DWIGHT Ramos could not convert on the game-tying three as the Toyama Grouses continued their skid that's now at seven games, losing to the Ryukyu Golden Kings, 95-88, Saturday at Toyama Seibu Sports Center.
Dwight Ramos B.League update
It was a bummer of an ending for Ramos, who scored nine of his 16 points in the third quarter but went scoreless in crunch time as Toyama remained as the only winless team in the first division of the B.League. He also added three rebounds, one steal, and one block in his statline in 28 minutes of play.
Ramos' botched three could have knotted the game at 91 as Ryukyu held a 91-88 lead with 38.4 seconds left on the clock, but the missed trey, coupled with a costly turnover from Julian Mavunga, allowed Ryuichi Kishimoto and Jack Cooley to seal the deal for the Golden Kings.
The Grouses actually looked poised for the comeback win, crawling their way back from a 12-point fourth quarter deficit, 80-68, with 6:20 left as Joshua Smith and Naoki Uto led the 14-2 run to tie the game at 82 in the last 3:28 and setup the frantic finish.
Dwayne Evans paced Ryukyu with 25 points, seven rebounds, and two assists as his side improved to 5-2 in the standings.
Former Meralco import Allen Durham also got 12 points and two boards off the bench, Cooley got a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds, and Keita Imamura notched 12 points, five boards, and four assists for the Golden Kings.
The two teams clash anew on Sunday.
Ex-TNT import Smith had his best game of the season with 19 points, six boards, three assists, and two blocks in the Toyama defeat.
The Grouses loss also wasted the 14-point effort from Keijuro Matsui, who went 4-of-7 from deep, and the 11-point pieces from Uto and Toshiki Kamisawa.
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.
