Ed Odeven 
Miho Takagi, winner of the women's 1,000 meters at the 2025 ISU World Speed Skating Single Distances Championships. And the Ryukyu Golden Kings, winners of the 2025 All Japan Basketball Championship. (©KYODO)
Read the full story on SportsLook - [JAPAN SPORTS NOTEBOOK] In March, a Plethora of Success Stories in Japanese Sports
March is a super-busy month on the sports calendar, with the overlap of winter and spring sports seasons. For example, basketball and baseball compete for fans' interest alongside soccer and rugby, as well as golf, tennis, speed skating, skiing and snowboarding.
There's plenty for sports fans to cheer and get excited about. Let's begin with two noteworthy feats: speed skating and basketball.
Miho Takagi defended her world title in the women's 1,000 meters at the ISU World Speed Skating Single Distances Championships. The Japanese star clocked 1 minute, 14.75 seconds to win the event in Hamar, Norway, on March 15.
Takagi finished 0.23 seconds ahead off the Netherlands' Femke Kok to claim the title in her best event.
The 30-year-old Takagi, who won the Olympic gold in the women's 1,000 at the 2022 Beijing Games, said she was pleased after repeating as world champ.
"I managed to stay tenacious until the end," Takagi said, according to Kyodo News. "There were issues and I think it wasn't the perfect race, but I have experienced the importance and difficulty of winning at this tournament.
"I'm happy with the fact I've won."
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March Delight for B.League's Golden Kings
Elsewhere, the 100th All Japan Basketball Championship, aka the Emperor's Cup, staged its title match on March 15 at Yoyogi National Stadium in Tokyo. The Ryukyu Golden Kings defeated B.League rival Alvark Tokyo 60-49 to claim their first Emperor's Cup crown.
Alex Kirk paced the Golden Kings with 15 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and frontcourt mate Jack Cooley had 10 points and 15 boards. Keve Aluma chipped in with nine points and floor leader Ryuichi Kishimoto finished with nine.
Ryukyu led 31-24 at halftime.
Shuto Ando had a team-high 12 points for the Alvark. Sebastian Saiz added 11 points.
The Golden Kings were the tournament runners-up in 2023 and 2024, falling to the Chiba Jets both times in the final.
Longtime Ryukyu assistant coach Keith Richardson was thrilled with the outcome of the March 15 match.
"After getting our third shot at it we finally won the Japan Emperor's Cup championship! Richardson wrote on his Facebook page. "As they say 'Third time's the charm!' "
He added, "The team fought a very tough game and prevailed at the end. [It was] the 100th anniversary of this tournament! This was for the people of Okinawa!"
The Emperor's Cup was first staged in 1922. It was not held in 1942, 1944, '45 or '46 due to the war, but it was contested in 1943.
Oketani Praises His Players' Resilience
When the fourth quarter was over, and after the players and team staff congratulated one another and saluted the fans in the stands, Ryukyu bench boss Dai Oketani summed up the team's accomplishments in the Emperor's Cup. (The Golden Kings lead the Western Conference with a 30-13 record through March 22.)
"We had games [this season] where we couldn't win close games, and we played in games where it would have been easy for the team to fall apart," Oketani said. "In the midst of all this, everyone was patient and persevering this season, and the players continued to fight together as a team. And today, everyone did what they had to do as a team, which was rewarded with the Emperor's Cup victory. They fought hard and persevered well."
Continue reading the full story, which includes news items on the new IOC president, George Foreman and more, 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.
