Thirdy's San-En denies brother Kiefer, Shiga of sweep in OT thriller
MANILA, Philippines — Thirdy Ravena and the San-En NeoPhoenix were able to avoid being swept by the Shiga Lakestars after a thrilling 101-96 win in overtime at the Ukaru-chan Arena in the Japan B. League on Sunday.
After San-En's meltdown against Thirdy's older brother Kiefer's Shiga Saturday, the NeoPhoenix were able to give the Lakestars a taste of their own medicine with a comeback win.
Trailing the whole match, a go-ahead layup by Thirdy gave San-En its first lead of the game at 75-74 with 7:26 left in the fourth quarter.
This began a back-and-forth affair that lasted until things were at deadlock, 85-all, with 1:26 remaining.
Shiga then missed on two chances to take back the lead, including a 3-point fadeaway attempt by Kiefer.
San-En had the chance to take the win in regulation when they forced a 24-shot clock violation with eight seconds left in the fourth quarter.
But Kiefer clamped down on his younger brother to force him out of bounds and take possession with two seconds remaining.
Ovie Soko missed a game-winning layup try for Shiga as the game headed to overtime.
In the extra period, San-En scored the first seven points to zoom to a 92-85 lead.
While Soko and Ravena would try to keep Shiga afloat, it would not be enough to get over the hump.
Thirdy hit a 3-pointer in overtime, 97-89, to match San-En's biggest lead of the game.
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Thirdy finished with a game-high 21 points from 6-of-13 shooting along with seven rebounds and five assists to tow San-En to the win.
Elias Harris and Robert Carter played supporting role with 18 and 17 points, respectively.
Meanwhile, Kiefer and Soko both had 20 points each for Shiga in the losing effort.
The older Ravena also had seven assists to his name.
Shiga and San-En thus have identical 1-1 slates after opening weekend.
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