MANILA – Ilonggo Ferdinand “Thirdy” Ravena and the San-En NeoPhoenix got back at Kobe Paras and Niigata Albirex BB with an 85-82 triumph in the 2021-22 Japan B.League season on Sunday at Hamamatsu Arena.
Ravena had an all-around showing with 13 points, nine rebounds and two assists as the NeoPhoenix recovered from a 77-64 defeat in the hands of Niigata on Saturday night for a 2-2 win-loss slate.
Robert Carter led the NeoPhoenix offense with 22 points, with 10 coming in the fourth quarter. Elias Harris added double-double with his 11 points and 12 rebounds, while Justin Knox and Yoshiyuki Matsuwaki had 11 and 10, respectively.
The NeoPhoenix leaned on the exploits of Ravena in the opening quarter as they build a 24-20 advantage.
The lead stayed with San-En at the half, 40-35, with Thirdy drilling four more points in the second period.
The NeoPhoenix had its largest lead of the match at 61-50 at the onset of the fourth quarter but Niigata went on a huge rally to trim the deficit to 75-77 with 42 seconds left in the match.
The NeoPhoenix, however, responded with a three-pointer by Matsuwaki from a pass by Ravena while Carter added two free throws to widen the lead to 82-77 with 15 seconds remaining.
Niigata made its last push on a Roscoe Allen triple to cut the deficit to 80-82 with 12 ticks left but the NeoPhoenix made sure of the victory with Allen connecting more free throws.
Paras was hampered with foul-trouble all game long as he finished with 11 points, three rebounds and three assists – far from his 21 points, five rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block when Niigata defeated San-En on Saturday.
Allen tallied with 24 points, 13 rebounds, and six assists. Former NBA player Jeff Ayres added 14 points, five rebounds, and four dimes. Tshilidzi Nephawe got 12 points and six boards as Niigata dropped to 2-2 record.
The NeoPhoenix goes back on the road this weekend to face the Hiroshima Dragonflies (3-0) at the Hiroshima Sun Plaza, while Niigata continues its road trip against the winless Levanga Hokkaido (0-4) at Hokkai Kitayell also this weekend./PN
