DUBAI (United Arab Emirates) - DJ Newbill nailed arguably the biggest shot of his career to help Utsunomiya dethrone Al Riyadi, 94-93, and become the BCL Asia 2025 champions, Friday night at the Coca-Cola Arena.
The seasoned guard finished with 21 points, none more important than the go-ahead trifecta he hit to erase a 93-91 deficit with 23.6 seconds left and put themselves up again after losing a third-quarter lead.
A miss by Hayk Gyokchyan on the other end as time expired ultimately enabled the 2024-25 B.League winners to emerge triumphant that left the Yellow Castle faithful inside the Coca-Cola Arena in total shock.
But it didn't take long for the fans to show grace in defeat, giving plaudits to a team that's become just the second-ever Japanese ball club to strike gold in the continent's most prestigious club competition.
The first time that the coveted championship was brought to Japan was about six years ago, when Alvark Tokyo defeated, coincidentally, Riyadi in the Final of the 2019 festivities held in Nonthaburi, Thailand.
"This is kind of what we've continued to do: no matter what situation we're in, we just fight. We stayed together, and made big plays," said acting head coach Zico Coronel. "Second championship for us. Very pleasing."
Makoto Hiejima starred in the triumph as well with a game-high 30 points, spiked by a 6-of-10 clip from deep, alongside 9 rebounds and 5 assists as he personified hustle despite facing bigger counterparts.
Finn Delany also made his presence felt by finishing with 19 points and 7 rebounds alongside 4 assists, while Isaac Fotu chipped in 12 in the win that saw the Brex rain down 17 three-pointers in the triumph.
Brex hit 75 threes in the BCL Asia 2025, the most in a single tournament since China Kashgar dropped 76 in 2016. They also hit the highest 3PM per game in a tilt in the past decade, breaking Al Riyadi’s 13.8 from 2024.
Marcus Georges-Hunt led Al Riyadi with 24 points and 8 assists as he became more assertive in the second half to will themselves back into the game after trailing by seven points twice during the third canto.
Yet it was the locals who delivered the big hits in crunch time, with Ali Mansour tying the game up at 91-all before Gyokchyan cleaned up the missed bucket of Thon Maker for the 93-91 lead with 1:03 left in the game.
But then, Newbill happened, knocking down the gutsy stepback triple against Georges-Hunt.
And moments later, all of Utsunomiya erupted in jubilation as Al Riyadi were left stunned as they struggled to process the reality that they are no longer sitting at the throne as kings of BCL Asia.
Nonetheless, it was a gallant stand by the Lebanese powerhouse, who fought to the end despite losing stars Amir Saoud and then Wael Arakji in the tournament - stars that have been their lead PGs for years now.
Mansour finished with 22 points while Gyokchyan supplied 19 points and 13 rebounds with 5 assists in the loss. Maker and Karim Zeinoun each chipped in 13 points as Coach Ahmad Farran only had a short rotation.
FIBA