Powerhouse Mikawa blows out Ravena-less San-en

Seahorses Mikawa hardly broke a sweat in their 91-68 drubbing of the hapless San-en NeoPhoenix in the Japan B. League on Saturday, May 1 at the Wing Kariya Arena.

With the win, the powerhouse squad kept its hold of the third spot in the West District with a 31-20 record. Meanwhile, the also-ran NeoPhoenix, who were playing without imports Thirdy Ravena and Nenad Miljenovic, fell to 12-46, still in ninth place.

Ko Kumagai, who is averaging just 2.1 points per game, erupted for 21 markers off the bench on a 5-of-6 clip from downtown. Import Avi Schafer churned out 20 points and 13 rebounds, while Kyle Collinsworth tallied a stellar 13-point, 13-board, 13-assist triple-double.

Mikawa started strong straight out of warm-ups with a 21-9 start over the uninspired San-en side, and never looked back.

The Seahorses continued their dominant run all throughout, and peaked with a 24-point lead, 63-39, after a Schafer jumper midway through the third period.

Stevan Jelovac led all scorers with 23 points and 11 rebounds despite the NeoPhoenix never once leading all game long. Fellow import Kyle Hunt added 14 markers and 7 boards, while captain Shuto Terazono tallied 12 points in 17 minutes off the bench.

While Ravena’s return from a left knee injury remains uncertain, San-en will have two more chances to squeeze out one last win as they continue their back-to-back road game set against Mikawa on Sunday, May 2.

They will then play one of their postponed games against the Shinshu Brave Warriors on Wednesday, May 5, to cap off a season to forget. – Rappler.com