Kobe Paras’ efforts went down the drain as Niigata struggled down the stretch, resulting in a tight 81-82 loss to Kawasaki in the 2021-22 B.League season, Wednesday night at the Kawasaki City Todoroki Arena.
Paras, who orchestrated the play that gave the Albirex a one-point lead in the fourth, finished with seven points, four rebounds, two assists, and two steals in 29 minutes and 49 seconds of action.
With Niigata trailing by a solitary point in the final moments of the fourth period, Kobe Paras found Jeff Ayres who converted a slam which gave the Albirex an 80-79 advantage with 37 ticks remaining on the clock.
Yuto Nohmi extended the lead through two freebies, but an unsportsmanlike from Rosco Allen allowed Pablo Aguilar and Nick Fazekas to steal the game from Niigata’s hands.
Allen went for a hook shot with five seconds left but missed.
The Brave Thunders kept the third spot in the Eastern Division with a 9-3 standing while Niigata suffered its ninth consecutive defeat, falling to a 2-10 standing at the ninth spot in the same division.
Leading Kawasaki was Fazekas with 23 points off a 9-of-6 shooting clip. The former Petron import also had 10 rebounds and nine assists in the win along with two blocks.
Jordan Heath added 11 points and five rebounds while Matt Janning chipped in 10 points off the bench.
On the other hand, Allen scattered 25 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists in the loss.
Yuto Nohmi got 17 points built on four triples while Ayres got 17 points 7-of-9 shooting from the field. He also collected 13 boards and two assists off the bench.
Niigata looks to end its losing skid against the top-ranked Chiba Jets on Saturday, 2:05 PM at the Funabashi Arena.
