The Tribune

MARK St Fort and Kadeem Coleby produced different results for their respective teams as Niigata Albirex and Akita Northern Happinets continued competition in the Japanese Basketball League’s B1 Division over the weekend.

Eighth ranked Niigata A defeated 10th ranked Hokkaido L 77-68 on Saturday. They outrebounded Hokkaido L. 43-29 including a 34-20 advantage in defensive rebounds.

St Fort, who turned 32 on November 5, was 2-for-3 (66.7 percent) from the field and 3-for-3 (100 percent) from the free throw line. The 6-foot, 7-inch, 209-pound small forward also had five rebounds with an assist and a block.

Hokkaido came back in the second of the two games played against each other and returned the favour to Niigata with an 82-76 decision on Sunday. No individual scores were available. In splitting their two games, Niigata dropped to 5-10.

Meanwhile, second ranked Chiba J. (11-3) saved a two-point victory at home, edging 5th ranked Akita Happinets 70-68 on Saturday evening. They outrebounded Akita Happinets 43-27 including a 30-18 advantage in defensive rebounds.

Coleby, who turned 31 on November 8, shot 4-for-6 (66.7 percent) from the field and 5-for-6 (83.3 percent) from the foul line. The 6-9, 250-lb power forward/centre also had 10 rebounds and a pair of steals, assists and blocks.

Chiba came back on Sunday and pulled off a huge 102-58 rout over Akita. No individual scores were available. The two losses dropped Akita to 8-7.

St Fort and Coleby will both be off until December 2 when their teams return to play against each other in a Bahamian showdown in a home game for Coleby and the Akita NH. They will play a total of 10 games through Sunday, December 27 before they break and come back for their first game in 2021 on Saturday, January 2.

The regular season will run until Saturday, May 1 for St Fort and May 2 for Coleby.