Close but no cigar once again for Tokyo Z.
Juan Gomez de Liano and the Earthfriends succumbed to Nishinomiya, taking a loss in the 2021-22 B.League Division II season, Wednesday at the Ota Ward General Gymnasium.
Gomez de Liano, who was a starter in the game, struggled early, committing three turnovers in the first quarter alone that led him to see limited minutes. The 6-foot-1 Fil-Spaniard played 16 minutes in the contest, finishing with six points, two rebounds, and an assist but had five errors.
Tokyo Z actually led by as much as 11 points, 49-38, midway through the third canto.
Dequan Jones willed the Storks all by his lonesome, scoring 12 points in that quarter to tie things up at 53-all heading into the final frame.
Nishinomiya was able to break away late after four straight points by Horiaki Dohara turned a three-point lead into a 75-68 cushion with 27 seconds left.
Jones had 26 points in the contest on 6-of-12 shooting from the field and 13-of-18 from the foul stripe.
Cheikh Mbodj had 13 points and 11 rebounds while Takuya Kawamura, Shaquille Hines, and Horiaki Dohara all had 11 points each.
Koshigaya rose to 8-3 in the west while dropping Tokyo to 0-11.
Joshua Crawford was the high point man for Earthfriends with 23 points on 9-of-14 shooting with 11 rebounds. Takumi Masuko added 15 points while Eddy Norelia tallied a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
Tokyo Z will next face Koshigaya at Wing Hat Kasukabe on Saturday at 4:00PM.
