Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Tiebreaker Times

Basketball

EASL: Abando wins first pro title as Anyang KGC crowned best in the east


Three Filipinos played on the final day of the 2023 East Asia Super League Champions Week in Okinawa on Sunday.

But it was Rhenz Abando who stole the show after helping Anyang KGC take bragging right and a cool $250,000 in beating fellow KBL team Seoul SK, 90-84, in the final.

Abando pumped 11 points, the majority of which came in the second quarter which helped KGC take control of the game for good.

Leading the charge for Anyang were Daryl Monroe and Omari Spellman with the former tallying 21 points and 16 rebounds while the latter added 19 points and 11 boards. Spellman was named the tournament MVP.

The victory marked Abando’s first championship outside of the Philippines and a major milestone in his professional career. He had previously won the NCAA crown with Letran in NCAA Season 98 where he was also named MVP before signing as a pro.

Kim Sunhyung led the defending KBL champs with 25 points while Jameel Warney added 22 points. The Knights will still bank $100,000 for their second-place finish.

Meanwhile, another Philippine basketball talent, Sedrick Barefield, also made waves to close out the week as he helped Bay Area secure third place in the competition.

Bay Area’s imports, Myles Powell and Andrew Nicholson, teamed up with Barefield to dominate Japan B.League side Ryukyu Golden Kings in a 90-70 win.

Powell led the team with 29 points, while Nicholson added 18 points and eight rebounds.2023-EASL-Champions-Week-Bay-Area-Sedrick-Barefield-1 EASL: Abando wins first pro title as Anyang KGC crowned best in the east Basketball EASL News  - philippine sports news

Barefield also contributed 17 points and six rebounds to help the Dragons clinch third place and a cash prize of US$50,000.

#ReadMore  Macandili, Lazaro excited to test mettle against 'the best' come PVL

Ryukyu’s Filipino import Carl Tamayo only played 10 minutes in the contest, finishing with two points.

Allen Durham had 19 points and seven rebounds for the Golden Kings.

As the dust settled in Okinawa, TNT and San Miguel finished in seventh and last place. P.League+’s Taipei Fubon was sixth due to a superior quotient over the two PBA squads. Utsunomiya placed fifth.

Written By


You May Also Like

Basketball

Kai Sotto and Hiroshima saw their three-game winning streak in the 2022-23 B.League season snapped by a short-handed Nagoya squad, bowing 88-90, Wednesday at...

Basketball

Magnolia head coach Chito Victolero could only think of what could have been following the end of their PBA Governors’ Cup campaign Wednesday night....

Basketball

He actually works on that shot, but to have made it in an actual game with high stakes left Aaron Black amazed and thankful...

Basketball

Plenty of heroes stepped up as Meralco crawled back and escaped Magnolia in overtime, 113-107, to complete the 2023 PBA Governors’ Cup semifinals ensemble,...

Basketball

Jamike Jarin is leaving the decision to Phoenix Super LPG management now that his first PBA conference at the helm has come to a...

Basketball

TNT is ‘expecting the worst’ after Kelly Williams is said to have pulled a calf in its PBA Governors’ Cup quarterfinal duel with Phoenix...

Basketball

Glenn Khobuntin came through with a career-high outing as TNT showed Phoenix Super LPG the door, 132-105, for a quick trip to the PBA...

Basketball

Questions lingered for University of the Philippines on how they will replace the production they lost during the off season. Two of its key...

Advertisement