By Mark Angelo Mañez

PHOTO: B League

Manila - Kiefer Ravena once again pulled up his bag of tricks as he towed Shiga Lakestars to yet another wire-to-wire finish, this time pulling the rug over the Ibaraki Robots, 93-88, at the 2021-22 Japan BLeague D1, Saturday.

His last gasp jumper with 27 ticks left in the payoff period gave the hosts an 83-80 breather. It was part of Shiga's massive 10-0 punch that put them ahead, 89-80 after trailing by as many as 11 points early in the final quarter.

Ravena chalked up 13 markers, four assists, three rebounds and two steals off the bench as the Lakestars improved to 2-1.

World import Ovie Soko benefited from his heroics, posting monster stats across his name. He ended up with 37 points, including 15 in the final period on top of his five boards, two dimes and a swat.

Novar Gadson also posted significant numbers with his 23 marker, eight board, four dime, two interception effort while Sean O'Mara simmered down with nine points and three rebounds in the win.

The Robots, meanwhile, fell deeper after taking their third straight setback, while missing Javi Gomez de Liaño's service.

Eric Jacobsen carried the Robots with his 19-point 11-rebound double-double while Marc Trasolini contributed 14 markers, eight boards and three dimes in the collapse.

In other games, the Toyama Grousers, sans Filipino import Dwight Ramos, suffered a brutal 96-71 beatdown in the hands of Alvark Tokyo at Arena Tachikawa Tachihi.

Spaniard Sebas Saiz put up monster numbers for Alvark, notching up 25 points and 18 rebounds. Julian Mavunga led the way for the Grouses with 15 points on 4-of-7 clip from threes, to go wth nine assists and four rebounds in the loss.

Over at Hamamatsu Arena, Albirex Niigata and Kobe Paras meanwhile played spoiler's roles as they denied Thirdy Ravena and San-En NeoPhoenix, 77-64.

Paras scorched the NeoPhoenix all game, unloading four triples as part of his 21-point, five rebound, three assist performance capping it off with a vicious slam with less than a minute in the final period.

Naturalized Hungarian Rosco Allen turned beast mode with his 23 marker, eight board, four dime effort, which helped in posting a 15-point advantage early in the fourth, 68-53.

Tshilidzi Nephawe protected the paint for the Albirex with his 13 points, nine rebounds, two steals, and two blocks, as former NBA player Jeff Ayres got 11 points and seven rebounds in the triumph.

San-En, meanwhile, had a forgettable home stand despite Thirdy Ravena's team-high 16 points. He also chipped out four assists, two rebounds and two steals.

Robert Carter also produced 12 points, six boards, and three assists, as Elias Harris was checked with just 11 points, seven rebounds, and two dimes in the loss, as the NeoPhoenix (1-2) aim for a quick bounce back on Sunday.

San-En fell behind early, 23-11, but roared back to life courtesy of Ravena's twin triples which brought them closer, 45-42 in the third.

Paras, however, snuffed out the blaze, capping their own 13-5 counter assault with a three-point play, 58-47.


THE SCORES:

SHIGA 93 - Soko 37, Gadson 23, K. Ravena 13, O'Mara 9, Hayashi 5, Kashiwagura 4, Moriyama 2.

IBARAKI 88 - Jacobsen 19, Trasolini 14, Tapscott 11, Fukuzawa 10, Tajima 9, Hirao 8, Tsurumaki 7, Nakamura 5, Taniguchi 3, Takahashi 1, You 1.

26-23, 45-all, 64-66, 93-88.


ALVARK TOKYO 96 - Saiz 25, Kirk 14, Rossiter 14, Osakabe 11, Kojima 9, Baranski 8, Tanaka 6, Ando 5, Yoshii 4. 

TOYAMA 71 - Mavunga 15, Johnson 15, Smith 13, Matsui 11, Haruyama 7, Uto 6, Ameya 2, Ono 2.

18-14, 42-34, 67-57, 96-71.


NIIGATA 77 - Allen 23, Paras 21, Nepawe 13, Ayres 11, Endo 6, Sato 2, Nami 1.

SAN-EN 64 - T. Ravena 16, Carter 12, Harris 11, Matsuwaki 6, Tsuyama 5, Knox 3, Tsuyama 3, Yamauchi 3.

23-11, 42-31, 61-50, 77-64.