Chiba Jets defeated Tokyo Sun Rockers 97-92 in the B League on Friday evening. The visitors held firm in the closing stages to secure a narrow victory on the road. By then the contest had settled into something more tactical than most regular-season affairs.
Chiba remain second in the table with 42 wins from 60 games. The five-point margin tells you this was decided in moments, not momentum. And here's the thing — they've been outscoring opponents consistently lately, even when results have gone against them.
Recent form shows a team finding its rhythm. They lost two away games to Nagasaki in mid-May, both by single digits, before turning things around with back-to-back wins over Gunma Crane Thunders. Then came that heavy defeat at home to Gunma, followed by three straight losses. To be fair, the pattern suggests they were struggling for consistency before this win.
The scoreline itself says something about how the game played out. Tokyo pushed them all the way, and you'd expect the visitors to feel they could have taken it either way. Chiba's defence held up when it mattered, though the margin was razor-thin.
They now extend their unbeaten run to three games, though that's still a long way from the top spot. The gap remains tight in these parts of the table, and one mistake ends it for anyone chasing the leaders.
