Yee Chun Leong
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN
FITNESS Zone fended off TK Tea House Restaurant A 86-74 in their Group B encounter last night to advance into the semi-finals of the GRÂND Veteran Basketball Tournament.
Both teams needed a win to progress after Digimark completed a sweep of the group after defeating Linktech 107-93 in the earlier game at the BBA court in Bat Bersurat.
Ronald Arabia (L) of Fitness Zone takes a fadeaway jumpshot against TK Tea House Restaurant A. Picture: Yee Chun Leong
The Filipino trio of R Garcia, Ronald Arabia and Jose Villaflores came through for Fitness Zone combining for a total of 48 points.
Garcia produced a game-high of 21 points while Arabia and Villaflores added 17 and 10 respectively in the triumph.
On the other hand, Ho Hee Lee and Chung Hock Meng led TK with 14 points each. Chua Teng Chuan was the other in double figures with 12 points in a losing effort.
Fitness Zone came out firing on all cylinders and raced off a 30-15 lead going into the second quarter.
The advantage ballooned to as large as 28 points and it was only late on in the period that TK managed to rally to cut the deficit to 51-29 at halftime.
Ho Hee Lee (L) of TK Tea House Restaurant A defended by Chin Ren Me of Fitness Zone. Picture: Yee Chun Leong
TK picked up at the defensive after the interval and clawed their way back into the match.
They closed to within nine points late in the frame before Lim Leng Ann knocked down a buzzer beating trey to see Fitness Zone up 67-55 heading into the decisive period.
Fitness Zone were never really threatened as they led by double figures throughout the last 10 minutes to see them claim a last-four spot to be held on Sunday - where they will face Group A winners Little Wonder Enterprise.
The other semi-finals matchup pits Digimark against Concepts 3B/3G.
Chong Kam Long (L) of TK Tea House Restaurant A drives to the hoop. Picture: Yee Chun Leong
Meanwhile, the semi-finals of the GRÂND Women Open Basketball Tournament will be contested tomorrow.
Winrun Tyres will take on Indera En Voy Transportation at 7pm followed by a matchup between SSB Honey Carsmart A and MyTown Eating House at 8.30pm.
