with a really good rhythm. ”