MANILA – Nanhai Kung Fu clinched not just the last outright semifinal berth in the Asean Basketball League (ABL) playoffs but, also the top seed, with an 88-77 rout of the Eastern Long Lions at the Southorn Stadium in Hong Kong in the final game of the regular season on Wednesday night.
Nanhai recovered from a slow start as they limited Eastern to just two triples the entire game.
Looking to lock the top seed at home after notching an outright semis seat on Sunday, the Long Lions turned to its defense in the first quarter, limiting Kung Fu to only seven points even as they held world import Anthony Tucker to just a free throw in the first half, converting the charity in the waning moments of the second period.
Tucker, however, took over in the second half, exploding for 28 of Nanhai's 56 points in the final 20 minutes as they stole the lead and eventually pulled away from Eastern.
Tucker finished with 29 points on six triples.
Tucker also had one rebound, five assists, and two steals.
Justin Howard added 24 points, 22 rebounds, three assists, and two blocks.
Tyler Lamb's 30 points was not enough for the Long Lions as they settle for the second seed.
In the process, Alab Pilipinas slipped to the third seed, putting the team in a quarterfinal showdown with sixth-seeded Saigon.
Box Scores:
Nanhai 88: Tucker 29, Howard 24, Tiongson 12, McKinney 11, Tian 8, Luo 2, Kamiran 2, He 0, Mai 0
Eastern 77: Lamb 30, Elliott 20, Standhardinger 12, Moss 11, Lee 4, Xu 0, Lau 0, Tang 0, Wu 0
Quarterscores: 7-22, 32-39, 58-54, 88-77 (PNA)
