The Tokyo Apache used a strong spurt to start the fourth quarter and enough plays down the stretch to eke out a 79-75 victory over the Sendai 89ers on Friday night in the bj-league.
Sendai (27-13) entered the series finale with a 10-game winning streak. Tokyo improved to 15-25.
Julius Ashby paced the Apache with 22 points, Cohey Aoki scored 15, Michael Chappell had 13 and Rasheed Sparks added 11 and pulled down 10 boards.
Gyno Pomare had a team-best 25 points for Sendai, Josh Peppers added 20 and Chris Holm and Nick DeWitz scored eight apiece. Holm hauled in a game-high 15 boards.
Tokyo trailed 61-58 after three quarters at Yoyogi National Gymnasium No. 2, but outscored the 89ers 15-5 to usher in the final period.
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