Yee Chun Leong
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN
FUZHOU Shiyyi Association clipped the wings of Pegasus to win 78-61 in Group B of the YOU.C1000 Cup on Wednesday.
Both teams entered the encounter with a 1-1 win-loss record and a victory was vital to progress into next week's quarter-finals.
Lim Liang Wei put up another solid offensive performance with a game-hig of 25 points to lead Fuzhou.
Ahmad Termizi Hj Noordeen added 22 while Esmond Tan contributed 16 in the win at the BBA Court in Batu Bersurat.
On the other hand, Jeremy Chu led Pegasus with 19 points while Jonathan Lim added 13.
Teo Jyh Shiun was the other in double figures with 10 to a losing cause.
With the scores tied 12-12 midway through the opening period, Fuzhou switched to man-to-man defence and it proved to be the right formula.
They went on a 10-2 run the next two minutes as they forced Pegasus to take shots from the outside.
Fuzhou had the size advantage and took it into the paint as they opened up a 24-17 lead going into the second period.
Pegasus were held to only a single field goal for more than three minutes as they couldn't get anything going offensively.
Fuzhou stayed aggressive and dominated the boards to build the lead to 43-28 at halftime.
Pegasus were in disarray and simply had no answer to break down their defence.
A Tan three-pointer made it a 20-point gap with just under three minutes left.
Lim hit a floater at the buzzer that put Fuzhou up 62-45 heading into the decisive frame.
With Tan on the bench, Pegasus started the fourth quarter with five straight points.
It took three minutes before Fuzhou got on the scoreboard with Mizi hitting a three.
There was no rush for Fuzhou as they ran the clock on each possession and they were never really troubled as they closed out the game for their second win.
