Coming off a loss against Shimane last Sunday, Kai Sotto and Hiroshima bounced back, romping Osaka, 99-69, Wednesday at Hiroshima Sun Plaza Hall.
Sotto did not need to play much, logging just 23 minutes and tallying nine rebounds, five points, and two blocks. The 7-foot-3 big man also went a plus-18 in the contest.
The Dragonflies went up to 38-13 to tie Alvark Tokyo at fourth while the Evessa fell to 23-28.
Meanwhile, Kiefer Ravena and Shiga took a default win against Bobby Ray Parks Jr. and Nagoya in a game that was supposed to take place at Shiga Daihatsu Arena.
The Diamond Dolphins could not field a minimum of eight players due to injuries.
It was a much-needed win for the Lakes who went up to 13-38 — creating a two-game lead over Toyama and a four-game cushion against Niigata. The bottom two teams in the league will be relegated to B2.
The Albirex were able to close in on the Lakes after taking a stunning 90-73 win over Thirdy Ravena and San-En at City Hall Plaza Ao-re Nagaoka.
Thirdy Ravena tallied 11 points and seven assists but it was not enough to propel the Neophoenix, who fell to 19-32.
Matthew Wright, meanwhile, continued his stellar month, tallying 17 points, 10 assists, and five rebounds in Kyoto’s 80-77 win over FE Nagoya at Kyoto City Gymnasium.
The Hannaryz rose to an 18-33 record while dropping the Flying Eagles to a 20-31 record.
Dwight Ramos, on the other hand, only got two points, two rebounds, and three assists in Hokkaido’s 69-77 loss to Tokyo at Hokkai Kita-yale.
The Levanga fell to 16-35.
Finally, Carl Tamayo was a DNP in Ryukyu’s 87-72 win over the Susanoo Magic over at Matsue City Gymnasium.
