SUMMARY
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It was a quiet Saturday, October 16 game day for four of the five Filipino imports in action at the Japan B. League, and all of them are likely aiming for better showings at their respective rematches on Sunday, October 17.
But this is nothing but a passing slump for the Pinoy delegation, who has a whole lot more to celebrate for given the arrival of not one, but three new pro players in their midst, namely Dwight Ramos, Kemark Cariño, and surprise Fil-Japanese local addition Matt Aquino.
Although Cariño and Aquino were told to skip this weekend to probably have more practice runs first, the entire nine-man Pinoy crew along with Javi Gomez de Liaño will likely be fully cleared by next weekend.
For now, there is more than enough action to fill up Filipino fans’ lunch hours.
Ray Parks vs Dwight Ramos | Nagoya Diamond Dolphins vs Toyama Grouses
Ray Parks Jr. delivered once again for the Nagoya Diamond Dolphins as they crushed Dwight Ramos and the Toyoma Grouses for the second straight day, 99-74, in the Japan B. League on Sunday, October 17 at the Toyoma City Gymnasium.
After dropping 15 points on Saturday, Parks came up with a team-high 17 points along with 7 rebounds as the Dolphins completed the weekend sweep of the Grouses and improved to 3-3 in the standings.
Meanwhile, Ramos’ shooting struggles continued as he finished with 9 points on just 4-of-12 shooting to go with 4 rebounds and 3 assists as the Grouses remained winless in six outings.
Read the full story here.
Preview
Ray Parks did not allow himself to be upstaged by his compatriot Dwight Ramos, as he finally broke out of his scoring slump with a 20-minute, 15-point burst off the bench in Nagoya’s 94-68 burial of the Toyama home team.
Despite immediately leading Nagoya (2-3) with 29 minutes off the bench in his debut, Ramos did little damage in his B. League debut as he tallied just 6 points on an ice-cold 3-of-14 clip to go with 7 rebounds and 3 assists.
Ramos and the Grouses (0-5) will continue their search for their first win of the season in the Sunday rematch at 12:05 pm.
Thirdy Ravena | San-en NeoPhoenix vs Hiroshima Dragonflies
The Hiroshima Dragonflies denied Thirdy Ravena and the San-en NeoPhoenix a bounce-back opportunity as they staged a late rally for the 84-72 win.
Ravena had one of his worst shooting outings yet in the B. League as he limped to a line of 12 points on 5-of-14 shooting, 1-of-8 from three, and 1-of-4 from the free-throw line with 2 rebounds and 2 assists.
The NeoPhoenix will get two chances to rise from the ashes next weekend as Ravena is likely set to face old college foe and B. League debutante Javi Gomez de Liaño of the Ibaraki Robots on Saturday and Sunday, October 23 and 24.
Read the full story here.
Preview
After two weekends of great games, Thirdy Ravena hit a bump on Saturday afternoon as the San-en NeoPhoenix flamed out to the Hiroshima Dragonflies, 76-67.
Despite having free rein over a team-high 31-minute run, the B. League Pinoy pioneer was held to just 7 points, 3 rebounds and 1 assist on a paltry 3-of-12 shooting clip.
San-en (2-3), as it has done in its prior two back-to-back slates, will again attempt to avoid a weekend sweep with a Sunday rematch against the league-leading Hiroshima squad (4-1) at 12:05 pm.
Kiefer Ravena | Shiga Lakestars vs Kyoto Hannaryz
The Shiga Lakestars used a massive 24-3 third-quarter run to pulverize the Kyoto Hannaryz home team, 95-72.
Kiefer Ravena again deferred to numerous teammates with hotter hands, and finished with just 6 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists in the easy win, a stark contrast to the 84-83 thriller they escaped from less than 24 hours earlier against the Hannaryz.
Ravena will meet another familiar face next weekend as he and the Lakestars try to keep their league-leading 5-1 record steadily rising against the improving Ray Parks and the Nagoya Diamond Dolphins on Saturday and Sunday, October 23 and 24.
Read the full story here.
Preview
Kiefer Ravena caught a lucky break after a putrid performance on Saturday as the Shiga Lakestars (4-1) hung on for a thrilling 84-83 win against host squad Kyoto Hannaryz (2-3) for a share of the league’s top spot.
The PBA star guard was held to just 6 points on 1-of-7 shooting with 3 turnovers and no assists. He did not help his case at all after bungling two huge free throws with 11 seconds remaining that left the door wide open for a Kyoto game-winner, which fortunately for Shiga, never materialized as time expired.
Ravena will try to right the ship with a performance up to his usual high standards as the Lakestars aim for a two-win weekend in Kyoto on Sunday, 1:05 pm.
Kobe Paras | Niigata Albirex BB vs Levanga Hokkaido
The Levanga Hokkaido stormed back from an 18-point deficit to stun Kobe Paras and the Niigata Albirex BB with a heartbreaking 72-69 heist.
Paras finished with a team-high 18 points on 6-of-12 shooting, and even outscored the entire Hokkaido home team in the first quarter, 10-9. However, the Levanga ultimately had the last laugh in the clutch after being down 9-27 early in the second period.
Paras and Niigata now look to snap a three-game losing streak next weekend against the Seahorses Mikawa in another back-to-back slate.
Read the full story here.
Preview
Levanga Hokkaido (1-4) left the B. League East district cellar in stellar fashion after outgunning Kobe Paras and the Niigata Albirex BB (2-3) in an 88-75 decision.
Although Paras led the losing cause with 13 points, he was clamped to just 2 markers in the second half, and finished with a cold 4-of-13 clip as the rest of the Albirex imports also failed to produce good outings.
Paras and Niigata now aim to bounce back on Hokkaido home turf on Sunday, 1:05 pm.
Juan Gomez de Liaño | Earthfriends Tokyo Z vs Sendai 89ers
The Earthfriends Tokyo Z continued to scrape the bottom of the B. League Division 2 barrel after the Sendai 89ers handed them an 84-61 beatdown in the first game of their unusual Sunday-Monday back-to-back slate.
Juan Gomez de Liaño’s promotion to the starting lineup did nothing to help his cause as he mustered just 1 point with 4 rebounds and 4 turnovers in 12 minutes, thus continuing his up-and-down scoring trend after a career-high 11-point outing last game.
He and the Earthfriends continue their quest for a breakthrough win on Monday night, 6 pm.
Preview
In an unusual deviation to usual programming, Juan Gomez de Liaño and the Earthfriends Tokyo Z (0-4) will start their back-to-back slate against the Sendai 89ers (2-2) a day late on Sunday, 2 pm.
Gomez de Liaño, who has had an up-and-down four-game stretch so far with big fluctuations to his points and minutes, will try to build on a career-high 11-point game with a 3-of-6 clip from downtown last Sunday, October 10.
More importantly, the former UAAP Mythical Five member will try to get himself more involved in the Earthfriends’ search for their first win of the season, and hopefully not just be relegated to garbage time once again.
– Rappler.com
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