MATTHEW Wright was held to five points but Kyoto Hannaryz were still able to gut out a 66-65 win over the Sendai 89ers in the 2022-23 Japan B.League season on Sunday at the Kyoto City Gymnasium.
The Fil-Canadian gunner shot 2-of-5 from the field in 15 minutes of action, on top of two rebounds and one assist while committing five turnovers as he continued to play through a back injury.
Wright bared he strained his back just days before his B.League debut and re-injured it while trying out his fitness in full-contact practice.
[READ: Wright goes scoreless in B.League debut]
Yet Wright's low output couldn't hold Kyoto down as Yoshiaki Kubota nailed four of his final six free throws in the last 21 seconds to secure the Hannaryz' first win of the season.
Kubota racked up 16 points, five assists, and three boards, TJ Lall got 12 points, four assists, two rebounds, and two steals, and Jarrod Uthoff collected 11 points and four rebounds as Kyoto improved to 1-1.
Sendai leaned on Justin Burrell's 16 points and 14 rebounds in the loss.
Justine Baltazar also made his debut for the Hiroshima Dragonflies in a 70-68 win over Yokohama B-Corsairs at Hiroshima Sun Plaza.
The Gilas Pilipinas forward only logged four minutes and grabbed a rebound in his first game in the Land of the Rising Sun.
Kerry Blackshear Jr. topscored for Hiroshima with 25 points, nine rebounds, four assists, and three steals, while Nick Mayo got 21 points and nine boards in the victory to rise to a 1-1 card.
It spoiled Charles Jackson's perfect night as he went 22 points on 10-of-10 shooting, alongside seven rebounds and two blocks.
Jay Washington, meanwhile, did not play in Ryukyu Golden Kings' 85-70 rout of defending champion Utsunomiya Brex at Okinawa Arena.
Jack Cooley's 17 points and nine rebounds led the six players to score in double figures to improve to 2-0 for the season.
Josh Scott and Makoto Hiejima led the Brex with 12 apiece.
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