Yee Chun Leong
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN
TUTONG clinched the gold medal in the 4th SKBD basketball event after defeating Belait 83-67 in the final on Wednesday night.
Onn Jen Hao had a good outing with a game-high of 34 points to pace Tutong while Francis Barcellano was the other in double figures with 15 points to his name in the victory at the BBA court in Batu Bersurat.
Onn Jen Hao (C) and Foo Su Jiang (R) battle for a loose ball. Picture: Yee Chun Leong
Belait had distributed scoring with Choo Yung Jian leading the way with 20 points while Foo Su Jiang added 15. Shim Jan Ting and Koo Sei Vui chipped in 14 and 11 points respectively to a losing cause.
Despite having a full lineup, Tutong relied on heavily on their starters while Belait were also shorthanded with eight cagers on the roster with key players Ben Sim (injury) and Lim Liang Wei (work)
The game was neck-and-neck through out the first half but it was Tutong who stuck their noses in front 38-35 at halftime.
It was in the third quarter where they ran away as Belait struggled to get things going offensively and threw the ball away on several possessions.
Choo Yung Jian (L) defended by Don Mordeno. Picture: Yee Chun Leong
Tutong attacked on the break and led by double figures for the first time with just over a minute left in the third quarter after a layup by Elvin Requintin to make it 61-50.
They eventually extended their advantage to as many as 17 points early in the fourth period and never looked back enroute to the gold medal.
Meanwhile, Brunei-Muara bagged the bronze medal after defeating the Brunei Association of Banks 75-65.
