After three unfruitful outings, Tanduay Alab Pilipinas had finally tasted the sweet flavor of triumph through a convincing 78-61 win over Formosa Dreamers, Saturday at the Changhua County Stadium in Taiwan.
With this, both club teams now carry an identical 1-3 win-loss card.
Everyone from Alab scored in the win, with World Import Reggie Okosa anchoring the offense with 19 points along with 19 rebounds. Ray Parks, Jr. had his best outing so far with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Lead point guard Josh Urbiztondo — who was slapped with an unsportsmanlike foul after a commotion with Formosa’s Chen Yu Han in the second frame — also chipped in 12 markers on top of seven assists and six rebounds.
Tanduay Alab spent the majority of the bout ahead, but the home team still managed to give their opponents a run for their money, not just with their ability to wipe out leads, but through their physical style of play as well.
But the complexity changed come the second half. Through their hustle and fluid ball movement, Tanduay Alab outclassed the Taiwanese club team and led by as much as 17, 68-51, after Okosa’s dunk with 7:43 in the final frame.
The Filipino dribblers then never relinquished the huge advantage, and zoomed all the way to their first-ever win.
Alab’s win has raised some issues, as Ivan Johnson — for unknown reasons — was benched in the game. He was last seen having a heated moment with somebody after their 99-96 loss to Hong Kong Eastern last Wednesday.
Former Saigon Heat reinforcement Lenny Daniel powered the Dreamers with 19 points and eight rebounds. Local Cheng Chi Kuan provided 11 points, while another World Import Jaleel Cousins chipped in 10 and nine boards.
Tanduay Alab will look to rake in back-to-back wins as they take on Westports Malaysia Dragons after the holiday break on January 3 at 8:00 PM.
The Scores:
Tanduay Alab (78) – Okosa 19, Parks 12, Urbiztondo 12, Maierhofer 7, Hontiveros 7, Domingo 6, Raymundo 5, Celiz 4, Alabanza 2, Javelona 2, Sumalinog 2.
Formosa (61) – Daniel 19, Cheng 11, Cousins 10, Chou 9, Chen 5, Yang 4, Li C. 0, Li P. 0, Wu 0, Tsai 0.
Quarterscores: 21-13, 39-32, 62-48, 78-61
