Contrasting fortunes met the Filipino imports in Japan B. League Division I action on Saturday.
Matthew Wright played his best game for Kyoto, Ray Parks won one over his Gilas teammate Dwight Ramos, Kiefer Ravena and Shiga had a Saturday they would rather forget, Thirdy Ravena continued to thrive in his new role as facilitator, while Jay Washington and Justine Baltazar again rode the bench.
Making the most out of his 31 minutes and 41 seconds on the floor, his longest playing time in five games, Matthew Wright sank four triples from 11 attempts from three point territory to finish with 16 points as he helped Kyoto defeat Niigata, 95-77, at Kyoto City Gymnasium.
The Hannaryz moved past the .500 mark with a 4-3 record.
The former Phoenix sharpshooter also grabbed three rebounds while dishing out five assists even as he registered his highest offensive output in a Hannaryz uniform, just his second time to score in double figures.
Wright started the game for Kyoto which led from start to finish against Niigata which remains at the bottom of the team standings with a 1-6 slate.
Meanwhile, in a battle between two Gilas Pilipinas stalwarts, Dwight Ramos had the better individual game but Ray Parks came out with the more important W.
Nagoya scored an impressive 107-83 rout of Hokkaido over at Dolphins Arena.
Dwight Ramos was one of the few bright spots for Hokkaido as he pumped in 14 points although he missed all four attempts from beyond and shot just 38-percent from the floor. Ramos also had eight rebounds and five assists. He remains the top thief in the entire league as he stole the ball four times.
Parks did not need to do a lot of heavy lifting for the Diamond Dolphins squad which rode the hot hands of import Coty Clark who erupted for 36 points. Parks only had two points and five boards but he was on the floor the longest next only to Clark among all the Diamond Dolphins.
Nagoya moved to a tie for third place in the entire B. League with its 5-2 card, while Hokkaido sank further to the bottom with its 2-5 record.
In a face-off with his good friend Yuki Togashi, Kiefer Ravena and Shiga suffered a crushing 59-103 loss to Chiba at Funabashi Arena.
Ravena tallied nine points but only converted 28-percent of his attempts from the field. He also had four boards, three assists, and two steals for a Shiga team that could not seem to find the basket and had no answer to the offensive juggernaut in the form of the Jets.
The Lakes were mauled off the glass as they could only grab 21 rebounds compared to Chiba’s 50 which resulted in 32 second chance points for the Jets. Chiba converted 13 fast break points while limiting Shiga to just one.
Thirdy Ravena, meanwhile, steered San-En to a 77-69 win over Osaka to hike their record to 4-3 over at Ookini Arena Maishima.
Two things were revealed in today’s game. First, the NeoPhoenix are no longer one of the league’s whipping boys. Second, their reinvigorated offense goes through Thirdy.
Thirdy scored just six points as he only attempted just six times from the floor. He, however, issued nine assists to make up for his six turnovers. He also collared five rebounds and was on the floor the longest among all the NeoPhoenix players.
Justine Baltazar was once again a DNP in Hiroshima’s 65-59 win over FE Nagoya at Hiroshima Sun Plaza Hall.
Fil-Japanese Matthew Aquino went scoreless in seven minutes during Shinshu’s 54-67 loss to Sendai at Kamei Arena.
