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| Ken Bono powered Shawarma Shack to a tight win against Sanzar. Filbasket |
KUALA LUMPUR--The AsiaBasket International Championship formally began on Easter Sunday at the Malaysia Basketball Association Stadium here with Filipino team Shawarma Shack Pilipinas and Malaysian club MBC Kirin taking home the wins.
Shawarma Shack scored the first win of the tournament organized by Filbasket with an 86-82 squeaker over fellow Filipino club Sanzar Pharmaceuticals.
Sanzar began the Group A game red-hot, going on a 9-0 run and eventually taking a 15-4 lead with 6:32 left in the first quarter.
After the timeout, however, Shawarma Shack settled in and finished the quarter on a 21-2 run to take a 25-17 lead to the second.
The team continued its dominance in the second quarter and began the period on an 11-0 run to open its largest lead at 36-17.
Shawarma Shack seemed to be on its way to a blowout win until Jeremiah Taladua and Juven Gican caught fire within the last five and a half minutes for Sanzar to cut the lead down to three, 85-82, with 10.9 seconds left in the fourth.
However, a split from the free throw line by Ken Bono with 8.1 seconds left sealed the win for Shawarma Shack.
Bono finished with 20 points, nine rebounds, and one assist to lead Shawarma Shack. Nikki Monteclaro added 13 points, two rebounds, three assists, and two steals, Leonardo Esguerra chipped in 12 points, five rebounds, and one assist, and RJ Deles, Mike Harry Nzeusseu, and Billy Rojo each made 10 markers with Nzeusseu also grabbing 11 rebounds for the double-double.
Shaq Alanes led Sanzar with 33 points, 30 in the first half, behind seven triples, one rebound, three assists, and two steals, Taladua added 22 points, seven rebounds, three assists, and one steal, and Gican made 15 points, four rebounds, one assist, and two steals.
In the nightcap, MBC Kirin stunned The Th3rd Floor-KalosPH-Cooly, 92-85, in Group B action.
The deciding factor came in the second quarter, where MBC limited The Th3rd Floor to only 15 points to go up, 45-37, at halftime.
MBC then held its ground against The Th3rd Floor in the second half to walk away victorious.
William Freeman led MBC with 21 points, 12 rebounds, three assists, and four steals, while Tychique Bosango and Leong Zhen Kang each contributed 17 markers off the bench.
Filipino actor Gerald Anderson led The Th3rd Floor with 24 points, three rebounds, three assists, and five steals.
Dexter Zamora finished with 19 points, two rebounds, one assist, three steals, and two blocks, while Genmar Bragais put up 18 points, four rebounds, four assists, and five steals.
Box Scores:
First Game
Shawarma Shack 86-Bono 20, Monteclaro 13, Esguerra 12, Deles 10, Nzeusseu 10, Rojo 10, Pasculado 7, Aviso 4, Rifarial 0, Tomilloso 0, Guevara 0
Sanzar 82-Alanes 33, Taladua 22, Gican 15, Kawamura 4, Maurillo 2, McGill 2, Moradas 2, Dimas 2, Madera 0, Lanzar 0, Obuyes 0, Pajimola 0
Quarterscores: 25-17, 52-44, 71-58, 86-82
Second Game
MBC 92-Freeman 21, Bosango 17, Leong 17, Dasom 10, Ja. Lee 8, JJ Lee 6, Chin 5, Lai 4, Lim 3, Phang 1, Kiu 0, Chua 0
The Th3rd Floor-KalosPH-Cooly 85-Anderson 24, Zamora 19, Bragais 18, Flores 8, Portales 5, Vanguardia 5, Mendoza 4, Lepalam 2, Catipay 0, Navalon 0
Quarterscores: 21-22, 45-37, 69-62, 92-85
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