Yee Chun Leong
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN
THE national basketball team slipped to their second defeat in as many nights after losing 67-56 to Kota Kinabalu in the Borneo Cup on Saturday.
Jaron On had a breakout performance with a game-high of 19 points to lead Brunei.
Lim Liang Wei was the other in double figures with 12 in a losing effort.
On the other hand, Calvin Lee spearheaded KK with 17 points.
Ong Jun Wei was other in double figures with 14 to his name in what was their second straight win.
It was a see-saw battle in the opening period at the BBA Court in Batu Bersurat.
On got off to a hot start with 11 points in the first 10 minutes including three treys.
However, an erroneous inbounds pass by Wong Li Shien allowed Puang Hong Bin to score on the break to put KK up 21-20 going into the second stanza.
KK were utilising their size advantage and backing to the paint to put points on the board.
Brunei were not helped by unforced turnovers and a three-pointer by Lee saw KK up by double figures at 37-26 for the first time.
A Devon Lim corner three-pointer to beat the buzzer helped the hosts cut the deficit to 40-34 at halftime.
KK missed a handful of shots - both from the line and on the break.
A three-point play by Liang Wei followed by a fastbreak layup by On got Brunei within 44-41 midway through.
Despite being on the ascendency, the Sultanate took a timeout the next stop allowing their opponents to regroup.
They were then held without a single field goal the rest of the quarter.
Fortunately for them KK had trouble putting plenty on the scoreboard.
An offensive putback by Ong at the buzzer stretched KK's advantage to 55-42 going into the final frame.
The drought extended for over two minutes before a Jonathan Lim layup ended the rot with KK up 61-44.
He made another basket to see KK take a timeout.
Holding onto their lead, KK utilised the clock on every possession.
The hosts managed to stay within reach and back-to-back baskets by Liang Wei made it 66-54 with 2:34 left to play.
Instead Brunei threw in the towel right after to unload their bench to see KK claim victory.
The earlier game saw Miri cruise to an 83-54 win over Labuan.
Miri and KK will battle it out for the championship at 3pm.
