basketball club
December 4, 2024 Yokohama Budokan
In the first intercollegiate match, Chuo University defeated Tenri University, 3rd place in the Kansai First League, 87-58. With the stable attacks of their guard players, they pulled away from the beginning, never once giving up the lead, and played a safe game.
▲Takayama is enthusiastic, saying, “We want to increase our intensity and win at our own pace.”
From the beginning of the first quarter (Q), Hito Miyauchi (3rd year in law) was repeatedly fouled, but the team got off to a good start by building an offense centered around Shoya Ogawa (4th year in law). In the middle of the Q, Keitaro Nishimura (4th grade) made a basket count and Tenri University took a timeout, but Chuo University’s flow could not be broken. After that, Reiya Itakura (1st year), Nao Ishiguchi (2nd year), and Miyauchi scored in quick succession, making the score 26-11.
The game ended at 44-24, and a large number of bench members were brought in in the fourth quarter, when victory was secured. In addition to Kentaro Hisaoka (3rd year student) scoring a basket, Kiyo Shizuhara (2nd year student) and Kanato Akahira (2nd year student) also scored points. In addition, center Sakurata Fukasawa (1st year) played aggressively under the goal line, inviting fouls as his opponent also had international students, and made all 10 of his free throws, contributing to the victory.
▲In the second half, Itakura said, “I was able to play like myself.”
Itakura, who participated in the game alongside Fukasawa as a first-year student, said, “The mistakes I made one after another was something I needed to fix,” but he reflected, “In the second half, with the help of my seniors, I was able to play in my own way.” . Additionally, Itakura says that he usually actively encourages players on the bench, saying, “I think there will be a lot of time when I won’t be able to play, so I’m thinking about how much I can contribute to the team during that time.” After that, he emphasized, “When I get out there, I’ll play with all my might.”
Takayama, who led the team despite being a sophomore, looked back on the first intercollegiate match and said, “We entered the tournament in good shape.” “My immediate goal is to be in the top eight,” he said.We are one step closer to reaching our goal, so we want to increase our intensity and win at our own pace like we did today,” he said with enthusiasm for tomorrow.
The next match will be against Nagoya Gakuin University on the 5th at the same venue.
○Chuo University 87-58 Tenri University●
（11―26、18―13、23―13、20―21）
(Article: Takuto Kuwasawa, Mahiro Fujino, Photo: Mahiro Fujino)
