STELLAR CLASH BETWEEN JTEKT AND SUNTORY COMING UP IN JAPAN

Watch the seventh leg of the men’s SV.League live on VBTV

Suntory Sunbirds’ Ran Takahashi

Another titanic clash is coming up this weekend in Japan as the seventh leg in the men’s Daido Life SV.League unfolds with four double headers on Saturday and Sunday, November 23 and 24. In what has been nominated Games of the Week, second-placed JTEKT Stings Aichi will host third-placed defending champions Suntory Sunbirds Osaka, while table leaders Osaka Bluteon have the weekend off.

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Both JTEKT Stings Aichi and Suntory Sunbirds Osaka have their shots at climbing one spot up the current standings if they win both matches of their head-to-head encounter at the JTEKT Arena Nara on Saturday and Sunday at 14:05 local time (05:05 UTC). With the likes of Torey DeFalco, Kento Miyaura, Masahiro Sekita and Ricardo Lucarelli on their stellar roster, Aichi stand second on a 10-2 win-loss ratio and 25 points, and defeating Suntory Sunbirds twice this weekend, regardless of the results, would mean that their ratio will be better than that of table toppers Osaka Bluteon, who are also on 10-2, but are having the weekend off. The reigning champs, on the other hand, featuring stars like Ran Takahashi, Aleksander Sliwka and Dmitriy Muserskiy on the squad, stand third on 7-3 and 23, and if they come away with two wins at JTEKT, they will jump over their opponents into the second place.

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While Aichi’s eight-game winning streak was broken by Bluteon in the first match of their double header last weekend, Suntory are building up a winning streak of their own, which has already reached five matches in a row. The club from Osaka is also on an impressive run of 12 consecutive victories over JTEKT in the head-to-head series. The last time Stings beat Sunbirds was back in March 2021.

Wolfdogs Nagoya, standing fourth on 8-4 and 26, will visit Hiroshima Thunders, standing sixth on 5-7 and 15, in another big clash this weekend. The two games at the Kirin Lemon Stadium Salt Arena Hofu will start at 14:05 (05:05) on Saturday and at 13:05 (04:05) on Sunday.

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Fifth-placed Tokyo Great Bears will also play on the road this weekend trying to improve on their 7-5 and 21 record. Their hosts Nippon Steel Sakai Blazers will welcome them to the Wakayama Prefectural Gymnasium at 13:05 (04:05) on both competition days. Sakai are in seventh place on 4-6 and 12.

The seventh leg also features a double header between Voreas Hokkaido and Nagano Tridents, an important clash at the lower end of the table. Hosts Voreas trail bottom in 10th place on 1-9 and 4, and Nagano are two spots above them, in eighth on 2-8 and 5, while ninth-placed Toray Arrows Shizuoka (2-10, 7) have the weekend off. The two games will be played at the Recruit Staffing Rick&Sue Asahikawa Gymnasium at 13:35 (04:35) on Saturday and at 13:10 (04:10) on Sunday.

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Men’s SV.League 2024-2025 7th leg:
Nov 23, 13:05 local (04:35 UTC): Nippon Steel Sakai Blazers v Tokyo Great Bears
Nov 23, 13:35 local (04:35 UTC): Voreas Hokkaido v Nagano Tridents
Nov 23, 14:05 local (05:05 UTC): Hiroshima Thunders v Wolfdogs Nagoya
Nov 23, 14:05 local (05:05 UTC): JTEKT Stings Aichi v Suntory Sunbirds Osaka
Nov 24, 13:05 local (04:35 UTC): Nippon Steel Sakai Blazers v Tokyo Great Bears
Nov 24, 13:05 local (04:05 UTC): Hiroshima Thunders v Wolfdogs Nagoya
Nov 24, 13:10 local (04:10 UTC): Voreas Hokkaido v Nagano Tridents
Nov 24, 14:05 local (05:05 UTC): JTEKT Stings Aichi v Suntory Sunbirds Osaka

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