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| Thomas Torres and the rest of the Flying V Thunder had a hard time sneaking into the CEU Scorpions' defense. PBA |
By Ivan Saldajeno
PASIG--It took 12 games--and three tries from CEU--before someone finally sent Flying V to the losing column in the PBA D-League Foundation Cup.
And it came in a very important game for the Scorpions as they were evading elimination in Game 2 of the best-of-three semifinals on Tuesday night at the Ynares Sports Arena.
What made the CEU conquest even more special was that the team mauled Flying V, 93-72.
[Related Story: STREAK BUSTER | CEU ends Flying V's perfect run with semis equalizer]
Coach Yong Garcia revealed to the media the secret to snapping the Thunder's 11-game unbeaten run.
"Defense, yun talaga ang key," said Garcia. "Number one talaga yun."
The stats can be confusing as Flying V actually won the steals (5-4) and the blocks (6-2) game. Not to mention that CEU committed 12 more unforced errors.
But it was the field goal percentage that mattered, as the Thunder only shot 31 percent from the field the entire game.
While the Scorpions only got two swats, both from Rod Ebondo, all game long, they gave the Thunder a hard time converting on their layups, only conceding 11 of 36 attempts inside the shaded area.
CEU's transition defense was also efficient the whole game that Flying V could not capitalize on CEU's turnovers, even losing the points off turnovers game, 16-12. The team also convincingly won the rebounds game, 54-39.
"Yung plan namin is that hindi kami masyadong mag-focus on [Jeron] Teng. Nag-focus kami sa team defense namin. Nasunod yung game plan namin," Garcia further said.
The stopping on Teng turned out to be an added bonus as he was limited to only 13 points before fouling out with 7:21 left in the game and the Thunder down big.
Follow him on Twitter: @IvanSaldajeno
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