Filipino import Carl Tamayo struggled in his shooting as the Changwon LG Sakers fell against the New Taipei Kings.
The Changwon LG Sakers could not sustain their second half momentum as they fell in a double-digit loss to the New Taipei Kings, 90-78, at the Changwon Gymnasium in the East Asia Super League on Thursday night.
After falling behind early with a 17-31 first quarter, Changwon got as close as two points, 65-67, after a Choi Hyungchan free throw with 57 seconds left in the third quarter.
But they could not sustain it in the final minute with Jayden Gardner push it to a two-possession lead, 70-65, heading into the fourth quarter for the New Taipei Kings.
Then in the fourth quarter, it was all Taipei as they cruised to the victory.
Filipino import Carl Tamayo also had his personal woes in the loss with a 2-of-12 shooting clip to finish with just five points in more than 30 minutes of action.
He was also a -21 in the +/- column.
The New Taipei Kings, meanwhile, leaned on both Sani Sakakini and Gardner in the victory with a combined 61 points.
Sakakini had 33 markers, nine rebounds, one assist, and two steals while Gardner added 28 points, 10 rebounds, two assists, and two steals.
Meanwhile, Changwon’s scoring was led by Junseok Yang and Assem Marei who finished with 16 points each.
The Kings thus improved to 1-1 in Group C while Changwon absorbed a loss in its first game.
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Luisa Morales is a sports writer with a special interest in promoting women’s sports.
Her coverage highlights include the UAAP, PVL, Southeast Asian Games, and the FIBA World Cup. She also follows Alex Eala, the Philippine women’s national football team, and mixed martial arts.