GUNMA CRANE Thunders swiftly handed Levanga Hokkaido a 98-81 defeat in the inaugural B.League Manila Games 2026 at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City, Wednesday night.
The first of two exhibition games saw former NBA player Stanley Johnson drop 23 points, five rebounds, and three assists, waxing hot from downtown with five triples.
It set the tone for an absurd 16-for-30 from beyond the arc for the Crane Thunders, earning them a double-digit lead for all four quarters.
AJ Edu finished with three points, seven rebounds and four assists in the win which bested Gilas counterpart Dwight Ramos, who starred for Levanga with 13 points on three of five shooting from downtown.
“It was a good game, especially offensively,” said Gunma shotcaller Kyle Milling.
“We got in a good rhythm early, our passing game was good, we created many open shots. In the second half, we didn’t. give up any easy fouls or easy baskets," he continued.
“We’re still a long way to go, it’s still preseason. A lot of work to do. But we took a small step today to get to where we want to be,” Milling added about the third-seeded Crane Thunders in last season’s eastern conference.
Johnson was flanked by fellow American Trey Jones, who delivered 16 points, while Koh Flippin and his three steals anchored Gunma’s defense.
Levanga, meanwhile, failed to capitalize on an emphatic first half from Keisei Tominaga, who rained down 19 points all in the first half before fizzling out in the third and fourth frames.
Gunma and Hokkaido will face each other once again on Thursday at the same venue as a conclusion to their historic exhibition commemorating the longstanding relations of the two countries.
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