KASHIWA, Chiba Pref. -- Jubilo Iwata clinched the J. League Division One first-stage title for the fifth time in its history after edging Kashiwa Reysol 3-2, with Naohiro Takahara netting the winner at Kashiwa-no-ha Stadium on Saturday night, the final day of the stage.
Jubilo qualified for the J. League Championship, slated for Dec. 7 and 14, in which it will compete for the season's overall title against the second-stage winner. The second stage will begin on Aug. 31.
Reysol failed to see off its South Korea forward Hwang Sun Hong with a win and picked up its eighth straight loss, the worst run in the club's history. Hwang, hampered by a number of injuries, had decided to leave the club after the first stage. The 34-year-old, who won the J. League Golden Boot in 1999 at Cerezo Osaka, played in a total of 70 matches and scored 42 goals since first appearing in the J. League in 1998.