SCHEDULE
B1 ROUND 7 Game 1: November 26, 2022
SHIGA LAKES 55 - 98 NAGOYA DIAMOND DOLPHINS
📊 BOXSCORE
B1 ROUND 7 Game 2: November 27, 2022
SHIGA LAKES 82 - 104 NAGOYA DIAMOND DOLPHINS
📊 BOXSCORE
(Kiefer Ravena: KR) It was really tough for me to be out there, not being able to play, but I'm always proud of my team. We face two of the top teams in our first game after the FIBA break, you know, RYUKYU and then NAGOYA. We're making some changes right now in the team, but it's looking good for us in terms of our confidence. We're trying to get it back, and we're just moving forward to our next games that I think if you play the same way we played in our second game against RYUKYU, in our second game against NAGOYA, I think we have a good chance of winning the game against OSAKA. But you have to take it one game at a time. And again, for me, I have to recover and be healthy so I can go out there with my team again.
(KR) I could be one of the guys that can help everybody out, give energy, motivation, be a positive guy, because I'm one of the leaders in the team. So I just try to see the game, watch the game, and if I see something that I can tell to my teammates to do better, I think that's my role right now. But my main role right now is to be responsible and be healthy again. I think that's the most important thing, so I could be out there and play with my teammates.
(KR) Yeah, I'm just trying to recover from an injury I had last week. The medical team and the organization, we're taking our time because it's an injury that you don't want to happen again and miss more games in the future. So we have to take care of it as soon as we can. That's why we're not in a rush. But I definitely feel bad for the boosters that come here to watch us play, and I'm not there to help the team, but I hope that they can be patient, and I'm trying my best to be 100% again.
(KR) I'm always proud of my teammates, each and every one of them. It's hard. It's a tough start for the season, for us, for the SHIGA LAKES. A lot of things happening, but as we focus with the players that we have right now, I'm very proud of everybody. You know, we put in the work, and so you can see the improvements. Yusuke Karino has always been there, has always shot the ball very well. But I think, you know, with Kawamata, and I'm very happy for him. He's a young player, and he needs a lot of confidence, and he's definitely going to help us in the future. And I'm pretty sure he will also be a big part for the national team, for Japan. And, yeah, I'm excited for him and for the rest of the season for his improvement.
(KR) There is definitely a lot of changes. But, you know, as players, we're here to play with whoever is there. And we have a good leader. We have a great leader. We have a great coaching staff. Right now, we're doing our best. That's the most important thing. We're doing our best. It's going to be hard, but, you know, we're having fun also in the process. We hate losing, but it's part of the process.
(Ray Parks Jr.: RP) It was great that we got the back to back win. It was definitely a testament of just team effort, not just one individual guy that just stood out. I felt like we grew today, and especially coming from a great performance yesterday. We know that SHIGA is going to come out and play hard and they're a good team. So we just wanted to continue to grow and learn and continue to play our brand of basketball.
(RP) Coming into today, we knew that SHIGA was going to be aggressive, especially on defense, because of the performance that we had yesterday. I mean, it's definitely tough playing a back to back road game, and we were able to adjust their half time, and it was just going back to ourselves, looking ourselves in the mirror and what type of brand of basketball do we play. And our character, which is defense, being aggressive on defense and trying to push the pace on offense.
(RP) It's just a testament of just everybody getting along with my teammates, them looking for me on offense, and the coaches being able to trust me with the responsibility on defense. So it's not just about me. I felt like it was really more of a collective thing, that we were able to feel more comfortable with our roles, and we're using everybody's abilities to the best of it.
(RP) There's nothing really like a role. It's more of one thing I can say about the team, that we're very genuine. We want everybody to succeed and everybody's individual success is the team's success. So I feel like we still have the same goal as we did last year, which is to make it deeper into the playoffs. Now, It's just that we're more comfortable with the system. We're more comfortable with each other on and off the court, which allows us to build intimacy with one another. So it really just helps and it shows that we're very happy playing with one another.
(RP) Well, like you said, it's definitely tough. Everybody in the B.LEAGUE are tough competition. Like, we're all professional basketball players and we have to respect one another. So coming out and playing, we know teams are not just going to fall over and just give us a game. Each night we have to battle it out. And to be honest, like I said earlier, hopefully we make a deeper into the playoffs and hopefully make it to the championship round. So we're looking forward to that, but we had to take it game by game.
(RP) Being able to play for your country is definitely an honor and a privilege. So it's the same thing with NAGOYA. I feel like when you put on that jersey and represent the NAGOYA DIAMOND DOLPHINS, it's an honor and a privilege to represent not just that company that works so hard, but also the city of Nagoya, which is a great city. So I feel like it was just a reminder of pride and where you come from and what you represent.
