Kai Sotto and Hiroshima continued their rise in the 2022-23 B.League season ladder, after stunning Shimane, 80-71, Saturday at Hiroshima Sun Plaza Hall.
The Dragonflies went up to 37-12 to tie the Alvark Tokyo while dropping the Susanoo Magic to 41-8. Moreover, Hiroshima has also booked its place in the playoffs.
Sotto had a silent game with eight points on eight shots with six rebounds and a block.
Meanwhile, Kiefer Ravena and Shiga kept their lead from Toyama and Niigata after defeating FE Nagoya, 76-65, at Nagoya Biwajima Sports Center.
The Lakes hold a full-game lead over the Grouses for the 22nd spot. The bottom two teams by the end of the season will figure in the promotion-relegation games.
Kiefer tallied eight points, six assists, and five rebounds, helping his side drop the Flying Eagles to a 20-29 slate.
Carl Tamayo, on the other hand, only played three minutes in Ryukyu’s 83-77 win over Matthew Wright and Kyoto at Okinawa Arena.
The Golden Kings remained at solo third with a 38-11 record.
Wright had himself a game with 21 points and six assists but it was not enough to lift the Hannaryz, who fell to 17-32.
Over at Hamamatsu Arena, Thirdy and San-En were swept by Matthew Aquino and Shinshu, 62-77 on Friday and 63-68 on Saturday.
The also-ran NeoPhoenix fell to 19-31 while the Brave Warriors rose to 23-27.
Over in B2, Jordan Heading and Nagasaki crushed Greg Slaughter and Fukuoka, 88-70, at Isahaya City Central Gymnasium.
Though Heading was held down to just seven points, the Velca still managed to go up to 40-15 for second in the west.
Slaughter produced six rebounds and two points in the Rizing Zephyr’s loss that dropped them to 17-38.
Finally, Roosevelt Adams’ return to Kagawa was spoiled by Yamagata, 88-95, over at Takamatsu City Gymnasium.
In his first game since February 26, Adams went scoreless in 19 minutes of play.
The Five Arrows fell to 15-40, tied with Nara for second-to-the-last in Division II.
