MANILA – Ilonggo Ferdinand “Thirdy” Ravena and San-en NeoPhoenix continued its strong start in the 2023-2024 Japan B.League Division 1. It beat, 95-78, Gunma Crane Thunders on Sunday at the Hamamatsu Arena.
The former Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagles star started for the NeoPhoenix and finished with nine points and three rebounds in almost 24 minutes of action as they improved to 5-1 slate.
Coty Clarke tallied double-double 23 points and 13 rebounds to lead the NeoPhoenix, David Dudzinski added 21 markers, while Yante Maten and Ryusei Sasaki added 17 and 11 markers, respectively.
Naoto Tsuji finished with 20 points to lead the Crane Thunders, Allen Hachimura contributed 16 markers, while Narito Namizato and Michael Parker ended with 11 and 10, respectively. They dropped to 2-4.
Meanwhile, Carl Tamayo and Ryukyu Golden Kings bounced back from their first loss of the season with an 88-70 rout of Yokohama B-Corsairs at the Yokohama International Pool.
The former University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons forward came off the bench for the first time this season as he tallied seven points and seven rebounds for the reigning champion Golden Kings.
Keita Imamura top-scored for Ryukyu with 21 points, Allen Durham added 16 markers, and Alex Kirk and Yoshiyuki Matsuwaki had 13 and 11, respectively, as they improved to a 5-1 win-loss slate.
Yuki Kawamura finished with 23 points, while Jarred Uthoff added 16 markers as the B-Corsairs dropped to a 3-3 record.
Meanwhile, the Nagoya Diamond Dolphins stretched their unbeaten record to six games as they defeated the Shinshu Brave Warriors (2-4), 101-75, at the White Ring.
Bobby Ray Parks Jr. finished with 11 points, including two three-point conversions, to go with seven assists, three rebounds, and a steal for the Diamond Dolphins.
Rhon Jay Abbarientos and Matthew Aquino, meanwhile, were not activated by the Brave Warriors as they competed against the Diamond Dolphins with just nine players./PN
