Bobby Ray Parks Jr. and Nagoya punched their ticket to the 2021-22 B.League playoffs after escaping San-En, 89-86, Sunday at Toyohashi City Gymnasium.
With a 30-13 record, the Diamond Dolphins will finish third in the west district with just two weeks left in the regular season.
Also advancing to the post-season are Chiba (32-7), Tokyo (37-11), Kawasaki (37-13), and Utsunomiya (37-14) in the east and Ryukyu (45-5) and Shimane (37-14) in the west. Only one last playoff spot remains up for grabs.
Nagoya though had to dig deep to get this one.
The NeoPhoenix rallied back from 17 points, cutting the lead down to 86-87 after a Yoshiyuki Matsuwaki trey with seven seconds left.
Parks though was steady on the stripe, knocking down both free throws to give the Diamond Dolphins a three-point cushion. Elias Harris missed on his desperation attempt as time expired.
Parks wound up with 15 points, five assists, and two steals.
Scott Eatherton led Nagoya with 25 points, 11 rebounds, and five assists while Takumi Saito had 16 points and nine assists.
(C) B,League
Thirdy Ravena made his return after missing the last six games due to protocols in the contest, tallying eight points, four assists, and three rebounds.
San-En fell to 10-42.
Elias Harris paced San-En with 26 points and eight rebounds.
Nagoya will next face Shinshu on Wednesday while San-En takes on Gunma.
