MANILA – Ferdinand “Thirdy” Ravena III and SanEn NeoPhoenix hacked out an 87-74 victory over Seahorse Mikawa in the 2022-2023 Japan B.League Division 1 on Wednesday night at the Wing Arena Kariya.
The Iloilo City-native Ravena tallied 10 points, including a three-pointer, to go with three rebounds and an assist in 26 minutes as the NeoPhoenix kept their playoffs hopes alive with its 17-22 slate.
Isaiah Hicks led the way for the NeoPhoenix with 15 points, Kosuke Kanamaru and Kyle O’Quinn chipped in 14 and 13 markers, respectively, while Takanari Sasaki and Kazuki Hosokawa had 12 points each.
Davante Gardner top-scored with 24 points, former PBA import Quincy Miller had double-double 14 points and 11 rebounds, while Avi Koki Schafer and Yudai Nishida had 10 each as Mikawa dropped to 14-25.
Meanwhile, Matthew Wright and Kyoto Hannaryz (16-23) scored a close 74-71 victory over Bobby Ray Parks Jr. and Nagoya Diamond Dolphins (27-12) over at the Dolphins Arena.
Wright, a former Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters gunner, tallied 15 points with three outside hits for Hannaryz, while Parks was held to just six points and five rebounds for Dolphins.
Kai Sotto, on the other hand, had a solid Japan B.League debut but Hiroshima Dragonflies (28-11) suffered an 86-78 defeat to Carl Tamayo and Ryukyu Golden Kings (30-9) at the Okinawa Arena.
The 7-foot-3 Sotto was productive in 18 minutes with 10 points, three blocks and two rebounds for the Dragonflies, while Tamayo was not used the entire game by the Golden Kings.
Dwight Ramos, for his part, recorded four points and one block in 14 minutes as Levanga Hokkaido (10-29) scored an 88-83 victory over Ibaraki Robots (14-25) at the Hokkai Kiyatel.
Kiefer Ravena finished with eight points in almost 22 minutes of action but his squad Shiga Lakes (5-34) faltered to Shimane Susanoo Magic (32-7), 98-89, at the Shiga Daihatsu Arena./PN
