YOKOHAMA - Nagasaki Velca clinched its maiden Japanese basketball championship with a 72-64 win against the Ryukyu Golden Kings in the decisive Game 3 of the B-League finals on Tuesday.
Swingman Lee Hyun Jung scored a game-high 23 for Nagasaki, which had extended the best-of-three finals by winning Sunday's Game 2 after the Okinawa-based Golden Kings took the series opener.
Nagasaki led 36-23 at halftime before the Golden Kings fought back to cut the deficit to 59-56 with 6:25 left to play in front of 13,235 at Yokohama Arena.
With star Velca wing Yudai Baba in foul trouble, South Korea national team member Lee picked up the slack during his game-high 38-minute performance.
"I think everyone on our team is an incredible player, and when someone's in foul trouble, we all believe everyone is going to step it up," Lee said.
"I wouldn't be able to do it without my teammates. They believed in me, they found me open, they set great screens for me, so I want to give credit to them."
Velca, founded in 2020, was contesting its first championship series after finishing the regular season with a league-best 47-13 record.
The Golden Kings, who most recently lifted the trophy in the 2022-2023 season, were contesting their fifth straight finals under recently appointed Japan head coach Dai Oketani.
