The regular season was no fluke.
The Takamatsu Five Arrows won three of four regular-season games against the Niigata Albirex BB, and they did it again on Saturday, topping the 2005-06 league runnerup 79-67 in the day's second semifinal.
In a game that meant the difference between competing for the bj-league championship and playing for third place on Sunday, the expansion Five Arrows excelled under the spotlight.