By Adrian Stewart Co

Ferdinand “Thirdy” Ravena III returned the favor to his elder brother Kiefer Ravena as San-En NeoPhoenix cruised to a 101-96 overtime win over Shiga Lakestars in the 2021-22 B.League on Sunday at the Ukaruchan Arena.

The Iloilo City-native Thirdy had his best game in the Japanese league with 21 points to go with seven rebounds and five assists as the NeoPhoenix notched its first win in two games so far.

The NeoPhoenix seemed headed to another defeat as they fell by as much as 18 points in the third period but roared their way back in the contest in the fourth quarter and later forced an overtime with an 85-all score.

San-En went on with its rampage in the overtime with Elias Harris scoring on a layup and Robert Carter converting an inside basket and a three-pointer for a 94-87 advantage.

Ovie Soko and Kiefer answered with three straight points for the Lakestars but Thirdy slammed the door on the opposition with a backbreaking trey to make it a 97-89 advantage with 2:17 left.

Harris finished with 18 points, 10 rebounds, three steals, two assists, and two blocks, as Carter added 17 points on 3-of-6 clip from three-point line, on top of his three rebounds and three dimes for the NeoPhoenix.

“It definitely felt better than yesterday (Saturday night) because this is kind of the opposite from what yesterday’s game was,” the younger Ravena said in a post-game interview.

Kiefer also had a solid outing in his second game in Japan’s B.League with 20 points, seven assists and a perfect 9-of-9 free throw shooting for the Lakestars, which dropped to 1-1.

In other B.League games, Kobe Paras scored 10 points as Niigata Albirex BB (1-1) escaped with a 76-75 win over the Kyoto Hannaryz, while the 10 markers of Juan Gomez de Liano were not enough as Earthfriends Tokyo Z bowed to Kagawa Five Arrows, 100-85. (With a report from ABS-CBN News)/ASC, WDJ