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34-603: In July 2015 it was announced that the team would compete in the first division of the new Japan Professional Basketball League (B.League) , which started in October 2016. The team became the first champions of the B.League on 27 May 2017, defeating the Toshiba Kawasaki Brave Thunders by the final score of 85–79. The team began activities in December 2004, and participated in the lowest division of

68-607: A foreign player for the purpose of these rules. In January 2024, the Australian National Basketball League announced a partnership with the B.League which will see future collaboration on pre-season game crossovers and potential exploration of the viability of a team from Japan participating in the Australian NBL. Thomas Wisman Thomas Wisman (born April 4, 1949) is an Australian-American professional basketball coach who

102-536: A two-year contract with the Brex. Rabedeaux was dismissed on December 15 due to unsatisfactory results, and Palmer was reappointed as the team's head coach. After that, the season was cancelled due to the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami . Kazuto Aono , the former head coach of the Kyoto Hannaryz , was brought on as an assistant coach under Palmer. Daiji Yamada from Levanga Hokkaido and Tomoo Amino from

136-911: Is a professional men's basketball league in Japan that began play in September 2016. The league is operated by the Japan Professional Basketball League and was formed as a result of a merger between the National Basketball League that was operated by the FIBA -affiliated Japan Basketball Association and the independently operated bj league . The merger had been mandated by FIBA as a condition to Japan having its membership resumed following suspension in November 2014. The Japan Basketball Association

170-547: Is based in Utsunomiya City, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan, and its mother town is Kanuma City , Tochigi Prefecture. The team name "Brex" is a coined word created from the pronunciation of the word "Breakthrough". In addition, the word "rex" means king in Latin. In essence, the name "Brex" is a combination of "B" for basketball and "rex" for king. It means that the teaming is aiming for the top of basketball. The team follows

204-403: Is identical to the first division: Eight teams qualify for the playoffs, which includes the top three teams from each conference, and the next two teams with the best records, regardless of their conference, as wild cards. The playoffs consist of quarterfinal, semifinal, and final rounds, with a best-of-three format in each round. Each round is played at the home court of the team that finished with

238-443: Is played at the team's home court, which finished with the higher winning percentage during the season. In the second division, the regular season will also consist of a 60-game schedule, but with 42 games against teams within their own conference (6 games against each team) and 18 games against teams in the other conference (2 games against seven teams and 4 games against the remaining team). The playoff qualification and match format

272-685: Is the assistant coach for the New Taipei Kings of the Taiwan Professional Basketball League (TPBL). He was head coach of the national teams of England , Hong Kong , Malaysia , Japan and Qatar . Wisman attended Christian Brothers High School (now Quincy Notre Dame High School ) in Quincy, Illinois , and graduated in 1967. He played two seasons at Rockhurst College before he transferred to Quincy College in 1970 where he played until 1972. He won

306-460: The 2022–23 season , the first division (B1) has 24 teams and the second division (B2) has 14 teams, with a system of promotion and relegation between these two divisions. Each of the first two divisions is further divided into two conferences, East and West. In the first division, each team plays a 60-game regular-season schedule that consists of 36 games against teams within their conference (4 games against each team) and 24 games against teams in

340-606: The J.League in 1993. The JBA commenced investigating the professionalization of basketball in the same year, and in 1997 lifted the ban on professional players. Despite this, the structure of the Japan Super League remained amateur in nature, with most teams remaining under the control of a corporate sponsor/owner. In 2005 a rival bj league was launched in competition with the Super League, based on an American franchise system of professional teams. In response,

374-530: The Japanese Basketball League (JBL 2) from 2007-2008 after which the team was promoted to and participated in the league's highest division (JBL) from 2008-2013, participated in the National Basketball League (NBL) from 2013-2016, and is currently participating in the B.League since 2016. The team has been operated by Tochigi Brex Co., Ltd. since the 2016-17 season, and was previously operated by Link Sports Entertainment Co., Ltd. The team

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408-485: The 2015-2016 season and took their name in the 2019-2020 season. In December 2004, the group began activities with the goal of establishing a professional basketball team in Tochigi Prefecture. Then in December 2005, they collected 15,000 signatures to support the establishment of the team. In June 2006, the group formally applied to join the now JBL, but was rejected a month later, and applied in September of

442-424: The 2016–17 season was also published. Beginning in the 2020–21 season, the B.League was reformatted to only have two conferences each, East and West, in the first and second divisions. However, the first division reverted to a three-conference system, East, Central, and West, beginning in the 2022–23 season. Numbers in brackets denote the team's seed in its conference from the regular season. Each club in

476-570: The Aisin Seahorses were brought in as new players. In addition, former NBA player Olumide Oyedeji and former Hitachi SunRockers player Tyler Smith joined the roster. In December, the Kojima presents KIZUNA Dream Match 2011 charity game to help support the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami reconstruction efforts was held at Utsunomiya Brex Arena. The team missed the playoffs this season, and dismissed Palmer on March 12, 2012. Aono acted as

510-649: The Brex's first head coach, and in the 2007-2008 season, they advanced to the finals and defeated the Chiba Jets Funabashi to become JBL2 champions. When, in August 2007, the OSG Phoenix (now San-en NeoPhoenix) withdrew from the JBL, the league began recruiting new teams and the Brex formally applied once again for entry into the JBL. They were then promoted to the higher tiered league, and naming rights to

544-628: The JBA re-launched the Super League as the Japan Basketball League (JBL) in 2007, but there was still a mixture of professional and corporate teams in the competition. The JBL was again rebranded as the National Basketball League in 2013. Since the establishment of the bj league in 2005, both competitions rapidly expanded the number of teams, with 45 teams participating between the two competitions in 2015. FIBA ,

578-592: The JBL in the following year, and won the JBL championship in the year after. The Utsunomiya Brex's home arena is the Utsunomiya City Gymnasiam (Utsunomiya Brex Arena). Home games have also been held elsewhere in the Tochigi Prefecture beside Utsunomiya City. It has also been held in Gunma Prefecture and Fukushima Prefecture in the past. Brecky wears the jersey number 028, and specializes in three-point shooting . He participates in

612-556: The NBL ladder in 2015–16, and four-time bj-league champions Ryukyu Golden Kings , who won the 2015–16 bj-league championship, at Yoyogi National Gymnasium on 22 September 2016. A full round of games involving all other teams commenced on September 24. Since the 2021–22 season, the winners and runners-up of each season qualify for the East Asia Super League . The league consists of two divisions, named B1 and B2. For

646-669: The color scheme of the Indiana Pacers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Pacers are based in Tochigi Prefecture's sister state of Indiana, USA , and acts as a tribute to the Pacers and the style of play and entertainment of the NBA. The team's philosophy is "a team that is strongly loved and motivated". They won a championship in their first year in the JBL 2, and was subsequently promoted to

680-595: The first and second divisions will be allowed up to three registered foreign players, excluding one foreign-born player who has become a naturalized Japanese citizen. Two foreign players will be allowed on the court. Naturalized players can play as Japanese citizens and have no limitations. Each club will be allowed one naturalized player. In line with Japan Basketball Association regulations, foreign citizens who were either born or raised in Japan and graduated from Japanese elementary and junior high school will not be treated as

714-695: The first division. Other promotions and relegations will not take place. In the 2014–15 season, there were 12 teams in the NBL, 10 teams in the National Basketball Development League (NBDL, the NBL's second division league) and 24 teams in the bj-league . All 46 teams sought entrance to the B.League's inaugural 2016–17 season, along with the Wakayama Trians , who withdrew from the NBL in January 2015 due to financial difficulty. Ultimately, all clubs were accepted into

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748-701: The head coach with four games remaining. The team's general manager resigned at the end of the season to become the deputy general manager and COO of the Japan Basketball Association. Shingo Kamata was appointed as the team's new general manager, and appointed Antanas Sireika as the new head coach. Sireika served as the head coach of the Lithuanian national team at the Athens Olympics . [REDACTED] Norio Sassa Japan Professional Basketball League The B.League

782-421: The higher winning percentage during the season. The B.League typically holds promotion-relegation playoffs each year to determine which second division teams will be promoted to the first division and which first division teams will be relegated to the second division for the following season. For the 2020–21 season, it was announced that the top two teams from the second division will be automatically promoted to

816-399: The international governing body for basketball, grew concerned with the division and disorganization of the sport within the country. After the JBA failed to comply with deadlines to commence reorganizing the domestic leagues, FIBA suspended Japan from international competitions in November 2014. A task force to investigate the reformation of the domestic leagues was formed and Saburō Kawabuchi

850-581: The league except for the Trians and the Hiroshima Lightning , who were in their first season as a bj-league expansion club. The allocation of the 45 teams into three divisions was announced in two phases in July and August 2015. In April 2016 the league announced rules regarding official team names, shortened names and abbreviations to be used by the clubs. A list of names to be used by each club in

884-403: The other conference (2 games against eight teams and 4 games against the remaining two teams). Eight teams qualify for the playoffs, including the top three teams from each conference, and the next two teams with the best records, regardless of their conference, as wild cards. The playoffs consist of the quarterfinal, semifinal, and final rounds, with a best-of-three format in each round. Each round

918-643: The same year to the newly established lower league, currently the JBL2. In April 2007, the team was able to participate in the JBL2 after the Otsuka Shokai Alphas (now Koshigaya Alphas) withdrew. In June 2007, the team name was decided to be "Tochigi Brex," and the team launched with Utsunomiya City set as their hometown, as well as 10 professional players on contract. The former coach of the Otsuka Shokai Alphas, Yoshinori Kaneda, became

952-645: The team to join the Japanese National Basketball Team . Bruce Palmer , who was previously an advisory coach for the Toyota Alvark (now Alvark Tokyo) was appointed as the teams tentative head coach before he resigned due to problems concerning the cancellation of his contract with his former team. Jason Rabedeaux , the head coach of the Jiangsu Nanjing Steel Dragons (now Jiangsu Dragons) , was signed to

986-401: The team were then sold to their main sponsor, Link & Motivation, who decided to call the team, "Link Tochigi Brex." The head coach then changed to Mitsuhiko Katou, who also brought along Yuta Tabuse and Jun Takaku as players. Other new players also included Kawamura Takuya, Itou Shunsuke, and Oomiya Hiromasa. After the start of the 2008-2009 season, Kato was dismissed, and Thomas Wisman

1020-413: The team's events and home games. Berry-chan also participates in home games with Brecky as well as events in Tochigi Prefecture where she is a member of the cheerleading team, BREXY. Along with the official cheerleading team, BREXY, there is "B-girls", which consists of 14 elementary and junior high school students who have passed the official cheerleading team's school auditions. The BREX.EXE began in

1054-618: Was a lock for the fourth seed in the regular season and advanced to the playoffs for the first time since they were promoted to the JBL. After defeating the Panasonic Trians two games to one, they were able to advance to the finals where they met the Aisin Seahorses (now SeaHorses Mikawa) . They were able to defeat the Seahorses in three games and became JBL champions. With a year left on his contract, Wisman retired from

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1088-618: Was appointed co-chairman. In May 2015, upon FIBA's recommendation, Kawabuchi was appointed as president of the JBA. The merger of the two competing leagues into the B.League was announced in June 2015 and the international suspension was lifted by FIBA in August. Telecommunications company Softbank were named as the league's top sponsor for the inaugural season in March 2016. The 2016–17 season commenced with an inaugural match between four-time JBL/NBL champions Alvark Tokyo , who finished on top of

1122-652: Was brought in as the head coach. Wisman coached the Isuzu Motors (now Yokohama Giga Spirits) and the Jomo Sunflowers (now JX-Eneos Sunflowers) . The team signed a two-year contract with Wisman as their head coach, and the team acquired Narito Namizato , the winner of the " Slam Dunk Scholarship". On March 20, 2010, the team was victorious against the Mitsubishi Electric Diamond Dolphins (now Nagoya Diamond Dolphins) and

1156-409: Was formed in 1930 and has operated Japan's top basketball leagues under various names since 1967. Throughout the history of the association, teams have been affiliated with large corporations and players have been employed by their respective owner company rather than competing as professional basketball players. In the early 1990s soccer in Japan moved away from a similar corporate structure and launched

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