MANILA – Ilonggo Kiefer Ravena had an efficient scoring game but Shiga Lakestars suffered a 106-102 loss to Toyama Grouses in the 2021-2022 Japan B.League on Wednesday night at the Ukaruchan Arena.
Ravena finished the match with 24 points on 8-of-13 shooting from the field to go with eight assists as the Lakestars suffered its second straight loss to drop to 10-19.
Down by as much as 20 points, Ravena and Teppei Kashiwagura spearheaded Lakestars’ uprising as they cut the deficit to four points with over a minute remaining.
The Lakestars pulled even closer at 102-103 on a three-pointer by Ravena but late free throws by Toshiki Kamisawa secured the victory for the Grouses.
Brice Johnson had a near triple-double of 33 points, 15 rebounds and eight assists, while Ryumo Ono added 17 points as the Grouses improved to 15-21 record.
Naoki Oto added 16 points, while former PBA import Joshua Smith also had a strong game with 15 points, nine rebounds, and six assists for Grouses.
Filipino import Dwight Ramos did not suit up for the Grouses after going home to the Philippines to play for Gilas Pilipinas in the 2023 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers.
Novar Gadson, meanwhile, had a strong showing for the Lakestars with 42 points, eight rebounds, three steals, and a block. Kashiwagura added 17 points built on five treys.
Over at Adastria Mito Arena, Javi Gomez de Liano was not fielded in as the Ibaraki Robots suffered a close 76-70 defeat at the hands of Akita Northern Happinets.
With the defeats, the Robots dropped to 7-27 win-loss record in the standings while the Northern Happinets moved up to 20-12./PN
