BOBBY Ray Parks drilled the dagger three with 14 seconds left to lift Nagoya Diamond Dolphins to a 90-85 victory over the Toyama Grouses and stretch their win streak to four on Saturday in the Japan B.League at Dolphin's Arena.
The Filipino guard swished the three off a perfectly timed pass from Coty Clarke to save the team from a 23-point collapse.
Parks finished with 15 points, going 3 for 6 from distance, to go with three assists and two rebounds as Nagoya improved to a 13-7 record.
Scott Eatherton paced the Diamond Dolphins with 24 points, nine boards, and three assists, as Clarke had 16 points, six rebounds, and five assists as their early assault allowed them to grab a 56-33 advantage late in the first half.
Toyama refused to fold, firing 31 points in the third quarter to get to within two, 73-71, and even tied the game at 81 after a pair of free throws from Joshua Smith, but just can't take the lead.
Akatsuki Five mainstay Tenketsu Harimoto added nine points, Takumi Saito got seven points and five assists, and former PBA import Rob Dozier added four points off the bench for the Diamond Dolphins.
Ray Parks and the Diamond Dolphins score their 13th winof the season.
It was a tough loss for the Grouses, which saw their three-game win run snapped to fall to 7-13.
Brice Johnson carried Toyama with 20 points and nine rebounds, Kevin Hareyama came off the bench for his 12, and Keijuro Matsui chimed in 10 points, two boards, and two assists in the defeat.
Filipino guard Dwight Ramos registered 11 points, five rebounds, two assists, and two steals, but committed four of the Grouses' turnovers.
Joshua Smith also returned to the lineup and hadeight points and eight rebounds for Toyama, as Julian Mavunga had nine points, seven assists, and three boards in the loss.
The two teams lock horns anew on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Matthew Aquino once again started but was hardly a factor as the Shinshu Brave Warriors tasted a 91-71 loss to the Shimane Susanoo Magic at Matsue City Gymnasium.
The home team was just firing in all cylinders, going 13-of-25 from deep led by Kosuke Kanamaru's 4-of-7 clip for his 15 points, six rebounds, and two assists.
Perrin Buford paced Shimane (14-6) with 22 points, nine boards, and three assists, Reid Travis got 20 points, seven rebounds, and two steals, and Seiya Ando got 14 points, seven dimes, and three boards in the Susanoo Magic's second straight win.
Josh Hawkinson carried Shinshu (9-11) on his back with 21 points, three rebounds, and two assists, but that wasn't enough as the Brave Warriors sank to their sixth straight loss.
Reo Maeda got 15 points, six assists, and four boards, Anthony McHenry tallied 13 points, four rebounds, and four assists, and Yang Jae-min nabbed 11 points and five boards.
Ibaraki Robots' late rally also fell short as Alvark Tokyo took the 79-73 victory at Arena Tachikawa Tachihi.
Sebas Saiz anchored Tokyo's 11-5 finish after Ibaraki tied the game at 68 with 5:30 remaining as the Spanish center scored six of his 13 points in that pivotal stretch.
He also grabbed six rebounds as Alvark won back-to-back games to rise to a 13-7 card.
Alex Kirk topped Tokyo with 18 points and 11 rebounds, Ryan Rossiter also had his own double-double of 14 points, 11 boards, three assists, and two steals, and Jordan Taylor collected 13 points, seven rebounds, and six assists in the conquest.
Eric Jacobsen carried Ibaraki (3-17) with his 25 points and 11 rebounds as it dropped its second straight game.
Chehales Tapscott poured 14 points, six boards, and three assists, as Kohei Fukuzawa got 13 in a game where Javi Gomez de Liano went scoreless anew in his seven minutes of play.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.