B. League: Wright finds groove for Kyoto, Parks' Nagoya bests Ramos, Hokkaido

ANTIPOLO — Matthew Wright finally found his footing in Japan as he came out with his best game so far with the Kyoto Hannaryz in their 95-77 victory over the Niigata Albirex BB in the 2022-23 Japan B. League Season on Saturday.

Breaking out of his slump since beginning his career in Japan, Wright finished with a season-high 16 points on four triples to go along with five assists, three rebounds, and a steal as Kyoto began a win streak and improved their record to 3-4.

Cheick Diallo tallied 30 points and 11 boards to set the pace on offense for Kyoto.

Elsewhere, Bobby Ray Parks and the Nagoya Diamond Dolphins got the better of Dwight Ramos and the Levanga Hokkaido, 107-83.

Parks, though struggled individually as he finished with two points, five rebounds, and two assists.

Coty Clarke came out swinging for Nagoya with 36 markers, 11 rebounds, and six assists.

Ramos finished with an all-around game of 14 points, eight rebounds, five assists, and four steals in the losing effort.

Nagoya improves to 5-2 while Hokkaido's win streak ends at two games as they fell to 2-5.

Meanwhile, Thirdy Ravena finished with six points, nine assists, and five rebounds as San-En NeoPhoenix bested Osaka Evessa, 77-69.

San-En thus improved to 4-3 for the year.

Thirdy's brother, Kiefer, absorbed a loss as the Shiga Lakes were handed a 44-point rout by the Chiba Jets, 59-103.

Shiga absorbed their third straight loss as they fell to 2-5.

Kiefer finished with nine points, four boards, three assists, and two steals.

In other B1 action, Justine Baltazar and Jay Washington were both benched in their respective team's wins.

Baltazar's Hiroshima Dragonflies improved to 5-2 as they beat the Fighting Eagles Nagoya, 65-59, while the Ryukyu Golden Kings won their fourth straight game with a 71-69 squeaker past the Akita Northern Happinets to bump their record to 6-1.

Over in B2, Kobe Paras made his debut for the Altiri Chiba in a 75-66 victory over the Kagawa Five Arrows.

Paras sat out the first six games but finally made his impact felt as he finished with nine points, two assists, and a block in 12 minutes off of the bench.

He played a supporting role to Brandon Ashley's 19 points, 10 rebounds, and four blocks that paced Chiba.

Paras and Chiba have won three straight to improve to 5-2 while Kagawa, which features Roosevelt Adams, were sent reeling to its sixth straight loss.

Adams finished with 10 points and seven boards for KAgawa.

Elsewhere, Greg Slaughter also played his best game for B2 side Rizing Zephyr Fukuoka as they won, 92-71, over the Fukushima Firebonds.

He finished with 10 points, six boards, and two assists as a starter. Fukuoka have won three straight and improved their slate to 4-3.

Jordan Heading, for his part, absorbed a loss as Nagasaki Velca's four-game win streak skidded to a halt in a 95-100 loss to the Nishinomiya Storks.

Heading had 10 markers, five assists, and four boards for the 5-2 Velca in the defeat.