The second day of Asia League’s Summer Super 8 tournament at the Macao East Asian Games Dome saw all 4 CBA and KBL teams put away a victory as ETLand Elephant and Guangzhou Long Lions ranked first in Group A and B.
A snapshot of today’s action is below:
Game 1 – ETLand Elephants 75-60 NLEX Road Warriors
The first game on Day 2 saw an exciting match-up between two winning sides from Day 1. ETLand Elephants got off to a great start, but NLEX road warriors held strong and were only 2 points behind by the end of the first half. The South Korean team then pulled ahead, hitting 9 total 3-pointers in the second half and 15 of 36 for the game. The NLEX defense seemed shaken and weren’t able to hold their ground. 75-60, ETLand Elephant secured its second victory.
Game 2 – Samsung Thunders 68-63 Rizing Zephyr Fukuoka
Despite losing to Guangzhou Long Lions yesterday, Rizing Zephyr Fukuoka got off to an impressive start and took 13-0 lead in the first quarter. However, Samsung Thunders launched a full-court press with a barrage of 3-pointers to break even at 23-23. Fukuoka only had 8 points in the second quarter, and Samsung took a 32-29 lead before half time. Both sides tried to play fast at the start of the 3rd quarter, yet Samsung out-performed Fukuoka when it came to 3-point shooting and fast break offense, which helped them gradually cumulate 20 points lead, 58-38.
Just when everyone felt that Fukuoka had given up, they carried out a 11-0 fight back with renewed vigor and narrowed the 20-deficit to only 2, 63-65, with only 32 seconds left. However, Kim Hyun-Soo ended Fukuoka’s hopes of mounting a comeback with a 3-pointer. 63-68, Fukuoka narrowly lost their second game in a row.
Game 3 – Guangzhou Long-Lions 88-69 Blackwater Elite
After scraping a win on Day 1, Guangzhou Long-Lions, led by Ju Mingxin, Guo kai and recently-transferred Shirelijan Muxtar, defeated the strong Philippine Blackwater 88-69.
Guangzhou gained momentum from the very start with Zheng Zhun combining front and back court, yet at the end of the first quarter only had 5 points lead, 24-19, while Blackwater performed several well-executed counter attacks. But every time scores tied, Guangzhou stepped it up. In the third quarter, Blackwater Elite once caught up - to 58-59 - much to the excitement of the large contingent of Filipino fans in the audience.
However, a key 3-pointer from Shirelijan boosted the team and kept Blackwater at bay for almost 10 minutes. Guangzhou took the opportunity to stretch the lead for a comfortable win.
Game 4 – Xinjiang Guanghui Flying Tigers 94-57 Formosa Dreamers
Xinjiang Flying Tigers, who lost their first game unexpectedly, went all out to attack opposition Formosa Dreamers. Team owner Blackie Chen Jianzhou supported from the bench for a big game for his Chinese Taipei side. In the opening quarter, Li Xuelin, who used to play for the Xinjiang team, made several consecutive shots and the two sides were end-to-end to 13-13. However, Xinjiang’s strength saw them gradually pulled away.
With 4 minutes and 24 seconds left in the second quarter, Xinjiang led by 37-17. Later, although the Dreamers had Chen Shinian and Li Xuelin constantly on the offensive, the Xinjiang team stabilized the situation and quickly expanded the score. Eventually, Xinjiang won 94-57 over Formosa Dreamers. Xinjiang had 6 players score in double figures, and out-rebounder the Dreamers by 12.
