B2 Fukuoka | At one point, they took the lead, but allowed the other team to overtake in the second half, resulting in a disappointing loss
Rising Zephyr Fukuoka Co., Ltd. Press Release: November 1, 2025 B2 Fukuoka | They briefly took the lead, but allowed a comeback in the second half and suffered a disappointing loss. The Resona Group B.LEAGUE 2025-26 season match between the Rizing Zephyr Fukuoka and the Kobe Storks, held on Saturday, November 1, 2025, ended with a loss for Fukuoka, 66-78 Kobe.
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[Match results] [Fukuoka] 66-78 [Kobe] 1Q 23-18 2Q 14-13 3Q 14-22 4Q 15-25 【Battle Review】 Following the disappointing loss the day before, the team entered Game 2 looking to make adjustments. #24 Barrell scored the first basket early on. Fukuoka looked to take the lead with aggressive defense from the start, scoring at a steady pace on offense as well, establishing a rhythm on offense and defense. In stark contrast to Game 1, where their outside shots were lackluster, #5 Reid, #8 Aoki, and #32 Kano all made 3-pointers, showing the offensive adjustments were working. They finished the first quarter with momentum. In the second quarter, Barrell made his presence felt inside. He used his physical prowess to draw fouls and steadily racked up points with free throws. Furthermore, #33 Kato showed dedicated, physical defense and sank a three-point shot, maintaining the team’s momentum. Barrell scored 19 points in the first half alone. Showing tenacity on defense, Fukuoka took control of the game and went into halftime with the game under their control. ＜Second Half＞ Early in the second half, Kobe scored 14 consecutive goals, taking the lead for the first time in the game, and the momentum quickly shifted. Fukuoka, eager to break the momentum, saw Reid sink a shot to start a counterattack, but Kobe, led by #4 Terazono’s speedy play, continued to maintain their momentum, leading to a difficult stretch. Even so, Kato sank a 3-point shot just before the end of the third quarter, setting the stage for the final quarter. Fukuoka trailed by two points in the final quarter, but while Kobe made high percentage shots, their outside shot accuracy again declined, making it difficult to close the gap. As the game continued to be patient, Fukuoka showed tenacity in securing loose balls and persevered defensively, but they were unable to find the decisive shot to turn the tide, and the gap widened towards the end. They were unable to stop Kobe’s momentum until the end, resulting in their second consecutive loss. [Comment] Masato Fukushima HC I think that today, the players were able to correct the areas where they were unable to fight to the end yesterday and execute well in the first half. However, Kobe is not a team that panics even in such situations, and their first-half lead cannot be considered a “savings.” The key was how well they could maintain their execution in the remaining 20 minutes, but that’s when they started to show some weakness. I think that’s where the difference in strength lies at the moment. One of the areas Fukuoka is currently lacking is how to deal with size. The team has prepared countermeasures for this issue, but when Butts and Childs are on the court at the same time, the size difference inevitably becomes apparent. Ultimately, we decided to focus on Barrell and Pablo, and chose a three-guard formation. We positioned two shooters, Aoki and Kano, on both sides. We had several good shooting opportunities, but our inability to convert them is an issue. As the season draws to a close, we as a team must develop the ability to consistently score in such situations. Also, I feel that our outside players still lack the judgment to deliver accurate passes during play. It’s important for each player to continue the good form we saw today while continuing to grow individually. We were able to get more rebounds than yesterday, but today we were a little overwhelmed by the intensity of our opponents. We’ve played 11 games with a rotation of 9-10 players, so fatigue is building up. The players are fighting really tough, but we need to start preparing now so we can compete well when our injured players return. Still, today the players bounced back well and created opportunities to win. Yesterday, the game ended without us being able to do anything, but today they showed a strong fighting spirit. I want to create a team culture where we always fight hard and share our wins and losses. [Highlights]
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