Dwight Ramos struggles anew as Toyama bows to Chiba

MANILA, Philippines – Dwight Ramos and the Toyama Grouses wrapped up the year on a low note as they fell to the Chiba Jets, 105-64, in the Japan B. League on Wednesday, December 29 at the Funabashi Arena.

Ramos, who missed a game-tying triple in the dying seconds of their previous outing, continued to struggle from the field as he finished with just 2 points on 2-of-2 shooting from the free throw line, to go with 1 rebound in 14 minutes as a starter.

Coming off a painful 95-90 loss to the Gunma Crane Thunders on Sunday, December 26, the Grouses failed to redeem themselves and quickly trailed by 13 points, 14-27, at the end of the first period.

Still trailing by double-digits, 28-47, at halftime, Toyama never recovered in the second half as Chiba managed to stretch its 19-point lead to 34 huge markers late in the third frame, 80-46, which proved too much for the ice-cold Grouses to conquer in the fourth quarter. 

Josh Duncan led the way for the defending champion Jets with 24 points and 7 rebounds, while former league MVP Yuki Togashi added 19 points and 8 assists in the 41-point victory.

Former TNT import Joshua Smith had a double-double of 13 points and 12 rebounds, while Julian Mavunga contributed 11 markers for the Grouses, who dropped their second straight game and moved down to 8-16 in the standings.

Ramos and the Grouses will look to bounce back and start 2022 on a winning note as they go up against the Hiroshima Dragonflies on Saturday, January 1, at 12:35 pm, Manila time.

Meanwhile, in Division 2, Kemark Cariño and the Aomori Wat’s suffered an 80-56 loss to the Yamagata Wyverns at the Nanyo Citizen Gymnasium.

The 6-foot-9 Cariño once again saw limited action in the losing effort and tallied just 1 block in 1 minute and 25 seconds of play for the Wat’s, who suffered their eighth straight loss and remained at the bottom of the standings with a dismal 2-24 record.

Cariño and the Wat’s will gun for their third win when they take on the Rising Zephyr Fukuoka on Sunday, January 2, at 1 pm, Manila time. – Rappler.com