St. Mary’s Caio Shiota has the ball slapped away by Kinnick’s Nicholas Whyte during Thursday’s rematch of last year’s Kanto Classic final. It was only a pool-play game this time, but the Red Devils avvenged that last-second loss to the Titans. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
TOKYO – Three defending Far East basketball tournament champions are getting some rigorous testing by opponents from throughout the region this weekend.
Nile C. Kinnick’s and Yokota’s boys and E.J. King’s girls are among the 24 teams taking part in the 7th American School In Japan Kanto Classic, a three-day event that began Thursday and could see teams playing as many as five times through Saturday.
Elijah Mosley of the Red Devils entered the event with searing memories of a last-second loss in last year’s finals to St. Mary’s on a buzzer-beating rebound layup by the Titans’ Towa Miyoshi.
Mosley did his utmost to ensure the same thing didn’t happen Thursday when the Red Devils met St. Mary’s in a pool-play contest. Mosley scored 13 of his 25 points in the second half and Kinnick rallied from 10 points down to beat the Titans 74-68.
“I played more aggressively, crashed the boards in the second half; that gave me more confidence that we were going to win,” Mosley said. “We wanted to get the win this time.”
The Kanto Classic is a major in-season tournament that the 13 DODEA-Pacific teams entered are using to prepare for their Far East tournaments, scheduled for Feb. 3-5. The boys Division I tourney is set for Kinnick and Division II at Osan, while the girls D-I is at Kubasaki and D-II at Matthew C. Perry.
The tournament also includes four teams from Guam as well as the International School of Bangkok – all with different faces than those DODEA schools in Japan and Okinawa are used to seeing.
“It gives you discipline,” Kinnick girls senior Leona Turner said. “We get to play schools from all over and we make connections with the other teams. And it teaches us different styles of play.”
Miu Best and E.J. King suffered their first loss in 18 games this season, and their first since the 2023 Far East Division II final. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Asher Jorgensen and Zama won their opening game Thursday in the Kanto Classic. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Dominique Waters, right, and Robert D. Edgren fell by 15 to Derek Ulrich and Nile C. Kinnick. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
E.J. King's Miu Best drives past Christian Academy Japan's Naya Cummings in a rematch of the 2023 Far East Division II final. This time, the Cobras prevailed. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Moa Best and defending Far East Division II champion E.J. King split its two games Thursday in the Kanto Classic. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Kysiem Banks, left, and two-time defending Far East Division II champion Yokota didn’t fare so well Thursday in the Kanto Classic, falling by four points to Isiah Thompson and Kubasaki, then by 23 to International School Bangkok. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
DeShaun Nixon and Kadena prevailed by two points in Thursday’s pool-play game against Guam powerhouse Father Duenas Memorial, winning 46-44. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Edgren's Ajah Guster looks for passing room against ASIJ's Sophia Fu and Alice Philips. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
It also serves as a wakeup for teams that are used to winning. Defending D-II girls champion King had won its first 17 games this season, but John F. Kennedy of Guam handed the Cobras their first defeat, 41-37.
King led 18-8 after one period, but the Islanders outscored the Cobras 15-2 over the next 12 minutes and King never recovered. JFK’s Franchesca Aguilar scored 12 of her 28 points in the fourth period.
“Get their heads going and they’ll be good to go,” longtime Cobras coach McKinzy Best said. “I’m not worried about it.”
Earlier Thursday, the Cobras outlasted Christian Academy Japan 51-43; the Knights beat the Cobras in the 2023 Far East D-II finals and King had not lost again prior to Thursday, a span of 37 games.
While the Cobras endured a split Thursday, two-time defending D-II boys champion Yokota had a rough go of it.
Despite reigning D-II Most Valuable Player Jai Bailey scoring 26 points, the Panthers fell 47-43 to Kubasaki, then 59-36 to Bangkok, falling to 5-11 on the season.
No DODEA-Korea teams are entered in the tournament; it’s the same weekend as Korean-American Interscholastic Activities Conference tournaments Friday and Saturday.
Humphreys boys and girls and Osan’s boys are playing in the league’s Cup Tournaments for teams with .500 records or better. Osan’s girls are hosting the Plate Tournament for teams with sub-.500 records; Daegu’s boys and girls are entered in their respective Plate Tournaments.
Korea’s wrestling regular season ends Saturday with a series of dual meets hosted by Humphreys. Guam’s third-quarter regular season begins with tennis, boys basketball and girls softball getting underway.
