Clutch Kiefer Ravena helps lift Shiga past Ibaraki for bounce-back win

Kiefer Ravena and the Shiga Lakestars recovered from a loss in their previous game after beating Ibaraki Robots, 93-88,  in the 2021-2022 Japan B. League Saturday at the Ukaru-chan Arena.

With the match tied at 77-apiece, a crucial steal and assist by Ravena led to a dunk by Ovie Soko. The second generation Filipino baller followed it with a jumper to momentarily give the lead back to Shiga, 79-78, with 3:21 ticks left in the game.

Soko then completed his free throws before dishing a dime to Ravena, who converted another jumper for an 83-80 lead.

The Lakestars then scored six more points that went unanswered as they pushed their advantage to 89-80 with 27 seconds left in the game, all but sealing their second win of the season.

It was a strong turnaround for Shiga, which trailed by double-digits, 75-64, early in the third quarter.

Soko dominated for a game-high 37 points alongside five boards while Ravena finished with 13 points, three rebounds, four assists, and two steals in 26 minutes of action.

Shiga was coming off split results against Ravena’s brother, Thirdy, and the San-en NeoPhoenix last weekend and will now improve to 2-1 win-loss card while the Robots will remain winless at 0-3.

The game was supposed to see another faceoff between two Filipino cagers but Javi Gomez de Liaño remains in quarantine, forcing him to miss Ibaraki’s three previous matches so far.

Shiga and Ibaraki will square off again on Sunday, October 10, 1:35 p.m. (Manila time).

—JMB, GMA News