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The San-en NeoPhoenix finished their Japan B. League season on a low note as the Shinshu Brave Warriors eked out an 80-75 win on Wednesday, May 5, at the Kotobuki Arena Chikuma.
As they wrapped up the season with a dismal 12-47 record, the NeoPhoenix wrapped up their campaign the same way they started it: without Filipino import Thirdy Ravena.
The 24-year-old star prospect failed to see any action in the team’s last 5 games after suffering a left knee injury.
Without Ravena’s two-way play, the 8-man Shinshu took advantage of the hapless San-en squad despite being hit with COVID-19 in the last two weeks.
Import Josh Hawkinson led with a team-high 19-point, 10-rebound double-double while Tatsuya Nishiyama led the bench attack with 17 points and a game-high 8 assists.
On the other end, Stevan Jelovac led all scorers with game-highs of 20 points and 11 rebounds in the losing effort, while Tatsuya Suzuki and captain Shuto Terazono chipped in 17 and 15 markers, respectively.
Ravena finished a promising, yet bittersweet debut as a professional basketball player with averages of 9.1 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.6 assists in about 23 minutes per game.
Due to visa and quarantine issues, the former three-time UAAP Finals MVP missed the team’s first 10 games as they went 1-9 in that span.
Shortly after his long-awaited debut, Ravena was again forced to sit out for more than two weeks after contracting COVID-19 last November 27, 2020, just 20 days after playing his first game.
The turn of the New Year did not change Ravena’s fortunes for the better as he suffered a major wrist injury last January 2, and ultimately sat out nearly 3 whole months for post-surgery recovery.
By the time he got any consistent burn, his new team was far removed from playoff contention, and were basically alternating between close losses and blowout defeats.
With nothing left to fight for but pride, Ravena was still not able to finish his debut season on the court following a left knee injury he suffered against powerhouse Ryukyu Golden Kings last April 14.
Despite this, the rising star guard has been nothing but supportive of his team, and appreciative of Filipinos who religiously tune in amid mounting losses.
Fortunately for his fans, Ravena’s journey is only getting started, and there’s nowhere to go from here but up. – Rappler.com
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