CARL Tamayo’s Ryukyu Golden Kings moved a win away from the semifinals of the 2022-23 Japan B.League after beating the Nagoya Diamond Dolphins, 91-85, at the start of their best-of-three quarterfinals at the Okinawa Arena on Friday.
As Tamayo rode the bench, former Meralco Bolts import Allen Durham got the offensive rebound that paved the way for the three-point dagger by Keita Imamura that put Ryukyu up by five, 87-82, with 35 ticks left.
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The Golden Kings will seek to close out the series in Game Two on Saturday.
Tamayo was a DNP (Did Not Play) in his first playoff game in the B.League. Nagoya’s own Filipino reinforcement, Ray Parks Jr., continues to miss games because of injury.
Durham’s hustle made up for Josh Duncan’s two misses from the charity stripe with the Diamond Dolphins only within two.
A defensive stop by Ryukyu in the next possession led to a Duncan basket to make up for his free throw misses as the home team created distance.
Neither team led by more than eight points in the back-and-forth affair.
Imamura paced Ryukyu with 24 points built on seven three pointers. He also had two rebounds and three assists. Durham chipped in 14 markers and eight boards.
Coty Clarke backstopped Nagoya in the losing effort with 28 points, four rebounds, four assists, and one steal.
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