By ADRIAN STEWART CO

Kiefer Ravena committed a costly unsportsmanlike foul with a second left as the Shiga Lakes faltered to the Rizing Zephyr Fukuoka, 80-78, in Japan B.League Division 2 at the Kitakyushu Municipal Gymnasium on Monday night, March 11.

With the score tied at 78-all, the Iloilo City-native guard was slapped with an unsportsmanlike foul after he grabbed the hand of Fukuoka’s guard, Hiroki Taniguchi, who stole the ball from the side of the Lakes.

Taniguchi made Ravena and the Lakes pay as he drilled two go-ahead free throws to give Fukuoka an 80-78 advantage before they safely inbounded the ball to secure the tight win.

With the outcome, the Lakes saw their eight-game winning streak snapped as they dropped to a 33-13 win-loss slate, while Fukuoka improved to a 32-14 record with the win.

Lakes head coach Danny Gomez expressed frustration with the unnecessary foul from Ravena, as they could have had a chance to win the game in overtime since the score was tied at 78-all.

“Simply put, it was a game where the opponent didn’t win the game, but instead we handed the victory to them. We weren’t able to box out at the end, or we made a mistake with a turnover at the end,” Gomez said in a post-game interview.

“In the end, there was no need [for Ravena] to force a foul [since the game was tied],” he said.

“Overall, we allowed 22 points to Fukuoka from turnovers, so we gave up quite a lot of points from turnovers. It’s all about us handing over the victory to them,” he added.

Bryce Washington led the way for Fukuoka with a double-double of 23 points and 11 rebounds. Shunto Murakami added 14 markers, and Gavin Ware contributed 11 points in the win.

Gregory Slaughter, a former center of the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings, was not inserted in the match by Fukuoka head coach Moncho López.

Brock Motum top-scored for the Lakes with 20 points. Ravena chipped in 18 points, five rebounds and four assists, while James Burrell and Hayato Wakugawa ended with 14 and 12, respectively./ASC, WDJ