Sports

Chiba Sweeps B.League Rival Utsunomiya in Season-Opening Series

The Jets clicked on offense in the first half, but veteran star Yuta Watanabe sustained an ankle injury early in the B.League game on October 6.

Published

3 days ago

October 9, 2024

Ed Odeven

Chiba Jets swingman Christopher Smith looks to score against the Utsunomiya Brex on October 6, 2024. Smith finished with a game-high 20 points. (©B.LEAGUE)

Read the full story on SportsLook - Chiba Sweeps B.League Rival Utsunomiya in Season-Opening Series

FUNABASHI, Chiba Prefecture ― There was good news and bad news for the Chiba Jets on Sunday, October 6, when the title-chasing club played its second game of the 2024-25 B.League season.

New head coach Trevor Gleeson's club exhibited high-energy, efficient basketball at both ends of the court. And the Jets completed a two-game sweep of the Utsunomiya Brex, winning 80-61 at their brand-new home venue, LaLa arena TOKYO-BAY.

Several Jets players had noteworthy performances, including Christopher Smith (20 points, 8-for-13 shooting), John Mooney (10 points, 15 rebounds), Yuki Togashi (13 points, nine assists) and DJ Hogg (13 points).

It appeared that former NBA forward Yuta Watanabe was on the verge of another strong performance for his new team. Watanabe scored the game's first points on a driving layup. He also nailed a 3-pointer to put the Jets ahead 5-0 with 7:51 to play in the opening stanza.

Moments later, Watanabe collided with Brex guard Makoto Hiejima while defending him. Watanabe landed awkwardly and injured his left ankle. He didn't re-enter the game.

Chiba jumped out to a 21-12 lead by the end of the first quarter.

"It was a really good start for the first quarter," Gleeson said.

On Tuesday, the team provided an injury update in a news release. Watanabe is expected to be sidelined for six weeks with a sprained left ankle joint.

In his B.League debut on Saturday, October 6, Watanabe had 16 points and eight rebounds in the Jets' 91-84 overtime victory.

Jets Build a 20-Point Lead by Halftime

A day later, the Jets showcased their roster depth and determination. Togashi had 10 points in the second quarter and Smith, who came off the bench, added eight points to help carry the Jets to a commanding 47-27 lead at halftime.

"Our bench did an absolutely great job out there, especially with the injuries and getting into foul trouble," Gleeson said. "It was a very good weekend to start off the season and hopefully, we can get into a little bit of a rhythm."

DJ Newbill, who led the Brex with 35 points in the series opener, had eight of his 10 points in the third quarter on Sunday.

But Utsunomiya, which trailed by as many as 25 points and never held the lead, didn't have enough consistent scoring in the rematch.

The Brex faced a 19-point deficit entering the fourth quarter and they were held to 32.9% shooting (19 of 59), including 5-for-24 on 3-point attempts, in the game.

After Chiba's resounding victory, Smith summed up his team's performance by saying, "I just feel that the team was clicking on all cylinders."

Grant Jerrett had a team-high 14 points for the Brex, while Isaac Fotu had a 13-point outing.

Insights from Brex Coach Braswell

Coming off a B.League-best 51-9 season and a first-round exit in the playoffs, Utsunomiya parted ways with head coach Norio Sassa and promoted Kevin Braswell to replace him in June 2024.

Reflecting on the 19-point loss less than 24 hours after a hard-fought overtime game, Braswell commented, "I think from start to finish today we looked like we were tired. So maybe that's why we played so poorly. I'm not sure, but we made a lot of mistakes."

With an 0-2 start to the season, Braswell emphasized that the team is implementing changes to how it plays, relying less on set plays and more on going with the flow of the game to run the offense.

Braswell noted that the Jets are a team with dynamic one-on-one skills, mentioning Smith, Hogg and Togashi as examples.

"There's a lot of one-on-one that they can do. They can play basketball," Braswell said of the Jets, "and that's what makes them so good."

He added, "That's where I want to get us to towards the end of the season."

Continue reading the full story on SportsLook.

Author: Ed Odeven

Find Ed on JAPAN Forward's dedicated website, SportsLook. Follow his [Japan Sports Notebook] on Sundays, [Odds and Evens] during the week, and X (formerly Twitter) ＠ed_odeven.