Ravena slump continues as San-en skids to 6th straight loss

Thirdy Ravena has yet to find his rhythm since his long injury layoff as the Kawasaki Brave Thunders again outhustled the San-en NeoPhoenix, 87-77, on Sunday, April 4, at the Toyohashi City General Gymnasium.

With the win, the Brave Thunders rose to 35-15 for the B League season and extended their winning streak to 6 straight.

Meanwhile, the NeoPhoenix are currently going the other way as they dropped their sixth consecutive game for a dismal 11-40 record.

One day after flirting with a triple-double in a 104-73 blowout win, Kawasaki import Nick Fazekas erupted for 32 points, 17 rebounds, and 6 assists. Fellow reinforcements Pablo Aguilar and Jordan Heath added 12 and 8 markers, respectively.

On the other end of the import pool, Thirdy Ravena did not enjoy the same scoring success as he only had 6 points on a 2-of-7 clip, one day after getting locked down with 4 points on 2-of-10 shooting.

For a better part of the rematch, however, the NeoPhoenix showed their adjustments from their blowout loss, and kept things close up until the 5:07 mark of the 4th quarter when Tatsuya Suzuki drilled a triple to inch within 7 points, 67-74.

However, the bruising Kawasaki visitors responded with a quick 6-0 run in the paint for the 80-67 lead with 3:58 left in regulation to pretty much put the game out of reach for the home team, as San-en never got closer than 8 points down the stretch.

Import big man Kyle Hunt topscored anew for San-en with 21 points and 6 rebounds on 10-of-15 shooting, while Serbian scorer Stevan Jelovac chipped in 13 markers, 3 boards, and 3 assists.

The NeoPhoenix will get 6 days of rest before they start another back-to-back road game set for Saturday, April 10, against the 17-31 Shiga Lakestars. – Rappler.com