In the finals of the Women's Japan Championship and the Empress's Cup, DENSO defeated ENEOS 89-56 to become the first Japan champion.
The final of the Empress's Cup women's basketball tournament, held at the Yoyogi Daini Gymnasium in Shibuya, Tokyo, was a meeting between the same team for the third consecutive year, ENEOS, who have won the tournament for 10 consecutive years, and DENSO, who are aiming to win their first title.
In the first quarter of the match, DENSO's Evelyn Maguri stole the ball from her opponent and scored a shot while receiving a foul, leading the team to take a 3-1 lead from a solid defense.
In the second quarter, Sakura Ako scored eight points to widen the margin and DENSO led 21-13 at the break.
In the third quarter, DENSO continued to score, including two three-point shots by Maki Takada, and the defense limited their opponents to just six points to extend their lead to 2-8 at the end of the quarter.
ENEOS fought back in the fourth quarter with an attack led by Raimu Tokashiki and scored 41 points in this quarter, but DENSO dominated the game from the beginning and won 27-3 to become the first Japan champion.
At the moment of their first victory, the DENSO players shared their joy, and some of them even shed tears.
Takada: "A lot of frustrations and experiences, and we broke out of our shells as a team"
Maki Takada, who scored a team-leading 21 goals to help DENSO win its first title, said, "We have been preparing to become the best team in Japan, so it was good that we were able to show our results from the start.