Dragons set up title clash with Tigers

17/10/1998

THE capacity crowd at the Maba Stadium in Kuala Lumpur were treated to an
entertaining night of basketball when the Selangor Dragons set up a
Malaysian Basketball League final showdown with the Johor Tigers after
beating Perak Red Eagles last night.
The Tigers defeated the Sarawak Hornbills in the other semifinal.
Derrick Leak, true to his form, snatched six points in the first 30
seconds as the Perak Red Eagles stormed to an early lead against the
Selangor Dragons.
Clyde "the slide" Jordan of the Dragons then took a solo initiative and
went for an impressive slam dunk which got the crowd wild. Not to be
outdone, Leak countered with an equally impressive dunk at the other end.
With five minutes on the clock and a 15-point lead for the Dragons, K.
Satyaseelan sank two three-pointers to narrow the gap with one minute on
the clock.
In the other semifinal, the Tigers were in front as early as the sixth
minute but the fighting Hornbills closed the gap in the final three
minutes.
George Butler and Ng Chung Giat piled up the points and with seven
minutes on the first half clock, the Tigers roamed wild with 25-14, they
then took a gaping 21-point lead into the breather with 46-25.
The Tigers came back fresh and stretched the lead to 28 points but some
good moves by Greg Gibson narrowed it to a 10-point match with five
minutes to go.
Meanwhile, Johor Tigers warmed up for the final against Selangor Dragons
by hammering the Perak Red Eagles 61-49 in the last preliminary match of
the women's Malaysian Basketball League (MBL) at the MABA Stadium
yesterday.
The Tigers, who have already booked a ticket in the final, topped the
table with the win and will play second placed Selangor Dragons in the
final today.
(END)