Indonesia showed flashes of what they are capable of doing in the 2017 SEABA Championships, as they drubbed Singapore, 71-50, to open their campaign in the regional tourney on Wednesday at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.
Indonesia zoomed to a 1-0 card even without using naturalized import Jamrr Johnson. The Singaporeans, meanwhile, are now 0-1.
Mario Wuysang led the Indons’ attack with 20 points spiked by six triples — with 17 markers coming from the first half, highlighted by three straight treys late in the second frame to lift his team to a gargantuan 40-9 lead.
The Indons posted the game’s widest gap at 37, 48-11, after an 8-0 run powered by Christian Sitepu with 8:05 to go, but the Singaporeans made a late-game spree closed by 16, 66-50, after a Larry Liew trey with 2:08 remaining.
However, a Kevin Sitorus triple with just 56.6 seconds left to play proved to be Indonesia’s padlock, shutting the door on any Singaporean comeback miracle.
Sitepu finished with 15 points and six boards, while Sandy Kurniawan chipped in 11 markers, highlighted by a 3-of-7 clip from beyond the arc.
The Singaporeans were led by Liew with his 11 points. Guard Wong Wei Long backed him up with 10 markers.
The Indons shot 41.27 from the floor, while Singapore shot just 32 percent. Indonesia also edged their counterparts slightly on the rebounding department, 41-36.
Indonesia will look to go 2-0 in the tourney as they take on Malaysia tomorrow, Saturday, May 13, at 5:00 PM, while Singapore will aim to bounce back against Gilas Pilipinas, also tomorrow night at 7:00 PM.
The Scores:
Indonesia (71) – Wuysang 20, Sitepu 15, Kurniawan 11, Grahita 8, Sitorus 7, Dhyaksa 6, Pratama 2, Nugroho 2, Lakudu 0.
Singapore (50) – Liew 11, Wong 10, J. Ng 8, Kwek 8, Goh 6, J. Lim 4, H. Ng 3, Cheok 0, Chia 0, Y. Lim 0, Tan 0.
Quarterscores: 18-3, 40-11, 56-29, 71-50.
