Ravena, Shiga send Niigata to 20th straight loss sans Paras

MANILA, Philippines – The Shiga Lakestars completed a triumphant holiday home stand as they sent the free-falling Niigata Albirex BB to their 20th straight loss with a 90-77 blowout on Sunday, December 26.

Kiefer Ravena flexed his savvy point guard skills, and finished with 8 points and a B. League career-high 10 assists as Shiga rose to 9-14 for the season.

Meanwhile, his fellow Filipino import Kobe Paras could only watch as he was completely benched after a lackluster 6-point, 4-turnover outing on Christmas Day.

Despite not having Paras, Niigata actually fought tooth-and-nail well into the fourth quarter and got as near as 4 points, 62-66, with 9:28 left to play.

But the game eventually reverted to the same old story for the hapless Albirex as the Lakestars snuck in an 8-0 run, capped by back-to-back Teppei Kashiwagura triples for the 74-62 gap at the 6:21 mark.

Niigata eventually failed to stop its record from falling to 2-21 for the season as Shiga closed things out with one final 8-2 blitz for the 86-70 lead in the final 1:54 of regulation.

Import Ovie Soko was again an unstoppable force in his second game back for Shiga as he finished with a 20-point, 10-rebound double-double, while Kashiwagura and Novar Gadson chipped in 15 markers apiece.

Zen Endo, who previously averaged just 6.6 points, erupted for 25 markers in the sorry loss, while local guard Shun Watanuki and NBA champion center Jeff Ayres added 14 points each.

Shiga can keep its winning streak running against the Hiroshima Dragonflies on Wednesday, December 29, at 6:05 pm (Manila time).

Meanwhile, Niigata can finally put an end to its skid on the same day, the last game day of the year, against the Yokohama B-Corsairs. – Rappler.com