YTE win You C-1000 Basketball Championship

AFTER finishing second best in the You C-1000 Phase I Basketball Championship, YTE bested Phase I champions FZ Juramas with a resounding 86-67 win in the final match of the Phase II at the Brunei Basketball Association Court on Saturday night. Singapore import Leon Kwek had an impressive night with a high of 19 points for YTE, but it was Indonesian Galank Gunawan and Filipino Eric Palanca who stole the show with several rebounding efforts. FZ Juramas' Mark Acosta contributed 14 points while Allan Mangahas scored four. Their captain Esmond Tan had 10 points for the whole game. It was a tightly contested game between the two sides in the first quarter, where YTE managed to take a six point-lead (27-21) thanks to an impressive shooting from Elvin Requintin who netted two three-pointers and Leon Kwek with seven points. FZ Juramas continued to put up fight in the second quarter to keep pace against their opponents, however, YTE managed to maintain their six-point lead. By the end of the second quarter, YTE were leading with 44-38. In the third quarter, YTE dominated under the rim with better rebounds and scoring second chances. The towering Galank Gunawan and Eric Palanca were too much for FZ Juramas' Francis Barcellano to guard, limiting their offence to only score 10 points in the third quarter. FZ Juramas were down by a massive difference in the fourth quarter with 68-48. FZ Juramas mounted a comeback in the final phases of the fourth quarter and managed to cut the lead to 15 points, but YTE held off for the win. YTE coach Federico Samson said, 'I am so lucky to have the good characters and attitude from the three imports. They have a huge heart and we play as brothers and as a team inside the court and outside the court. Local players also did their part and carried out their roles in the game effectively.' Asked on the winning element, he said, 'We adjust to the system of the plays on the offence and defence. The floor was a bit slippery, I asked Galank to play inside and play good defence.' The YTE coach, who was especially brought in from the Philippines, gave credits to FZ Juramas hailing them as a strong side. Asked if he will come back to coach again, he replied, 'It is up to the boss to invite me back again.' Meanwhile, Easyway beat Setia Builders 97-68 to clinch third place in the third place playoff. Manager of Hui Huang Enterprise Katherine Hii presented the prizes.
Courtesy of: borneobulletin.com.bn