Matthew Aquino had a chance to square off against Ray Parks in Shinshu’s 90-80 win over Nagoya in the 97th Emperor’s Cup, Sunday at the Kishiwada City Gymnasium in Osaka, Japan.
With 1:28 left in the game, Aquino checked in as he and fellow National University product Parks shared the floor.
Off a screen, Aquino was able to get a switch and tried to post up Parks. He was, however, unable to convert on his hook shot.
Still, it was a cap for the Brave Warriors’ win over fellow B.League Division 1 team Diamond Dolphins.
Clinging to just a 75-73 lead with 6:06 left, Shinshu went on a killer 15-1 run sparked by Josh Hawkinson trey and capped by a bucket courtesy of Wayne Marshall.
The Brave Warriors will next face the winner of the Niigata-Hiroshima game tomorrow at 12:00 NN.
Yuta Okada torched the Diamond Dolphins to the tune of 29 points built on five treys. Hawkinson added 16 points, six rebounds, and three assists.
Marshall got 14 points, five rebounds, three assists, two steals, and two blocks, while Reo Maeda chipped in 11 points.
Aquino went scoreless in one minute and 28 seconds of game time.
On the other hand, Parks attempted just two shots in 24 minutes for two points with three steals and two assists.
Shayne Whittington paced Nagoya with 21 points and 11 rebounds while Tatsuya Ito had 18 markers. Scott Eatherton had 14 points and 14 rebounds as well.
Nagoya will now head to Ota City Athletic Park Citizen’s Gymnasium to take on Gunma in the B.League next weekend.
