Juan Gomez de Liaño had another good game for Tokyo Z. However, it went for naught.
Earthfriends was dealt a tough 73-77 loss by Fukushima in the 2021-22 B.League Division II, Sunday at Tamura City General Gymnasium.
Down 70-65 with 3:37 left, Eddy Norelia was able to pickpocket Nadaki Hashimoto that led to a Gomez de Liano fastbreak attempt. Kenya Tomori committed a breakaway foul against De Liano that led to two free throws plus ball possession.
The 6-foot-1 Fil-Spaniard, though, muffed both of his free throws. Then he made it up with a blow-by to cut the lead down to three.
Jason Washburn was able to answer on the other end while Tomori knocked down two free throws to give the Firebonds a seven-point lead with 2:06 left.
Though Takumi Masuko and Gomez de Liaño were able to nail big shots, Tomori and Shuta Kanno were able to answer right back. They dealt Tokyo Z its 10th straight defeat.
Gomez de Liaño had 13 points but went just 1-of-6 from the charity stripe. He also had four rebounds, four assists, and a block.
Washburn led the way for the 5-5 Fukushima with 21 points, five rebounds, and two blocks while Erik Murphy added 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting with eight rebounds.
Kanno chipped in 10 points on two treys from off-the-bench duties.
Joshua Crawford paced Tokyo Z with 26 points on 13-of-18 shooting from the field with 16 rebounds. Meanwhile, Norelia also notched a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds to go along with two steals.
Tokyo Z will next face Nishinomiya on Wednesday, 6:00 PM at Ota Ward General Gymnasium.
