Kobe Storks needed a fourth-quarter rescue act against Nagasaki Velca on Sunday. They got one, turning a ten-point deficit at the last break into a 90–87 home victory and a split of their B.PREMIER weekend series.
The turnaround was substantial. Nagasaki had taken control with a 34–22 third quarter to lead 73–63, only for Kobe to win the final period 27–14. A day earlier, Velca had beaten the Storks 81–71 on the same GLION ARENA KOBE floor. This time the hosts found enough scoring and stops to reverse the result. The November 1 final box score records a 24–17 Kobe first quarter, a 41–39 half-time lead and the sharp swing after the interval.
Keigo Kimura supplied the most eye-catching perimeter contribution: 19 points, including five three-pointers from nine attempts. His outside shooting mattered to a team that had struggled to sustain its offence in Saturday's defeat. But Kobe's recovery was not simply a case of one hot hand doing all the work.
Fardaws Aimaq put together 18 points, 13 rebounds and five assists in more than 34 minutes. Yori Childs added 17 points and 11 boards, while Shuto Terazono scored 15. Aimaq and Childs gave Kobe two substantial presences around the basket, and their combined 24 rebounds helped keep the contest within reach when Nagasaki surged in the third quarter.
Nagasaki had plenty of individual production of its own. Jarrell Brantley and Levi Randolph scored 20 apiece; Pablo Aguilar finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Brantley also handed out eight assists. Those contributions explain how Velca could put up 34 points in one period, but they could not prevent the offence from slowing to 14 in the last.
A different answer to the same opponent
There is an important distinction between the two games. Saturday's 81–71 loss raised questions about Kobe's ability to generate efficient looks against Nagasaki's defence. Sunday's 90-point response showed more routes to scoring: Kimura from deep, Aimaq through the middle and Childs alongside him. That is a more useful takeaway than treating a three-point win as proof that Kobe's problems have disappeared.
The result also comes amid a frontcourt and rotation adjustment following Jalen McDaniels' departure. The Storks cannot rely on one replacement to replicate every part of his game; Aimaq's passing and rebounding, and Kimura's perimeter shot-making, offer a practical way to share that load. The B.LEAGUE weekend set at GLION ARENA KOBE has now produced one win for each side.
Kobe next travel to face Yokohama B-Corsairs on Saturday, 7 November, according to the published B.PREMIER fixture calendar. The question is whether Sunday's more varied attack can travel with them. One comeback is a start. Making it repeatable is the harder part.
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