Toyama Grouses escaped a sensational 26-point performance by Ravena, who came up big for San-En but fell short after missing the second free-throw, sending San-En to its sixth straight loss to fall to 3-11.

It was a heated battle between the two teams as Ramos pulled off a crucial layup to put their lead back to three, 88-85, with less than a minute left on the clock.

Ravena then chipped in a pull-up three-pointer for the NeoPhoenix with just 2.2 seconds left to tie the game at 88-all.

It was the heroics of Keijuro Matsui that gave Toyama its game-winning jumper to give the lead back to Toyama, 90-88, before Ravena was sent to the free-throw line at the buzzer.

Ravena had one last shot to force overtime but missed his second missed the potential game-winning putback much to the dismay of San-En.

Former TNT import Joshua Smith spearheaded Grouses with 19 points and 11 rebounds which was seconded by Dwight Ramos’ double-double efforts of 16 points, 10 rebounds, and three assists to lift Toyama to a 4-10 slate.

Julian Mavunga finished with 12 points and 11 assists while Matsui and Naoki Uto had 11 points each that gave Toyama its third win in a row.

Meanwhile, Ravena scored a game-high 26 points which also finished on a very efficient 11-of-14 shooting, along with 9 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals.

Robert Carter ended with 20 points, while Yoshiyuki Matsuwaki and Justin Knox added 14 and 12 points, respectively.

Neophoenix and Toyama will face SeaHorses Mikawa and Ryukyu Golden Kings, respectively, after the break on Dec. 4 at Toyohashi City General Gymnasium.