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    COLUMN: Filipino imports who make the biggest and least impact in B.League

    Midterm grades for Filipino players in Japan
    Jan 16, 2022
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    PHOTO: B.League
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    THE Japanese B.League is almost halfway through its 2021-22 season calendar, which means there is finally enough sample size to use in evaluating the nine Filipinos playing as imports in the 22-team pro league.

    We are not going to rank these reinforcements here; due to their differing roles, usage, ages, the roster composition around them, and a multitude of other factors, a rankings-based assessment would not be a fair way to gauge their level of play.

    Instead, we'll be grouping them in four tiers: one for those who are definitely making an impact team-wise, one for the solid individual performers, one for those who haven't been too impressive, and another for those who simply haven't played enough minutes. Numbers used in this piece are from RealGM.com and from ProBallers.com.

    Let's start things off by working our way down from the first tier:

    DEFINITELY MAKING AN IMPACT

    1) Ray Parks

    AVERAGES (24 GAMES): 11.6 points on 48.8-percent shooting, 40.5-percent on 3s, and 67.7-percent on free throws (59.5 TS% or true shooting percentage), 3.7 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.2 steals, and 1.2 turnovers in 22.9 minutes

    - PER 36 MINUTES: 18.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.8 steals, 2.03 turnovers

    It seems a little reductive to label Parks a "3-and-D" player in Japan since he's been doing a little bit of everything, albeit in a smaller role. But he's starred in both areas and has certainly looked the most comfortable out of all the Filipino imports.

    On offense, his 59.5 TS% is well above league average (55.4 TS%) and is the stoutest mark from any Filipino by a mile and more. On a team that's asked him to do less, Parks has embraced the role of being the designated floor-spacer at the 2 and the 3 and has been straight-up money on those catch-and-shoot and spot-up threes for most of the season:

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    The 28-year-old swingman's tremendous shooting from long range has "cooled down" from the incredible 45.8-percent mark on 7.1 attempts that he made in his last conference with TNT in 2020, but he's still hitting at an elite rate in the B.League; among 55 players who have put up at least 3.5 threes a game, Parks' 40.5-percent from deep ranks 11th.

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    Parks hasn't lost his craft when asked to create with the ball in his hands. He's kind of a walking mismatch: too big for smaller guards, and too slick for bigger defenders. The floater is the weapon of choice after he patiently pokes and prods the defense to find a gap. Overcommit, and he's quick to swing it to an open man:

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    He's not perfect defensively, but he has shown the ability to contain guys from 1 to 3 and has been good with his hands:

    The only thing preventing Parks from cementing himself as the bonafide best Filipino import is his usage and lack of consistent playmaking. Parks is fourth team-wide in field goal attempts (8.5) and fifth in usage rate (21.7%) and, save for some nights when he's hot, has really just picked his spots on a team with established top options.

    Not that he needs to do more, anyway. Nagoya (18-8, third in West District) currently holds the league's best net rating (+15.6) and is a dark horse title contender that banners the third-best offense (120.1 points per 100 possessions) and the sixth-best defense (104.5 defensive rating). The modernized offense is flowing, and everyone is on a string defensively for the most part. Parks won't be the headliner on most nights, but he is and will continue to be one of the biggest reasons for Nagoya's success this season, wherever they may ultimately end up.

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    2) Dwight Ramos

    - AVERAGES (24 GAMES): 10.4 points on 42.9/31.8/74.1 shooting (51.3 TS%), 4.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 0.9 steals, and 1.5 turnovers in 24.0 minutes

    - PER 36: 15.5 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.4 steals, 0.5 blocks, 2.3 turnovers

    Ramos has actually been a tad better than his numbers suggest. Without factoring in the three outlier games where he played under 15 minutes, the 23-year-old guard's averages stand at 11.5 points on 44.4/31.8/73.9 shooting (52.6 TS%), 4.5 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.0 steals, and 1.7 turnovers in 26.3 minutes of action.

    He's mostly been a tertiary scorer off the ball for Toyama and hasn't really done a lot of orchestrating at the point or at the 2; against elite defenses, Ramos' on-ball stiffness is an issue and makes him susceptible to turnovers. The scoring, however, still offers so much intrigue; he's not always efficient, but he continues to get more comfortable at creating his own offense in the perimeter and has not shied away from contact in his forays at the rim. He's also been making snappy passes on the fly:

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    Ramos has been a little cold from deep (31.8-percent) all season long, but some positive regression should help. He's not going to shoot as well as he did in his last stints with Gilas Pilipinas (45.5-percent in six games vs. Indonesia and Korea), but something around the neighborhood of 35-percent can be a reasonable expectation just because his form and shot selection have been fundamentally sound:

    Toyama (10-18, eighth in the West) doesn't really have a problem on offense; so far, they've posted a 110.9 offensive rating, which is good for ninth among 22 teams. The reason for their subpar record really lies on their defense, which is giving up a horrendous 119.8 points per 100 possessions, currently the third-worst figure.

    Ramos isn't solely to blame for their defensive woes, but early in the season he wasn't too good at defending the point-of-attack — further compounding a defense that already lacked an imposing presence in the backline — and was often a beat late in reads and rotations:

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    Fortunately, Ramos' instincts seem to have gotten better on that end as of late, though he and the Grouses have to do this on a nightly basis moving forward if they want to make a push for the playoffs:

    3) Kiefer Ravena

    - AVERAGES (26 GAMES): 11.8 points on 40.1/30.5/80.5 shooting (52.2 TS%), 5.5 assists, 1.6 rebounds, 1.5 steals, and 2.1 turnovers in 24.9 minutes

    - PER 36: 17.1 points, 7.9 assists, 2.3 rebounds, 2.1 steals, 3.0 turnovers

    No surprises here: the elder Ravena's playmaking prowess has immediately translated upon his arrival in Japan and has rightfully earned him a spot alongside the league's best point guards. The 28-year-old is ninth in dimes per contest at 5.5, but he's actually assisted on 35.9 percent of his teammates' field goals — good for seventh in the league, and ahead of guys like Shimane's Seiya Ando (6.7 assists, second) and Gunma's Trey McKinney-Jones (6.2, fifth).

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    Ravena rarely misses hitting open teammates, whether it be in the pick-and-roll or in simple kickouts:

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    His penchant for bending defenses with his crosscourt passing is a thing of beauty. The timely, well-placed passes are borne out of his excellent recognition for where his teammates are, especially when they lift in "shake actions," when they come off of flare screens, or when they're left wide open in the corners by the low man:

    Kiefer's leverage is his shotmaking. While he hasn't been as efficient as he was in his last two conferences in the PBA — his finishing at the rim has taken a significant step back against taller frontlines, and his three-point shooting has yet to normalize — he remains a threat once he manages to carve out the requisite space to get his shot off. Putting a smaller or like-sized defender against Ravena in the post is still a big no-no:

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    Unfortunately, Shiga (9-18, ninth in the West) has yet to fully reap the benefits of having Ravena in the backcourt. The Lakestars still have a bottom-six offense (107 offensive rating) and a bottom-eight defense (114.3 defensive rating), partly because of their inability to grab rebounds (30.9 boards, 18th) and their weakness of allowing opponents to come up with extra possessions by outworking them on the glass (35.8 opponent rebounds, fifth-most). Shiga also doesn't hit or take a ton of threes (33.6-percent is 18th, 23.3 attempts is 12th), and they can't seem to defend without fouling and have allowed the most opponent free throws (23.3) on a nightly basis. They'll have to figure it out soon before a chance at a playoff spot slips away for good.

    FAIRLY IMPACTFUL

    Thirdy Ravena

    - AVERAGES (24 GAMES): 12.7 points on 41.1/25.8/66.7 splits (49.2 TS%), 4.4 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.0 steals, and 2.0 turnovers in 26.8 minutes

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    - PER 36: 17.1 points, 5.9 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.3 steals, 0.4 blocks, 2.6 turnovers

    The younger Ravena has made the most out of the team-high usage (26.6-percent) he has gotten, bumping up his numbers from his dismal rookie season and doing things more deliberately and with more assertion. On a team bereft of consistent options in the backcourt, Thirdy stands out as San-En's (4-22) most consistent rim-pressuring guard:

    Ravena's inefficiency from the perimeter puts a cap on his ability to consistently put points on the board at the present, but his expeditions in the paint offer some variety to a third-worst San-En offense (103.8 offensive rating) that aimlessly meanders from side-to-side on way too many possessions. The dearth in guard talent in the NeoPhoenix roster has also opened up opportunities for the 25-year-old to improve his passing reads, though he's still better off as a secondary ball-handler playmaker in the halfcourt owing to a lack of advanced polish in his vision and handle:

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    Thirdy could use these reps to continue cleaning up his defense within the team scheme. He's physically imposing, but he's prone to blowing closeouts and doesn't exactly put a lot of pressure against shiftier guards:

    To be fair to Ravena, the NeoPhoenix defense (119.6 defensive rating, 21st) as a whole have failed to make opposing offenses sweat, allowing the highest field goal (49.4) and three-point percentage (38.5) from their opponents, as well as the second-most rebounds (36.8).

    With little to no expectations of a playoff push this season, Thirdy should continue soaking as much as he can and pick up the lessons during another futile year for San-En. Experience is the best teacher, after all.

    NOT QUITE IMPACTFUL

    Kobe Paras

    - AVERAGES (25 GAMES): 8.2 points on 35.2/31.1/69.7 shooting (43.9 TS%), 2.2 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 0.7 steals, and 1.4 turnovers in 22.3 minutes

    - PER 36: 13.2 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.2 steals, 2.2 turnovers

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    Paras' offense has fallen off a cliff. After scoring in double figures in each of his first six games, he's only done it twice over the next 19 games and appears to be losing minutes as the season passes:

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    The 24-year-old forward's shaky perimeter chops and ball-handling appears to have been thrust in the spotlight in Japan and he has yet to recover or consistently find counters. He hasn't made up for it by getting to the rack, either; after averaging 3.5 free throws in the first six games, Paras has barely attempted (0.6) anything from the stripe over the next 19.

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    Paras has not been able to compensate in terms of passing or defense either and has been prone to ball-watching or committing sloppy turnovers, though you could also say the same for the entire Niigata squad:

    Niigata is in the midst of a 22-game losing streak and are dead-last in the standings with a 2-24 card. They're the only team with an offensive rating under 100 (98.9) and they lead the league in turnovers; the only saving grace is the fact that the defense isn't a league-worst figure (115.2 defensive rating, 17th). We're not sure if there's a quick fix for Paras and Niigata, but something has to give at some point.

    NOT PLAYING ENOUGH

    1) Javi Gomez de Liaño

    - AVERAGES (15 GAMES): 2.3 points on 28.9/27.3/75 shooting (40.9 TS%), 1.6 rebounds in 10.4 minutes

    Ibaraki (5-21) hasn't felt the need to deploy Javi in the wing for the most part, though that could possibly change if they want to shake things up later in the season. It hasn't been smooth-sailing for the 23-year-old, but he still has a lot to offer and a lot of room to grow, especially as he continues to grow more comfortable with his offense in the perimeter.

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    2) Matt Aquino

    - AVERAGES (11 GAMES): 1.5 points on 37.5 percent shooting, 1.5 rebounds in 7.3 minutes

    Aquino has mostly been an afterthought in the Shinsu (10-16) frontline, but the 25-year-old big man should continue to find a place in the league moving forward given his size and eligibility as a local.

    3) Juan Gomez de Liaño (Division II)

    - AVERAGES (17 GAMES): 5.3 points on 35.2/20/26.1 shooting (39.1 TS%), 2.5 assists, 2.2 rebounds, 0.5 steals, and 1.8 turnovers in 16.6 minutes

    Juan has been inefficient and underwhelming for the most part and hasn't exactly improved on his numbers from his final year with the UP Fighting Maroons, where he posted 8.0 points on 32.4/22.4/59.1 splits (40.6 TS%), 5.4 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.1 steals, and 2.2 turnovers in 23.7 minutes back in Season 82.

    Curiously, he hasn't played a ton of minutes, but in the six games where he did play over 20 minutes, he posted 7.7 points on 41.5 TS%, 3.2 rebounds, and 5.0 assists in 24.3 minutes; he was still inefficient, but it's probably fair to assume that with more consistent minutes, more shots could fall.

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      It doesn't seem like the Tokyo Z coaching staff wants to buy into that hypothetical, though, and that's also fair; about 47.6 percent of his shots have come from deep this season, yet he's been subpar and has actually missed all 25 three-pointers he attempted over his last nine games.

      Two questions persist: Has Juan been dealing with an injury? And does he still have an opportunity to turn it around? He hasn't played the last 12 games for Earthfriends, who last had him on hand back in December 4. There must be something more that meets the eye on this one.

      4) Kemark Cariño (Division II)

      - AVERAGES (17 GAMES): 1.2 points, 1.8 rebounds in 8.9 minutes

      Cariño, 23, has yet to experience his first win in the pros with Aomori, who sit at the bottom of the standings at 2-28.

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