Dwight Ramos reached a new career milestone after tallying 1,000 points and helping Levanga Hokkaido slip past his former team Toyama Grousers to greet the new year in the Japan B.League. 

The 25-year-old guard followed the footsteps of the Ravena brothers, Thirdy and Kiefer, as the only Filipino imports to hit the thousand scoring mark. 

In Ramos’ year-end playdates with Hokkaido, his 13-point outing steered the squad past Toyama in a decisive 87-65 win before repeating over them with an 88-81 escape the following day. 

Hokkaido improved its win-loss tally to 8-18 in the standings. 

Meanwhile, Thirdy’s San-En NeoPhoenix rose to the No. 2 spot after twin victories against the Chiba Jets also over the weekend. 

Thirdy scored 11 points, three rebounds and six assists in the Jets’ 96-94 victory to cap the year with a 22-4 tally just behind Alvark Tokyo in the top seed. 

On the other hand, Kai Sotto emerged triumphant in his Yokohama debut as the B-Corsairs squeaked past the Seahorse Mikawa, 73-72, in his first game of the ongoing season. 

The 7-foot-3 center delivered four points, four rebounds and three blocks after moving to Yokohama on a loan from the Hiroshima Dragonflies. 

Sotto missed three months of play in the league following a back injury he’s been nursing since the 2023 NBA Summer League where he played for the Orlando Magic. 

Yokohama, though, suffered an 89-72 defeat against the same team to take home split results and dropped to an 11-15 slate in the standings. 

Other Filipino players in Carl Tamayo was also handed defeat as the reigning champions Ryukyu Golden Kings fell to the Sendai 89ers, 83-81, on New Year’s Day. 

Tamayo tallied nine points in 11 minutes of action as Ryukyu absorbed a 19-7 record in the fourth spot.