Dwight Ramos-less Toyama holds off Ibaraki; Thirdy Ravena, San-en absorb 7th straight loss

Despite the absence of Dwight Ramos, the Toyama Grouses still held off the comebacking Javi Gomez de Liaño and his Ibaraki Robots, 96-88, in the Japan V. League on Saturday at the Adastria Mito Arena.

Sans Ramos, who flew back to the Philippines to join Gilas Pilipinas for the upcoming February window of the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers, it was American import Brice Johnson did the grunt work after finishing with a double-double of 22 points and 15 rebounds to go along with two assists, one steal, and a block. 

Joshua Smith was also instrumental, carving out 29 markers, nine boards, and four dimes as Toyama bounced back from its previous loss to improve to 14-20.

Gomez de Liaño, who had been sidelined since January 3, went scoreless in his return.

Meanwhile, Thirdy Ravena and his San-en NeoPhoenix could not find ways to end the dry spell, falling to Ryukyu Golden Kings in a 33-point romp, 110-77.

Ravena, who's in his second tour of duty with the club, finished with only seven points and a steal.

The loss pushed San-en's losing streak to seven for a 4-26 card.

Other Filipino cagers in Matthew Aquino and Kobe Paras and their respective clubs also saw action in the Saturday showing.

The Shinshu Brave Warriors edged Kyoto Hannaryz, 82-58, with Aquino only logging three points and a rebound in only two minutes of play. The win gave Shinshu its third win in a row for an improved 15-17 card.

Paras, though, saw his Niigata Albirex BB endure back-to-back losses after being dealt an 83-64 defeat by the Gunma Crane Thunders.

The second generation baller saw almost 23 minutes of action but was only able to register seven points, two steals, and a rebound in the loss while Rosco Allen's 25 points and 13 rebounds went for naught.

—JMB, GMA News