They may not speak about it day after day, but there's a spirited competition taking place for the bj-league's assist title this season between Oita Heat Devils point guard Tsubasa Yonamine and his counterpart from the Ryukyu Golden Kings, Naoto Takushi.

With six games remaining on each team's regular-season schedule, both players have a realistic shot at ending the season atop the charts.

Yonamine is currently in pole position with 6.0 assists per game and Takushi is a close second at 5.8.