By ADRIAN STEWART CO

San-En NeoPhoenix started the new year with an 81-80 defeat at the hands of Shibuya Sun Rockets in the 2020-21 B.League Season on Saturday night at the Aoyama Gakuin Memorial Hall.

James Michael McAdoo dealt the heartbreaker to Ilonggo Ferdinand “Thirdy” Ravena III and the NeoPhoenix with his game-winning putback with under a second left for the Sun Rockets.

McAdoo, who played and won two NBA championships with the Golden State Warriors, was at the right place at the right time for the putback with 0.3 second left following a missed shot by teammate and fellow former NBA player Ryan Kelly.

McAdoo finished the match with 20 points to go along with seven rebounds, while Kelly, who suited up for the Los Angeles Lakers in his brief NBA career, contributed 13 markers for Shibuya.

The victory was huge for the side of the Sun Rockets as they climbed to 18-8 win-loss record in the Eastern Conference standings.

The NeoPhoenix raced to an early 24-12 lead early and maintained a double-digit advantage at 80-69 with two minutes to go before the Sun Rockets rallied to within 79-80 with 26 seconds to go.

In the next possession, NeoPhoenix’s Hayato Kawashima was called for an offensive foul after a shove of Sun Rockets’ Kosuke Ishii leading the way to the possession that allowed McAdoo to score a game-winner.

Stevan Jelovac tallied double-double 19 points and 16 rebounds, while Kyle Hunt finished the match with 17 points, five rebounds, four blocks, and three assists before fouling out late in the match for the NeoPhoenix.

Ravena, meanwhile, was held to just six points and four rebounds but failed to finish the match after injuring his right hand when he blocked the shot of Sun Rockets’ Gohei Sekino.

It was the NeoPhoenix’s fourth consecutive defeat as they slumped to their 21st defeat in 26 matches./ASC, WDJ