Bringing in the new year Phoenix played phenomenal away games over the weekend against Osaka Evessa. As a team, they knew that they needed to start the year off right as they approach the half-way mark of the season. Osaka Evessa is now ranked number one in the Western conference with a 17-6 record beating out the once number one team Shiga Lakestars. These two teams were ready to showcase their talent, and prove which team is really number one in the BJ League. After speaking with Jeff Parmer prior to the games, he expressed that the team was working hard during practice to ensure as a team they execute all plays necessary especially their defense against Osaka. As always, practice pays off.
Parmer reports after game 1:
What a way to start off the new year with a convincing 18 point blow out win against the #1 team in the Western conference. We outplayed Osaka from start to finish which was pretty surprising considering what was at stake. With the veterans and how talented their team was, I thought that they would have put up a better fight than what they showed on Sunday. I guess that goes to show you what type of effort we put in during the practices leading up to this game. Their crowd was very much into the game but our work ethic as a team took them out of the game early; therefore, Osaka could never feed off the energy from their crowd which was a huge benefit for us.
Game 23: Hamamatsu Phoenix 104-86 Osaka Evessa
Parmer Stats: 17 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assist, 3 steal
Parmer reports after game 2:
Monday's game was a fight to the end. It was what I expected
coming to Osaka, to play a talented and tough minded team.
The 1st half was pretty much Osaka's game. They did everything
right and we just seemed to miss many shots that we usually
make. We knew our shooting slump would not last the entire game
so we had to just stay confident and keep shooting good shots.
In the 3rd quarter we cut into the lead little by little and started
gaining our confidence back as a whole. The 4th quarter had to be ours
. With all the momentum going into the 4th quarter, we did what
was needed by outscoring Osaka 30-16 to come out on top yet
again. Starting off on a great note in the new year was a goal we discussed
as a team, and going 2-0 on our 1st road trip against the #1
team in the West is what we needed from a confident stand point.
Game 24: Hamamatsu Phoenix 79-69 Osaka Evessa
Parmer Stats: 17 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal
GO PHOENIX!!!!
On the road to another championship...
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