MANILA, Philippines – Thirdy Ravena led a handful of Filipino reinforcements who notched victories on Wednesday as the Japan B. League resumed hostilities after the All-Star festivities last weekend.
Ravena tallied 16 points on an efficient 5-of-8 shooting to go along with nine dimes, five boards and a steal in 31 minutes of action as the San-En NeoPhoenix drubbed the Toyama Grouses, 102-92, at the Toyohashi City Gymnasium.
San-En thus notched its second straight win to improve to 14-16.
The former Ateneo standout drilled a jumper with two minutes left in the game to give San-En a 102-89 advantage.
Kyle O'Quinn flirted with the triple-double with 24 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists to pace the NeoPhoenix.
Elsewhere, Ray Parks Jr. and the Nagoya Diamond Dolphins nipped the Shimane Susanoo Magic, 84-77, at the Matsue City Gymnasium.
The Dolphins rode a pivotal third quarter where they outscored their foes, 26-9, to take control.
Parks finished with nine points and 10 boards and one assist in 30 minutes of play.
Scott Eatherton had a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds to lead the 22-8 Diamond Dolphins.
Matthew Wright, for his part, scored in double-digits in Kyoto Hannaryz' 87-77 win over the Osaka Evessa at the Kyoto City Gymnasium.
Wright scattered 13 points and dished out seven assists as Kyoto barged back into the win column to improve to 12-18.
But not all Filipinos were successful as Kiefer Ravena and the Shiga Lakes continued to slump to their 13th straight defeat. They fell to the Hiroshima Dragonflies, 88-78.
Ravena finished with eight points and eight assists as his team continues to free fall in the standings.
Jordan Hammilton had 28 points in the losing effort for the 4-26 Shiga, who are tied with the Niigata Albirex BB with the worst record in the league.
Dwight Ramos continues to miss games for the Levanga Hokkaido, which lost 85-70 to the Utsonomiya Brex.
Having missed 19 games already due to an ankle injury, Ramos' team struggles to find wins with only four victories since the Gilas Pilipinas swingman started to sit out the games.
Over in B2, Greg Slaughter provided quality minutes for the Rizing Zephyr Fukuoka as he finished with nine points in 15 minutes of play to go along with two boards and one steal in Fukuoka's 98-72 win over the Ehime Orange Vikings.
Marvelle Harris showed the way with 23 points, five rebounds and seven assists, to help Fukuoka improve to 12-19 for the year.
Jordan Heading, for his part, had 12 points, four boards, and four assists as the Nagasaki Velca routed the Kumamoto Volters, 98-73.
Nagasaki improved to 20-11 to begin the second half of the season.
For his part, Kobe Paras was not as fortunate as their 14-game win streak was snapped by the Bambitious Nara, 90-86.
Paras struggled as he finished with only five points, one rebound and one assist as Chiba fell to 25-6.