10 points in 3 and a half minutes from the start, 11 points in the 4th quarter
Utsunomiya Brex vs Kawasaki Brave Thunders Semifinal Round 2 began with Makoto Hiejima and ended with Makoto Hiejima.
Hiejima, who had a good shot touch from the beginning, sank tough 3-point shots one after another while creating himself. He sank all three 3-point shots and scored 10 goals, including 4-point play, in the first three and a half minutes, making the team a leading player.
After that, there were some scenes where I couldn’t decide for free, and the performance dropped due to the strengthening of the opponent’s mark, but it shined again in the important scene of the final quarter. With 55 seconds remaining at the tie, Hiejima, who was entrusted with the ball, boldly attacked and triggered a shoot foul from Nick Fazekas. When the two free throws obtained from this were sunk, Utsunomiya took the lead by defending the possession immediately after. Kawasaki brought it to the foul game and asked for a win, but Hiejima stood out. Under this pressure, Hiejima made eight consecutive free throws and Utsunomiya won with a final score of 77-73, making it to the final for the second consecutive year.
Hiejima said, “I had a hard time, but I had to put up with it and thought that the 4th quarter would be a match. I was able to win as a team there, so I think it was a worthwhile victory,” recalls the match. In the fourth quarter, when he said he would be in the game, Hiejima scored 11 points, 2 assists and 1 steal.
As head coach Ryuzo Anzai said, “I’m in command, but my players have a really great ability to do what they should do,” it was a victory that they got in the team basket. no doubt. Furthermore, the power of the fans who rushed to the venue was also influential. Hiejima says he succeeded in all the important free throws. “When I looked around, the fans of Utsunomiya Brex were watching over me. I didn’t feel at ease there, and honestly, I didn’t feel like falling at that time.”
“I’ve been doing my best for the past year because I had the experience of last year.”
Head coach Anzai said to Hiejima, who was active in the quarter-final match against Chiba Jets, that “Makoto Hiejima is back before I knew it.” Hiejima, who has high scoring ability and can be created as a handler, has always had high expectations, but he has not always met those expectations. Head coach Anzai probably expressed that because he did not lose his stance of attacking from the beginning to the end in the match against Chiba. And in this semi-final, he recorded 12 points and 7 assists in the first round and 24 points and 6 assists in the second round to appeal his health.
Head coach Anzai says he is becoming more credible as a two-way player. “I think I felt the difficulty when I came to my house and had to do defense, and when I got into the solid place until last season. I think that overcoming that experience, I think that the offense controls the game. And now I can play like Mako. I feel like I’ve become an indispensable player for both as a team because I can do that even in defense. “
Hiejima had an average of 6.7 points, 2.6 assists, and a 3-point shot success rate of 16.7% in the final three games of last season, which was a slump, and he was disappointed. Hiejima said, “I’ve been doing my best for the past year because of my experience last year,” and he was enthusiastic about the final.
“I was able to come to this point with lessons learned from the mental aspect and growth. Last year, I was ranked first overall, and I felt the pressure to win and take it for granted, so I played as I expected. I couldn’t do it. I think the key is how to relax and enjoy the final stage without being overwhelmed, so I’d like to enjoy it as much as I can. “