Yee Chun Leong
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN
TUTONG opened their National Basketball League campaign on the right foot after an 80-63 victory over Temburong last night.
Captain Khoo Chin Kai led the way for Tutong with a game-high of 22 points while Soon Kian Leong added 15 to his name.
Md Zainul Ashyraf Hj Hussin was also in double figures with 13 points while Onn Jen Hao was the other with 12 in the victory at the BBA court in Batu Bersurat.
On the other side, Temburong skipper Tan Ye Wei was the topscorer with 18 points while the duo of Han Yei Siew and Harold Mohd chipped in 14 and 10 respectively to a losing cause.
It was a rather slow start for both sides with the game featuring plenty of running but not many buckets.
Tutong dominated the boards and were given plenty of second chance opportunities but failed to capitalise. Despite all their struggles they managed to open up a 15-8 advantage in the opening period.
It was when Tutong went without a field goal for a couple of minutes in the second quarter that allowed Temburong to get to within a single basket.
But they managed to regroup to finish the half strongly to open up a double digit lead at 35-24 at halftime.
Tutong upped their defence and attacked the basket strongly after the break.
It saw them pull away as they outscored their opponents 22-13 to see the lead balloon to 57-37 at end of the third
Tutong gave playing time to their subs in the final quarter which allowed Temburong to claw to within 11 points.
However, Tutong were never really threatened as they claimed their first win of the competition.
Meanwhile, the first game of the League saw Brunei-Muara B defeat Seria 80-63 while Kuala Belait overcame Brunei-Muara A 77-68 in the third match last night.
This post is sponsored by Easyway.
