The old-fashioned scoreboard, featuring hand-turned numbers, in the far corner of toasty Hanno Civic Gymnasium displayed the following scores when it was over: Saitama 90, Sendai 51.
It was a blowout — there's no denying the facts — but, above all, Monday's preseason game for the Broncos and 89ers was an extension of the teams' work in preparation for their seventh seasons in the bj-league.
Both teams' 2010-11 seasons ended after the March 11 earthquake and both teams now have new coaches — Americans Dean Murray (Saitama) and Bob Pierce (Sendai). So this game, only three weeks before the regular season begins, was a much-needed chance for both coaches to evaluate their teams.