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| Jameel Warney led Seoul SK anew in Juan Gomez De Liano's homecoming. Dennis Acosta |
PASIG—Seoul SK heaved a sigh of relief in the end as Meralco fell short of a comeback to concede an 81-80 defeat in their EASL battle on Wednesday night at the PhilSports Arena.
Kim Sun-Hyung saved the day for the Knights as he stole the ball from Prince Ibeh just when he was about to go for the win for the Bolts.
Down 74-62 with 7:06 left, Meralco slowly chipped the lead away and had a chance to win it with 6.6 seconds remaining.
Chris Banchero found Ibeh underneath for a potential hook shot, but Kim stripped the ball away from him as Seoul SK preserved the win.
Jameel Warney led the Knights, who are now in third place in Group B at 2-2, with 31 points, seven rebounds, six assists, one block, and two steals.
An Young-Jun added 19 points, five rebounds, three assists, and two steals, while Juan Gomez De Liano had four points and one assist all late in the second quarter.
Zach Lofton fired 32 points, seven rebounds, and two assists, while Ibeh and Chris Newsome each tallied 13 markers with Ibeh also grabbing 11 boards for the Bolts, who dropped to 1-3.
Meanwhile, Chiba continued its domination in Group A by whipping Taipei Fubon, 76-60, at the Funabashi Arena in Japan.
John Mooney led the Jets, now 5-0 in the team standings, with 21 points, 15 rebounds, two assists, and one steal, while Ran Kanechika added 14 points and two rebounds.
Sedrick Barefield led the Braves, who dropped to 1-4, with 16 points, three rebounds, and one assist, while Stephen Zimmerman added 11 points, 13 rebounds, and one assist.
The scores
Seoul SK Knights (81) РWarney 31, An 19, Kim 7, Williams 7, Oh 6, De Lia̱o 4, Choi 3, Song 2, B. Choi 2.
Meralco (80) – Lofton 32, Newsome 13, Ibeh 13, Hodge 8, Black 6, Banchero 5, Bates 2, Quinto 1, Almazan 0, Rios 0, Mendoza 0, Torres 0.
Quarterscores: 20-20; 45-33; 64-56; 81-80.
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