Thirdy Ravena and San-En bounced back from their loss against Kobe Paras and Niigata, escaping with an 85-82 win in the 2021-22 B.League season, Sunday afternoon at Hamamatsu Arena.
Both Filipino players cooled down in the contest with Ravena tallying 13 points, nine rebounds, two assists, a steal, and a block.
Paras, on the other hand, was plagued with fouls all game long, finishing with 11 points on 4-of-13 shooting with four turnovers — including a costly one in the endgame.
Albirex stormed back being down 61-50 early in the final frame, cutting the lead down to three with 1:39 left. On a fastbreak attempt, Rosco Allen threw a bullet to Paras but the ball slipped out of his hands.
Yoshiyuki Matsuwaki drained back-to-back treys to restore order afterward. But Albirex did not go down easily.
After two free throws from Robert Carter gave San-En an 82-77 lead, Allen responded with a booming triple. Carter knocked down a couple of freebies later on but was answered by Yuto Nohmi on the other end.
With 3.2 seconds left, Morihisa Yamauchi split his free throws that gave Niigata a chance. With no timeouts left, Allen threw a Hail Mary that almost went in.
Both teams end the weekend with 2-2 slates.
Carter led NeoPhoenix with 22 points, five assists, and two rebounds while Elias Harris added 11 points and 12 rebounds.
Justin Knox and Matsuwaki chipped in 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Allen powered Niigata with 14 points, 13 rebounds, and six assists while Jeff Ayres finished with 14 points, five rebounds, and four assists. Tshilidzi Nephawe had 12 points.
Ravena and San-En will next face the Dragonflies next weekend at the Hiroshima Sun Plaza Hall. Paras and Albirex, on the other hand, will head to Hokkaido next weekend to take on Levanga at Hokkai Kitayeru.
