Aussies shine as B.League season tips off in Japan

• Brock Motum, Nick Kay and Keanu Pinder led a strong showing from Australian players in Japan’s opening weekend.
• Defending champions Utsunomiya Brex, with DJ Newbill and Isaac Fotu, opened their title defence in style.
• Stars from Asia we'd love to see in the NBL

The B-League tipped off on Friday night, starting a brand-new year of Japanese topflight action. Three Australians, two New Zealanders and a whole range of former NBL imports are playing in the land of the rising sun this season.

Teams will be chasing the reigning champions Utsunomiya Brex as they begin their run for their fourth B-League championship. With back-to-back MVP and former NBL Defensive Player of the Year D.J. Newbill they will be tough to beat.

The Chiba Jets with Head Coach Trevor Gleeson and star players John Mooney, D.J. Hogg and Yuta Watanabe are always there come finals time, finishing in the top six in every year since the inaugural B-League season in 2016/17.

Other notable teams include Nagasaki Velca with Jarrell Brantley, Yudai Baba and Hyunjung Lee, and the Ibaraki Robots with Robert Franks and Tyler Cook.

Brock Motum, Nick Kay and Keanu Pinder all had huge games to start their seasons with a few former NBL imports also standing out against the rest in the first weekend of matches.

Who stood out on Opening Weekend?

Australians and New Zealanders

Brock Motum (Toyama Grouses)

- Vs Kyoto (04/10/25) 23 points, seven rebounds, three assists, three steals

- Vs Kyoto (05/10/25) 21 points, two rebounds, two assists,

Olympian Brock Motum had a very solid start to the season with the Toyama Grouses alongside NBL Champion Trey Kell III. Coming off leading the B-League in points last season with the Shiga Lakes at 21.4 points a night, he doesn’t look like slowing down. His opening weekend included back-to-back 20+ point outings against Kyoto, cementing himself again as one of the league’s best scorers.

The Grouses lost game one (85-94) before coming back the next day and winning by five (96-91). Trey Kell had 16 points, six rebounds and four assists in game two after not playing game one.

Nick Kay (Shimane Susanoo Magic)

- Vs Koshigaya Alphas (04/10/25) 23 points, 10 rebounds, two assists

- Vs Koshigaya Alphas (05/10/25) 11 points, eight rebounds, two assists, three steals

“Rose Gold” medallist Nick Kay started his five season with the Shimane Susanoo Magic with a 23 point double-double in a 86-74 victory over the Koshigaya Alphas. In the second leg of the back-to-back he had a quieter night with only 11 points and eight rebounds but it didn’t matter as Shimane won 94-61. The Alphas were missing former Adelaide 36er Kai Sotto and NBL Champion Jarell Martin in their first weekend of action.

Keanu Pinder (Akita Northern Happinets)

- Vs Sun Rockers Shibuya (04/10/25) 20 points, 17 rebounds, one assist, two blocks

- Vs Sun Rockers Shibuya (05/10/25) 25 points, nine rebounds, one assist, two steals, two blocks

Keanu Pinder started life in Japan with a bang on his opening weekend for the Akita Northern Happinets, stuffing the stat sheet in both games. He opened with a 20 point, 17 rebound performance on Saturday night before backing it up with a 25 point, nine rebound game the following day. Unfortunately, Akita lost both games to Sun Rockers Shibuya (69-76 & 69-86).

Yanni Wetzell (Akita Northern Happinets)

- Vs Sun Rockers Shibuya (04/10/25) 11 points, seven rebounds, three assists, two steals

- Vs Sun Rockers Shibuya (05/10/25) 15 points, seven rebounds, three assists,

Coming off three seasons in the Euro League with Alba Berlin, Yanni Wetzell had a solid start to his time in Japan alongside Keanu Pinder. In game one he finished with 11 points and seven rebounds before having a better scoring night with 15 points and seven rebounds.

Isaac Fotu (Utsunomiya Brex)

- Vs Alvark (03/10/25) 15 points, seven rebounds, one assist, two blocks

- Vs Alvark (05/10/25) 12 points, 10 rebounds, six assists,

Two-time B-League champion Isaac Fotu started his fifth year with Utsunomiya Brex with an 81-56 win over Alvark before having a two-point win in the second leg (66-64). In game one, Fotu finished with 15 points, seven rebounds and two blocks to his name. Adding a 12-point double-double to his tally in game two.

Fotu plays alongside former Cairns Taipan and New Zealand Breaker DJ Newbill. Newbill has won back-to-back B-League MVPs over the past two seasons for Utsunomiya Brex. He had a near triple-double in game one with 18 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists and backed it up with a 27-point, five rebound and seven assist performance in game two.

Other Notable Performances

Trevor Gleeson’s Chiba Jets started their campaign with back-to-back wins over the Nagoya Flying Eagles (82-79 & 102-76). Former Perth Wildcat John Mooney started his fourth year with the Jets with two double-doubles and All-NBL First Teamer D.J. Hogg had a 15-point outing in game one before a quieter night in game two with only seven points.

Vic Law (Ryukyu Golden Kings) and Gary Clark (Yokohama B-Corsairs) faced off with Clark and co getting the better of the Golden Kings. Law had 17 points, 12 rebounds and six assists in the first outing before having 16 points, seven rebounds, five assists in the second. Clark had back-to-back 14 point, five rebound games as Yokohama won both contests (77-75 & 79-75).

Former Illawarra Hawk Darius Days had a 25 point game and a 22 point double-double for the Sanen NeoPhoenix against Osaka. Tyler Cook had 20 points for the Ibaraki Robots in game one against Sendai, with teammate Robert Franks having 21 points in game two.

Every Australian in the B-League

Brock Motum (Toyama Grouses)

Nick Kay (Shimane Susanoo Magic)

Keanu Pinder (Akita Northern Happinets)

Every New Zealander in the B-League

Yanni Wetzell (Akita Northern Happinets)

Isaac Fotu (Utsunomiya Brex)

Every former NBL Import in the B-League

Dererk Pardon (Altiri Chiba)

Brandon Ashley (Altiri Chiba)

John Mooney (Chiba Jets)

D.J. Hogg (Chiba Jets)

Chris Smith (Hiroshima Dragonflies)

Didi Louzada (Sun Rockers Shibuya)

Tyler Cook (Ibaraki Robots)

Robert Franks (Ibaraki Robots)

Kai Sotto (Koshigaya Alphas)

Jarell Martin (Koshigaya Alphas)

DJ Newbill (Utsunomiya Brex)

Jarrell Brantley (Nagasaki Velca)

Yudai Baba (Nagasaki Velca)

Hyunjung Lee (Nagasaki Velca)

Alan Williams (Nagoya Diamond Dolphins)

Vic Law (Ryukyu Golden Kings)

Tanner Groves (Saga Ballooners)

Gary Clark (Yokohama B-Corsairs)

Trey Kell (Toyama Grouses)

Darius Days (Sanen Neophoenix)