THIRDY Ravena and the San-En NeoPhoenix continued their resurgence, winning their fifth game in a row at the expense of the Nagoya Fighting Eagles, 89-80, in the 2023-24 Japan B. League season.
A 10-0 start by San-En set the tone for the wire-to-wire victory as Ravena and Co. improved to 6-1 for the season.
Ravena was one of four San-En players in double-digit scoring with 14 points to go with eight rebounds, and one assist. Ryusei Sasaki paced the winners with 19 points, two rebounds, and six assists.
Nagoya, meanwhile, fell to 4-3 after losing its third straight game.
Elsewhere, Nagoya’s other team — the Diamond Dolphins, nipped the Hiroshima Dragonflies, 93-89, to move to 7-0 to begin the year.
Diamond Dolphins Filipino reinforcement Ray Parks Jr. contributed eight points, one rebound, and three assists.
American Robert Franks topped the scoring column with 22 points. Franks also flirted with a triple-double with eight rebounds, and seven assists for Nagoya.
Hiroshima, meanwhile, slipped to 2-5 in the absence of Kai Sotto due to a back injury.
There wasn’t much fortune for Filipino imports as all others who saw action on Wednesday absorbed losses.
Edu, Grouses stay winless
AJ Edu’s Toyama Grouses remained winless for the season as they fell to the Seahorses Mikawa, 90-59, in their latest contest.
The 23-year-old tallied a double-double of 17 points and 11 boards but couldn’t save his team from falling to 0-7.
Mikawa, for its part, improved to 4-3.
Shinshu Brave Warriors’ RJ Abarrientos had seven points, two rebounds, and one assist in an 80-74 loss to the Saga Ballooners.
Shinshu have lost five in a row and are 2-5 for the year - the same record as Saga.
In the other games, Dwight Ramos’ Levanga Hokkaido fell short against the Chiba Jets, 82-77.
Ramos had an all-around game of 13 points, five rebounds, and four dimes but couldn’t keep the momentum going as Levanga slipped to 1-6.
De’Mon Brooks paced Levanga in the losing effort with 24 points, seven boards, and one assist.
Chiba rose to 4-3 for the year after the victory.
Tamayo, Golden Kings lose
Carl Tamayo was limited in the Ryukyu Golden Kings’ 87-66 loss to the Kawasaki Brave Thunders, as he finished with just two points and a rebound in more than 17 minutes of play.
Thomas Wimbush led the Brave Thunders with 32 points and four rebounds to send Ryukyu reeling to a second loss in seven games.
Kawasaki lead the Central Conference standings with a 6-1 slate.
Matthew Wright was a DNP for the Kyoto Hannaryz as they lost to the Osaka Evessa, 83-74.
Osaka’s Angelo Caloiaro had 22 points, seven boards, and four dimes, leading his team to 7-0.
Kyoto, meanwhile, are 1-6.
Jordan Heading was also unavailable for a Nagasaki Velca side that won over the Shimane Susanoo Magic, 77-73.
Jarrell Brantley led the cavalry for the Velca with 19 points, seven rebounds, and six assists as they improved to 6-1.
Shimane dropped to 5-2.
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