BOBBY Ray Parks remains as the last Filipino standing in the Japan B.League as he and the rest of the Nagoya Diamond Dolphins compete in the Championship Tournament this weekend.
B.League news
Nagoya, finishing with a 34-15 win-loss record, good for third place in the Western Division, is coming in as the sixth seed and will play on the road against the three-seed Kawasaki Brave Thunders.
The best-of-three series will be held at Kawasaki City Todoroki Arena with Game One and Two set this Saturday and Sunday and, if necessary, Game Three on Monday.
Parks has been solid in his first season in Japan with his 10.6 points on 38.7-percent shooting from deep, to go with 3.6 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.1 steals in 22 minutes through 44 games, where he started in 31 outings.
But he won't be the lone player that Nagoya will depend on as it seeks to draw solid showings from imports Scott Eatherton, Coty Clarke, and Ovie Soko, as well as locals Takumi Saito, Yutaro Suda, and Akatsuki Five mainstay Tenketsu Harimoto.
It won't be an easy task, though, especially with Kawasaki led by former Petron import and naturalized center Nick Fazekas.
The two teams split their elimination duels, with Nagoya taking the 89-84 win last March 26 and Kawasaki returning the favor a day later with a 103-95 win.
The winner of the Kawasaki-Nagoya series will face the winner of the series between the defending champion Chiba Jets and Utsunomiya Brex.
For the other bracket, top-seed Ryukyu Golden Kings face the Akita Northern Happinets while Alvark Tokyo collide against the Shimane Susanoo Magic.
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