Yee Chun Leong
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN
FZ-JURAMAS tipped off their YOU.C1000 Cup Group A campaign with a 90-76 victory over Setia Builders last night.
Big man Francis Barcellano had a good outing to pace FZ-Juramas with 25 points while Kevin Tay added 19 - which included five three-pointers.
Esmond Tan was the other in double figures in the victory at the BBA court in Batu Bersurat with 12 to his name.
At the other side, Jonathan Doles produced a game-high of 26 points to lead Setia Builders.
Joey Dela Pena contributed 18 while RJ Lucida poured in 13 to a losing cause.
FZ-Juramas got off to a quick start, most notably Kevin after he went 5-for-5 for 13 points, to see them up 21-7 with four minutes left in the opening period.
Setia Builders called a timeout to regroup but FZ-Juramas still managed to build their lead to 19 points before Doles took over offensively for eight straight points to keep his side within striking distance at 30-15 heading into the second period.
FZ-Juramas went without a field goal for three minutes to start the second frame allowing Setia Builders to cut the deficit to nine points.
The duo of Doles and Dela Pena were aggressive in attacking the hoop to score and back-to-back treys for Lucida saw them trail 48-39 at halftime.
FZ-Juramas picked up their game after the interval and were moving the ball better to find the open man to score.
They led by double figures the entire way of the third stanza and carried a 71-53 advantage into the final stanza.
It didn’t look like there was any way back for Setia Builders with FZ-Juramas leading by 23 points in the fourth period but a lapse of concentration allowed the former to go on a 10-0 run to quickly close the gap.
But that was as close as they got as FZ-Juramas regrouped to complete the opening win.
The second game saw TK Teahouse defeat YTE Basketball 99-88 in Group B.
The competition continues today with YTE taking on Yuniku in Group A at 7.15pm.
The second match pits YTE Basketball against Bengkurong Brotherhood at 9pm.
