Yee Chun Leong
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN
TK TEA House turned things around in the third quarter to defeat BruPay 72-61 to book a spot in the final of the YOU.C1000 Fuzhou Cup last night.
They will battle Hui Huang Enterprise in Sunday’s title-decider for a cash prize of $5,000 at 8.45pm at the Fuzhou Shiyyi Association building in Berakas.
TK only had seven players in their rotation and four of them got into double figures with Gisalan leading the way with 20 points.
Darrel Dela Cruz poured in 14 points while the pair of Allen Salvador and Megallon each had 12 in the victory.
On the other hand, Md Zainul Ashyraf Hj Hussin topscored for BruPay with 20 points while Ahmad Termizi Hj Nordeen was the other in double digit scoring with 12 to a losing cause.
BruPay had the better opening period as they were hitting their shots from the outside - connecting on four treys - to open up a 20-13 lead going into the second quarter.
Gisalan took over and scored 13 points in the frame - 11 straight at one point which included three three-pointers.
He gave TK the lead for the first time with a triple to make it 25-23 with over three minutes played.
A timeout helped BruPay regroup for a 7-0 run as TK made a series of turnovers.
It remained close and Kenny Lim knocked down a trey late on to see BruPay stay in front 40-36 at halftime.
TK ran away in the third period as they outscored their opponents 17-7 in the 10-minute frame.
They picked up the tempo and attack on the break. BruPay went without a basket for five minutes before Zainul scored off a layup to make it 51-47 late on.
TK attacked the paint and ensured they stay in front 53-47 heading into the final period.
BruPay struggled to get things going and TK eventually extended their lead to as many as 15 points at 66-51 with six minutes to play after a Dela Cruz basket.
BruPay didn’t give up and got to within seven points after Zainul split his freethrows with just over a minute to play at 68-61.
However, that was as closed as the game got with Roldan Binas hitting two straight jumpers at the end to complete the win.
TK coach Robert Rubillar said that it was their defence that really got them over the line.
“It is the team defence. We tried to hold our composure in the first half and went for a fast pace game in second half,” said Rubillar in an interview with BruSports News after the win.
“We had to guard their No 7 (Mizi) and let things hold for a while. Everybody was the man of the match as we only had seven players actually.
“The rotation and team defence helped us a lot to get the win,” he added.
Meanwhile, the TK veteran team are also through to the final of the veteran category after dispatching Linktech 103-83.
They will face Digimark in the final on Sunday at 7.15pm.
