Thirdy Ravena leads way as San-En repeats over Alvark for 17th straight win

Thirdy Ravena took charge for San-En Neo Phoenix with a repeat victory against second seed Alvark Tokyo over the weekend to extend their winning streak to 17 games in the Japan B. League. 

The Filipino import carried the fight for San-En on their back-to-back games against the visiting Tokyo with a 93-74 victory on Saturday, Feb. 10, with Ravena tallying 22 points that went with two rebounds and three assists. 

With ease, the Neo Phoenix repeated over Alvark with a similar 94-72 decisive win the following day as they now ride on the crest of 17 straight victories, which is the league’s best active streak for a 34-4 (win-loss) record in the overall standings. 

The 27-year-old Ravena posted another all-around effort with 16 points, three rebounds and four assists for San-En on Sunday, Feb. 11, while American import Coty Clarke contributed 19 points in the ensuing win.

In his best form yet, Ravena and San-En achieved the club’s longest winning streak in the Japanese league, more than good enough to stay in contention for the crown and become the second Filipino to do so. 

Meanwhile, Ray Parks Jr. and the Nagoya Dolphins are on similar track after taking down Matthew Wright’s Kyoto Hannaryz also over the weekend for their ninth consecutive win. 

Parks Jr. scored eight points in Nagoya’s 88-68 drubbing of Kyoto where Wright had 10 points on his end. 

Though Kyoto came out with strong offensive efforts the following day, Nagoya came away with an 89-82 victory to double down on the hometown bets and improved its slate to 26-13 at the fifth spot.

Meanwhile, Kai Sotto’s talent was on full display after posting back-to-back double-double performances in Yokohama B-Corsairs’ split weekend campaign against Chiba Jets that saw him deliver 18 points and 10 rebounds in the squad’s 89-79 defeat.

Sotto then continued to showcase his fine form the following day, only this time Yokohama bounced back with a 90-85 victory as the 7-foot-3 Gilas big man registered his third double-double while also resetting his career-high to 26 points that complemented his 11-rebound outing. Yokohama climbed to a 17-22 tally. 

On the other hand, Dwight Ramos’ Hokkaido Levanga suffered twin losses against reigning champion Ryukyu Golden Kings. 

The Gilas guard put up 10 and 16 points, respectively, in back-to-back matches.