By ADRIAN STEWART CO

Ilonggo Ferdinand “Thirdy” Ravena III made his presence felt offensively as San-En NeoPhoenix cruised to a 97-79 rout of Albirex Niigata BB in the 2022-2023 Japan B.League at the Toyohashi General Gymnasium.

The former Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagles guard tallied double-double 15 points to go with 11 rebounds as the NeoPhoenix returned to their winning ways with a 13-16 win-loss slate.

Former NBA center Kyle O’Quinn led the way for the NeoPhoenix with 26 points and six rebounds, while Kazuki Hosokawa and Kosuke Kanamaru had 15 markers apiece for the NeoPhoenix.

Isaiah Hicks and Takanari Sasaki also hit double-digits on offense for the winning squad with 12 markers apiece as they snapped their losing skid heading into the All-Star Weekend.

Stephen Green tallied 25 points, while Kofi Coburn had double-double 24 points and 15 rebounds as Albirex Niigata BB continued their slump in the tournament with a 4-25 win-loss slate.

Aside from the two American reinforcements, Albirex Niigata BB also drew double-digit contributions from local players Keigo Kimaru (12) and Tensho Sugimoto (10), but there were not enough.

Matthew Wright had a decent shooting but his squad, the Kyoto Hannaryz, suffered a close 94-87 defeat at the hands of Fighting Eagles Nagoya at the Nagoya City Biwajima Sports Center.

The former Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters star drilled three three-point baskets for 13 points to go with three rebounds and two assists, but the Hannaryz still suffered defeat to drop to 11-18.

Andrew Randall led the way with double-double 25 points and 11 rebounds, Jeremy Jones added 23 markers, while Takaya Sasayama and Evans Luke had 14 and 13 as Nagoya improved to 18-11.

Nova Gadson spearheaded the scoring for Hannaryz with 18 points, Jerrod Uthoff and Jotaro Mitsuda tallied 16 markers apiece, while Yoshiaki Kubota and Chieck Diallo had 11 and 10, respectively./ASC, WDJ