Yee Chun Leong
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN
DIGIMARK were crowned champions of the GRÂND Veteran Basketball Tournament after defeating Little Wonder Enterprise 85-67 in the final last night.
Aries Castro, who was named the MVP, and Allan Talanay had matching team-highs of 17 points to pace Digimark.
Apollo Bibat and Anderson Yu chipped in 13 points each in the victory at the BBA court in Batu Bersurat.
Apollo Bibat (L) of Digimark takes a shot against Little Wonder. Picture: yee Chun Leong
On the other hand, Chen Yiok Seng scored a game-high of 27 points to lead Little Wonder.
Liu Kun Shyong added 12 points while Lim Boon Teck, who won the award for the most three-pointers made in the group stages, was the other in double figures with 11 points.
Little Wonder started the game brightly with man-to-man defence and did well to prevent Castro from getting easy baskets on the break.
It was only midway through that Digimark came out of a timeout and held their opponents without a single point to close to within 18-15 heading into the second period.
They continued the run and eventually went in front less over a minute into the second frame.
Aries Castro of Digimark was named the MVP. Picture: Yee Chun Leong
Bibat dominated the boards and Digimark picked up the pace to extend their advantage to 44-34 at halftime.
The lead got to as large as 16 points three minutes into the third quarter before Little Wonder put up a 6-0 run to 55-45 midway through forcing Digimark to call a timeout.
They regrouped and got their offence going again to stay up 64-50 going into the decisive quarter.
It was all Digimark in the fourth period as the lead ballooned to as large as 23 points enroute to victory.
Lim Kok Shien of Little Wonder skies for the rebound. Picture: Yee Chun Leong
Castro had a good time in the tournament and credited his teammate for the win.
“The competition was very nice and the team was very well rounded. We have a good team and they played with confidence,” said Castro in an interview with BruSports after the win.
“The coach is nice and it was good having Bibat on the team. It’s great playing along side him,” added the 47-year-old.
Fitness Zone settled for the bronze after edging Concepts 3B/3G 104-99 in the third-place playoff on Tuesday night.
Meanwhile, Richard Tan bagged the three-point competition title after notching 10 points.
Little Wonder in a group photo. Picture: Yee Chun Leong
