Even without his services, Thirdy Ravena’s Japan B. League team San-en NeoPhoenix swept cellar-dwelling team Hiroshima Dragonflies to surpass last season’s win record.

In the previous Japan B. League season, San-en finished dead last with a 5-32 record, which caused the team to revamp and acquire Ravena’s services with the introduction of the Asian Player quotas.

San-en ended its sorry five-game losing streak in its back-to-back game weekend at home, pushing this season’s record to 7-22.

The NeoPhoenix defeated the Dragonflies, 81-79, on Saturday, January 23, and recorded an 85-83 win on Sunday, January 24, at the Toyohashi City General Gymnasium.

Ravena is out for 3 months due to a right index finger injury, which he picked up last January 2 in the game against Sun Rockers Shibuya.

The Filipino stalwart underwent surgery on January 7 and is currently undergoing rehabilitation.

Serbian import Stevan Jelovac continued to lead the scoring as he averaged 22.5 points over the weekend, while getting help offensively from American-Jamaican player Kyle Hunt, who normed 18 points.

Hayato Kawashima stepped up in the crucial game weekend as he poured in double digits in both games to average 13.5 points.

Due to his injury, Ravena was pulled out of the Japan B. League All-Star weekend dunk contest. He was initially given a slot in the B. White team upon the recommendation of the league.

Weeks earlier, Ravena, the country’s lone UAAP three-peat Finals MVP, had tested positive for COVID-19 and was isolated for 14 days.

Ravena’s arrival in Japan was also delayed due to visa issues, but he managed to make his professional basketball debut with San-en NeoPhoenix last November 7. – Rappler.com