Thirdy Ravena, San-En fall to Javi Gomez de Liaño-less Ibaraki for 3rd straight loss

Thirdy Ravena and the San-En NeoPhoenix absorbed their third straight loss in the Japan B. League after falling to the erstwhile winless Ibaraki Robots, 95-79, on Saturday, October 23, at the Kamisu Disaster Prevention Arena.

Ravena, who struggled in San-En’s previous two outings, finally broke out of his offensive slump and finished with 14 points on an efficient 6-of-10 shooting, to go with 3 assists and 2 rebounds, but these numbers were not enough as the NeoPhoenix slipped further down the standings with a 2-5 record.

Leading by only 2 points, 57-55, with 1:48 left in the third quarter, the Robots, who are still missing the services of their Filipino import Javi Gomez de Liaño due to unspecified paperwork issues, went on a fiery 7-0 run to lead by 9, 64-55, going into the fourth period.

The Robots never looked back in the final frame as they quickly extended their lead to 13, 68-55, which proved too big for Ravena and the struggling NeoPhoenix to conquer with only nine minutes remaining in the game.

Eric Jacobsen led the way for Ibaraki with a monster double-double of 26 points and 15 rebounds, while Marc Trasolini added 19 points and 6 rebounds in the victory.

Elias Harris topscored for San-En with 21 points along with 12 rebounds and 5 assists, while Justin Knox had 19 markers and 5 boards in the losing effort.

The NeoPhoenix will look to put an end to their three-game losing streak when they lock horns once again with the Robots on Sunday, October 24, at 1:05 pm, Manila time.

The Scores

Ibaraki 95 – Jacobsen 26, Trasolini 19, Tapscott 10, Fukuzawa 9. Tajima 9, Hirao 9, Nakamura 6, Taniguchi 3, Tsurumaki 2, Takahashi 2, You 0.

San-En 79 – Harris 21, Knox 19, Ravena 14, Tsuyama 12, Tawatari 6, Sugiura 3, Tsuya 3, Ota 1, Matsuwaki 0, Yamauchi 0.

Quarters: 22-18, 41-37, 64-55, 95-79.

– Rappler.com