Eastern clamps Alab anew to secure top seed

ABL

By Ivan Saldajeno

STA. ROSA, Laguna--Eastern once again stomped its dominance on Alab Pilipinas and took an 83-61 victory in the tail end of their home-and-home set at the Sta. Rosa Multi-Purpose Complex on Sunday night.

Two nights after showcasing its prowess in offense at home in Hong Kong, it was defense that set the tone for Eastern on the road as Alab was held to only 30 percent shooting all game long.

Eastern kicked off with back-to-back triples and never looked back, although Alab put up a fight in the fourth quarter with a 12-2 run that cut the lead down to 13.

Tyler Lamb led Eastern, which now clinched the first seed in the ABL semifinals, with 24 points, two rebounds, and one steal, while Josh Boone added 23 points, 19 rebounds, two assists, and four blocks.

Lawrence Domingo picked up from where he left off during their last meeting on Friday night by tallying 15 markers for Alab.

Robby Celiz added 12 points in a game where Ray-Ray Parks only made 2-of-12 shots for nine markers.

Despite the loss, Alab will still move on to the playoffs following Kaohsiung's loss at Singapore earlier Sunday.

Box Scores:

Eastern 83-Lamb 24, Boone 23, Elliott 18, Fong 5, Chan 5, Guinchard 4, Lau 3, Tang 1, Lee 0, Wu 0, Ip 0, Chung 0

Alab 61-Domingo 15, Celiz 12, Hughes 12, Parks 9, Fortuna 7, Carter 6, Acuña 0, Hubalde 0, Mendoza 0, Cawaling 0

Quarterscores: 24-12, 48-28, 67-44, 83-61

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