Final Four

Last Saturday morning I happened to check the Swarthmore College homepage and learned that the men's basketball team had reached the Final Four of the national Division III tournament for the first time in their history. Then we realized that, because of the 13-hour time change, the semi-final game scheduled for Friday evening (U.S. time) was still going on. So I pulled up the live video feed and we watched the last few minutes of the game:

Meanwhile Sage had decided to reprise her matcha pancakes from a few weeks' earlier, so we dined on pancakes and maple syrup while we watched the basketball:

Swarthmore ended up winning their semi-final game in exciting fashion, and we watched their celebrations from the other side of the globe:

The following day, in a different sport and with no national TV coverage, I had my own run to the Final Four at a shogi tournament held at the Sanjo Shotengai Club in downtown Kyoto:

I played five games initially in the group stages of the tournament, and based on my 4-1 record I qualified for one of the semi-final spots. There I faced a strong, 5-dan ranked opponent (my own ranking is around 4-dan), and lost a close game. Below is the cross-table for the tournament:

So, unlike the Swarthmore College men's basketball team, I did not get to play in the final. But it least it meant I was able to get back home in time for the girls' bedtime!