King's Moa Best pulls up against CAJ defender Christina Park in the final. (Ren Foslin/Special to Stripes)

MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan – Moa and Miu Best went out in style in playing their last game in E.J. King uniforms.

The Cobras’ senior twin guards combined for 43 points, leading King to a second straight Far East Division II Tournament title Wednesday at Matthew C. Perry High School. The Cobras led throughout in beating Christian Academy Japan 45-38.

“These girls worked really hard today; they deserved this,” said the Best sisters’ father and Cobras coach McKinzy Best. “We were in it to win it.”

The victory came almost a year to the day after the Cobras outlasted Zama by a point in the 2024 Far East D-II final at Yokota. It’s the fifth D-II overall championship won by King girls basketball.

And the Cobras avenged their 2023 Far East D-II title-game loss to the Knights. Two years ago on Feb. 1, CAJ beat King 53-43 in the D-II championship game at Camp Zama.

That was the Cobras’ only loss that season, and they went unbeaten in 2023-24. This year, they finished 24-3, and though he could have lamented the players who graduated or transferred the past couple of years, Best said he and his players preferred to live in the moment.

“It’s a new year,” Best said. “We talk about what we have now.”

King's Miu Best shoots against CAJ's Misaki Matsuoka. (Taisei Shimakura/Special to Stripes)

King's Miu Best dribbles against CAJ's Christina Park in the final. (Ren Foslin/Special to Stripes)

Perry's Elieza Mae Cuaco drives against King's Miu Best in the semifinal. (Taisei Shimakura/Special to Stripes)

Though the Best sisters provided most of King’s offense, the Cobras were not a two-player show, Best said. They didn’t score much, but players such as Pia Lagrito, Claire Del Pilar and Joanna Hall executed their roles well, boxing out, rebounding and defending, he said.

“It was a team effort,” Best said. “The people who come off the bench and the ones on the bench cheering for the players on the court.”

Though a 24-3 record may seem dominating, the Cobras did have their share of close calls throughout the season, and their D-II opponents were a prime example, Best said.

“Every team came and played hard,” Best said. “It was a tough week.”

Erica Yokota, who was a sophomore on that 2023 D-II champion Knights team, led CAJ in Wednesday’s final with 16 points.