Yee Chun Leong
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN
TK/CJMM took down Easyway 89-76 in the Group A opener of the YOU.C1000 Cup on Friday night.
Jomarie Corpuz, despite having only five points and picking up his fourth foul just before halftime, finished with a game-high of 23 points for TK/CJMM.
Gary Antonio notched 22 while Elvin Requintin added 11.
The duo of Cleverson Baguioro and Luis Gabriel Santos chipped in 10 each in the triumph.
On the other hand, Jake Chong led Easyway with 22 points.
Jayden Chen poured in 16 and Lim Liang Wei notched 15.
Jonathan Lim was the other in double digits with 10 in a losing effort.
Easyway were finding gaps in the heart of the TK/CJMM defence to score in the early going at the BBA court in Batu Bersurat.
In contrast, TK/CJMM missed a handful of easy looks as they trailed 21-12 heading into the second frame.
Easyway were also getting their outside shots to fall and built the advantage to as many as 12 points.
Their opponents then took a timeout to turn it up a notch at the defensive end.
The 3-2 setup worked wonders as it sparked eight unanswered points - turning defence into fastbreak points.
The game was deadlocked at 24-24 following a layup by Daniko Hidalgo before a three-pointer by Lim ended the rot for Easyway.
Corpuz hit his first basket with 2:30 on the clock with a trey to help TK/CJMM regain the lead at 34-33.
It was a see-saw battle but Requintin easily strolled past the Easyway defence for back-to-back layups to ensure TK/CJMM lead 42-39 at the break.
Both sides traded baskets to begin the third period but it was TK/CJMM who stuck their noses in front soon after.
They got the ball down low to Santos to attack the paint.
They also dominated the boards and had plenty of second chances.
Neither could be separated by more than two possessions but strong play down the stretch put TK/CJMM up 65-58 going into the decisive frame.
Easyway managed to claw to within four points but TK/CJMM replied with a 6-0 run capped off by two free throws by Antonio with seven minutes left.
TK/CJMM extended their lead to 12 points midway through and were never really troubled for the rest of the encounter for victory.
The competition resumes today with defending champions Wan Sing up against CH Elite in Group B at 8.30pm.
