Saga Ballooners

Latest results

Standing

Basketball team

Club · Japan · B League

«Ballooners»

187 Matches

84 wins

103 losses

14566–14770 Points

−204 Difference

77.9 Average per match

Form L L L L W L

The Ballooners started in the B.League's third tier, B3, in 2019–20, and won it in their first season, finishing 30–10 before the pandemic cut the schedule short. Promotion to B2 followed, and two mid-table years under head coach Luis Guil Torres gave way to something sharper once Yuta Miyanaga took over as head coach and general manager in 2021. In 2022–23 the team went 45–15 in B2, then beat Nagasaki Velca 2–0 in the play-off final to reach B1, the top division, for 2023–24.

Nagasaki sits in the next prefecture over, and the final gave the rivalry its sharpest edge yet. Cuban guard Reynaldo Garcia averaged close to 19 points a game through that run, and American forward Chase Fieler played his part in it too, but the player most associated with the club is Ryota Inoue, called "Mr. Ballooners" and captain through both championship seasons. Former NBA centre Josh Harrellson joined ahead of the first B1 campaign.

The purple and white kit colours are drawn from the Saga International Balloon Fiesta.

Fixtures and results

12 Oct	B League	Gunma Crane Thunders H	61:72	L
10 Oct	B League	Kobe A	84:77	W
8 Oct	B League	Alvark A	74:90	L
4 Oct	B League	San-en NeoPhoenix H	89:93	L
3 Oct	B League	San-en NeoPhoenix H	61:97	L
27 Sep	B League	Hiroshima Dragonflies H	61:89	L

Nagoya Diamond Dolphins

San-en NeoPhoenix

Saga Ballooners

Hiroshima Dragonflies

B League

Group stage · Western Conference