Yee Chun Leong
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN
TUTONG used a strong start to the fourth quarter to see off a spirited Brunei-Muara B 87-66 in the semi-finals of the National Basketball League last night.
They had carried a 65-57 lead into the fourth quarter and began the final stanza with a 13-0 run in over four minutes enroute to victory.
Tutong will face Brunei-Muara A, who hung on for a 71-70 win over Kuala Belait in the other last-four matchup, in the title decider tonight at 9pm at the BBA court in Batu Bersurat.
All five of Tutong’s starters hit double figures with centre Md Zainul Ashyraf Hj Hussin leading the way with 22 points while Onn Jen Hao added 19 to his name.
Khoo Chin Kai contributed 16 points while the pair of Mak Chia Wee and Soon Kian Leong chipped in 13 and 10 respectively in the triumph.
Over at the other side, William Ching produced a game-high of 23 points while Lim Jia Horn was the other in double-digit scoring with 12, all coming from behind the arc, in the defeat.
With Tutong sticking their noses in front 35-34 at halftime, they switched to man-to-man defence after the interval.
They utilised their height advantage to get into the paint to score. Ching caught fire at the offensive end and kept Brunei-Muara B close as he poured in 14 points in the frame - including four treys.
Brunei-Muara B ran out of steam in the fourth period and couldn’t get anything to fall.
They took plenty of shots from the outside and Tutong capitalised on the long rebounds and quickly got off the races to score on the break extending their cushion to as large as 23 points.
Meanwhile, a closely contested affair went down the wire with Brunei-Muara A hanging on to their one-point lead with under minute to play.
Kuala Belait were forced to foul with 10 seconds left in regulation resulting in an inbounds play late in the game.
Gideon Fong then missed two layups giving their opponents a chance.
Kuala Belait did go for a three-pointer with five seconds left but missed. Ben Sim got to the rebound but his missed layup came after the buzzer had sounded.
Darren Yap was the topscorer for Brunei-Muara A with 23 points while Ahmad Termizi Nordeen added 15. Fang Bo Yuan also hit double figures with 10 points in the win.
On the other hand, Ben Sim was the only player in double figures for Kuala Belait with a game-high of 31 points.
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