Hong Kong Eastern turned it up in the third quarter to send Blackwater skidding, 84-75, and get another winning streak going in the PBA Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup, Tuesday night at the FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan.
The visiting side upped the ante most especially on defense coming out of the break, dominating their counterparts, 27-9, to erase a 10-point halftime deficit and build a 66-58 advantage entering the game’s final 12 minutes.
Coach Mensur Bajramovic and his wards would take care of the lead the rest of the way for their second win in a row, improving to 4-1 in the process.
“In the second half, we started to move the ball better, we made some shots, and we took control of the game,” said the Bosnian mentor.
Chris McLaughlin starred with 32 points and 23 rebounds as the replacement of Cameron Clark was beyond impressive in his first PBA game.
“Coming into this game, I wanted to keep it simple: Take care of the paint, rebound, and play defense, and the rest of the game would come to me naturally,” said the 6-foot-10 center, who already had 22 in the first half.
McLaughlin was actually bothered by foul trouble after garnering his fifth foul early in the fourth. Still, he played a key role in their sprint toward an 80-64 lead with 4:05 left following a three-point play completion of his.
Glen Yang supplied 14 points, seven rebounds, two assists, and two steals, while Kobey Lam notched a personal double-double of 10 points and 11 rebounds.
All but two players scored at least two points in the win.
Eastern dominated the boards, 60-41, but it was their defense that powered the comeback win, particularly in clamping down George King.
The prolific import already had 31 points and 10 rebounds in the first half but got held to only 10 markers and two boards in the last two chapters.
He finished with 41 and 12 as the American winger was the lone bright spot for the Bossing, who fell to their third loss in as many games.
HK will now turn its attention to Barangay Ginebra in a marquee matchup set December 15, Sunday, 7:30 PM at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.
The Scores:
Hong Kong Eastern 84 – McLaughlin 32, Yang 14, Lam 10, Guinchard 8, Xu 7, Cheung 5, Cao 4, Blankley 2, Pok 2, Chan 0, Zhu 0.
Blackwater 75 – King 41, Barefield 9, Suerte 9, Chua 4, Kwekuteye 4, David 4, Ilagan 3, Ponferrada 1, Casio 0, Hill 0, Guinto 0, Escoto 0.
Quarterscores: 23-21, 39-49, 66-58, 84-75.
