KOBE Paras finally broke out of his slump and had his best game since November, but those efforts were left in vain as Niigata Albirex BB suffered their 26th straight defeat in the 2021-22 B.League after Levanga Hokkaido's 107-85 victory Wednesday at Hokkai Kitayell.
B.League results
The Filipino high-flyer lit up for 14 points on a perfect 3-of-3 clip from downtown in 20 minutes of action for his best scoring output since Nov. 14 to break a 13-game streak where he was held to single-digits in scoring.
Paras had a hot streak early, firing 10 in a competitive first quarter before he sat on the bench at the 3:15 mark.
But it was then when Hokkaido made its move, staging an 11-2 run to grab a 27-21 lead to end the first quarter, before sustaining that groove in the second quarter, breaking away with a De'Mon Brooks-led 13-4 stretch to make it a 50-39 halftime lead.
Everything went Levanga's way from there, extending the lead to 31-points numerous times in the second half.
Shawn Long exploded for 32 points, 16 rebounds, four assists, and two blocks to lead Hokkaido (12-17), which snapped its four-game skid. Brooks provided support with his double-double of 23 points and 11 boards.
Aside from Paras, Jeff Ayres paced the team with 17 points, four rebounds, and three assists, Rosco Allen nabbed a double-double of 16 points and 14 rebounds, and Tshilidzi Nephawe scored 16 points and nine boards in the loss that send Niigata down at 2-27.
The Albirex will try to end the heartache at home this weekend at City Hall Plaza Aore Nagaoka against the Ibaraki Robots.
Meanwhile, other teams featuring Filipino players had contrasting fates in their upset bids, although those Pinoy studs failed to see action on the court.
Javi Gomez de Liano remained deactivated for the Ibaraki Robots as they stunned the Gunma Crane Thunders, 91-84 at Ota City Athletic Park Citizen's Gymnasium.
Chehales Tapscott led Ibaraki with 22 points, 13 rebounds, four assists, two steals, and two blocks, while Marc Trasolini also notched 22 points, nine boards, two dimes, and two steals to end a five-game skid and rise to 6-23.
Kei Igarashi and Justin Keenan led Gunma (11-17) with 17 points each in the defeat.
On the other hand, Matthew Aquino was also benched as the Shinshu Brave Warriors suffered a 13-point collapse to fall to league leader Ryukyu Golden Kings, 86-85, at White Ring Arena.
Ryuichi Kishimoto drained the biggest of his 16 points with his game-winning trey with 2.9 seconds left to cap off his 4-of-5 clip from downtown and keep Ryukyu's spot at the top at 24-3.
Jack Cooley chimed in 16 points and 12 rebounds, Keita Imamura and Hayato Maki got 13 apiece, and former Meralco import Allen Durham got 12 points and 13 boards for the Golden Kings.
Reo Maeda topped Shinshu (12-17) with 22 points, as Wayne Marshall got 20 points, nine rebounds, six blocks, and four assists in the tough defeat as the Brave Warriors lost grip of a 71-62 lead with 5:58 remaining and squandered the supposed wire-to-wire win.
Shinshu will remain at home this weekend when it meets Osaka Evessa.
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