Photo from Ibaraki Robots’ Instagram
MANILA, Philippines—Chiba avoided the upset and dropped Ibaraki, 83-77, in the East Conference of the 2021-22 Japan B.League season Saturday at Funabashi Arena.
The Jets had to shake off the Robots well into the latter stages of the fourth quarter, taking an 81-77 buffer after Gavin Edwards sank two pressure-packed free throws with 41 seconds left that capped a five-point swing for the hosts.
Edwards gave Chiba a 74-69 cushion off a three-point play with 3:52 to play but the Robots managed to take a 77-76 lead on the back of six late-game points courtesy of Chehales Tapscott.
Chiba improved to a 10-4 record and shared the second seed with Shibuya and Alvark.
Ibaraki, meanwhile, stayed at the bottom of the East at 2-12.
Edwards finished with 23 points, five rebounds, five assists, one steal, and one block to lead the Jets while Christopher Smith had 22 points, on 6-of-12 shooting from deep.
Hirao Atsunobu had 20 points, four rebounds, and five assists to lead the Robots while Tapscott added 11 points.
Javi Gomez de Liaño played sparingly, logging just three minutes and 25 seconds of action. He missed his lone attempt–a 3-pointer–from the field.