The Korean Basketball League's Wonju Dongbu Promy defeated the host Osaka Evessa 85-71 on Friday in the first game of the 2008 bj-league/KBL series before 5,850 fans.
Nick DeWitz, a former Sendai 89ers player, led the Evessa with 18 points, Naoto Nakamura scored 16 and Lynn Washington had 15.
All-Star forward Kazuya Hatano pulled down a team-best 12 rebounds for Osaka, which trailed 48-32 at halftime.
Promy's Wendell White, a former UNLV guard, scored a game-best 30 points. Teammate Reggie Okosa poured in 20 points on 9-for-16 shooting.
The teams, defending champions in their respective leagues, will meet again on Sept. 28 in Wonju, South Korea.