Ravena's late heroics not enough as San-En falls vs Ryukyu

MANILA, Philippines — Not even Thirdy Ravena’s clutch performance could enable the San-En NeoPhoenix to pull off an upset over the Ryukyu Golden Kings, losing 80-85 at the Toyohashi City General Gymnasium on Wednesday.

After looking poised for an emphatic stunner over the second-ranked Ryukyu, NeoPhoenix committed three turnovers in the final 67 seconds of the game to botch their bid for a win.

Ravena put NeoPhoenix on top with 1:40 ticks left in the game with a split from the charity stripe, 77-76.

But a 5-0 run from Golden Kings capped off by Keita Imamura's 3-pointer with 50.4 left suddenly swung the momentum to Ryukyu's side.

While a 3-pointer from the former Ateneo star got San-En within three, 80-83, with 24.2 seconds remaining, Ryukyu converted on clutch freebies in the final 22.8 seconds to reach the final score.

Ravena finished with 15 points on a 3-of-4 shooting night from beyond the arc to go along with two rebounds.

The loss sent San-En tumbling to a 12-43 record, and the team also failed to avenge their 110-71 loss to Ryukyu last March 31.

NeoPhoenix will look to bounce back when they face the Shinshu Brave Warriors for back-to-back games at the White Ring Arena on the weekend.