SJ Belangel and Carl Tamayo rose above their compatriots as they led their teams to wins over their respective opponents in KBL action.
All three KBL games over the weekend featured a clash between Filipino imports with Daegu KOGAS’ SJ Belangel and Changwon LG Sakers’ Carl Tamayo eking out key performances to lead their respective teams to wins in the 2025-26 season on Sunday.
SJ Belangel, for his part, parried JD Cagulangan’s Suwon KT Sonicboom, 71-60, on the road to snap a two-game losing skid and tally just their second victory of the season.
Belangel dazzled with 18 points, five rebounds, and two assists in 32 and a half minutes of play to lead all scorers, joining forces with American import Nick Perkins who added 16 points and five rebounds.
Ricardo Ratliffe, also known as Ra Gun-ah, also tallied a double-double for the KOGAS with 14 points and 13 boards in the victory.
Meanwhile, Cagulangan struggled from the field on a 3-of-11 shooting night, finishing with just six points in 23 minutes of play along with two assists.
Suwon fell to 7-4 for the season with the loss.
In other games, Tamayo played an all-around game to pace the Changwon LG Sakers to victory over Arvin Tolentino’s Seoul SK Knights, 80-75, at the Jamsil Students’ Gymnasium in Seoul.
Changwon finished strong to take the win even after entering the fourth quarter behind, 54-56.
Tamayo recorded 24 points, eight rebounds, and four assists in the gutsy win.
For his part, Tolentino had 12 markers, including a clutch three that pulled his team within three points, 75-78, with 19 ticks left. However, the LG Sakers were able to nail their free throws to keep the lead a two-possession affair.
Changwon has won five of the last six matches and the defending champs are staying within striking distance of league leaders Anyang JKJ Red Boosters with a 8-3 slate.
Seoul, meanwhile, dropped to 4-7.
Rhenz Abando’s Anyang holds off KQ, Goyang
The Anyang JKJ Red Boosters held off a comeback effort from Kevin Quiambao and the Goyang Sono Skygunners in a cardiac affair, 78-75, at the Anyang Gymnasium.
Quiambao drilled a crucial three-pointer that cut the Anyang lead to just one, 74-75, with 1:09 ticks left in the ball game, but it was quickly neutralized in the next possession off of a timeout by Anyang’s Byun Jun-hyung.
Byun led Anyang’s scorers with 22 points while Filipino import Rhenz Abando tallied 11 points, three rebounds, and four assists. He also had three blocks.
Quiambao finished with 17 points, four rebounds, and one assist for Goyang.
Anyang thus leads the standings with 8-2 while Goyang is down to 3-8.
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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.