Wright's 22 not enough for Kyoto; Ramos stuffs stat sheet in Hokkaido win

MANILA, Philippines – Matthew Wright’s 22-point outburst for the Kyoto Hannaryz went down the drain as they fell to the Yokohama B-Corsairs in heartbreaking fashion, 79-78, in the Japan B. League on Sunday, January 29.

With Yokohama ahead by 3 points with less than a minute left to play, Wright converted on a huge long bomb to tie the game at 75 apiece.

Yokohama’s American import Charles Jackson then responded with a dunk on the other end to break the deadlock, before Kyoto’s Jotaro Mitsuda quickly countered with a trey to put the Hannaryz up by 1, 78-77, with 23 seconds remaining.

Unfortunately for the Hannaryz, Jackson once again delivered a crucial basket for the B-Corsairs with only 10 seconds on the game clock, which went on to be the game-winner, as Cheick Diallo committed a costly turnover for Kyoto in the next play.

Yuki Kawamura lifted Yokohama with 26 points, while Jackson posted a double-double of 20 points and 12 rebounds.

Jarrod Uthoff topscored for Kyoto with 23 points, while Wright, who shot an efficient 5-of-9 clip from three-point range, also tallied 2 rebounds, an assist, and a steal.

On the other hand, Dwight Ramos stuffed the stat sheet for the Levanga Hokkaido as they exacted revenge on the Kawasaki Brave Thunders, 102-95.

Coming off a 13-point outing in Hokkaido’s 98-79 loss to the same opponents on Saturday, January 28, the fit-again Ramos, who missed 19 straight games from November to January due to an ankle injury, produced 10 points on 3-of-4 shooting, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and a season-high 6 steals.

Hokkaido’s Brock Motum proved too much for Kawasaki to handle as the Australian import exploded for 39 points on a very impressive 7-of-8 clip from long distance.

Former PBA import and naturalized Japanese Nick Fazekas paced Kawasaki with a double-double of 23 points and 10 rebounds.

Meanwhile, Matt Aquino and the Shinshu Brave Warriors ended Ray Parks and the Nagoya Diamond Dolphins’ six-game winning streak with a shocking 82-58 demolition.

Aquino, however, was a non-factor for Shinshu as he only suited up for 30 seconds, while Parks had 11 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals for Nagoya in the losing cause.

Elsewhere, Kiefer Ravena scored in twin digits, but the Shiga Lakes bowed to the Sendai 89ers for their 17th straight loss, 81-64.

Ravena put up 10 points on 5-of-11 shooting, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals off the bench for the cellar-dwelling Shiga.