Juan Gomez de Liaño’s 22nd birthday is definitely a good one.
With Gomez de Liaño providing court generalship to the team, Earthfriends finally broke out of its slump. They blasted the Ehime Orange Vikings, 98-65, in the 2021-22 B.League Division II season, Friday evening at Ota Ward General Gymnasium
Gomez de Liaño had seven points, four assists, a steal, and a rebound in the wire-to-wire victory. He was also visibly more comfortable as Tokyo Z’s starting point guard.
Dominant was Tokyo Z right from the get-go, racing to an early 9-2 lead and never looking back. Earthfriends led 29-12 in the opening frame with Takumi Masuko outscoring the entire Orange Vikings with 13 first quarter points.
Masuko eventually ended the game with 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting with eight assists and three steals.
It was all Earthfriends from there, leading by as much as 33 points as Tokyo Z shot a team season-high 54-percent from the field.
Joshua Crawford also had a game-high 29 points with 13 rebounds and two blocks while Eddy Norelia got a triple-double with 24 points, 15 rebounds, and 10 assists.
Ehime, who went down to 3-11, was led by Ataru Sakata with 12 points. Former Phoenix import Eugene Phelps also had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
The two squads face off again tomorrow at 2:00 PM.
