By ADRIAN STEWART CO

Ilonggo Ferdinand “Thirdy” Ravena III barely missed a triple-double as San-en NeoPhoenix defeated the Toyama Grouses, 85-73, in the Japan B.League Division 1 at the Toyohashi City Gymnasium.

The former Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagles star finished with career-highs of 13 rebounds and 12 assists to go with nine points as the NeoPhoenix stayed on top in the standings with a 25-4 record.

Coty Clarke top-scored with 30 points to go with seven rebounds, five assists and three steals.

David Dudzinski added 16 markers, while Sota Oura, Yante Maten and Kosuke Kanamaru had 14, 13 and 10, respectively, for NeoPhoenix.

“This season, we have increased communication among the players, and I think their tactical understanding has improved,” NeoPhoenix head coach Atsushi Ohno said after the game.

Quincy Miller finished with 18 points and 12 rebounds. Troy Murphy, Jr. added 13 markers while Ivan Buva, Novar Gadson and Ryumo Ono had 12 points each for the Grouses, which dropped to 4-25.

Meanwhile, Dwight Ramos had a limited offensive contribution as Levanga Hokkaido scored a lopsided 84-66 victory over the Ibaraki Robots at the Adastria Mito Arena.

The Gilas Pilipinas mainstay finished with nine points, including two three-point connections, to go with three rebounds in 15 minutes of action as Levanga improved to 9-20.

Shuto Terazono led the way with 18 points. Darral Willis, Jr. added 16 markers, Thomas Welsh hauled 18 rebounds to go with eight points, while De’mon Brooks ended with 11 rebounds and nine points for Levanga.

“Throughout the game, I think we were able to follow our plan to some extent,” Levanga head coach Ryutaro Onodera said.

“On the defensive side, we’re able to execute in the expected situations without deviating from the rules,” he added.

Thomas Kennedy finished with 15 points and nine rebounds. Chehales Tapscott added 13 markers, while Johnny O’Bryant and Atsunobu Hirao had 12 and 10, respectively, as the Robots dropped to 2-27./ASC, WDJ