MANILA, Philippines – Thirdy Ravena put on a show for the San-En NeoPhoenix as they torched Ray Parks and the Nagoya Diamond Dolphins, 92-79, in the Japan B. League on Saturday, January 6.
Ravena, the fourth-year San-En forward, went off for a game-high 25 points on an 11-of-14 field goal clip, including a sensational highlight play late in the 2nd quarter.
After intercepting a careless pass by his Filipino counterpart Parks, Ravena went coast-to-coast and soared high for a thunderous one-handed poster jam over Nagoya’s Seiga Sakamoto, plus the foul.
Ravena, who also racked up 1 rebound, 4 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block, continued to dominate in the third period, scoring 8 quick points in the first five minutes of the period to help San-En break the game wide open after leading by only 2 points at halftime, 50-48.
The NeoPhoenix then cruised the rest of the way, even extending their lead to as many as 20 points with four minutes to go in the final frame, 86-66.
Robert Franks paced Nagoya in the losing effort with a double-double of 22 points and 14 rebounds as Parks was held to only 6 points and 1 rebound.
San-En picked up its fifth straight win and remained tied with the Alvark Tokyo at the top of the Division 1 standings with a 23-4 record.
Nagoya, meanwhile, fell to its third consecutive loss and dropped to a 16-11 card.
Over in Toyama, Kai Sotto had a perfect outing for the Yokohama B-Corsairs in their 100-95 win over the Grouses.
With his fellow Gilas Pilipinas big man AJ Edu out for Toyama due to a torn meniscus injury, Sotto imposed his will against the Grouses’ frontline and connected on all of his four attempts from the field.
The 7-foot-3 Sotto finished with 9 points, 5 rebounds, 1 steal, 2 blocks, and a plus-minus of +20 in just 18 minutes and 12 seconds of play.
Sotto’s 9-point output is his season-high so far after putting up just 4 and 6 points, respectively, in his first two games as a member of the B-Corsairs following a loan from the Hiroshima Dragonflies.
Yuki Kawamura led Yokohama with an impressive 20-20 stat line of 25 points and 20 assists, while Yusei Sugiura added 23 markers.
On the other side, Ivan Buva carried the fight for Toyama with 27 points and 15 rebounds.
Yokohama returned to the win column and improved its record to 12-15, while Toyama slipped further to 3-24.
Like Ravena and Sotto, Matthew Wright and RJ Abarrientos also made an impact for their respective teams on Saturday.
Wright came up with a team-best 17 points on 6-of-12 shooting, 1 rebound, 7 assists, and 1 steal, but those numbers went for naught as the Kyoto Hannaryz suffered a 99-83 loss to the Chiba Jets.
Abarrientos, for his part, produced 13 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 steal in Shinshu’s 79-73 victory against the Nagasaki Velca.
Kyoto fell to 8-19, while Shinshu rose to a 5-22 record.
Other results
Sunrockers Shibuya def. Levanga Hokkaido, 74-73 (Dwight Ramos – 8 points, 3-of-14 field goal, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 24:37 minutes)
Fighting Eagles Nagoya def. Ryukyu Golden Kings, 68-57 (Carl Tamayo – 1 rebound, 2:06 minutes)
– Rappler.com