MANILA – Ferdinand Ravena III and San-En NeoPhoenix got back on the winning track in the 2020-21 Japan B. League season after an 82-76 domination over Shiga Lakestars on Sunday at Ukaruchan Arena in Shiga, Japan.
The Iloilo City-native Ravena struggled on the offense anew for the NeoPhoenix as he was held to seven points to go along with six rebounds and three assists in 30 minutes of action.
Serbian Stevan Jelovac carried the load on offense for the winning team with double-double 28 points and 12 rebounds, while fellow reinforcement Kyle Hunt had 12 markers and seven boards.
Hayato Kawashima had a big game with 16 points built on four triples. Tatsuya Suzuki contributed 13 points and five assists as NeoPhoenix ended its seven-game losing skid to improve to 12-41 in the West.
Holding to a 65-53 lead during the fourth quarter, the NeoPhoenix saw its advantage trimmed to 70-64 by a huge Lakestars rally with over four minutes remaining.
San-En, however, made sure that it would not be another disappointing evening for them as Jelovac, Suzuki, and Kawashima conspired on a huge rally to keep their opponents at bay.
The victory was a bounce-back for NeoPhoenix, which suffered a close 94-87 defeat to the same team on Saturday evening.
The NeoPhoenix will look to build on this victory as they plunge back to action against Okinawa City-based Ryukyu Golden Kings on Wednesday evening.
Jordan Hamilton, who previously played for Denver Nuggets, Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Clippers, and New Orleans Pelicans, tallied 25 points, eight rebounds, and five assists for Shiga.
Fellow American reinforcements Jonathan Octeus and Angus Brandt, meanwhile, contributed 12 and 11 markers, respectively, for Shiga, which dropped to an 18-33 win-loss slate./PN
