The Tokyo Apache used a strong spurt to start the fourth quarter and enough plays down the stretch to eke out a 79-75 victory over the Sendai 89ers on Friday night in the bj-league.

Sendai (27-13) entered the series finale with a 10-game winning streak. Tokyo improved to 15-25.

Julius Ashby paced the Apache with 22 points, Cohey Aoki scored 15, Michael Chappell had 13 and Rasheed Sparks added 11 and pulled down 10 boards.

Gyno Pomare had a team-best 25 points for Sendai, Josh Peppers added 20 and Chris Holm and Nick DeWitz scored eight apiece. Holm hauled in a game-high 15 boards.

Tokyo trailed 61-58 after three quarters at Yoyogi National Gymnasium No. 2, but outscored the 89ers 15-5 to usher in the final period.