These games test what happens after a good first scoring spell meets a defensive change. Kyoto has enough interior scoring to challenge Utsunomiya early, while Hiroshima can impose its size on Sendai. The later possessions depend on ball security, secondary scorers and the final defensive rebound. Recent games give both contests a credible path to a tight finish.
Kyoto can feed Jackson and Caloiaro, with Rivers making shots from another spot. Its last two games also brought heavy turnovers and fading fourth quarters, once with Kishimoto playing and once without him. Shibuta has missed recent games, Kishimoto missed the last one, and Utsunomiya's Kell also missed its last game under concussion protocol; none has a confirmed role for this match. Fotu and Edwards can finish the possessions Kyoto gives away, while Ikaruga, Frazier and Hiejima add late options. That's why I'm siding with Utsunomiya Brex to get the final win.
Hiroshima's Cockburn and Evans can score inside and reach the foul line, with the home side rested after its latest win. Sendai's answer is Boothe's spacing and a group of actual recent contributors around Culver, El Darwich and Layman; those players all appeared in its last game, as did Hiroshima's main pair in theirs. Sendai kept scoring after halftime against Nagasaki, while Hiroshima also showed a late comeback against that opponent. This looks like a contest in which Sendai can answer an inside run with another useful shot. That's why I'm siding with Sendai to stay close.
