MANILA – Dwight Ramos recovered from a subpar showing and Toyama Grouses scored a 90-74 upset over Hiroshima Dragonflies in the 2021-2022 Japan B.League on Sunday at the FPCO Arena Fukuyama.
The 6-foot-4 Gilas Pilipinas mainstay dropped 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field in 18 minutes of action as the Grouses halted its three-game slide to improve to a 9-17 win-loss slate.
From a close exchange in the opening quarter, Ramos connived with Keijuro Atsui and Joshua Smith in the second period as Toyama surged to a 48-39 halftime advantage.
Toyama, who suffered a 94-89 defeat to Hiroshima on Saturday evening, made sure they would not falter in the second half. Ramos and Smith made conversions to maintain the double-digit edge.
Naoki Uto chipped in 21 points and seven assists. Bryce Johnson also had 21 points and nine rebounds. Smith contributed 14 points and nine rebounds for the Grouses.
Charles Jackson had 19 points and eight rebounds. Naoto Tsuji and Ryo Terashima got 17 and 16 points, respectively. Nick Mayo was limited to 10 points as Hiroshima fell to 16-10.
Meanwhile, Bobby Ray Parks Jr. and the Nagoya Diamond Dolphins stretched their winning run to nine games as they scored a 91-76 domination over Shimane Susanoo Magic at the Matsue City Gymnasium.
The former TNT Tropang Giga guard tallied 15 points, including some crucial hits in the fourth quarter, to go with five rebounds and four assists as the Diamond Dolphins hike their record to 18-7.
Holding a 67-63 lead in the fourth, Parks, Takumi Saito, and Scott Eatherton went on a furious endgame rally for the Diamond Dolphins as they build an 85-71 advantage with over two minutes left.
Eatherton top-scored for the Diamond Dolphins with 21 points to go with nine rebounds, while Saito and Coty Clarke had 14 points apiece, with the former also dishing out seven assists./PN
