Toyama Grouses’ Dwight Ramos. TOYAMA PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—Toyama and Dwight Ramos failed to advance to the quarterfinals after losing to Kawasaki, 70-58, in the Japan Emperor’s Cup Wednesday at Todoroki Arena in the Kanagawa prefecture.
Nick Fazekas led the Brave Thunders with 16 points and 15 rebounds as they now set up a matchup against Alvark Tokyo in the All-Japan Basketball Championship.
Kawasaki held a 55-49 lead early in the fourth but that lead ballooned to 67-53 after Pablo Aguilar’s three-pointer capped off a 12-4 run to run the Grouses to the ground.
Matt Janning added 12 points for the Brave Thunders’ cause.
Brice Johnson had a stellar line of 25 points and 23 rebounds to lead Toyama while Julian Mavinga had a near triple-double of 13 points, 10 boards, and eight assists.
Ramos struggled from the floor for eighth points on 2-of-14 shooting and five rebounds.
Shinshu locked one of the quarterfinals spots following a 78-69 win over Mikawa at Wing Arena Kariya in Aichi.
Josh Hawkinson unloaded 31 points and grabbed nine rebounds for the Brave Warriors as they set up a matchup against the Ryukyu Golden Kings.
Maeda Reo added 17 points, six rebounds, four assists, and three steals for Shinshu while Kumagai Ko had 16 points and five boards.
Matthew Aquino barely played for two minutes but failed to score a single point in his short time on the floor.