MANILA – Dwight Ramos failed to finish the game due to an injury as Toyama Grouses bowed to Akita Northern Happinets, 80-64, in the 2021-2022 Japan B.League on Sunday at the Toyama City Gymnasium.
The Gilas Pilipinas forward hurt his ribs after crashing hard on the floor following a mid-air collision with Akita reinforcement Colton Iverson when he went for a layup in the second quarter.
The 6-foot-4 Ramos still managed to convert two free throws from Iverson’s foul but the Filipino import did not return to the match since then. He ended up with six points, on four free throws, to go with a rebound.
Ramos’ injury was an added blow for the Grouses. Rheir American import Joshua Smith was suspended for the match for his two technical fouls in Toyama’s win over Akita last Saturday.
Even without Ramos and Smith, Toyama still managed to hang around with Akita as they were only down by three points late in the third quarter before the latter went on a 12-2 scoring run for a 66-52 advantage.
Jordan Glynn finished the match with 22 points. Takatoshi Furukawa and Alex Davis added 16 points apiece while Iverson had double-double 10 points and 11 rebounds as Akita improved to 18-10.
Bryce Johnson finished with double-double 17 points and 12 rebounds, while Julian Mavunga contributed 16 markers as the shorthanded Grouses dropped to 10-18 win-loss slate.
Meanwhile, Kemark Carino and the Aomori Wat suffered their worst loss in the season after a 109-56 defeat at the hands of Koshigaya Alphas at the Koshigaya City Gymnasium.
Carino, a former San Beda University Red Lions standouts, played nine minutes in the contest, finishing with two points and four rebounds as Aomori suffered their third straight loss.
Michael Craig led the Aomori offense with 13 points and seven rebounds, while Daichi Shimoyama and Hayate Komosawa got 11 and 10 points, respectively. Craig Brackins led the Alphas with 20 points./PN
