Kiefer Ravena, Shiga repeat over Ibaraki to improve to 3-1

Kiefer Ravena made some key plays late as his Shiga Lakestars repeated over the Ibaraki Robots, 85-77, to sweep their homestand at the Ukaruchan Arena on Saturday in the Japan Professional Basketball League’s (B.League) first division.

Ravena started off slow but scored six points and dished out four assists in a tight fourth quarter to help Shiga escape with the win.

The Filipino import finished with 11 points and a game-high eight assists as the Lakestars improved to 3-1 for the season, while holding the Robots winless in four games.

Tomomasa Ozawa led Shiga with 17 points, while imports Novar Gadson and Sean O’mara added 16 and 15, respectively.

Shiga defeated Ibaraki, 93-88, in the first of back-to-back matchups on Saturday.

Ravena entered the game with averages of 14.7 points and 6.3 assists, alongside a 41.7% clip from three-point range in three games for the Lakestars.

Ibaraki’s own Asian import, Filipino Javi Gomez de Liaño, has yet to make his debut for the Robots as he still needs to complete his quarantine. He has missed Ibaraki’s first four games of the season so far.

Ravena had a quiet first half. He entered the game with 4:17 remaining in the first quarter with his team down 8-7. Though he wasn’t able to get on the board in the opening period, Shiga was able to go on an 8-0 run with him on the floor as they took a 15-8 lead.

Kiefer wouldn’t score until the 8:04 mark of the second period, when he drained a three-pointer to give the Lakestars a 35-29 lead moments before checking out of the game. He would return late in the half, dishing out assists to teammates Ovie Soko and Teppei Kashiwagura as Shiga entered the half with a 38-33 lead.

Ravena had just three points and four assists at the break, shooting just 1-for-5 from the field.

In the third, Ravena helped his team take a double-digit lead, 44-33, after he knocked down two free throws following an unsportsmanlike foul by Ibaraki’s Asahi Tajima.

The Robots charged back from there, going on a 13-2 run as they forced a 46-all deadlock. Some late baskets by O’mara, though, allowed the Lakestars to take a 57-51 lead heading into the final period.

Ibaraki again made a move in the fourth, coming back to within two points, 62-60.

But Ravena re-entered the game and immediately made an impact on the game.

He grabbed a defensive rebound that he pushed into transition, leading to an easy basket for himself, 64-60. On the next defensive possession, he again grabbed the board and went on a fastbreak, this time locating teammate Shotaro Hayashi for a three-pointer, 67-60. A few minutes later, he again beat everyone down the floor to convert on another layup, 71-65.

The Robots would not go away quietly, though, as Eric Jacobsen and Keita Tsurumaki scored some points to make it a close game once again.

But Ravena continued to make some big plays, first finding Gadson for a corner three, then finishing himself on a 3-on-1 break to protect the Lakestars’ lead, 76-72.

Shiga’s Ozawa then sealed the win with a three-pointer off a Kiefer pass, and a wide-open layup in transition in the last two minutes of the game.

The Lakestars will next play on October 16 opposite Kyoto Hannaryz.

—JMB, GMA News