Nagoya chose to err on the side of caution, playing Bobby Ray Parks just limited minutes, Saturday afternoon at Dolphin’s Arena.
And the Diamond Dolphins suffered because of it as they bowed to Hiroshima, 90-98, to go down to 0-3 in the 2021-22 B.League season.
Parks, who is still recovering from a muscle sprain, played just 12 minutes and 58 seconds in the contest, tallying two points, three rebounds, three assists, and a steal. Despite the limited minutes, the three-time ASEAN Basketball League Most Valuable Player still went a team-high plus-nine.
With Parks still not 100-percent, former Akatsuki Five guard Naoto Tsuji torched the Diamond Dolphins in the endgame.
Down by as much as 10 points, 82-72, early in the final frame, Nagoya was able to cut the lead down to three with five minutes left after a Scott Etherton bucket.
Tsuji though caught fire, scoring 11 straight points — including three treys — to stop Nagoya’s rally.
Head coach Shawn Dennis brought Parks back with 2:13 left and the Dragonflies up 95-85. However, it was too little, too late.
Parks scored his first official B.League bucket with 1:12 remaining in the contest off a layup.
Tsuji had a game-high 27 points, going 10-of-11 from the field and 7-of-8 from distance, towing Hiroshima to a 3-0 record.
Ryo Terashima added 16 points while Nick Mayo and Gregory Echinique had 12 points each with the former also grabbing eight boards while the latter also tallying seven rebounds, seven assists, two steals, and a block.
Takumi Saito paced Nagoya with 23 points and seven assists. Etherton added 19 points, six assists, and five rebounds while Coty Clarke chipped 14 points and eight rebounds.
The two teams square off again tomorrow at 2:05PM (Manila time).
