Thirdy Ravena impresses anew as San-En keeps hot streak going

MANILA, Philippines – Thirdy Ravena continued to impress for the San-En NeoPhoenix as they extended their winning streak to eight games with a 79-66 drubbing of the Fighting Eagles Nagoya in Division 1 of the Japan B. League on Saturday, January 20, at the Toyohashi City Gymnasium. 

After falling one point short of a triple-double last Wednesday, January 17, Thirdy was one of six San-En players to score in double-digits with 13 points on an efficient 5-of-9 shooting. 

Thirdy, who set career-highs of 13 rebounds and 12 assists in their last match, also recorded 4 boards, 4 dimes, 2 steals, and a plus-minus of +13 in a team-best 36 minutes of playing time.

David Dudzinski paced the NeoPhoenix’s balanced attack with 14 points, while Sota Oura added 11.

Kenny Asano, Coty Clarke, and Yante Maten all chipped in 10 markers as San-En remained neck-and-neck with the Alvark Tokyo at the No. 1 spot with a 26-4 record. 

Over at the Kataoka Arena Kyoto, Matthew Wright once again led the Kyoto Hannaryz in scoring, but his output wasn’t enough as they suffered an 84-66 beating at the hands of the Gunma Crane Thunders.

Coming off a 24-point explosion in their previous outing, Wright caught fire anew from long distance and knocked down 5 of his 11 three-point attempts to finish with 17 points.

He also tallied 4 rebounds, 6 assists, and 1 steal for Kyoto.  

Unlike Thirdy and Wright, the rest of the Filipino imports in Division 1 hardly made their presence felt for their respective teams on Saturday. 

Ray Parks produced just 6 points, 2 rebounds, and 1 steal in the Nagoya Diamond Dolphins’ 91-85 loss to the Seahorses Mikawa at the Okazaki Central Park General Gymnasium. 

Kai Sotto, meanwhile, finished with 2 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 blocks for the Yokohama B-Corsairs in their 100-89 defeat to the Osaka Evessa at the Ookini Arena Maishima.

The 7-foot-3 Sotto played just a total of 6 minutes and 37 seconds as he was hounded by foul trouble, picking up his third foul as early as the halfway mark of the second quarter. 

Similar to Sotto, RJ Abarrientos also came up with only 2 points, along with 4 assists, in the Shinshu Brave Warriors’ 87-57 loss to Tokyo at the Matsumoto City Gymnasium.

Abarrientos fired blanks in the 30-point demolition, shooting just 1-of-8 from the field, including a 0-of-5 clip from beyond the arc.

Dwight Ramos, for his part, was a non-factor for the Levanga Hokkaido as they fell prey to the Chiba Jets, 98-79, at the Funabashi Arena.

He tallied just 1 block in close to 10 minutes of action.

Moving on to Division 2, Kiefer Ravena and Roosevelt Adams put up solid performances as their respective squads emerged triumphant on Saturday.

Kiefer formed a one-two punch with big man Brock Motum to lead the Shiga Lakes past the Niigata Albirex BB, 89-80, at the City Hall Plaza Ao-re Nagaoka. 

Kiefer racked up 22 points on 6-of-12 shooting, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals, backstopping Motum’s double-double of 26 markers and 10 boards.

Adams, on the other hand, poured in 17 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, and 1 steal to help the Yamagata Wyverns turn back the Aomori Wat’s, 93-85, at the Sanyu Engineer Sports and Culture Center.  

Finally, Greg Slaughter and the Rizing Zephyr Fukuoka bowed to the Altiri Chiba, 79-63, at the Chiba Port Arena.

The former Barangay Ginebra star had 2 points in the loss. – Rappler.com