MANILA — Dwight Ramos was limited due to injury as Toyama Grouses suffered a close 84-79 defeat to Hiroshima Dragonflies in the 2021-2022 Japan B.League on New Year’s Day at FPCO Arena in Fukuyama.
The Gilas Pilipinas mainstay only played for three minutes in the second period and was scoreless after sustaining an injury during their defeat to Chiba on Wednesday.
Despite the limited minutes of the 6-foot-4 Ramos, the Grouses still nearly pulled an upset victory over the Dragonflies after launching a huge fourth quarter rampage.
Down 59-69 early in the final frame, Bryce Johnson spearheaded a huge 10-2 scoring blast for Toyama, capped by a Keijuro Matsui trey, to cut the lead down to two.
The Grouses were still able to tie the score at 75-all on a conversion by Julian Mavunga but Nick Mayo took charge for Hiroshima, knocking down the big buckets for an 82-79 lead.
Toyama, however, could not come closer after missing from close range. Mayo then secured the victory for Hiroshima with his free throw conversions.
Mayo finished the match with 16 points, while Ryo Terashima tallied 18 points on four treys with six rebounds and four assists. Hiroshima went up to 16-9 win-loss slate.
Gregory Echenique tallied 13 points and eight rebounds, Takuto Nakamura contributed 12 points, six assists, and four steals while Thomas Kennedy scored 11 points for Toyama.
Ex-PBA import Joshua Smith spearheaded the Grouses’ offense with 19 points and 15 rebounds while Mavunga added 14 points, five rebounds, and five assists.
Naoki Uto tallied 13 points, six assists, five rebounds, and two steals while Kevin Hareyama chipped in 12 points for Toyama, which dropped its fifth game in their last six outings to fall to 8-17./PN
