Gunma breezes past Hokkaido in B. League Manila Opener

Gunma Crane Thunders made their mark to the Filipino crowd after dominating Levanga Hokkaido, 98–81, in the opening game of the B. League Manila at the Mall of Asia Arena, Sept. 9.

The matchup marked the first time the Japanese professional basketball league staged games outside Japan, providing Filipino standouts like Dwight Ramos of Hokkaido and Gunma’s AJ Edu a chance to play before a hometown crowd. 

The Crane Thunders built a double-digit lead in the first half and carried the momentum into the second, spearheaded by Stanley Johnson’s 23 points, five rebounds, three assists and one steal.

McKinney-Jones and Yuma Fujii further fueled Gunma’s offense with 16 and 14 points, respectively, while Edu anchored the crew’s frontcourt with seven boards.

Gunma stretched their advantage to 26 points eight minutes into the fourth quarter, with Johnson’s flurry of buckets beyond the arc to hand his squad a 86–55 lead.

Hokkaido attempted to trim the deficit in the closing minutes, but Keisei Tominaga’s 19 points and Ramos’ 13 were not enough to spark a comeback as Gunma maintained control until the final buzzer.

Gunma and Hokkaido will meet again tomorrow, Sept. 10, at the same venue as the Crane Thunders look to replicate their winning ways.