Petronas win in nail-biting finish

28/04/1998

PETRONAS were made to struggle before snatching a 74-71 win over
Uzbekistan MHSK in the Asian Basketball Confederation (ABC) Championship
at Stadium Negara last night.
The Malaysian team played aggresively in the first half but could not
stamp their superiority as the lanky Uzbeks matched them point for point.
"I had expected a close match but not this close," said Petronas coach
Brian Lester. "The match could have gone either way with 53 seconds on the
clock when Steve Spurlock and Justin Wimmer were just too tired to move.
"Luckily Ng Joo Lay, Chai Tze Yean and the others kept up the pressure."
Petronas were leading 72-71 with 53 seconds remaining. However, luck was
with them when they received a free throw and Toh Chin Thiam made no
mistake to give his side their second win in the championship.
China Hanwei also continued their fine run with a 83-66 win over South
Korea's Hyundai Dynat. It was Hanwei's second straight win following
Sunday's 90-81 victory over Uzbekistan MHSK.
In yesterday's match, Hanwei ran riot with the help of Eric Dortck, who
top-scored with 43 points while teammate Liang Da managed 14. Cho Sung
Wong led Hyundai with 23 points.
"We have been training for two months for this tournament and I am very
happy with the determination shown by the players," said Hanwei coach Lin
Xin.
Lin Xin is the first woman to coach at the ABC Championship and has an
impressive resume. She has played for China and was voted Asia's best
guard in 1994 and 1995.
She was also in China's Olympic team who won the silver medal at the
1996 Atlanta Games.
At halftime the score was 35-32 with Hyundai getting most of their
points from rebounds. But when Hanwei settled down, they kept passing the
ball to Dortck, who ignited the match.
The one problem that could jeopardise Hanwei's chances is fatigue. With
only nine players suiting up with 12 roster spots to fill, tirednees could
creep in.
In another match, tournament favourites China Regal of Hong Kong
struggled to beat Bangkok Club of Thailand 72-61.
John Spencer topscored for China Regal with 14 points, 11 of them coming
off rebounds. Pramoch Jantaraniyom was Bangkok Club's top scorer with 22
points.
Results: Beeper 150 86 Toshiba Red Thunders 88; China Hanwei 83 Korea
Hyundai Dynat 66; China Regal 72 Bangkok Club 61; Petronas 74 Uzbekistan
71.
Today: MHSK v Panasia (4.0); Regal v Toshiba (5.45); Beijing v Petronas
(7.30); Al-Riadi v Beeper (9.15).
(END)