In the first meeting of the ASEAN Basketball League’s two powerhouse teams, it was Christian Standhardinger and the Hong Kong Eastern Basketball Club that stood tall against the Chong Son Kung Fu Basketball Club. The defending champions took an 88-76 victory, Tuesday evening at Southorn Stadium.
Filipino-German Christian Standhardinger led Hong Kong with 23 points on 10-of-16 shooting and 13 rebounds.
With the win, Hong Kong sits atop the leaderboard with an 11-2 record. Chong Son, though still at second with a 9-3 slate, is now just a full game ahead of San Miguel Alab Pilipinas.
Hong Kong had a slow start but was able to recover in the third frame. A strong 20-6 run to start the third canto turned a four-point lead into a 16-point cushion, 59-43, with 4:09 left in the quarter.
Sparked by Filipino export Mikh McKinney and Justin Howard, Chong Son was able to slice the lead down to just a solitary point with six minutes left in the game. The quartet of Standhardinger, Marcus Elliott, Tyler Lamb, and Ryan Moss proved to be too much in the end game.
McKinney, the reigning Heritage Import of the Week, had 17 points on 7-of-19 shooting. Filipino-American bruiser Caelan Tiongson was limited by Standhardinger to just eight points, but still managed to haul down 16 rebounds.
Hong Kong’s starters scored all but three points of their total output.
Moss, who had 15 markers, showed his defensive prowess with 15 rebounds and five blocks. Elliott once again flirted with a triple-doubele with 20 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists while Lamb had 16 points, nine rebounds, and six assists. Local Lee Ki completed the quintet with 11 markers.
Chong Son World Import Anthony Tucker struggled against the defense of Hong Kong, shooting just 9-of-21 from the field for 25 points. Justin Howard tallied 16 points and a whopping 22 rebounds.
