By ADRIAN STEWART CO

Ilonggo Kiefer Ravena and the Shiga Lakes repeated their victory over the Niigata Albirex BB with a 77-56 domination in the Japan B.League Division 2 at the Shiga Daihatsu Arena over the weekend.

The former NLEX Road Warriors guard finished with eight points, including two three-point conversions, to go with three assists as the Lakes notched their eighth victory in 13 matches.

Koya Kawamata finished with 14 points and seven rebounds, while Teppei Kashiwagura and Justin Burrell chipped in 13 markers apiece for the Lakes, which also defeated Niigata, 82-66, last November 11.

Lakes head coach Dabby Gomez said he was happy with the defensive performance of Shiga, as they have limited their opponent to less than 70 points, and they hope to do the same in their upcoming matches.

“Looking at the few games we’ve won, we’ve been able to hold our opponents to 70 points or less,” Gomez said after the game.

“I think it’s showing in our numbers that we’re getting better at defending ourselves. Our upcoming games will be tougher, so I will not give up from here and will go with the flow and prepare to get a good result,” he added.

Zen Endo finished with 11 points, including three outside conversions, while Kotaro Ohya chipped in 10 markers and five rebounds as Niigata dropped to a 1-12 win-loss slate.

Meanwhile, the San-en NeoPhoenix bucked the absence of Ferdinand “Thirdy” Ravena as they scored a 96-62 victory over the Ibaraki Robots at the Toyohashi City Gymnasium in Division 1 action.

Yante Maten finished with a double-double of 27 points and 12 rebounds, Coty Clarke added 21 markers, while Ryusei Sasaki contributed 13 points as the NeoPhoenix improved to 12-2.

Thirdy, formerly of the Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagles, missed the NeoPhoenix’s three matches after sustaining a concussion during their 75-73 loss to the Utsunomiya Brex two weeks ago./ASC, WDJ