Final Four weekend brings three teams to Tokyo that were expected to be here and one that joined the mix by a less conventional route.
The defending champion Hamamatsu Higashimikawa Phoenix, the three-time champion Osaka Evessa and the 008-09 title-winning Ryukyu Golden Kings were all popular choices to be in the hunt for the title before the bj-league's sixth season tipped off in October.
This, however, has been anything but a typical season.