Parks, Nagoya stretch win streak to 9 with rout of Shimane

MANILA, Philippines – Ray Parks and the Nagoya Diamond Dolphins carried their winning momentum into the new year as they took down the Shimane Susanoo Magic, 91-76, in the Japan B. League on Sunday, January 2 at the Matsue City Gymnasium.

Parks, who has been very instrumental in Nagoya’s nine-game winning streak, delivered another all-around performance of 15 points on an efficient 7-of-10 shooting, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 1 steal as the No. 4 Dolphins continue to move up the standings with an 18-7 record.

After leading by only 4 points, 67-63, with 8 minutes to go in the final frame, the Dolphins quickly shifted into high gear and stretched their advantage to double-digits, 78-68, off a Parks jumper with 4:48 left to play.

Nagoya then kept its foot on the gas, extending its lead to 14, 85-71, which proved too big for Shimane to overcome with just 2:29 remaining in the game.

Scott Eatherton tallied 21 points and 9 rebounds for Nagoya in the victory, while Coty Clarke and Takumi Saito added 14 points apiece.

Reid Travis paced Shimane with 21 points and 6 rebounds in the losing effort, while Perrin Buford contributed 13 markers.

Parks and the Dolphins can push their impressive winning streak to 10 games when they lock horns once again with the Susanoo Magic on Monday, January 3, at 12:35 pm, Manila time. 

In another Division 1 match, Javi Gomez de Liaño and the Ibaraki Robots opened 2022 on a losing note as they fell to the Alvark Tokyo, 81-65, at the Adastria Mito Arena.

Gomez de Liaño failed to make the most of his limited playing time as he went 0-of-3 from the field and finished with just 1 steal in 5 minutes of action for the Robots, who dropped their second straight outing and moved down to 5-20 in the standings.

The Robots will look to put on a much better showing when they clash once again with the Alvark on Monday at 1:05 pm, Manila time.

Over at Division 2, the Juan Gomez de Liaño-less Earthfriends Tokyo Z suffered a painful 90-83 loss to the Fukushima Firebonds at the Katayanagi Arena.

With the younger Gomez de Liaño out for 10 straight games now due to undisclosed reasons, the Earthfriends have lost four games in a row and dropped to 5-23 in the standings. – Rappler.com