March Madness is a staple of American popular culture, one of sports' true treasures.
Japanese basketball has nothing quite like college hoops' annual spring extravaganza in the United States, but Thursday's bj-league clash at Yoyogi National Gymnasium No. 2 offered a decent one-night alternative. It wasn't pure madness, but it was pure entertainment and fierce competition rolled into 40 minutes of on-court excitement.
The Sendai 89ers held off a pesky Tokyo Apache team 89-85 to extend its winning streak to 10 straight games.