Kiefer Ravena and the Shiga Lakestars bounced back on Sunday against Nagoya. (c) B.LEAGUE
One day after suffering their biggest loss of the B.League season so far, Kiefer Ravena and the Shiga Lakestars quickly turned things around.
The visiting Lakestars were off from the very start in their game on Saturday against the Nagoya Diamond Dolphins, missing their first 15 3-pointers en route to a 107-68 loss, their second of the season. Ravena had an especially poor outing, going a brutal 1-of-13 from the field to finish with five points in 24 minutes.
But the Filipino import quickly atoned for his subpar performance on Sunday, when he steered Shiga to a 110-79 rout of the Diamond Dolphins. Ravena had nine points in the first quarter alone, making three three-pointers to set the tone for the Lakestars. He finished with 16 points, nine assists, three rebounds, and three steals in 23 minutes of action.
"For today, we just wanted to play with our philosophy," Ravena said after the game. "Coach Luis (Gil Torres) always told us to play hard and just stick to our system, and that's what we did."
HIGHLIGHTS:
Ravena was pleased with their strong start, as the Lakestars raced to an early 8-0 lead and never trailed in the game.
For Ravena, it was evident that their mindset on Sunday was much improved from the day before.
"We knew that we have to bounce back, especially after a big loss against Nagoya yesterday. So we had the mindset of just playing hard and playing together as a team," he said.
Shiga rediscovered their shooting touch on Sunday after shooting a woeful 33% from the field the day before -- including just 2-of-22 from long range. They made nearly 60% of their shots on Sunday, and went 14-of-30 from the three-point range.
They also tightened up defensively, limiting Nagoya to just 4-of-21 shooting from long distance.
"We just focused on our shots, and we talked amongst each other as a team, we gave each other confidence, and I think that's why our shots fell in," said Ravena.
"As coach told us, we didn't change anything in the game plan. It was just all our attitude, it was the respect toward our opponent, towards Nagoya, a playoff team," he added. "Just the effort, all the effort that we put in in this game."
"It was really just, you know, the combination of our game plan and the attitude of all the players, that we all wanted to win tonight."
The Lakestars improved to 6-2 in the season, keeping them in joint second place in the West District along with Seahorses Mikawa and the Ryukyu Golden Kings.
Ravena, who made his first start on Sunday, is now averaging 11.0 points, 5.3 assists, and 2.4 rebounds per game for Shiga.
Shiga returns to action on Wednesday when they host the Kawasaki Brave Thunders (5-3) at home.