Stephanie “I want to be more Toyota-like tomorrow”
The W League has reached the playoff final of the two-game first-come-first-served system. In the first leg of Fujitsu Red Wave and Toyota Antelopes, Toyota Motor Co., which was chasing a double-digit difference in many time zones, overwhelmed the fourth quarter with 20-8 and won 74-69.
Fujitsu took the initiative first. Rui Machida, the commander, instantly finds an advantage and leads to a goal when he aggressively sets a screen once morest Toyota Motor Co., Ltd., which is a switch defense, to create a mismatch. Also, in the defense, Yuki Miyazawa and Monica Okoye will stretch their bodies to compete with Evelyn Mawuli, Stephanie Mawuli, and Sylla Sokhana Fatou Ja. Then, following hitting a tough shot, he took a rebound and turned to attack. In particular, Mio Shinozaki had a good shot touch from the start, scoring 12 points in the first quarter alone and leading the team, with Fujitsu leading 18-11. However, Okoye made two fouls in the first quarter, and the second quarter went down to the bench.
Toyota Motor comes back to life in the second quarter. In the first quarter, the ball stagnated due to the pressure of Fujitsu and was forced to make a tough shot, but in the second quarter, people and the ball started to move in tandem and attacked with their own rhythm. Also, in the first quarter, he suffered from 5 out of 9 free throws, but when he gradually regained his sense of shooting, he narrowed the gap with free throws and narrowed the gap to 3 points in regarding 3 minutes.
It was thought that it would be the flow of Toyota Motor Corporation as it is, but Fujitsu also changed the heavy development with a free throw etc. to the middle shot by Aki Fujimoto of the second unit. In addition, Chikae Uchino, who also participated from the bench, also decided to shoot a 3-point shot, and Fujitsu, who returned the lead to double digits with 33-23 in the remaining 4 minutes, finished the first half with 41-31.
Toyota Motor, which increased the strength of defense in the second half, regains the rhythm
In the second half, the time passed while Fujitsu kept the lead of around double digits while it was a battle for points. Even so, Aika Hirashita shot 3 points at the end of the 3rd quarter, and Toyota Motor Co., Ltd., which had a second chance point screwed in by Shira, surpassed the 3rd quarter by 23-20 and reached the 4th quarter by 7 points.
Toyota Motor, which has further increased the strength of the defense, narrowed down by 3 points in the score of Stephanie and Shira at the start, and in the remaining 8 minutes Mai Yamamoto’s 3-point shot and Shira’s middle shot made 63-61 and Toyota Motor. Reverse. After that, Shira decided one following another middle shots from the free throw line, but the offense and defense continued. Then, Toyota Motor Co., Ltd. continued to chase two points for regarding three minutes, but with one minute and 40 seconds remaining, Yamamoto scored a three-point shot from the top and turned around once more with 70-69. Twenty seconds later, Stephanie gave Machida a free throw, but Machida removed both of them and Toyota Motor Co., Ltd. kept the lead. And with 19 seconds remaining, Yamamoto took the basket count from the drive that overtook three people including Machida. Toyota Motor, which overwhelmed the fourth quarter with 20-8, won a come-from-behind victory with 74-69.
“Toyota cannot say that it has done it today.”
Toyota Motor Co., Ltd. Shira scored 2 points in the first half, but exploded in the second half and scored 21 points and 9 rebounds 4 assists for Team High, and Yamamoto scored 15 points, 7 assists and 2 steals with 3 out of 4 3-point shots.
With a play time of 36 minutes and 54 seconds, which is the longest for both teams, Stephanie, who contributed to the offense and defense with 9 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 steal, said, “The first half was quite painful and I was nervous, so it was quite our play. To be honest, the Empress’s Cup sometimes flashed back because I mightn’t do it. “
Even so, he said that he was bitten by a point difference of regarding two digits and reached a reversal at the end of the game, “It was the part where we really grew up that we did not lose to the slurping there.” “In the season, there weren’t many games that had been defeated to the end, so today was the best experience. Because of this match, I think that each and every one of us will be able to do our best tomorrow, so today. I want to make the most of my experience. I can’t say that Toyota has done it today, so I want to make it more Toyota-like tomorrow. “
Evelyn, who contributed with 13 points and 6 rebounds, also said, “We mightn’t play at our own pace in the first half, and the difficult time continued.” “From my experience so far, I’ve gradually become able to keep an eye on what I should do each time and gradually carry out what the head coach wants in the second half. As a result, I think I was able to win at the end. “
Toyota Motor Co., Ltd. won the first round and won the championship in a row, but Fujitsu, which has no end, must be heading for more energy than it is today in the second round. As Stephanie said, “I want to make it more Toyota-like,” can we develop basketball like Toyota Motor from the start in the second round? Round 2 is a tip-off at 18:00 on Sunday, April 17th.
