Yee Chun Leong
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN
YTE were crowned champions of the YOU.C1000 Cup after edging Fuzhou Shiyyi Association 80-77 in the final last night.
YTE imports did most of the heavy lifting at the offensive end with Udun Osakue, who won the MVP award for the second straight year, notching a game-high of 31 points while Terrell Carter poured in 26 points in the victory.
On the other hand, Mike Fey topscored for Fuzhou with 29 points while Josh White added 21 points. Lim Liang Wei was the other in double digits with 15 points to a losing cause.
Udun Osakue (L) drives against the Fuzhou defence. Picture: Yee Chun Leong
Both teams were tied 20-20 at the end of the opening period in front a fully packed BBA court in Batu Bersurat before YTE switched gears in the second frame to open up a 47-33 lead at halftime.
Fuzhou came back out after the interval a different teams as they picked up at the defensive end with strong zone defence and quickly got to within 51-45 four minutes into the period.
To make matters worse, YTE forward Elvin Requintin picked up his fourth foul just moments later.
Fuzhou eventually went in front for the first time at 55-54 with just over a minute left after a trey by Fey.
They extended their advantage to 60-56 after the 7-foot American beat the buzzer with another three-pointer in the face of Carter to end the third quarter.
Mike Fey (R) made seven shots from beyond the arc. Picture: Yee Chun Leong
Fuzhou led by as many as seven points but YTE never backed down and tied the game at 75 apiece with just under four minutes left after a layup by Osakue.
He then put YTE back in front after he split his freethrows off the next possession drawing a fourth foul on White.
YTE tightened their defence and forced turnovers off their opponents, most notably Lim Aik Hock with his quick hands for several steals.
Osakue should have made it a three-point game off a steal but could only hit the deck due to the wet conditions of the court 2:27 left on the clock.
Terrell Carter II (R) posts up against Mike Fey. Picture: Yee Chun Leong
Ball possession went to Fuzhou but they turned the ball over resulting with Osakue converting this time.
Fuzhou were unable to get any open looks and cracked under pressure.
A quick outlet pass to Requintin to score off a layup to make it a two-possession game at 80-75 with 40 seconds left settled the tie.
Meanwhile, Teo & Sons bagged the bronze after edging Easyway 90-87 in the third-place playoff.
Present as the guest of honour to give away the prizes to the winners was Hii Hua King, the managing director of Hui Huang Enterprise.
Fuzhou Shiyyi Association pose for a group photo. Picture: Yee Chun Leong
