MANILA, Philippines – Kai Sotto and the Hiroshima Dragonflies got back to their winning form in the Japan B. League as they manhandled the Osaka Evessa, 99-69, at the Hiroshima Sun Plaza Hall on Wednesday, April 12.
After seeing their six-game winning streak halted at the hands of the Shimane Susanoo Magic last Sunday, April 9, Hiroshima wasted little time in venting its ire on Osaka as it rose to an early double-digit advantage at the end of the first frame, 27-17.
Hiroshima then kept its foot on the gas pedal the rest of the way, even pushing its lead to a whopping 38 points, 87-49, with 4:47 to play in the one-sided affair.
Nick Mayo led Hiroshima’s balanced attack with 20 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists, while Naoto Tsuji and Kerry Blackshear Jr. added 14 and 12 points, respectively.
Ryo Terashima also breached double-digit scoring with 10 points, while Sotto had an all-around game of 5 points on 2-of-4 shooting, 9 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, and 2 blocks in close to 25 minutes of action as a starter.
Hiroshima, which is already assured of a playoff spot, hiked its record to 38-13.
Over at the Kyoto City Gymnasium, Matthew Wright and the Kyoto Hannaryz bounced back from their back-to-back weekend losses to Carl Tamayo and the Ryukyu Golden Kings with a nail-biting 80-77 escape against the Fighting Eagles Nagoya.
With the score knotted at 77-all, Kyoto’s Jarrod Uthoff took it upon himself and connected from way downtown to put the Hannaryz up by 3, 80-77, with only 2.4 seconds left.
Nagoya had one final chance to send the game into overtime, but Hiromu Nakamura’s half-court heave at the buzzer failed to hit the mark.
Cheick Diallo paced Kyoto – which improved to an 18-33 record – with a double-double of 19 points and 15 rebounds, while Uthoff contributed 17 points.
Wright, who posted a double-double of 17 points and 12 assists in their previous outing, flaunted his passing skills for the second game in a row, tallying 17 markers and 10 dimes this time around.
Meanwhile, Thirdy Ravena’s double-digit output for the San-En NeoPhoenix wasn’t enough as they dropped to the Niigata Albirex BB, 90-73, at the City Hall Plaza Ao-re Nagaoka.
Thirdy converted on 5 of his 10 attempts from the field to wind up with 11 points, to go along with 7 assists and 1 steal for San-En, which fell to a 19-32 card.
Unlike his younger brother Thirdy and San-En, Kiefer Ravena and the Shiga Lakes emerged victorious over Ray Parks and the Nagoya Diamond Dolphins via default.
Shiga and Nagoya’s scheduled showdown on Wednesday was cancelled as four players from the Diamond Dolphins tested positive for influenza, while two more players are out due to injuries.
With the win, Shiga moved up to 12-38, while Nagoya slid to 36-14.
Ryukyu Golden Kings def. Shimane Susanoo Magic, 87-72 (Carl Tamayo – DNP)
Shinshu Brave Warriors def. Seahorses Mikawa, 78-71 (Matt Aquino – 2:52 minutes)
Alvark Tokyo def. Levanga Hokkaido, 77-69 (Dwight Ramos – 2 points, 1-of-4 field goals, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 21:30 minutes)
– Rappler.com
