Take our user survey and make your voice heard.
Tokyo Alvark and Ryukyu Golden Kings players vie for the ball during the first game of the B.League, Japan's new improved basketball competition at the full-to-capacity Yoyogi National Gymnasium in Tokyo on Thursday night. Tokyo won 80-75, but the night was clearly more about the long-term goal of positioning basketball in the hugely competitive Japanese sports market. The futuristic video screen playing surface was impressive, and the on-court product was exciting, despite the teams clearly having some kinks to work out. See related story here.
© Japan Today
Japan pro basketball reborn
©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.
14 Comments
Login to comment
kawachi
@sensei258: I had never heard of one either. I did find this online:
http://www.autonews.com/article/20160617/BLOG06/160619889/is-toyotas-alvark-the-worst.-basketball-team-name.-ever%3F
Gave me a good chuckle.
dagon
Better than the former name of the BJ (Basketball Japan) League
sensei258
What's an alvark? Couldn't find it in a dictionary.
BlacKnight
What's a video screen playing surface and what's it's purpose?
Moonraker
Is it like an Aardvark?
Tokyo-Engr
Should be fun to watch! I hope the league flourishes. I like some of the innovative methods being used. Go watch the Shibuya Sunrockers and their Canadian coach BT Toews. He played professionally here, ran a night club for a spell, taught English, taught and coached at a major international school, coached in the women's league and now this one. Great story and there are more like it in this league and that is what will make this league interesting and fun to watch!
powderb
@triring:
The image you sent me was not the floor they played on last night. The floor last night had a grid pattern, for the "futuristic" video that the article references. Watch the highlights from the yahoo sports link and the difference is clear.
(Please don't be so eager to criticize, especially when jumping to conclusions about me, and factually inaccurate. I'm not here to insult people)
http://sports.yahoo.co.jp/video/player/127501
powderb
@Triring:
I did not say I was there. As I wrote, "I saw a bit of this game." It was on television. I thought it was ugly. So did the other people in my home yesterday, a holiday, thus the guests.
Google image search for basketball courts in major markets in the States or Europe and compare them. Beautiful, hardwood basketball courts are a pleasure to look at; what I saw on television was not.
Triring
Basically they are all the same just not the same type of wax.
Triring
Basically they have a LED transparent over lay on top of the floor to light up the floor in various ways.
powderb
I saw a bit of this game and my immediate reaction was what an ugly floor. It led to a google image search showing my wife and friends how beautiful real wood in arena can be.
Sorry, it was an eyesore.
GW
Haha apparently alvark is connected to Toyota, perhaps a bizarre new vehicle will appear with the same name, maybe to replace ISIS!!
dharmadan
I've got a bad feeling "alvark" is some awful katakana mangling of "aardvark". Though why you would name a sports team after that animal I don't know.
Triring
powderb
I doubt you were even there.
Here is an actual interior picture of the floor at Yoyogi Taiikukan.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3b/Yoyogi_national_2nd_gymnasium_20090214.jpg/1920px-Yoyogi_national_2nd_gymnasium_20090214.jpg