I don't know all the details here and I aren't up to the standard of either of you (after all I got owned by Sapporo whose $30,000 players totally outplayed my $120,000 players and I still have no idea how it happened I had the correct tactics, great enthusasm and game shape but my players with Jump Shot: stupendous went 1/13 while letting their opponents hit 50% despite my Outside Def.: phenomenal) probably my fault for choosing "let coach decide", but I will add a couple of things.
You promoted through daytrading back when it was easy and profitable.
You promoted when there was less competition.
Malice is doing really well, the problem is the top 4-5 teams in all of Nippon outside the JBBL were all in the Great 8 of 2/1. They can't all promote.
If I had actually been more serious about promoting I should have been able to do it but I was stupid.
* I paid way above market value for Sonada because I wanted to help the NT (and have given him some training). I could have gotten an old foreign player with similar skills for half as much. Then also picked up a third expensive player.
* Then when I was sick of Sapporo's insults I added Uljasc who is great on paper but was worse on the day than the $100,000 less a week player he replaced had been the week before when I beat Sapporo.
* I also continued to train my players (for the U21/NT) instead of training GS.
* I will never "let coach decide" again, the coach is bad.
I still don't know why Uljasc and Konoe both went 1/13, the previous 2 times against Sapporo Konoe went 10/29 and 6/15 (not great but a lot better than a game losing 1/13) he just decided to have his worst shooting performance of the season at the wrong time.
Anyway it is time to move on. Sapporo is a winner and I am a loser. That is what he always said and now it is proven.
Problem is now I can't afford to keep Sonada who I paid way too much for, but he needs to go somewhere he can be trained every week and I thought I could train him at PG in the JBBL and afford it but now I can't. That is going to cost me a lot.
As far as training it can be hard if you don't have the money to aford the best trainees and trainers but lots of us division 2 guys do what we can.