By ADRIAN STEWART CO

Ilonggo Kiefer Ravena continued his fine play for the Shiga Lakes as they repeated over the Ehime Orange Vikings, 87-81, in the Japan B.League Division 2 at the Iyo Citizen Gymnasium on Sunday, January 7.

The former NLEX Road Warriors guard delivered 19 points, including three three-point connections, to go with seven assists and four rebounds as the Lakes secured their 23rd win in 30 games.

Brock Motum had a near triple-double showing of 31 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. Ryan Kriener added 12 markers, while Daichi Nomoto ended with 10 points for Shiga.

Despite the back-to-back wins against the Orange Vikings, Lakes head coach Danny Gomez still called out his team for exerting much effort in defeating their lowly opponent.

“The problem is that we are increasing or decreasing the intensity of our play depending on the opponent. It wasn’t a good match against them. The good part was that we won,” Gomez said.

“We were able to increase our pressure and offensive attacks at the right time, which is why we were able to win,” he said.

“I want them to push hard and bring their own game to the table,” he added.

Former PBA import Eugene Phelps finished with 30 points, 15 rebounds and five assists.

Tucker Haymond contributed 17 points, while Takumi Furuno and Hiroaki Tobita had 11 and 10, respectively, as the Orange Vikings slipped to 7-23.

Meanwhile, Gregory Slaughter and the Rizing Zephyr Fukuoka (21-9) scored a close 71-67 triumph against the Kobe Storks (14-16) at the Kurume Arena.

The former Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings center saw limited action as he tallied three points, four rebounds, two assists, one steal, and a block for Fukuoka.

Hiroki Taniguchi tallied 22 points, including six three-point conversions, to lead Fukuoka.

Bryce Washington added 16 markers and Gavin Ware had a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds in the win./ASC, WDJ