THOUGH met with more resistance compared to yesterday, the Gunma Crane Thunders swept the Japan B.League Manila Games 2026 after defeating Levanga Hokkaido anew, 101-91, in overtime at the Mall of Asia Arena on Thursday night.
In the absence of both teams’ leading scorers due to maximized fouls, Gunma’s Yuma Fujii took matters into his own hands, scoring seven points in extra time, including the go-ahead dagger with 39.9 seconds left.
Fujii finished with 18 points on a scorching 5-of-10 from beyond the arc, outscoring Stanley Johnson’s limited output of 17 markers in four quarters.
The Crane Thunders endured galvanizing second and third quarters from Levanga, where it overcame an 11-28 start to force a deadlock to start the final frame.
Once there, Johnson — who was keeping Gunma afloat — fouled out at the 8:16 mark, with Levanga's own top gun in Keisei Tominaga following with 2:35 to go.
With a gutsy victory thanks to Fujii's heroics, Crane Thunders head coach Kyle Milling praised his squad’s resilience, saying, “Our team showed a lot of heart to come back towards the end of the game and then pull ahead in the overtime.”
“It's kind of who we are. I'm proud of the players' effort, given a couple of guys were down, two guys hurt, a couple of guys foul out. We came back and won the game.”
Takuto Nakamura led Gunma in scoring with 25 points, four rebounds, and three assists, flanked by fellow starters Kerry Blackshear Jr. who had a near double-double of 12 markers and nine boards and Trey Jones who poured in 11.
Toyota Choice Most Valuable Player AJ Edu also flirted with a double-double himself with nine points and nine rebounds for the Crane Thunders.
Tominaga dropped 34 points and six rebounds for the Hokkaido, with 19 of coming in just the third quarter. Dwight Ramos was right there with him with 17 markers and four dimes.
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