B. League leader Ryukyu dominates Ramos, Toyama in weekend sweep

MANILA, Philippines – The Ryukyu Golden Kings showed why they are one of the top teams in the Japan B. League as they outgunned the visiting Toyama Grouses, 80-69, on Sunday, December 5, one day after a 91-66 pummeling.

Dwight Ramos filled up the stat sheet with 14 points on 4-of-13 shooting, on top of 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block in the loss that sent Toyama down to a 4-12 record.

The Grouses actually kept it close early on with a 21-19 lead after the first quarter. However, that was the last time they sniffed any sort of advantage as the Kings soared all the way to intermission with a 22-10 second-quarter blitz for a 41-31 lead.

Although Toyama hung around for much of the third frame, Ryukyu shifted to an even higher gear off a 20-6 run bridging the latter two periods that turned a 54-44 lead to a 74-50 gap with 6:11 left in regulation.

Not even Ramos’ late scoring surge was remotely enough to change the Grouses’ fortunes as the Kings held on to take solo first place with a 13-3 record.

Big man Dwayne Evans led the winning cause with 22 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 steals as longtime PBA import Allen Durham was limited to just 8 markers, and 7 boards in 17 foul-plagued minutes.

Reinforcements Julian Mavunga and former NBA player Brice Johnson paced the loss on the other end with 19 and 18 points, respectively.

Ramos and Toyama can get back to their winning ways with a blockbuster back-to-back slate next weekend, December 11 and 12, against Filipino star Kiefer Ravena and the reeling Shiga Lakestars.