MANILA – Ilonggo Ferdinand “Thirdy” Ravena III and San-en NeoPhoenix scored a repeat win over the Dwight Ramos-less Levanga Hokkaido, 100-79, in Japan B.League Division 1 over the weekend at the Hokkai Kita-yale.
The former Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagles standout finished with seven points, four rebounds, and two assists in almost 18 minutes of action as the NeoPhoenix improved to a 14-2 win-loss slate.
Yante Maten and Ryusei Sasaki top-scored with 16 points apiece, Coty Clarke added 15 markers, and David Dudzinski and Sota Oura ended with 14 markers apiece for San-en.
“Overall, I think we were able to win the match because our players executed our defensive game plan well,” said NeoPhoenix head coach Atsushi Ohno. “Our awareness on rebounding was good; we want to continue doing that.”
Gilas Pilipinas mainstay Dwight Ramos, meanwhile, was not part of Levanga’s 12-man roster for the second straight game, as they dropped to a 3-13 win-loss record.
Thirdy’s elder brother Kiefer Ravena and Shiga Lakes completed a weekend sweep of Yamagata Wyverns after an 88-74 victory in Division 2 action at the Shiga Daihatsu Arena.
The former NLEX Road Warriors guard finished with 13 points, six rebounds, and six assists in almost 26 minutes of action as the Lakes notched their 13th victory against six defeats.
Brock Motum top-scored for the Lakes with 20 points and seven rebounds, Ryan Kriener added 12 markers, and Justin Burrell posted a double-double of 10 points and 14 rebounds for Shiga.
“Judging from the fact that we were able to grab 23 offensive rebounds and have 32 second-chance points, I think they were in control of rebounding. We also had 23 assists and had fewer turnovers,” said Shiga head coach Dabby Gomez.
Michael Finke finished with 26 points, James Bell and Timothy Holyfield chipped in 14 markers apiece, and Shinya Murakami ended with 10 points as the Wyverns dropped to 8-11./PN
