NAGOYA, RAY PARKS SECURE HOMECOURT EDGE AS B.LEAGUE PLAYOFFS BEGIN

RAY Parks and the Nagoya Diamond Dolphins secured home court advantage in the 2023-24 Japan B.League playoffs on Monday.

Needing a win in its final game, Nagoya scored an 80-68 rout of Saga Ballooners at Saga Arena to secure the Western Conference championship.

Parks only had five points, four rebounds, two assists, and one steal for the Diamond Dolphins, but it was enough as they tied Ryukyu Golden Kings in the standings at 41-19.

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Nagoya, though, got the nod as it swept four head-to-head matches against Ryukyu this year, giving them home court edge in the playoffs.

Now, the B1 playoff picture is set.

Central Conference Champions and No. 2-seed San-En NeoPhoenix (46-14), bannered by Thirdy Ravena, will face No. 7 Hiroshima Dragonflies (36-24), while Western Conference Champions and No. 3 Nagoya (41-19) will meet No. 6 SeaHorses Mikawa (36-24).

PHOTO: Japan B.League

Meanwhile, top seed and Eastern Conference Champion Utsunomiya Brex (51-9) will tackle No. 8 Chiba Jets (35-25), while No. 4 Alvark Tokyo (48-12) will take on No. 5 Ryukyu (41-19).

The playoffs start this weekend.

Meanwhile, Matthew Wright’s first year in Japan ended in heartbreak as Kyoto Hannaryz fell to Nagasaki Velca in double overtime, 105-102, at Shimazu Arena.

The Fil-Canadian gunner scored 25 points on 5-of-14 clip from distance, including the Hail Mary from way past the halfcourt that forced the second extra period at 92-all.

Wright was also responsible for forcing the first overtime after nailing the fadeaway jumper with 41.7 seconds in regulation that knotted the game at 83.

He also got four boards and four assists as Kyoto ended their season with a 17-43 record.