Ray Parks, Nagoya fall short of B1 finals berth in Japan B. League

MANILA, Philippines – Ray Parks and the Nagoya Diamond Dolphins failed to advance to the B1 finals of the Japan B. League as they suffered a 79-73 loss to the Hiroshima Dragonflies in Game 3 of their best-of-three semifinal showdown on Monday, May 20. 

Parks did everything he could for the Dolphins in the heartbreaking defeat, dropping a team-best 20 points on 6-of-10 shooting, to go with 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 steal. 

The former Gilas Pilipinas standout caught fire from beyond the arc late in the third quarter, nailing three consecutive long bombs to help Nagoya grab the lead heading into the final period, 60-59, after trailing by as many as 10 points in the first half. 

Unfortunately for Parks and the rest of the Dolphins, the Dragonflies went on a furious late-game rally, where they extended a slim 73-71 lead at the 3:02 mark of the fourth frame into a 78-71 advantage with just 32.5 ticks left.

A basket by Parks with 21.2 seconds remaining ended Nagoya’s drought and pulled them within 5, before Hiroshima’s Dwayne Evans iced the game and settled the final score at 79-73 with a free throw in the next play. 

Evans torched Nagoya with a game-high 28 points, while Nick Mayo and Ryo Yamazaki had 19 apiece for Hiroshima, which will face the semifinal winner between the Ryukyu Golden Kings and the Chiba Jets in the championship.

Meanwhile, Parks was backstopped by locals Yutaro Suda and Taito Nakahigashi, who finished with 12 and 10 markers, respectively. 

Parks, the first Filipino Asian Quota import to reach the semifinals in B1, wrapped up his second playoff run with Nagoya with averages of 8.2 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 1.6 assists. – Rappler.com