B.LEAGUE

Ray Parks plays limited minutes in Japan debut as Nagoya bows to Hiroshima to go 0-3

Ray Parks Jr. made his much-awaited debut, but was not able to bag a win as his Nagoya Diamond Dolphins bowed to Hiroshima, 98-90, in the 2021-2022 Japan B. League Saturday at the Dolphins Arena.

The Filipino-American Parks, who last saw action with TNT in the PBA last year, entered the court late in the first quarter, when his team was trailing Hiroshima, 22-19, and nearly went scoreless in 13 minutes of action.

Despite limited minutes, the 6-foot-4 guard still contributed with two points, three rebounds, and three assists as his team fell to 0-3 win-loss card early in the tournament while Hiroshima kept its unbeaten run in three outings.

Parks missed his team's season opener last week after suffering a muscle strain during one of the team's practices.

The Dolphins trailed by as many as 13 points but were able to slice their deficit to only six before heading into the final quarter, 76-70.

Nagoya's Scott Eatherton inched his team closer, 86-83, with an alley-oop basket but Naoto Tsuji fired three consecutive triples to give Hiroshima enough cushion with two minutes left, 95-85.

Parks' first basket came at the 1:12 mark of the payoff period, 98-87, but it was not enough to rally Nagoya as Hiroshima closed out the game to record its third consecutive win.

Takumi Saito led Nagoya with 23 points and five assists while Eatherton carved out 19 markers, five boards, and six dimes.

Both teams clash anew on Sunday, October 10, at 2:05 p.m.

—JMB, GMA News