For the second-straight day, Osaka Evessa flexed its might over the hapless San-en NeoPhoenix for the 91-79 blowout on Sunday, April 25, at the Toyohashi City Gymnasium.
Playing without Filipino import Thirdy Ravena once again due to a left knee injury, San-en ran out of gas late in the game as Osaka rose to 30-19 in the West District, good for second place in the division.
Meanwhile, the NeoPhoenix stayed rooted at ninth place in the West with a 12-44 record.
Osaka forward Ryogo Sumino did no wrong in his onslaught against San-en, and led 5 Evessa in double-digit scoring with 21 points, 4 assists, 2 steals, and no turnovers on 6-of-6 shooting, 4-of-4 from the line and 5-of-5 from downtown.
Naturalized Japanese Ira Brown chipped in 20 markers, and 4 boards, while former NBA player Josh Harrellson churned out an 18-point, 14-rebound double-double.
Just like the match on Saturday, April 24, San-en led big early on, by as many as 14, 38-24, midway through the 2nd quarter.
The NeoPhoenix kept a 7-point gap, 56-49, until the 6:25 mark of the third, before Osaka seized the game with a 20-5 run capped by a Brown dunk for the 69-61 lead with 1:31 left.
They basically never looked back, and peaked with a 17-point lead, 91-74, in the final minute of regulation off two Brown free-throws.
San-en import Kyle Hunt led the losing effort with 19 points, and 7 rebounds. Stevan Jelovac added a 16-marker, 13-board double-double, while Tatsuya Suzuki followed up his 27-point eruption on Saturday with a 13-point outing.
Ravena will have a pair of chances left to return as San-en wraps up its forgettable season with a back-to-back road game set on Saturday and Sunday, May 1 and 2, against West District powerhouse Seahorses Mikawa (29-19). – Rappler.com
There are no comments yet. Add your comment to start the conversation.