Dwight Ramos and Toyama's late comeback falls short vs Kawasaki; Kobe, Thirdy suffer losses

Dwight Ramos and the Toyama Grouses came back from 15 points down but could not complete the comeback against the Kawasaki Brave Thunders as they fell, 91-87, in 2021 Japan B.League action on Saturday.

Ramos contributed 13 points, shooting 50 percent from the field, to go along with four rebounds and seven assists as Toyama slid to 1-9. Kawasaki, on the other hand, improved to 7-3 to remain at the upper half of the team standings.

The Grouses were down by as much as 15 late in the second quarter but Ramos' six points in the third period helped them outscore Kawasaki, 27-20. The two squads were separated by only a point heading into fourth, 65-64, with Toyama still trailing.

Kawasaki was able to hold on to its lead before Toyama's Joshua Smith tied the match at 71-apiece with his freethrows.

Time and luck, though, proved to not be on Toyama's side as Kawasaki continued making counter shots for every basket made by the visiting team to come away with the win.

Nick Fazekas led Kawasaki with a game-high 27 points alongside four rebounds, three assists, and two steals.

Meanwhile, two other Filipino cagers and their teams had similar results on Saturday.

Kobe Paras and Niigata Albirex BB suffered yet another heartbreaking defeat, this time against league-leader Ryukyu, 86-75, as they stretched their losing skid to seven for a 2-8 card.

Paras had another tough outing as he was able to churn out only seven points, three rebounds, and an assist.

Thirdy Ravena and the San-en NeoPhoenix, on the other hand, failed to bounce back from a previous loss after suffering a 70-64 loss to the Sunrockers Shibuya to fall to 3-7.

Ravena finished with four markers, three rebounds, one assist, and a steal in 22 minutes of play.

—JMB, GMA News