Chiba Jets star Yuki Togashi definitely had a warm Philippine welcome as the Hoops Dome crowd showered the spitfire guard with love during his opening performance at the EASL Final Four.
LAPU-LAPU CITY — Now that he was not cooking local teams, whether as member of the Akatsuki Japan or his Chiba Jets, Yuki Togashi felt the embrace of an electric Filipino crowd at the Hoops Dome here.
Togashi dazzled for the Jets in the East Asia Super League Final Four against the New Taipei Kings, drilling six triples for a game-high 28 points in their semifinals win Friday.
[Related: Yuki Togashi's Chiba Jets survive a different "Linsanity" to keep perfect EASL run]
His clutch three with 3:18 to go started a 13-2 closing run for Chiba, as the Jets preserved their perfect record on the way to the EASL Finals.
Through all of his big buckets, Togashi definitely had a warm Philippine welcome as the Hoops Dome crowd showered the spitfire guard with love.
“We really enjoyed playing in front of the fans, they were cheering and supporting with each play,” Togashi said, via the Chiba team translator.
“We play another game on Sunday so we’re really looking forward to playing in front of the Philippine fans [again],” he added.
Adding to the strong atmosphere at the Hoops Dome was New Taipei engaging in a strong battle against the Japan powerhouse Jets.
Although New Taipei missed Jeremy Lin due to a nagging foot injury, the Kings were still able to channel some “Linsanity” magic through Jeremy’s brother Joseph, who finished with a team-high 21 points.
Lin’s inspired performance got Togashi going as well, who relished going up against an equally-talented guard.
“When we knew the New Taipei Kings were our semifinals opponent, we were looking forward to matching up with Jeremy Lin. Unfortunately he couldn’t play, but again, matching up with his little brother Joseph was really exciting,” Yuki said.
“We knew he was talented and it was really good motivation and I enjoyed it [playing against Lin],” he added.