Kai Sotto and the Hiroshima Dragonflies made it six wins in a row after pulling off an 80-71 shocker over the Shimane Susanoo Magic at the Hiroshima Sun Plaza Hall on Saturday, April 8.
Sotto had an all-around effort of eight points, six rebounds, three assists, and a block in 21 minutes as the Dragonflies boosted their playoff charge.
They also snapped Shimane’s 18-game winning streak that dated back to January 21. The Magic lost for just the eighth time in the 2022-23 season; their 41-8 record is second-best in the league.
Kerry Blackshear, Jr. paced Hiroshima with 18 points and 12 rebounds, while Naoto Tsuji had 17 points. Dwayne Evans II had 16 points and eight rebounds.
The Shiga Lakes regained their winning ways after claiming a 76-65 result over the Fighting Eagles Nagoya at the Nagoya Biwajima Sports Center.
Kiefer Ravena did a little bit of everything with eight points, five rebounds, six assists, and two steals in 26 minutes as the Lakes ended a two-game slide.
Shiga had a late-season surge after a poor campaign, and their record now stands at 11-38.
Kai Toews led Shiga with 18 points and eight assists, while Kelvin Martin and Ivan Buva each contributed 14 points.
Dwight Ramos and Levanga Hokkaido claimed a second straight win after pulling away for a 97-88 triumph over the Gunma Crane Thunders at the Hokkai Kita-yale.
Ramos made two of his three triples en route to 14 points on top of his five assists, three boards and two steals. Brock Motum torched Gunma for 29 points, and Shawn Long had 22 points and 15 rebounds.
Levanga now has a 15-34 record.
Carl Tamayo had three points in a three-minute stint as Ryukyu defeated Matthew Wright’s Kyoto Hannaryz, 83-77. Jack Cooley had 20 points on 6-of-8 shooting in the win.
Wright had 21 points on 8-of-17 shooting in a losing effort on top of six assists.
Ryukyu improved to 38-11, while Kyoto is now at 17-32.
Thirdy Ravena had eight points, four rebounds and two assists as San-En fell to the Shinshu Brave Warriors, 68-63. The NeoPhoenix dropped to 19-31.
The Nagoya Diamond Dolphins saw their eight-match winning streak come to an end with an 80-74 setback to Osaka Evessa at the Ookini Arena Maishima.
Ray Parks, Jr. remains out of action for the Dolphins, who dropped to 35-14. (ABS-CBN News)