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| Mark Cruz drives through the basket against two Xinjiang defenders. |
By Dugout Philippines
MACAU--I-ECO failed to sustain a fourth quarter rally and fell to Xinjiang, 103-107, in their Terrific 12 battle at the Macau East Asia Games Dome on Thursday night.
The clash of also-ran squads started with a competitive first quarter as both teams started out hot and hitting shots to close out the period all tied up at 27 apiece.
The Flying Tigers pushed with their fast-paced transition offense and went on a number of runs in the second and third quarter led by Abudushalamu Abudurexiti, who played for the Golden State Warriors summer league team this past off-season. He finished the game with a double-double, scoring 19 points and grabbing 11 rebounds, which helped put the Flying Tigers up 87-78 after three quarters.
The Green Warriors kept battling back, keeping the score close and within striking distance. They ultimately took the lead on a put back basket by Tiras Wade with five minutes remaining.
They fought to hold onto their lead until Wang Zirui hit a big three to put the Flying Tigers back up again 102-101 with 1:59 left in the final quarter.
Darius Adams came up big in the fourth and was just too much for the Green Warriors, finishing with a tournament high 45 points and adding eight boards and eight assists.
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