UTSUNOMIYA, Japan - Bay Area clinched a spot in the third place game of the 2023 EASL Champions Week after beating reigning Japan B.League champion Utsunomiya Brex, 96-90, on Friday at the Nikkan Arena.
Andrew Nicholson scored 26 points and grabbed 12 rebounds while Fil-American recruit Sedrick Barefield added 20 points for the Dragons, who ended their campaign Group B with a 1-1 win-loss record.
The Dragons ended up in a tie with the Brex, but they advanced to the battle-for-third due to the winner-over-the-other tiebreak rule. They will face the second placer in Group A on Sunday in Okinawa.
Bay Area made it to the next phase even after its 92-84 loss to the Seoul SK Knights, who advanced to the final by virtue of their 2-0 record in the group stage.
It was a sorry loss by the Brex, who had a 33-point victory over TNT in their first outing.
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