Carl Tamayo picked up where he left off on opening day, helping defending B.League champion Ryukyu to an 80-79 win to sweep Saga at Saga Arena.
Tamayo, who tallied 15 points, five rebounds, two assists, and two blocks last Thursday, produced five points, 10 rebounds, an assist, and a block to give the Golden Kings the solo lead early in the Division I season.
Alex Kirk led the way with 15 points and 11 rebounds for Ryukyu while Allen Durham added 13 points, 14 rebounds, five assists, and three steals.
Also taking a victory on Saturday were Thirdy Ravena, who led San-En to an 86-75 win over Kawasaki at Kawasaki Todoroki Arena, and Bobby Ray Parks Jr, who guided Nagoya to a 79-70 triumph over Shibuya at Dolphins Arena.
Thirdy, who is in his fourth year with the NeoPhoenix, scattered 11 points, nine rebounds, three assists, two steals, and a block.
Parks, meanwhile, produced 10 points, five rebounds, and two assists in his first game back since suffering an injury last March.
In his B.League debut, RJ Abarrientos, who is the reigning KBL Rookie of the Year, fired six points in Shinshu’s 84-79 of Ibaraki at White Ring.
Not fortunate to pick up victories were Matthew Wright, Dwight Ramos, and AJ Edu.
Wright was limited to just four points and four rebounds in Kyoto’s 67-81 loss to Yokohama at Kataoka Arena while Ramos was held down to just five points on 12 attempts during Hokkaido’s 59-69 loss to Akita at Hokkai Kita-yale.
Edu’s 10-point, three-rebound for Toyama went for naught as Osaka routed them, 73-93.
In Division II action, Kiefer carried Shiga to a 100-86 rout of Kumamoto at Kumamoto Prefectural Gymnasium.
Kiefer dominated the game, tallying 21 points, four assists, and two steals.
Robert Bolick, on the other hand, got 10 points, five rebounds, and two steals but it was not enough to lift Fukushima past Yamagata, bowing 90-95 at Sanyu Engineer Sports and Culture Center.
Roosevelt Adams only played a minute and 12 seconds for the Wyverns.
Greg Slaughter, on the other hand, only logged three minutes in Fukuoka’s 70-77 loss to Ehime at Matsuyama Community Center.
