Sports

BASKETBALL | Alvark Tokyo Emerge as One of B.League's Top Teams After a Slow Start

Allowing a league-low 69.2 points per game, the Alvark Tokyo have won seven straight games and are tied for the second-best record in the league.

Published

2 years ago

December 20, 2022

Ed Odeven

Alvark Tokyo guard Taiki Osakabe surveys his options against the Toyama Grouses on December 18 at Yoyogi National Gymnasium. (B.LEAGUE)

This article first appeared on SportsLook, JAPAN Forward's dedicated sports website.

After opening the season with three losses in their first six games, the Alvark Tokyo began to find their rhythm under first-year head coach Dainius Adomaitis.

The Alvark, the only team to win back-to-back titles in B.League history (in 2017-18 and 2018-19), had a 9-5 record after 14 games. Since then, Tokyo has emerged as one of the best teams in the 24-team league.

Entering their Christmas weekend series against the visiting Shiga Lakestars, the Alvark (16-5) are riding a seven-game winning streak. What's more, they are tied with the Hiroshima Dragonflies for the second-best record in the league. Only the Ryukyu Golden Kings and Chiba Jets, both of whom are 17-4, have more wins heading into the penultimate weekend of 2022.

December has been a fabulous month for Lithuanian bench boss Adomaitis' team.

It started with wins over the host San-en NeoPhoenix on December 3 and 4 (79-65 and 82-61), followed by home victories over the Kyoto Hannaryz on December 10 and 11 (86-70 and 62-58).

Read the full story on SportsLook.

Author: Ed Odeven

Follow Ed on JAPAN Forward's [Japan Sports Notebook] here on Sundays, in [Odds and Evens] here during the week, and Twitter ＠ed_odeven, and find him on JAPAN Forward’s dedicated sports website, SportsLook.