Yee Chun Leong
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN
BNS fended off Le Doux 58-52 to secure a third-place finish in the Propel Women's Cup on Sunday.
The duo of Vanessa Pang and Chieng Hei Yien notched 21 points apiece to carry BNS on their shoulders.
On the other side, Chloe Chen topscored for Le Doux with 19 points.
Marie Shayne Fajardo added 12 while Gabrielle Chin contributed 10 in a losing effort.
BNS looked the better team and opened up a 10-point lead after a trey by Nadhatul Simaa Hj Sabtu to make it 43-33 with four minutes left in the third.
Le Doux then made a mini run with six unanswered points before Pang hit a jumper to see BNS ahead 45-39 going into the decisive frame.
It was neck and neck as Le Doux closed to within two points early in the fourth stanza.
They went in front for the first time after Fajardo converted a three-pointer to make it 50-49 on the 6:30 mark at the BBA Court in Batu Bersurat.
Chieng connected on a layup midway through the period to help BNS regain the lead.
It was a see-saw battle and 14-year-old Chia Zi Cheng provided a spark off the bench.
She prevented Chin to score on the break and made some hustle plays by hitting the deck.
Chieng then split her freethrows at the other end but BNS secured the offensive rebound resulting in a Pang basket to make it 54-52 with 2:30 left.
A coast to coast layup courtesy of Chieng made it a two-possession game leading to a Le Doux timeout with 50 seconds to go.
BNS didn't utilise the clock and gave Le Doux a lifeline.
However, they failed to capitalise and Pang put the game to bed with a layup to see them take the bronze.
The result meant that they had matching 3-2 win-loss records with Golden Girls and Yokohoma.
But based on point differential between the trio, Golden Girls claimed the runners-up spot to finish behind champions HCMC while Yokohama placed fourth.
Present to hand out the prizes to the winners was Cynthia Bong, a representative of Propel Services and Trading.
