THIRDY Ravena had a celebratory return to the Japan B.League as San-En NeoPhoenix staved off a late rally from Nagoya Diamond Dolphins and took the 85-82 victory Wednesday at Dolphins Arena.
Thirdy Ravena B.League news
Fresh from his stint with Gilas Pilipinas in the 2023 Fiba World Cup Asian qualifiers, the Filipino guard came off the bench and dropped 12 points and one rebound as he helped the visitors seize control and take the 16-point lead, 49-33, with 8:47 left in the third frame.
But Nagoya refused to give up, roaring back in the payoff period and even took the 74-71 lead with 5:24 left.
San-En, though, stayed the course with Yoshiyuki Matsuwaki breaking the 77-all deadlock with a left corner three and imports Robert Carter and Elias Harris being cool customers from the line in the clutch to pull off the three-point win.
Harris uncorked 26 points and 11 rebounds, Carter got 10 points and nine boards, and Matsuwaki drained five treys for his 17 points as the NeoPhoenix broke a two-game slump to rise to a 6-30 record.
Shayne Whittington showed the way for Nagoya (21-10) with 13 points and nine rebounds off the bench, as Coty Clarke had 11 points and seven boards before fouling out in the final minute.
Bobby Ray Parks only got nine points and six rebounds in the loss.
San-En will aim to sustain this winning form on March 16 against the Shinshu Brave Warriors at Kotobuki Arena Chikuma, while Nagoya will face the Ibaraki Robots at Mitsubishi Electric Nagoya Gymnasium this Saturday.
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