Jordan Heading found his touch late, helping Nagasaki take an 88-77 win in its B.League Division II debut against Kumamoto, Saturday at Kumamoto Prefectural Gymnasium.
Heading, who played for T1’s Taichung last season, fired 12 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the field — including two treys. He also had three assists, two rebounds, and a steal.
It was a dominant win for the Velca as it ran past the Volters, forcing their opponents to commit 20 turnovers that led to 26 fastbreak points.
Imports Pablo Aguilar and Matt Bonds added 18 and 17 points, respectively, while combining for 19 rebounds.
Kenji Matsumoto also added 12 points and five assists.
Terrance Woodbury paced Kumamoto with 20 points and 11 rebounds.
Over at Maeda Arena, Kobe Paras was a DNP in Altiri Chiba’s 85-83 win over the Aomori Wat’s.
Leo Lyons led Chiba with 19 points and 10 rebounds while Kota Fujimoto finished with 18 points. Evan Ravenel also tallied 17 points and eight rebounds.
Max Hisatake led Aomori with 24 points and 12 rebounds.
Meanwhile, Roosevelt Adams was not in the lineup for Kagawa in its 72-98 loss to Ehime at Matsuyama Community Center.
The Five Arrows were coming off a 72-69 win over the Orange Vikings last Friday.