Thirdy Ravena and San-En suffered a huge upset in the third round of the 97th Emperor’s Cup, falling to B.League Division II team Kagawa, 71-95, Monday at the Arena Tachikawa Tachihi.
NeoPhoenix greatly felt the absence of Elias Harris, as they saw themselves out-rebounded 39-33.
Moreover, the Five Arrows fired away from deep, knocking down 20 triples in the contest.
By the half, Kagawa was already up 51-37. The lead would balloon to as high as 29 points, 83-54, courtesy of a Rhys Vague trey with 7:11 left.
Vague had a game-high 26 points built on seven treys with nine rebounds, five assists, and two blocks.
Angus Brandt had 15 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the field with 10 rebounds, while Hitoki Taniguchi got 14 points on four triples.
Thirdy Ravena was held down to just seven points on 3-of-14 shooting from the field. He also had seven rebounds, two assists, and a steal.
Yusei Sugiura led San-En with 16 points while Justin Knox got 14 points. Robert Carter was the only import who delivered for the NeoPhoenix with 11 points and five rebounds.
San-En returns to the B.League this weekend to face Shibuya at Aoyama Gakuin Memorial Hall.
