The Sendai 89ers acquired guard Yasuaki Arai, a dependable perimeter shooter, from the Saitama Broncos for an undisclosed amount of cash on Friday, the bj-league announced.
Arai, 29, suited up for the JBL's Mitsubishi Diamond Dolphins from 2006-09.
Last season, Arai averaged 5.0 points and shot 38.3 percent from 3-point range in 51 games, according to asia-basket.com. On April 1 against the 89ers, Arai buried 5 of 6 3-point shots in 15-point performance that likely remained fresh in the memory of Sendai's front office staff and coach Bob Pierce as the 89ers looked to retool their roster for next season.
Arai played three seasons for the Broncos, who went through four head coaches -Masato Fukushima, Bob Nash, Dean Murray and Natalie Nakase — in that span.
Sendai went 25-27 in 2011-12, while Saitama posted a 16-36 record.